What does it mean that God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4)?

"But God!" Wonderful is the intervention both of His grace and power! He who is "rich in mercy, because of His great loved with which He loved us," even in a state of spiritual death in the corruption of sins, has "made us alive together with Christ" (v.4). The riches of His mercy is first mentioned, mercy that is the outcome of His great love. Mercy is that compassion that comes down to meet one in his circumstances of need, sorrow or misery. Such was the Samaritan in Luke 10:33 who "came where he was" to the man who had been attacked by robbers and left half dead, and cared for his needs. What great love has made our Savior stoop so low to meet us in the extremity of our hopeless misery, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Pet.2:24) and bringing us to Himself! What mercy! but it is because of the love of His own blessed nature.

He is “rich in mercy.” There is a difference between 'mercy' and 'grace'. Grace is a free gift, but mercy is much more; it speaks of demerit and brings our souls to the bosom of God Himself who has mercy. “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” No claim. A great many young Christians have not taken their stand upon the ground of mercy, and so when something or other breaks down to which they trusted, they are utterly at sea. We ought to be getting the soul and conscience to rest in God as the God of mercy and compassion to the soul. The God of mercy brought them out of the pit and put them in vital union with the Son of His love, and they had something to rest upon in the hour of trial.

Four qualities of God come before us — love, mercy, kindness and grace (verses 4 and 7). Love is the nature of God, the spring of all His actions, and the source of all our blessings. If God acts according to the love of His heart, the blessing that results can only be measured by His love. The question, then, is not what measure of blessing will meet our needs, but what is the height of blessing that will satisfy the love of God. Grace is love in activity towards unworthy objects, and goes out towards all. Mercy is shown to the individual sinner. Kindness is the bestowal of blessings upon the believer. God acts, then, “because of His great love”, not because of anything that we are. Who can measure His “great love”, and who can measure the blessing that is according to that love?

So this mercy reached us form God because He loved us.

What a movement! What resources! "But God, Who is rich in mercy" It seems to suggest that had God not been "rich in mercy" our case was so desperate that He could not have rescued us, but His resources were equal to the need.

But little as one may realize it at first, this wonderful transaction of the soul with God involves more than mercy and peace. "But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace are ye saved); and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-7) . Let us observe here that God's rich mercy is because of His great love. Love is His very nature, and love acts in mercy toward a wretched sinner, even when dead in sins, moving God's heart to work in the most helpful way possible. Mercy is that tender compassion of God toward the deep need of the soul in its circumstances of misery or of guilt. Mercy can forgive, and delights to do so.

However, immediately the apostle speaks of our being quickened together with Christ," he adds "(by grace ye are saved); and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." If in mercy God has looked upon us and given life when we were dead in sins, His grace has gone further still, conferring upon us favour that lifts us far above all our former circumstances, saving us, delivering into a realm of perfect joy and peace, circumstances of heavenly blessing, in Christ. This is more than compassionate mercy. For a mere humanitarian could show mercy to another who was in dire circumstances, clothe him, feed him, perhaps give him work but to take him to his own home as his own son and invest him with his own wealth would be a far different matter. This is what grace does, It not only forgives: it provides abundant blessing on a far higher level than the circumstances out of which it delivers.

God shows the greatness of His mercy to all those who believe in our Lord Jesus on the basis of His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. The greatest misery of man is that he is spiritually dead in his sins and therefore completely unable to help himself. To those who are dead to Him, God in His mercy gives life, and He alone is able to do so.

After this dark picture of death, ruin and wrath, we read what God has done and does, for all who believe on His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. "But God who is rich in mercy, for the great love, wherewith He loved us" (verse 4). This is the blessed bridge, which leads out of the dark and dreary, hopeless condition. But God! Man is guilty and lost. But God! God now comes in and makes known the riches of His mercy. Yet a righteous, holy God cannot be rich in mercy unless His righteousness is fully met and maintained. His mercy must have for a foundation His righteousness. And this is blessedly the case. He is rich in mercy for the great love wherewith He loved us. He gave His only begotten Son. He made Him who knew no sin, sin for us. He made full atonement on the cross and now God can be rich in mercy. And what does He do with such as we are? Verses 5-6 tell the blessed story.

Man as he was, Jew or Gentile, and wrath, naturally went together, even as there is a natural link between good and righteousness. Now God, though in judgment taking cognisance of all that is contrary to His will and glory, in His own nature is above all that. To those who are worthy of wrath He can be rich in mercy, for He is so in Himself. The apostle therefore presents Him here as acting according to His own nature towards the objects of His grace. We were dead, says the apostle — dead in our trespasses and sins. God comes, in His love, to deliver us by His power — "God, who is rich in mercy, according to his great love wherewith he loved us." There was no good working in us: we were dead in our trespasses and sins. The movement came from Him, praised be His name! He has quickened us; not only that He has quickened us together with Christ. He had not said in a direct way, that Christ had been quickened, although it may be said, where the power of the Spirit in Himself is spoken of. He was however raised from the dead; and, when we are in question, we are told that all the energy by which He came forth from death is employed also for our quickening; and not only that; even in being quickened we are associated with Him. He comes forth from death — we come forth with Him. God has imparted this life to us. It is His pure grace, and a grace that has saved us, that found us dead in sins, and brought us out of death even as Christ came out of it, and by the same power, and brought us out with Him by the power of life in resurrection — with Christ, to set us in the light and in the favour of God, as a new creation, even as Christ Himself is there. Jews and Gentiles are found together in the same new position in Christ. Resurrection has put an end to all those distinctions; they have no place in a risen Christ. God has quickened the one and the other with Christ.

First, then, as to the Source, we read in Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins.” Clear it is that, as dead in sins, we could furnish no motive. Our state was one of the most complete alienation, not only in guilt, but in spiritual death and distance from God. If blessing should reach us it must therefore find its source in the Blesser. His heart, unsolicited by merit or motive on our side, must act according to its own nature, and find in itself the spring that could not be found in its object. Thank God! that very motive is found in Him. God, we read, is rich in mercy, and that quality, so divinely suitable to the state of guilty man, abounds in Him in living fullness; so that He, whilst infinitely holy, has, for His great love wherewith He loved us, proved Himself to be a Saviour-God! “Great love” and “rich mercy” mark the heart from which our blessings flow.

Verses 4, 5. "But God, who is rich in mercy," etc. Man, and his natural condition, having been described, we are called now to consider Him who made him, and whose testimony declares him to be dead in trespasses and sins. The fact of man's moral ruin becomes the occasion for displaying the perfection of the Divine character. Helpless sin is the opportunity of rich and saving mercy. But it is necessary to remark in the first place, that Divine mercy is here spoken of, not with reference to its aspect in the Gospel message, but as an operative thing. It is with the kingdom of God, which is in power and not in word, that we have now to do, in contrast to the world, which lies in the wicked one. The power of God to show mercy and to bless in spite of all resistance, is the subject of His people's praise for ever. Accordingly, the great proof here alleged that He is rich in mercy, is that He loved His people in their natural condition, when dead in trespasses and in sins. And because He loved them, He did not leave them as they were, but quickened them, and gave them everlasting life. It is elective mercy that is here described. As it was the sovereign good pleasure of God, that chose the Church in Christ before the foundation of the world, so it is the active power of His mercy that calls us forth from death to life by the Gospel of His grace.