4. -
5. However, God is rich in mercy. He brought us to life with Christ while we were dead as a result of those things that we did wrong. He did this because of the great love that he has for us. You are saved by God’s grace!
6. And God raised us up and seated us in the heavens with Christ Jesus.
7. God did this to show future generations the greatness of his grace by the goodness that God has shown us in Christ Jesus.
8. You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed.
9. It’s not something you did that you can be proud of.
10. Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives.
11. So remember that once you were Gentiles by physical descent, who were called "uncircumcised" by Jews who are physically circumcised.
12. At that time you were without Christ. You were aliens rather than citizens of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of God’s promise. In this world you had no hope and no God.
13. But now, thanks to Christ Jesus, you who once were so far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14. Christ is our peace. He made both Jews and Gentiles into one group. With his body, he broke down the barrier of hatred that divided us.
15. He canceled the detailed rules of the Law so that he could create one new person out of the two groups, making peace.