Verse Lens · Context pointer
Ephesians 2:4 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 4. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The decisive turn begins with God, whose rich mercy and great love answer the condition just described.
Read It With
- Ephesians 2:1–10
Read Ephesians 2:1–10 as a complete section. Verses 1–3 describe the former condition, verses 4–7 make God the decisive actor, and verses 8–10 keep grace, faith, the exclusion of boasting, and good works in their proper order.
Why It Needs Context
The paragraph moves from death to God's merciful action and then from grace to a recreated life; reading one line alone can reverse that order.
Read Ephesians 2:4–10 together
Why these verses belong together: God's mercy, making alive, grace, faith, exclusion of boasting, and creation for good works form one salvation movement.
Verse 4. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Verse 5. 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Verse 6. 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Verse 7. 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Verse 8. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Verse 9. 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Verse 10. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Ephesians 2:1–10 — From Death to Life by GraceSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: The exact KJV wording and immediate English context for Ephesians 2:1–10.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Ephesians 2; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording and sentence relationships used to check the passage.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Eph.txt, Ephesians 2, verses within Ephesians 2:1–10.
Open the Ephesians Greek text file ↗