Up to this point in our passage, Paul has explained to us the utter lostness of humanity (see Ephesians 2:1-3). We were dead. We were followers. We were children of wrath. Without the cross of Jesus Christ, this would have been the end of the human story. Paul writes those beloved words, “But God"—sweet medicine for humanity! Destruction was ours, but God intervened. The story does not turn because of man — as in “but man” — but with God. He interjects Himself into our condition, our brokenness.

Before looking at what God did to intervene, let us look first at why He did it. Paul gives us three major reasons.