EPHESIANS 2:1-10 25 AUGUST 2024
PRINCETON CHRISTIAN CHURCH
In this second chapter of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, he contrasts our lives before Christ became a part of them and then reveals our lives after we have been united with Christ, where we have a future to look forward to and a purpose to live for.
READ EPHESIANS 2:1-10
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
This future and purpose are full of solid awe and wonder as we see and understand what God has done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
I think we might be a little bit intimidated by Paul’s words in the text just read. But for each of us who are in Christ, this is one of the most beautiful texts in all of Scripture in its language, depth, meaning, and far-reaching truth and hope. There is so much more here that God wants us to see!
In this passage, Paul makes a clear distinction between “life before Christ” and “life in Christ,” which becomes the basis for much of the rest of his letter.
Look at it again - notice the number of contrasts that Paul makes.
living in transgressions and sins versus living in good works prepared by God
this world vs. the heavenly realms
death vs. life
sinful nature (Flesh) vs. union with Christ
wrath vs. mercy & salvation
under the “ruler of the air” vs. seated with Christ
by nature vs. by grace
not from works vs. through faith
Paul wants to make sure that the Ephesian Christians understand that this new salvation to which they are called makes a radical difference in their lives!
It is not just a change of status but a change of life! That’s what Chapters 4-6 are all about! And hopefully, we will get to that later over the next few weeks.
How does this new salvation play itself out in real life? What does it look like? What difference does it make?
You may remember that in Chapter 1, Paul’s focus was to seek to motivate his readers toward the goal of this new salvation by reminding them of the REASON they have to live for Christ.
. . “God has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (1:3)
He reminds them – and us - where their/our POWER to change comes from.
”I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (1:18)
Now Paul turns to remind the Ephesians of three other things:
1) their past
2) their present
3) their future.
Paul reminds us of ‘How Bad It Was.’ Eph 2:1-3(NIV)
1. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
2. in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
3. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were, by nature, objects of wrath.
Notice the language that Paul chooses to use . . .
WE WERE DEAD
Do you remember your life before you came to know Christ? Was it anything like this?
Paul very much viewed life before Christ as spiritual death! Now, Paul was a pretty good fellow! He was a good Jew (a “Hebrew of Hebrews,” as he would refer to himself.), a good Pharisee, a keeper of the law, and zealous for doing what he thought was defending the faith! (Philippians 3:4-6) .
He may have been a pretty good guy, but no matter how good he might have been - from the perspective of his new life “in Christ,” all life “before Christ” is characterized by death! Paul says that he was simply ‘dead.’
Elsewhere, Paul views death as a tyrant that dominates those who are living outside of Christ, both in the here and now - AND in the grave!
“The wages of sin is DEATH” Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It is interesting that he chooses the word DEATH to describe the reality of life without Christ.
We understand a culture of death. Look at our world today and think about how death controls our culture still today.
In much of the world today, famine, disease, and death are everyday realities. And in our world today, it is not enough to accept death as a natural part of life. Mankind has taken it upon itself to cause willfully end life.
In 1973, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right of a woman to have an abortion.
That decision gave women the right to kill their unborn children. In these last 30 years, over 45 million abortion procedures have been performed. There is so much more here that God would have us see!
We should be thankful that, in 2022, just two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 ruling.
But, during those nearly 50 years, 45 million innocent children have been slaughtered.
Death is our reality and, as a result, threatens to control life. We don’t like to think about death.
Many people and companies have gotten rich from ‘miracle drugs’ that were supposed to lengthen our lifespan.
Many people have bought into those so-called miracles, frantically trying to stave off old age and death.
Some are trying to clone themselves in an effort to live longer. They believe cloning themselves is a way to have eternal life and eternal youth.
Death still plagues our present humanity and remains an ever-present threat! This shouldn’t have come as a surprise! God told Adam & Eve in the garden that if they ate from the forbidden tree, they would surely die!
So many people are afraid to face death . . . either their own or the death of a loved one.
Before following Christ became our way of life, We WERE Worldly. This is the way we ‘used to live’ when we followed the ways of the world, the “ruler of the kingdom of the air.”
This was our former way of life, the way we used to walk.
And Paul reminds us of just who is in control of this world. He doesn’t mention this person – or this force – that is in control of this world. He will mention him later in chapter 6, but for now, it is enough for us to make note that this ‘ruler’ has been handed over “authority” concerning the affairs of this world.
John confirms what Paul has said. I John 5:19
“We know that we are children of God and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. (NIV)
This ruler, this spirit is at work in all those who are disobedient!
And ALL OF US (Paul is including himself) lived among them! The problem wasn’t so much that we lived with them, but that we lived like them! We were one of them!
So, we WERE objects of wrath! Whose wrath? God’s?
So many people think of God ONLY as a ‘warm & fuzzy’ loving grandfatherly type.
Hear how Paul writes about the wrath of God in Romans 1:18
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. (NASB)
Wrath is an important concept in the Bible. Because of our sin, we were at enmity with God! His wrath was against us! Enmity means mutual hatred or ill will.
So when Paul speaks of enmity with God, he is saying we hold hatred or ill will toward God. And, of course, that is a dangerous condition to be in.
Under the Law, before Christ, there was no hope of relationship, no hope of reconciliation, because we had broken it! BUT NO LONGER!
Paul points out that God took care of that for us. That was the way we were.
I like the way Ephesians 2:4 begins – what we have just talked about is the way it was.
And Paul writes Ephesians 2 saying: BUT GOD ----:4-9
BUT GOD, BEING RICH IN MERCY, BECAUSE OF HIS GREAT LOVE WITH WHICH HE LOVED US, EVEN WHEN WE WERE DEAD IN OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, MADE US ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED AND RAISED UP WITH HIM AND SEATED US WITH HIM IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS.
“How Sweet it IS!” Paul points to our past only to emphasize how good we have it NOW! In the present!
Notice the words he includes in his BUT GOD speech: “Mercy”, “love”, “grace,” “kindness,” and “gift”- Paul, here is attempting to describe this awesome and incredible salvation!
You may have been in a situation where you are trying to find the appropriate words to describe something or someone who is very special to you. That’s what is happening to Paul here.
It's as if simple words aren’t enough to adequately describe the reality of the gospel! Each of these words carries a nuance, just a tad different from the others, but their meanings build upon one another in an effort to describe the grandeur of God’s work in Christ!
Notice the key ideas here--
Even when we were dead, he made us ALIVE! He didn’t have to! But he is a God who is rich in mercy and out of his great love for us, He took care of our sin!
Rom 6:3-4 “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were, therefore, buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (NIV)
And so, if you’re in Christ, if you’ve been baptized into Christ, then you are quite literally “Dead Man Walking”; though once dead, we have been raised again to live a new life!
By grace, he saved us! Saved us from what? Saved us from that death! We are NOT just saved from hell but saved from life. We are from a life on earth dominated by death, saved from a life lived in fear of death! We are saved from that “worldly” lifestyle that only leads to death!
Think about people you know that you’d describe as just ‘worldly.’ People who you’d say are consumed by the pursuit of wealth or power, things of this world.
People without God. Are they generally happy people? Maybe on the surface, but in most, misery controls their lives. As the old song says…”I can’t get no satisfaction.”
He raised us up and seated us in the heavens with Christ Jesus! Paul isn’t talking about heaven here– this isn’t the final resurrection; this is something that God has already done for us.
We, right here and right now, are raised with Christ & seated in the heavenly realms!
How? In what way? We are joined with Christ now as Paul has already made clear . . .
Where is Christ? He is seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly realms. (1:20)
What is true of Christ is true of us if we are joined together. If he is exalted to God’s right hand, so are we.
In other words, we have been placed in a place of honor next to God; our position has changed from being “in the world” to being “in Christ.”
It is not that we WILL be “in Christ” but that we ARE “in Christ.”
That should make a difference in HOW we live life NOW, not just where we spend eternity.
Paul also reminds us, ‘How Glorious it Will Be!’
so that in the coming ages, he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. vs.7
How have we pointed the world to the manifold wisdom of God? How are WE doing right now? How do we show God to the world?
___________________________________________________________________
All of this is for a point: We are Saved for a Purpose!
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. vs 8-10 (NIV)
Paul doesn’t want anyone to misunderstand: we’ve never done anything to come close to deserving this salvation! God has done it all; ‘this is not from yourselves.’ We are saved by God’s grace through our faith and NOT by works! Yet we are certainly saved FOR good works. He created us in our mother’s womb; he re-created us in Christ– we are his creation, his ‘workmanship’... we’re His work of art!.. Sculpted, painted, crafted TO DO GOOD WORKS! A life being lived ‘in Christ’ is a life that is ’purposeful’ ...always on the lookout for good works.
Conclusion: Is your life characterized by obedience & good works?
Many people have trouble in the Christian life because either . . .
(1) they’ve forgotten ‘How Bad it Was’
(2) they don’t appreciate ‘How Sweet it Is’
If we’re really honest with ourselves, I don’t believe many of us really believe our situation was as bleak as Paul says.
But being a good person doesn’t get us into a life in Christ.
Many people are good people, but if they have not obeyed the Gospel, they are dead in their sins! Their situation is as bleak as the murderer awaiting execution on death row!
Your neighbors around you may be pretty good folks. They keep the yard cut, they love their kids, they’re good citizens. But do they know God? Do they know His Son, their Savior?
Do they have a relationship with Him? A preacher once said, “Before you can get a person saved, you’ve got to get him lost.”
What that means is that before anyone can make a decision to follow Christ, he or she has to be convicted that they need Christ!
That’s exactly what happened at Pentecost when Peter preached to the crowd. Luke tells us that when they heard Peter’s sermon, ‘they were cut to the heart.’ They were convicted and responded by asking, “What can we do to be saved?”
Have you ever really been convicted that your life WITHOUT Christ was dead? You’ll never appreciate ‘How Sweet it Is’ (in Christ) until you remember ‘How Bad it really Was’ (without Christ).
What good news!
Have you been saved from death this morning?
Are you ALIVE with Christ?
Are you enjoying the good works he has prepared for you?
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