Meant for More (part 2)

I am not sure how many of you come here on Sunday mornings with your own personal Bibles and take notes in those Bibles to look back at later. But if you are one of those people, then just maybe you will notice a few familiar things today. These verses from Ephesians 2 are from a passage I have preached here in this church before—September 2018 to be exact. And this is a new sermon for today because I am having us focus in on a different angle of the passage, but there is a little bit of overlap. So, for those of you with a sharp memory who may be thinking that some of this sounds familiar, like you just heard this four years ago, maybe the first part of today’s message is just review. If your memory of sermons you heard from me four years ago is not so clear, then—lucky you—this all feels brand new. Either way, these words from the apostle Paul in Ephesians 2 are central to the entire message of the letter of Ephesians. We cannot read through the book of Ephesians and ignore or skip over this passage.

Ephesians 2:1–10 (NIV)

Ephesians 2:1–10 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 flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I started this series on Ephesians two weeks ago by talking about the way that ten-year-old me was a little disappointed in a family vacation to the Michigan Upper Peninsula. I couldn’t understand that after driving forever and hiking into the wood to Tahquamenon Falls, all we could do was just stand there and look at it. Ten-year-old me wanted rafts to get in the river and ride over the falls; what’s the point in going all this way just to stand and look at it? I expected more; I felt like there should have been something more to it once we finally got there.

Ephesians is about what happens to life after we come to accept Christ and after we have embraced faith in Jesus

And this is why I think the apostle Paul writes the letter of Ephesians. He is writing to the church in the city of Ephesus. He writes these words to people who have accepted faith in Jesus and are now wondering to themselves, ‘is this all there is? I kind of expected something more.’ Ephesians is about what happens to life after we come to accept Christ and after we have embraced faith in Jesus. Ephesians is about what comes next for those who are wondering to themselves, ‘so what else is there?’

contrast between two worlds — being dead in sin and being alive in Christ

As we look at the first ten verses of chapter two, we see that Paul is developing a contrast. This is the first of five sections in Ephesians in which Paul uses this type of contrast formula. A major theme in this letter for Paul is to highlight for these new believers in Ephesus the difference between their old life apart from Christ, and their new life in Christ. It is a contrast between those two worlds as Paul sees it. In one world, we are dead in sin. You see it right away in verse 1, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” And then Paul fleshes this out a bit in the first three verses where he speaks of “gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature.” This first world that Paul speaks of is one that is apart from Christ.

repeated phrase — it is by grace you have been saved

Then in verse 5 he marks the contrast between this world of sin and another world. He says now that God has “made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.” The second world Paul points to in this passage is the world of being alive in Christ. And continuing in verse 5 Paul explains exactly how this works. He says, “it is by grace you have been saved.” Then in verses 6-8 Paul fleshes out this second world of being alive in Christ, where again in verse 8 he repeats the phrase, “it is by grace you have been saved.”

So, we begin to see here how Paul sets up this picture of two world before us. The first world he identifies by twice repeating the phrase, “you were dead in sin.” And the second world he identifies by twice repeating the phrase, “it is by grace you have been saved.”

Six times in these ten verses Paul says that we are now in Christ

That’s the first thing we notice when we begin to break down this passage and look at it a little more carefully. But then the next thing we notice in this passage is how intent Paul is on placing our identity in or with Christ. Six times in these ten verses Paul says that we are now in Christ. Paul seems rather stubbornly insistent that this grace which Christ gives to us is more than a gift we receive—it is a relocation of our identity.

Can we picture what grace looks like in this way. Imagine two circles to represent these two distinct categories. And we’ll label one as “sin” referring to Paul’s identification of this world as being dead in sin. And we’ll label the other one as “Christ” referring to Paul’s identification of this world as being alive in Christ.

if ‘dead in sin’ and ‘alive in Christ’ are separate worlds, then life in Christ is divided and static

If this were to, in fact, represent the geography of grace, then those of us who have received the gift of grace would have to locate ourselves in the circle that is alive with Christ—because Paul makes it so clear in this text that our location in the picture of grace is in Christ. So, the first thing we observe about this picture is division. There is a clear divide between being in Christ and being in sin. We either have to be in one circle or in the other circle. So maybe we read a passage like the one today and this is the picture we are left with. It’s either one side or the other side. And Paul says that grace is what brings us to the side of being in Christ.

The second observation about this picture is that it is static. What I mean by that is that this picture is set; it’s immobile. Those who are dead in sin are dead in sin; and those who are alive in Christ are alive in Christ. And so, we imagine that when Christ extends his gift of grace to those he has called it is almost as though they poof from one circle to the other. Because, after all, Paul says that grace is a gift of God and not by our works.

I think there are many people who understand grace like this. They see the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world as two completely distinct and separate worlds and we are either on one side or on the other side. It’s nice and clean. It’s cut and dried. But it leaves us a bit unsatisfied, doesn’t it? There are still some puzzling unanswered questions that have to be accounted for. Don’t we still live in a broken world of sin—even those of us who have accepted God’s gift of grace? Being in Christ means we are no long dead in sin—that is true. But does it also mean that we are completely removed from all things in this circle of sin? Then why do we still struggle with sin so much? You see, some people picture grace like this and walk away with very little assurance that they are, in fact, in Christ because the effects of sin still seem so apparent about them. So maybe they can then explain this problem away by pointing to it as a future picture. They may say that Paul’s reference to being in Christ is a picture—not of how things are now—but of how things are going to be after we physically die and leave the sinfulness of these earthly bodies. But, you see, Paul doesn’t speak of salvation as a future thing. Paul does not say in this passage that “it is by grace that you will be saved.” He says that “it is by grace that you have been saved.”

if two separate circles apart from each other is your picture of grace, then we have a hard time coming up with an answer of what comes next

For many people, we may understand what grace is, but that doesn’t mean we understand the picture of how grace works. We may not clearly understand what that picture of grace looks like in our lives. Because if two separate circles apart from each other is your picture of grace, then we have a hard time coming up with an answer of what comes next. That feeling that perhaps we are meant for more falls flat because there is nothing more.

if ‘dead in sin’ and ‘alive in Christ’ are overlapping worlds, then life in Christ is incarnate and dynamic

But what if the picture of grace is different? Like the first picture, we’ll begin by affirming that there is a contrast between two sides. There is the side of being dead in sin, and the side of being alive in Christ. And like the first picture, we understand that without grace we are located in the side of sin and death—completely apart from God. But this time let’s consider the full power of what Paul reveals in this letter; that Christ—by his incarnation, Christ—by his living a perfect and blameless life, Christ—by his death on the cross, Christ—by his resurrection; Christ has brought the world of life in him and caused it to collide with the world of sin and death. So, the picture is one of overlapping circles.

this picture of grace we acknowledges the tension that still exists

The picture of grace, then, is not one where Christ brings us to him. Rather, Christ brought himself to us. We are now in Christ not because we are taken to him, but because he came to us. In this picture of grace we acknowledge the tension that still exists. In this picture of grace we acknowledge that, during this life, we experience both sides at once. Or to say it better, we are moving further away from one world while moving further into the other world—further away from the kingdom of sin while moving further into the kingdom of God.

Now, let’s observe the two features that stand out in this second picture. In the first picture, you remember, we observed that the sides were divided. In this picture, however, we observe that the sides have collided. The geography of grace has not resulted in division between two worlds, but in collision between two worlds. This is why we speak of the kingdom of God as being already-not-yet. Something of both exists because there is an overlap in worlds.

Similarly, our location in Christ is already realized. It is a part of our life now as those who have been saved by grace. Our being in Christ is not a reference to some future reality that won’t happen till after we die a physical death. We are in Christ even now!

Yet even so, there is still struggle with sin. Even in this in-between-time we feel the effects of evil in this world. You remember in the first picture our placement was static; we were either in one circle or the other. Well, in this second picture notice how our placement is characterized by movement. This is not a static picture, but a moving picture. The geography of grace is one in which Christ has placed us in him so that we can move in him. Christ calls sinners to himself out of death in sin. This is the miracle of grace. This is the accomplishment that we could never do on our own. This is the action that Paul claims in verses 8-9 is “not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works.” And this picture of grace leaves us with something more. I think that’s why Paul doesn’t end this passage at verse 9. Verse 10 tells us what happens next because of this grace in which we are saved.

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

What does it mean to live as God’s handiwork?

This Christian life what we are called to live is not a set of rules that gets us to Christ, it is a freedom we have been given because we are already in Christ. As those who have received the Holy Spirit, we are now empowered to respond with gratitude to God for the grace we have received by the way that we live. What are these ‘good works’ that God has prepared in advance for us to do? The entire second half of Ephesians gives us examples of what it means to live like the handiwork of God. Starting at Ephesians 4:17 and going to the end of the letter, Paul shifts to focus on real-world practical examples of what Ephesians 2:10 looks like.

Ephesians 4:17-6:9 — examples of living as God’s handiwork personal holiness — truth instead of lies, kindness instead of anger, honesty instead of stealing reconciled relationships — husband/wife, parent/child, slave/master

The last half of chapter 4 is about pursuing personal holiness by highlighting things such as embracing truthfulness instead of lies, kindness and compassion instead of anger and fighting. Chapters 5-6 give examples of reconciled relationships—marriage relationships, parent/child relationship, relationships between those in authority and those under authority. None of these things are in the Bible as rules for what you have to do in order for God to know that you are good enough. No, Paul is giving the people in Ephesus a snapshot of what life looks like now that our identity is located in Christ because of God’s grace. Now that you and I are free to embrace what it means for us to live as the handiwork of God, all these relationships are reframed within the same reconciliation that God has made between himself and us. Grace is not only a gift from God which guarantees a future eternity with him, grace is also a gift from God which transforms the way we live right now.

the way I live is reframed by grace

Because Jesus has forgiven you, you are able to live in ways that forgive one another. Because Jesus has been compassionate with you, you are able to live in ways that show compassion to one another. Because Jesus has been generous towards you, you are able to live in ways that express generosity to one another. Because Jesus has been faithful to you, you are able to live in faithfulness with one another. Do you see it? All these instructions for living that make up the last half of Ephesians are not a list of rules, they are examples of what life can look like as God’s handiwork in Christ.

Because God prepared his grace in advance for me, the life I now have in Christ has also been prepared in advance for me

Because God prepared his grace in advance for you, the life you now have in Christ has also been prepared in advance for you. You are no longer dead in sin. You are now alive in Christ. As people who are God’s handiwork, let the life you have in Christ spill over into the way you live with one another.