He Changed Everything

If you’ve ever watched much TV or many movies, you’ve probably seen a movie where there is some person in a horrible situation where there seems to be no hope for them. But in just the right time they are rescued by a hero and usually, the person who is rescued will be so thankful that they’ll say something like, “You saved me! I owe you my life!” (This is borrowed from Joe Anady at EmmausRBC) Well, as we look in Ephesians 2 today, we will find that exact same story playing out. But instead of it being about some fictional person in a book, this is a real story about real people and you are one of the characters here. So, if you are someone who has become detached from the beauty of the gospel, this passage is for you. If you are someone who is wondering what your purpose is, this passage is for you. If you are nervous about whether someone like you could possibly be saved, this passage is most definitely for you. You see, what we will find today as we look in Ephesians 2 is that God, in grace, buts into the lives of us rebel sinners that we would be miraculously changed for His glory. And we will see that as it breaks down in three parts. In verses 1-3 we will see that we were dead in sins, in verses 4-6 we will see the invading grace of God and in verses 7-10 we will see the effect of grace in our lives.

We Were Dead In Sins.

“The power of sin shapes and colors everything. Author James B. Nelson links his alcoholism with the pervasiveness of sin. How he describes addiction and its total control is helpful: “Alcoholism is that way. It is a total phenomenon that affects the whole person: body, mind, and spirit, every relationship. Everything suffers distortion because of it. In the midst of active alcoholism my brain suffered organic changes. … My drinking increased my lactic acid, my uric acid, and the fat content of my liver. Though more measurable in some parts of my body than in others, alcohol affected every cell. …”

And this is the same condition we are in when it comes to sin. When Adam fell we died to sin, it affected every aspect of our being and we became a people who were spiritually dead and separated from God. The phrase, “Trespasses and sins” here covers the whole board. Paul is saying that we were a people who were absolutely given to sin against God. All we did was drink sin as though it were water, we sinned both consciously and without even thinking about it. And He is going to go on to highlight four things about how we were. Notice how, in verse 2, he says, “In which you once walked…” This means that we once lived in a constant lifestyle of sin. He goes on to say we followed the course of this world. This means that we were concerned with what the world says matters. We didn’t care about God, His law, or even His judgment; instead we were focused on the things of this world. Today that might be seen in the social justice movement who behaves as though “all love is love” as seen paraded by the LGBTQ is a redeeming quality even though God is against it. What Paul is saying is that we were caught up in the affairs of this life.

But not only this, we were followers of Satan who is now working in the people of the world today and we lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. When we look back at our lives before God saved us, we look back upon the life of a person who served Satan as their god, whether we realized it or not. And while we served him, we listened to the lies he fed us and we pursued the sinful thoughts and feelings that we had. We were no different than the rest of the world. What Paul is doing here is showing us how hopeless we were before God saved us. We were no different than the people that we see living so horribly today. We once loved sin more than God, we once served Satan as our idol, we once followed our sinful passions like a slave master, we were once the children of wrath just like everyone else. Do you see how horrible this is!? And then, from the darkness comes these beautifully bright words, “But God…”

The Power of Grace.

“What is God’s grace? It is God’s unmerited favor. It is kindness that is not deserved or earned. Imagine a parent sets a jar on the counter. Every day that the kids are good, they each get to put a penny in the jar. Every day they are bad, they take a penny out; and if they are all really, really bad, the parent has the option of emptying the jar. When this jar is full, the kids all get to go out for ice cream. Now, imagine a day at home with the kids when every one of them is as bad as can be. The day starts out with screaming and crying and fights. They yell at the parents. They insult one another. They refuse to do their chores. If a rule can be broken, it is broken, and if there is a chore to be done, it’s ignored. There is total chaos. The agreed “contract” in place is that on a day like that, the jar gets emptied. But instead, the parent calls the children into the kitchen and says, “I love you. Let’s go get ice cream.” That’s mercy and grace.”

And that is just a small glimpse at the beautiful story of grace that we see here as Paul gives us four wonderful acts of grace that God has done for us. What are they? Well, in verse 4 it is that though we deserved wrath, we received grace because He loved us. In verse 5 he tells us that even when we were dead, God made us alive with Christ, by grace! In verse 6, we find that He raised us with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

This is just amazing. That while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And when Jesus took our place at Calvary, God treated His Son like He was us, so that He may now treat us as if we were His Son. But what does it mean that we have been raised and seated with Him? Colossians gives us some information on that. In Colossians 2:12-15 we read about how we have been raised with Christ and how we were made alive in Christ, “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” Did you catch that last part? That old master we once were in bondage to, Christ embarrassed him as he won the victory for us in His death and resurrection.

So, what we find here are three verbs. (Made alive, raised up, and seated.) This is showing our solidarity with Christ. Just as Jesus was made alive in the tomb, so were we. Just as Jesus ascended into Heaven and seated with the Father, so are we. And you might be thinking, “Wait, I’m not in Heaven yet! I’m right here!” But since Christ is our representative, it is as good as finished. In Romans 8, Paul mentions our glorification as though it's already taken care of. Why? Because for us who are saved, since Christ is the one who did it all for us, it is all taken care of and it will come to pass without failure. Now I want you to notice something and that something is the phrase, “In Christ” Notice how in verse 1-3 we begin with “And you” and there is no mention of Christ there. It’s just sadness, sinfulness, and hopelessness. But then, in verse 4 we read, “But God” and we begin to see not once, but 6 references to Christ. Guys, the lives that we live as people who have been changed is all because of Christ. The joy we have is all because of Christ, the hope we have is all because of Christ. And just as I am emotional about it, Paul was also because he just explodes in v5 and blurts out, “By grace you have been saved!”

The Purpose of Grace.

Not only have we seen what God has done, but lastly we will see why God has done this. In verse 7-10 we will see that God has saved us to be trophies of grace, not as people who can boast of their own choice or works, but as people who are eternally thankful to the one who changed their lives! In Ephesians 1:19, John Stott points out that in raising Christ, God showed the greatness of His power, but here in Ephesians 2:7, in raising us, God shows the greatness of His grace.

I love this illustration given by Stott, “Towards the end of my time as a theological student at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, the Rev. Paul Gibson retired as Principal, and a portrait of him was unveiled. In expressing his thanks, he paid a well-deserved compliment to the artist. He said that in future he believed people looking at the picture would ask not ‘Who is that man?’ but rather ‘Who painted that portrait?’ Now in our case God has displayed more than skill. A patient after a major operation is a living testimony to his surgeon’s skill, and a condemned man after a reprieve to his sovereign’s mercy. We are both—exhibits of God’s skill and trophies of his grace.” We are to be trophies of grace both now, as we will see in verse 10, and for eternity as we see here in verse 7 and Paul expands on this grace in verses 8 and 9 where he makes it clear that every aspect of this whole shebang is due to God. The grace didn’t come from us or anything we did, the faith that we placed in Christ didn’t come from us either. It is all a gift of God. God gave us the faith to believe, God gave us redeeming grace, God changed our lives completely. Why? So that we couldn’t boast in ourselves, but that we would forever boast that I have been saved by a gracious and loving and merciful God!

And it is because of this that we are to perform good works as we see in verse 10. Notice how before God saved us we walked in sin, but now, by grace, we have been called to walk in the good works that God has chosen us for. This doesn’t necessarily give us a list like we might want, but I believe we should understand this to mean that God has planned out the places and events of our lives and as Christians it is by His grace that we face them as people who are transformed by His grace. So, for you who are saved, you are different, you don’t follow the ways of this world. You are loved by God. You are free from the bondage of sin. You have a sure hope of salvation. You are a trophy of grace. You are a new creature.

To put it simply, the grace of God changed everything. It doesn’t just have some effect on events a long way down the road from now, no, this grace changes who we are both today and for eternity. Do you know this kind of grace? Do you know the radically transforming love of God as He sent Christ to save sinners? Have you come to Christ for the forgiveness of your sin? Are you tired of walking in sin and shame? Then come to Christ and He will save you, and He will make you a new creature, a trophy of grace.