Hopelessness and Helplessness Without Christ (2:1–3)

Introduction:

As we continue in our study of this amazing epistle of Paul to the Ephesian saints, and of course to all of us in Christ called saints, we have learned much about the Spiritual blessings we have recieved from our position of being in Christ. These blessings were and are provided by the godhead from eternity past, are brought to light through the indwelling Holy Spirit, and are kept in store by virtue of our position in Christ. But with this view of our present position in Christ, and our resulting future inheritance in heaven, how did we get here? What were we before Christ saved us? Did we somehow find Christ and he then began this work in us because we used our powers of deduction or logic to determine that Christ was the right way to go? God forbid, may it never enter our mind for even a split second, as we learn this morning of our Hopelessness and Helplessness Without Christ from Ephesians 2:1-3.

Text: Ephesians 2:1-3

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once 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.

Main Idea: All human beings are born into this world hopeless and helpless, yet we are unaware of such a condition as we frivolously use our days pursuing our passions and our happiness.

It is difficult to preach a one sided sermon, but the truth found in verses 1-3 is so important to the understanding of the gospel and the covenant of God redemptive plan, that I thought it would be important to focus on the bad news first.

Because, good news is only good news when you know the alternative…the bad news, we first see the...

I. Extent of our Helplessness (1)

(1) And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

And - using this conjunction, Paul connects us with what we are now as Christ’s body the church that fills all with his fullness, with what we were before his miracle of grace took place.

you - being that the Ephesian church was made up of both Jews and Gentiles, and that this epistle was most likely cycled through the different churches, this plural form of the personal pronoun, you, shows the universal nature of what we were.

were (eimi [pre, act, par] - to be) - Literally, you are being...

dead (nekros [adj] - lifeless, dead corpse. There is no “asleep” condition or semi-alive state, but dead as dead can be. We were as helpless as any corpse is to self improve, turn over a new leaf, or even start making right decisions on our own.

in the trespasses (paraptoma - to step into forbidden territory) and sins (hamartia - missing the mark) - what a great contrast between, the saints of God who are alive in Christ, and have all their activities flow to and from their position in Christ, and those who were dead in sin, and that death is a result of our position in our trespasses and sins that enslaved us, making all the activities that flow to and from our position in sin the result of that position. Let’s look at some verses that explain this more fully...

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:10–18 ESV

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

This condition is not a NT concept, since Romans 3:10-12 sites Psalm 14:1-3.

Theologians have called this condition into which we were born as original sin, and as a result each human being is said to be totally depraved. Not ultimate depravity, where we are always doing the worse of the worse sins, but totally depravity, in that, sin pervades our entire being. This total depravity is a result of the sin of Adam in the garden; a sin that was imputed to the entire human race thereafter.

Romans 5:12 ESV

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

This sin did not and does not remain dormant, it manufactures actions and activities as we see next:

II. Activities of our Helplessness (2-3a)

(2) in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— (3a) among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,

in which you once walked - the activity you are engaged in is literally a walking dead man which flows from our being in trespasses and sins. That original sin defines our very nature and movement.

following (according to) the course (aion [noun] - age, culture) of this world (cosmos [noun] - world order) - walking according to the world view established by the standard set by this present age or culture. So, instead of everyone thinking that they are independent and individual thinkers, they are being deceived by, and sucked into the black hole of, our culture.

following (according to, or downwards) the prince of the power of the air - the content and direction of this present age and culture is not left up to the highest bidder, or the leader that is most popular and gets the most votes, but is is none other then Satin himself, that diabolical master who opposes God and seeks to lead this age downward, and as far away from God as he possibly can! Paul alludes to this in Ephesians 6:

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

These heavenly places do not mean heaven, but the sky surrounding this earth, or another way of saying, this entire world. Paul further expands on this activity of Satin in 2 Corinthians 4:

2 Corinthians 4:1–4 ESV

1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

the spirit that is now at work (energeo [pre, act, par] - work or energy) in the sons of disobedience - This Satanic evil spirit is continually, and tirelessly, working, to promote godless disobedience in the walking dead.

(3a) we all once lived in the passions of our flesh -

note first of all, the pronoun we; which denotes that this was all our beginnings, none is left out; no one got it right on their own.

passions (epithymia [noun] - self indulgent cravings) - this is what makes Satin’s diabolical plan so successful, it appeals to self indulgence and self gratification. It is disguised by the commonly used phrase in our culture, which sounds so good and so right, follow your heart. However, Jeremiah warns us about this:

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

of our flesh (sarx - the seat of sin and rebellion against God) - it is the flesh that the forces of evil entice and temp to do evil. BTW, the flesh continues even after you are born again, the difference is that before rebirth, you are relentlessly controlled by the flesh, whereas after rebirth, sin is no longer your master and the Spirit of God gives you the power to control and overcome the flesh, putting it to death daily.

carrying out (poieo [pre, act par] - to cause to be) the desires (thelema [noun] - will) of the body and the mind - our modus operandi, like spiritual zombies, is to carry out the desires of the body and mind without question. Note here the involvement of both body and mind. Since the body or flesh, craves for gratification, the mind okays or justifies its action. Thus one is able to live as a dead person for many years without feeling guilt.

But are there any consequences to such activities? Yes, we shall see this in the:

III. Extent of our Hopelessness (3b)

It is very critical that we understand that these zombie-like activities are blind to each of us so that we remain unaware of how hopeless our situation really is, and this is where Paul is taking us next.

(3b) and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

by nature children of wrath - notice again that deadness is our very nature and is a direct result of our original sin at birth. So whose wrath are we under as a result of this nature? God’s of course. John tells us this in chapter 3 of his gospel:

John 3:18 ESV

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Thus the wrath of God and his condemnation is already at work in unbelievers, or the spiritually dead. We are not just waiting for judgment day and hoping our good deeds will give us some sort of reprieve…no, we are already condemned!

like the rest of mankind - this condemnation; the pouring out of God’s righteous wrath is universal in scope.

We leave here this morning with hopelessness and helplessness for all mankind, however, this is only the bad news apart of the story. Next week we shall look at the good news…good news which is miraculous and something that God alone can do.

So What?

Do we understand that they extent of our helpless situation is directly related to the original sin of Adam?

Every war, every sickness, every evil thing that makes up this world is a result of this sin.

Do you understand your hopeless condition this morning, and see your sin for what it is, rebellion against God, and self-indulgence and self-gratification?

If so, please understand that this is the first step toward the gospel. Repent, turn from your sin, and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. He alone can save you from Satin, the world, and your own flesh. See me or one of the elders afterward for clarification.