Ephesians Part 5: A Glorious Intervention
Glorious: A Study Through Ephesians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 46:58
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Glorious Intervention
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Jeremy Bentham has been sitting in a corridor at University College London since 1850.
The moral philosopher, is considered the founder of utilitarianism (“the greatest happiness principle”)
Upon his death he left a will with specific instructions on the treatment of his corpse. In it, he decreed that his skeleton and mummified head be assembled, clad in a black suit and seated upright on a chair in a wooden cabinet, under a placard reading "Auto Icon."
He also suggested that his corpse could preside over regular meetings of his utilitarian followers.
One of the most commonly recounted anecdotes surrounding the Auto-Icon is that it regularly attends meetings of the College Council, and that it is solemnly wheeled into the Council Room to take its place among the present-day members. Its presence, it is claimed, is always recorded in the minutes with the words “Jeremy Bentham—present but not voting.”
What a picture that is of us outside of the resurrection power of the Gospel. when it come to the things of God and the spiritual world - without Jesus we are present but not voting.
In Eph 2:1-10 we are reminded of our past, present and future because of the Glorious intervention of God in lives of sinful, separated human beings..
First of all we are reminded by Paul - Who We Where - lets read verses 1-3
What We Were
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
We Where Removed
“who were dead in trespasses and sins”
death meaning separation
not non existence -
Annihilationism
is the belief that unbelievers will not experience an eternity of suffering in hell, but will instead be “extinguished” after death
Paul says for the believers
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
for the unbeliever the separation is to eternal hell
What caused this separation, again Paul tells us the answer in romans 5:12-19
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
It all began in the garden
Thats where the spiritual separation took place
again death is separation biblically
This is important when we look at the fall of man in Eden
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
This is our spiritual separation from God, and its important to and understand the difference between physical death and spiritual death
physical - separation from the body
spiritual - separation from God
failure to understand this theological truth can bring all sorts of error - look at this clip
We Where Rebellious
Paul goes on to say that because of our removal from God - our Spiritual death that we were children of disobedience in verse 2-3
we followed the world -”walked according to the course of this world”
just like or first parents in the garden
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
we followed satan - “according to the prince of the power of the air”
the god of this world has blinded unbelievers
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
we followed our sinful desires - “Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind”
this is who we where! sinners revelling in sin
conversation - manner of life
led by our lusts
directed by our desires
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
God Knows our heart, and our hearts without Christ are radically depraved and full of sin
we where doomed
Our spiritual status could not be more tragic or hopeless. We were justly under the judgment of God.
What we were before God’s glorious intervention, a removed and rebellious people.. But what about what we are in christ? lets read verses 4-5
What We Are
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
We Are Rich
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said this about these two little words “BUT GOD!” “These two words, in and of themselves, in a sense contain the whole of the gospel of Christ.”
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
As God is rich in His mercy, so are we rich in recieving it. When we undertand who we where, and look at who we are in Christ and what we have - we are rich beyond measure
We Are Regenerated
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
For all eternity we will be recipients of His grace, trophies of His grace. He has displayed infinite riches of grace in kindness to us.
we are now alive in Christ, and through him the way back to God has been secured
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Illustration - Spiritual connection now possible
this is the good news of the Gospel- but the good news doesn't end with where we are now, but includes where we will be and what we will be!! look at verses 6-7
What We Will Be
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
We Will Be Raised
Paul uses a compound word to declare that we have been raised together, synergeiren, which has the prefix syn-.
We know this word from computers. We get the word sync from it (short for “synchronize”).
We sync our phones with our computers in order to transfer the music on the computer to the phone.
Well, we were synced with Christ!
What God did for Christ, He did at the same time for believers
“Seated with Christ”
Now he says that we are seated with Jesus. This means we have a position of “superiority and authority over the evil powers”
We do not have to succumb to the dark world and Satan’s schemes.
Also note here the “already–not yet” aspect of salvation.
We are now raised and seated with Him, but we are awaiting the full completion of our salvation.
We Will Be Rewarded
“That in the ages to come he might shew”
Grace upon Grace upon Grace
Grace - unmerited favour
getting something we dont deserve
11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
there is coming a day where we
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
the day is coming where we not simply He will be with us, but we will truly be with Him!
thats what we where, what we are and where we will be. I want however to finish on what we are to do - look finally with me at verses 8-10
What We Are To Do
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
We Are To Remember
this is all of God
His grace and His mercy - through faith
Hand of God’s Grace reaches down and our hand of faith reaches up
we are to remember that at all times
Think of the great reversal that has taken place between verses 1-3 and 4-7.
dead in trespasses and sins, children of disobedience and wrath
alive in Christ, raised and seated with Him, recipients of mercy, grace and His great love!!
live a live fuelled and filled by grace
We Are To Respond
notice our purpose
created in Christ Jesus unto good works
works cannot save us but....
they are important
works aren't the root of our salvation but they are to be the fruit
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
James states this clearly for us
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Now that we belong to God, God is working on us and in us so that He might work through us.
Paul says, “we are his workmanship” . This word for “workmanship” (poiema) may be where the word poem comes from.
The word was used to refer to any work of art, such as a statue, a song, architecture, a painting, or a poem
Like our conversion our spiritual growth takes place “in Christ Jesus.”
As we are united to Him, we have life; that life leads to good works
Conclusion
Folks this truly is a glorious invention by God!!
What We Were
Removed and Rebellious
What We Are
Rich and Regenerated
What We Will Be
Raised and Rewarded
What We Are To Do
Remember and Respond
Let me close with two thoughts of application in light of this Glorious Intervention
Without God’s intervention we are lost forever.
With God’s intervention we are loved forever.
where are you this morning is it number 1 or is it number 2, for there is no middle ground, no fence to sit on..
For the believer here this morning, we should be blown away at such a glorious intervention..
But GOD!!
He took us from a past where we where dead into a present where we are alive looking forward to a future where we will be with Him..
Lets close with the words of John Newton, the author of that great hymn of the faith “amazing grace who said”
I am not what I ought to be—ah, how imperfect and deficient! I am not what I wish to be—I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good! I am not what I hope to be—soon, soon shall I put off mortality, and with mortality all sin and imperfection. Yet, though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was; a slave to sin and Satan; and I can heartily join with the apostle, and acknowledge, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”
Let’s Pray