Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Ephesians 2:4-7

Last week we started on chapter two of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. The entirety of chapter two covers the before, during, after pictures of salvation. Last week we looked at the picture of the unbeliever, or the picture of the believer before coming to Christ. To sum that up, Paul says the believer before Christ is living a life that is:

· It’s a life of death (vs 1)

· It’s a life of transgressions and sins (vs 1-2)

· It’s a life spent with the disobedient of the world (vs 3)

· It’s a life under the wrath of God (vs 3)

Tonight, we are going to begin looking at the transformation process that takes place in the life of the believer. We are going to look at the work of God’s Mercy in that believer.

Ephesians 2:4-7

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, 5 made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens, 7 so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

I’ve mentioned many times that my favorite phrase in the entire Bible is what we begin with in verse four, “But God.” Honestly, I think we could sum up the whole Bible with that phrase, “But God.” While we know the story of redemption starts with the sin in the Garden, we find the, “But God,” covers the rest. By our sins and transgressions, we are due death and condemnation, “but God…” By our willful disobedience, our only rightful possession is eternal death, “but God…” We could continue this story throughout the Bible.

Because of God’s great love and compassion for His greatest creation, because of His desire for mankind to share in His glory and splendor, we read, “but God…” It is only because God has intervened in the eternal destination of man that we can rejoice. It is only because of the mercy and grace of God that we can find salvation. We can boast in nothing else but the mercy of God.

Tonight, let’s look at what Paul says God did on our behalf.

I. He has made us alive in Christ (vs 4-5)

II. He raised up with Christ (vs 6)

III. He has made us to sit in heavenly places in Christ (vs 6)

IV. He had one great purpose: that is to show us the riches of His grace in the age to come. (vs 7)

I. God has made us alive in Christ.

Ephesians 2:4-5

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, 5 made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!

In our sin and transgressions, we are dead; we are spiritually dead. We said last week that the underlying definition of death is separation. So, in our spiritual death are eternally separated from our heavenly Father, because we can not stand before Him in our unrighteousness. BUT GOD, in His gracious act of Mercy on the cross of Calvary, has quickened us to life in Christ.

So, let’s ask some questions concerning our life in Christ.

1. WHY – Why has God made us alive?

If we look at the life we receive in Christ, and what it was that got us there in the first place; our sin and unrighteous acts toward God, WHY would He choose to make us alive? WHY would God pay the price for our willful disobedience? As mankind, in our nature, we would not do that.

Romans 5:7-8 (NIV)

7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

While you and I wouldn’t die for a sinful person; God in His nature would. God’s nature is not one that is distant, uninterested, and un-concerning.

A. God’s nature is full of Mercy

Mercy is a feeling of compassion, affection, and kindness. Mercy is to draw unto the love and care of God despite the sinful actions of man. Mercy is to not give unto someone the punishment which they rightfully due.

To enact mercy, two things are necessary, you must be able to see a need, and then be able to meet that need. God sees our need; we are dead in our sins and have walked in the transgressions of the world; and God is the only one who can meet that need of life. Therefore, He acts on our behalf by withholding His due judgement, and providing a way to salvation in Christ.

B. God’s nature is Love

God does not love, God IS love, He IS Agape love. Agape love is a selfless, self-sacrificing, self-denying love. Agape love puts the needs and concerns of the object of that love before our own needs and desires. Agape love is to love a person even if they do not deserve that love. Agape love is to love a someone who is unworthy of your love because of the actions toward you. Agape love is to love that undeserving, unworthy person through your own sacrificial actions.

Romans 5:8-10 (NIV)

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

WHY did God make us alive in Christ, because God’s nature is not our nature. God IS Mercy. God IS Love. God saw our need in our death, and met that need in Christ.

2. WHEN – When Did God make us alive?

The DECISION to have mercy on mankind was a decision that was made in eternity past. Before the foundation of the World the Lord formed His plan of redemption of mankind. Our sin did not, and does not catch Him off guard. God did not have to establish a rescue plan when He was surprised by the actions of man in the Garden. His plan of redemption was already established.

But, the implementation of that eternal plan took place in our lives at the moment of salvation. When we accepted God’s call to redemption, when our sin was made aware to us and our need for a savior became a reality, the life of Christ was instantaneously transferred to our account.

3. HOW – How did God make us alive?

We will dive into this a little more in a minute, but the shortest answer is “substitutionary atonement.” The cost of our sin is death, eternal separation from the father. That cost must be paid, it is required, our sins must be atoned for, they must be paid for. In substitutionary atonement, someone else, a substitute, stands in place of the guilty party to atone for their sin. Our substitute is Jesus Christ Himself. He is both the judge and the justifier. He has both issued the sentence, and paid the punishment. It is fully His work; we are saved by HIS grace.

II. He Raised up in Christ (vs 6)

Ephesians 2:6

6 Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens,

The work of God’s mercy is to raise us up in Christ. This raising is TOGETHER with Christ. How does this happen? What does it mean that Christ was raised up, and that we were raised up with Him?

1. Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life. God the Father wanted to save mankind, but as has already been mentioned, mankind had a problem, we were dead in our sins. We had already sinned and been separated from God. Righteousness and perfection, in which we were created, had already been lost.

The only solution was that if a man could live a sinless and ideal life, that man could secure the perfection and righteousness required. That man could then stand in the place of and cover all of those who would believe in him.

This exactly what Jesus did. He came to the earth as a man, in the likeness of man, and was obedient to the will of the Father, even to the point of His death on the cross. He lived a perfect, sinless life; never breaking the law of God or going against the will of God. By doing so, He secured perfect and complete righteousness.

Because He was a perfect, and sinless man, He did not deserve to pay the penalty of death due a sinful man. He had not been spiritually separated from the Father and deserved to live eternally with God in His perfection.

2. Jesus’ death was not account of His own sin (He didn’t have any), but on the account of sinful mankind.

We go back to our problem. God wanted to save mankind, but mankind had ALREADY sinned and separated themselves from God. Because the sinned had already been committed, so to had the penalty of death already been pronounced and enacted. Man HAD to die.

The solution was, IF the perfect and righteous man would willingly bear the punishment, pay the price He did not owe, that perfect man could then stand in the place of all who would believe in Him, all who would trust HIS death as a replacement for their own. That’s exactly what Jesus did.

3. The resurrection of Jesus can also stand for all who will believe in and trust on Him.

How does God raise up the believer with Christ? Through belief, trust, faith. When a person truly believes in the finished work of Jesus, God counts that belief as their righteousness. You are then identified with Christ; IN Christ. His death is your death. His resurrection is your resurrection. His sinless righteousness is your sinless righteousness. Therefore, we are risen TOGETHER with Christ.

Genesis 15:6

6 Then he (Abram) believed in the Lord; and He credited it to him as righteousness.

Romans 3:23-24

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,

Galatians 2:16

16 nevertheless, knowing that a person is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law; since by works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

III. God has made us sit in heavenly places (vs 6)

The believer is IN Christ. Christ is IN the heavenly realm. Therefore, the believer is positionally IN the heavenly realm with Christ. We have two addresses, dual citizenship. One on earth, one in heaven.

This exaltation, this resurrection is an accomplished task. “We HAVE BEEN raised up in Christ.”

Because we are raised with Christ, we are expected to put our minds on things that are above. Our focus is to be on our citizenship which is in heaven an on things of heaven.

IV. God’s purpose in salvation is to show the riches of His grace in the ages to come.

Ephesians 2:7

7 so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The work of God’s mercy in the salvation of the sinner is for one single purpose: so that the riches of His amazing grace throughout the ages to come may be known. He demonstrated that Grace through the person of Jesus Christ.

Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, God has accomplished such great things, that it will takes AGES for that to be truly known. The word translated ages, literally means in “ages that are roll in one upon another.” God will be eternally glorified for His grace and mercy. All of creation will stand in amazement at God’s wondrous mercy shown to man in Christ Jesus.