Created for Good Works

Ephesians 2:1–10 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. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

1. Our human condition separates us from God. (vs. 1-3)

Because of the effects of sin, we have been separated from God. We are born in God's image, but we do not have a deep, abiding connection to him. (We talked a little about this last week.) Paul says that we are “dead” in our sin, meaning we are alienated from God. There is a deep divide between us.

‌Paul describes what this means for us in three ways. First, those separated from God follow the “course of the world.” This means that they conduct their lives under the control of the evil ways of this world. Second, they are “following the prince of the power of the air.” This moves us to the cosmic powers. Satan is working to lead people further away from God through whatever means necessary within culture and society. Finally, a satanic spirit works in those who are separate from God to be disobedient to his will. Those who are in sin prefer to reject God and live a life of sin.

‌Paul then reminds us that we were in the same boat. Sinful desires once controlled us. We sought to gratify the passions of the flesh. Our minds and thoughts were corrupted by sin. He says in Colossians 1:21, “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.” At one time, our condition was no different from those outside of Christ. We were deserving of wrath like everyone else.

‌Without Christ, our sin makes us enemies of God. All sinful human beings will face the wrath of God. God, above all, is holy. There are two interdependent attributes of God’s holiness - his justice and love. He says, “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.” At one time, our condition was no different than those outside of Christ. We were deserving of wrath like everyone else. His justice demands that sin is destroyed, but his love led him to give his Son as the atoning sacrifice for those sins. This leads us to our second point.

2. Christ is God’s remedy to our condition. (vs. 4-7)

It is God’s desire for us to be in a relationship with him. Going back to Eden, when God would walk with Adam in the cool of the evening, God wanted to be intimately involved in our lives. He created us in his image so we could continue his creative work and be stewards of the created order. He created man and woman to be vice-regents of the world. But sin separated us, as we have already spoken about. Yet, in God’s mercy, he has made a way for us to be in this same kind of relationship with him. Satan has attempted to corrupt that desire in us to be with God, but in Christ, God sets all of it right as it should be.

‌God is a God who abounds in love and faithfulness. He has mercy on us. We all deserve God’s wrath, but through Christ, God has made a way for us to be holy as he is holy. The result of God’s mercy and love is that we have been made alive with Christ. Even when we were dead in our trespasses and alienated from God, we have been raised with Christ to new life by grace. Paul says earlier in his opening prayer in Ephesians 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” This passage reminds the Ephesians and us that we do not deserve mercy based on what we do. We deserve mercy because of God’s mercy and love for us alone.

‌Paul goes beyond just our justification by grace in restoring our relationship with God. He says we have also been raised and seated with him in the heavenly places with Jesus Christ. This is a restoration of our pre-fall status as vice regents with Christ. It means that we already participate in Christ’s enthronement at the Father's right hand. We are seated with him and share in his victory. Our final glory has already begun but has not been fully realized. The demonic powers that once consumed us no longer have any reign over us. Their ruler has been deposed in the lives of us who know Christ, and we live in victory over sin and the power of sin.

‌This is to show the “immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Paul uses a similar phrase earlier in his prayer for the Ephesians in 1:18-20. We receive an inheritance in the power at work when Christ was raised from the dead and seated in the heavenly places. All of this is done by God’s grace and lovingkindness toward us. Again, this is not because of what we have done but what God has done on our behalf in Jesus. This grace is unceasing and will last throughout all eternity.

3. The results of salvation is good works. (vs. 8-10)

James 2:17 ESV

17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.