The Gospel According to Paul

The Gospel According to Paul - Ephesians 2:1-10 April 21, 2024 Many of you know this, but I grew up and spent most of my life in the Los Angeles area - please don't hold that against me - and one of the widely known things about LA is the traffic. I used to commute about 35 miles one way every day for work, which sometimes took 1.5-2 hours on any given day. After Natalie and I got married, we moved within 10 miles from my job, and the commute was wonderful. The passage we're going to discuss today - Ephesians 2:1-10 - reminded me of that commute. this morning. Why? Because sometimes you need to look in the past to enjoy what you have now. What we'll also see today is what we get to look forward to. Paul continues his letter to the Ephesians by bringing us back to the Gospel. Who we were. Where we are. And where we're headed. All in Christ. What he says, however, may be a bit alarming - at least at first. Let's read the passage to see how Paul presents this Good News. 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. Here's the main idea that I want to highlight from this passage: We were made alive by God's grace. Allow me to explain with three questions that Paul discusses in this passage. The first question is: WHO WERE WE BEFORE CHRIST? (vv.1-3) * Before we answer this question directly, let's seek to understand the reason for this question. * A few moments ago, I mentioned that sometimes we need to remember where we were to enjoy where we are and where we are headed. * Paul reminds the Ephesians where they were before they were saved. * First, Paul says to the Ephesians, and now to anyone who is saved by grace: o You were dead. * Obviously, Paul is not speaking of a physical death, he's speaking of a spiritual death. * In the Bible, "dead" could me "separated." In this case it would refer to us being separated from God. * What's striking about this passage, is that it reveals (in verse 3) that we, by nature, are in this state, until Christ makes us alive. * This is because of what we read in Romans 5:12, where Paul says: 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 * In other words, because of the sin of Adam, we were all born into sin * Furthermore, Paul reveals the source of this death - our trespasses and sins. * Pastor and commentator David Guzik states that: the idea behind the word trespasses is that we have crossed a line, challenging God's boundaries. The idea behind the word sins is that we have missed a mark, the perfect standards of God. * The general idea is that one who is "dead" will not respond to the physical, and therefore the one who is spiritually dead will not respond to anything that is spiritual. * First, Paul says we were dead, next, he says ... o You were enslaved. * Enslaved to what? * We'll get there momentarily, but first, notice in the latter part of verse 2, we see that there are three negative influences that the "dead" person is controlled by: * The world o Romans 12:2 warns about this as well, to not be conformed to this world. o It speaks of the influence the culture has over the "dead" o By nature - as we alluded to earlier - it is against God. o Then, the sinner is influenced by ... * The Prince of this world o The wording that Paul uses here is a bit different, but there is no doubt that he's addressing the same "Prince" that he speaks of in 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Jesus speaks of in John 12:31. That Prince, of course, is Satan. o Then finally, we're enslaved to ... * The flesh o Once again, we're not speaking of the literal flesh here, rather the natural desires that we have. o These three are all related, as the Apostle John points out in 1 John 2:16, where he says: FOR ALL THAT IS IN THE WORLD-THE DESIRES OF THE FLESH AND THE DESIRES OF THE EYES AND PRIDE OF LIFE-IS NOT FROM THE FATHER BUT IS FROM THE WORLD. o Once again, Paul makes it very clear that this is who we are - by nature. o I read this story this past week in my studies that illustrates this perfectly: An evangelist ... once announced as his topic, "Why Your Dog Does What It Does," and, of course, many dog lovers came out to hear him. What he had to say was obvious, but too often overlooked: "A dog behaves like a dog because he has a dog's nature." If somehow you could transplant into the dog the nature of the cat, his behavior would change radically. Why does a sinner behave like a sinner? Because he has the nature of a sinner (Ps. 51:5; 58:3). This sinful nature the Bible calls "the flesh." * So, in short, who we were can be summed up in one word: disobedient. * That does lead us to the second question - and arguably, the most important question: WHAT DID GOD DO? (vv. 4-5, 8-9) * This is really the meat of the passage this morning. * This is Paul's Gospel. * It begins in verse 4 with the most powerful declaration: "BUT GOD" * There, we see what God did, and why God did it. First: o God showed us mercy. * I love how Paul words this. * God's mercy is described as "rich" * This means that He has much to give, and He won't hold it back from us. * Mercy points to the compassion and kindness of God. In this case, by His mercy, He forgives us of our sins. But, why? Because ... o God loved us. * Again, notice how Paul describes His love. * He adds the word "great" to qualify this love. * A bit cliché, isn't it? But we see this throughout the Scriptures. Look at the most well-known verse of the bible, for example: John 3:16 tells us, FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. * What's wonderful about God's love for us is that it has nothing to do with what we've done. Verse 5 tells us that He made alive in Christ when we were dead in our trespasses. * So, God made us alive, motivated by love, by grace through faith. * Which means ... o God gifted us with faith. * I used the term gifted here to illustrate the idea of grace, and how faith fits. * Of course, Paul doesn't stop at grace, rather he expands the idea in the same way as the prior two, immeasurable riches. * It sort of reminds me of when Jesus fed the 5,000. Once the people ate, they were full and there was an abundance of food left over. * God's mercy, love and grace is immeasurable. * Here is how commentator John RW Stott defined grace and faith: "grace is God's free and undeserved mercy towards us, and faith is the humble trust with which we receive it for ourselves." * Verses 8-9 are very well known, and rightfully so. Notice what Paul emphasizes though. * In verse 8: THIS IS NOT YOUR OWN DOING * In verse 9: NOT A RESULT OF WORKS * This is what separates Christianity from other "religions" * Religion tells you that you can achieve salvation through works, while Christianity tells you that you cannot. * Which means that the Christian can only come to faith by understanding this truth. Understanding that they are the person described in verses 1-3, that they are undeserving of salvation as described here in verses 4-5 and 8-9, and that faith is a gift from God, made possible only in Christ. * This is the Gospel, according to Paul. * So, this begs the question ... why? WHY DID GOD DO IT? (vv. 6-7, 10) * We saw earlier that love was a factor, but we also see more in this passage. * Verse 6 tells us that one of the reasons for faith is so that we may ... o Be united with Christ * You see, our physical position is here on earth, but our spiritual position is with Christ in the heavenly places. * Recall that Jesus preached on the Kingdom of God, reminding us that there is a present aspect of the Kingdom as well as a future aspect. * Verses 6-7 reminds us that our rightful position in Christ is with Christ, as fellow heirs as adopted sons of God. * This means that there is a change from who we were back in verses 1-3, to who we are now, because in Christ there is no darkness. * This isn't the first time Paul speaks about this. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul reminds the Corinthian churches of their past, but I love how he closes that section. Verse 11 reads: AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU. BUT YOU WERE WASHED, YOU WERE SANCTIFIED, YOU WERE JUSTIFIED IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND BY THE SPIRIT OF OUR GOD. * About fifteen times, in the book so far, we see a variation of the phrase "in Christ," which emphasizes how we are changed, and where we belong. * This means that the Lord wants us to ... o Identify with Christ. * In a world that is obsessed with how we identify, God is obsessed with Whom we identify. * Identifying with Christ means that we are one with Him. * Paul encourages us in 1 Corinthians 2:16 and Philippians 2:5 to have the mind of Christ, which means that we put aside our selfish desires, to be full of mercy, love and even extending grace to others. * Identifying with Christ means that He has top priority in your life. * Many of us are faced with the question "what do you do" when we meet someone for the first time. Why? Because many of us identify with our vocation or profession. * Paul says here, identify with Christ. Let Him be your identity. He paid the price for us, didn't He? * This is of no surprise, as I mentioned last week that a significant theme in this letter is unity in Christ, which drives our unity as a Church. * Individually that means that the Lord wants us to ... o Experience God's grace and kindness. * It's those spiritual blessings that we saw in chapter one. * God desires this for us. * This is an invitation for all to come and experience Him. To know Him. * Psalm 34:8 says this: OH, TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD! BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO TAKES REFUGE IN HIM! * Just prior to this verse in the Psalm, David began with praising the Lord, then seeking the Lord. * When we do this, we are able to see what He wants for us. * And, as we saw last week, that is through reading His Word, through prayer, and in fellowship with others. * But what does all of this mean for us? * Well, verse 10 tells us that ... o We are created for good works. * Wait a minute? * Didn't you say earlier that good works doesn't have to do with our salvation? * Of course I did, and I'm not saying anything different here. * Notice the difference in verse 9 and verse 10. * Verse 9 tells us that faith is not a result of works, while * ... verse 10 tells us that good works is a result of our salvation. * See the difference? * Good works is a consequence of our salvation. * It's a product of our salvation. * James, the Lord's "brother" put it this way (James 2:15-16): 15 IF A BROTHER OR SISTER IS POORLY CLOTHED AND LACKING IN DAILY FOOD, 16 AND ONE OF YOU SAYS TO THEM, "GO IN PEACE, BE WARMED AND FILLED," WITHOUT GIVING THEM THE THINGS NEEDED FOR THE BODY, WHAT GOOD IS THAT? * It's no different today when someone says "I'll pray for you" and doesn't pray. * The idea that God created us for good works is the idea behind the term "WORKMANSHIP" at the beginning of verse 10. That term could be translated "masterpiece," as it is written in the New Living Translation, and what it implies that we were not merely created for display, but rather for action. * But just like any masterpiece, it takes time to perfect. * I learned earlier this week that the final version of the famed "Mona Lisa" took several years to complete, and careful inspection indicates that several layers of paint was added along the way. We learned this morning that: We were made alive by God's grace. This morning, we were reminded of the purpose of the Gospel. Tim Keller put it this way: The gospel is not just the 'A-B-C' but the 'A-Z' of the Christian life. The gospel is not just the way to enter the kingdom, but it is the way to address every problem and the way to grow at every step. It tells us that we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved than we ever dared hope - at the same time. Because of who we were, we were dead. But because of who God is, we - in Christ - are made alive. Because of God's grace, we can be united with Christ, we can identify with Christ, we can experience God's grace and kindness working in our lives, and we can love others and serve God through good works. One final thought as I close. Have you been made alive by God's grace? Let's pray.