But God

Introduction

One of our values as as church is that we would be a churched marked by both beauty and brokenness

We define that as:

Beauty and Brokenness: We are able to celebrate the beautiful and mourn the brokenness that exists in both our own hearts and in the world around us as we eagerly await Christ returning to make all things new. “It will not be so in the Mended Wood.” While we long for that day, we courageously and humbly enter into the hard moments of relationships honoring the dignity of those made in the image of God because we believe the grace of God is sufficient to bring healing and to foster reconciliation and restoration.

Recognizing the tension between those two can be difficult and challenging

We like the idea of the beautiful

God made the world good

He made each person in his image and called them “very good”

We see reflections of that beauty in

Art that stirs the soul

That athletic play that saves the game where we are amazed at the athleticism and grace of the movement

A good song that captures the deepest longings we didn’t know how to put words to

A powerful waterfall flowing into a garden

And so much more

But the idea of the broken is so much harder

Because it recognizes that not only is the world around us broken

And we see evidence of that everywhere

From the terrible cancer diagnosis

To the child injured

To case of abuse

And so much more

But it also requires, if we are honest, recognizing that we too are broken

Because we have disobeyed God’s law and sinned

We are broken

Our relationships with one another are broken

Our actions and the way we think are broken

Transition

And it is with that frank, honest depiction of the human condition that our text today begins

Let’s turn to Ephesians 2:1-10

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10

Ephesians 2:1–10 ESV

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

Illustration: African rat story

Start off with a story - good pastor story

that is to say, who knows if it is true or not, but it makes a good point, so go with it!

Children find dog on beach, ask to keep

They do, play with dog, dress it up, put bow in hair

Dog has no problem with kids, but keeps attacking family cat

Take to Vet to find out why, he tells them it is not a dog, but an African rat

Transition

No matter how much they dressed up like a dog, fed it dog food, played with it like a dog…

It was still a rat

No matter how much we try and dress something up, it is what it is

Our text today starts with a very frank picture of the human condition

No matter how much we dress it up, it’s still an ugly picture

You were…

Ephesians 2:1–3 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 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— 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.”

Look at the way it describes us

Dead: our status before God (2:1)

Disobedient: did wrong things (2:2)

Depraved: wanted wrong thing (2:3)

Doomed: condemned to judgment before a holy God (2:3)

Our Status: Dead in our sin

Not sick, not infirmed, not having a bad day

Dead

Ask a question: What can dead people do?

Besides maybe voting in Chicago and collecting Social Security, NOTHING!

Dead people can’t do anything

Even more than a status of dead, the passage defines our identity: Children of wrath

not only had we done wrong things, but this is who we were, our very identity

The Message

It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us.

Did you hear that descriptive language?

we let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell us how to live

we inhaled polluted unbelief, then exhaled obedience

we all did it - whatever we wanted whenever we wanted

we’re all stuck in this together - we’re in the same boat

And then that provocative statement:

it’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us

could God have done that?

sure, he did once before, right?

Remember that whole story about Noah...

Transition: Sixth Sense

Dialogue

“I want to tell you my secret now… I see dead people.”

“In your dreams? In graves?”

“Walking around like regular people. They don’t see each other. They only see what they want to see. They don’t know they’re dead.”

“How often do you see them?”

“All the time. They’re everywhere.”

This is the state of our world: A bunch of dead people walking around that don’t even know they are dead.

But the text is clear:

the status is dead

the identity is children of wrath

“But God…”

Then comes my favorite two words in all the Bible

Verse 4: But God

In the midst of that horrific description of the human condition - of us - “But God…”

Sidebar on word “But”

Anytime (not just in the Bible) we hear the word “but” our tendency is to forget everything we heard before it, or at least sets the connotation for understanding it

“You did a great job on that project, but…”

What’s the only thing the person is going to remember? What follows that, the critique

Everything changes when we hear the word “but” in a comment

Everything changes with those words, “But God…”

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love for us…” (2:4)

We read that same phrase, “But God…” one other time in the Bible

Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

So here is what “But God" means for us:

Jesus left the glory of heaven to become a man

He lived a perfect life

And then…

He was beaten, spit upon, flogged, crown with thorns, crucified and speared…

But God…

Everything changes

You were:

Status: dead

Identity: children of wrath

But God…

Now we can look at what we are because of those two words, “But God…”

You are…

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

A new status: alive in Christ

Look at the way it describes this new status

Instead of disobedient, depraved and doomed, we are…

Recipients of his immeasurable grace expressed in his kindness

Isn’t that beautiful?

Offered forgiveness and salvation

Seated with Christ in the heavenly realms

Given not only the gift of grace, but the gift of faith

None of this is because we deserved it, but only because of “But God…”

A new identity: God’s workmanship

Greek word there is “poema” - the word we get our English word poem

We were children of wrath, but now? God’s poem

We are his poem, his masterpiece, his precious work of art

Created to do good works

Let’s go back to the question I asked earlier in the message

What can dead people do? Nothing

But in Christ, we aren’t dead anymore. We’re not under his wrath anymore.

We are alive. We are his masterpieces. And now we have a purpose.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God has a beautiful plan for you life - he has already laid out incredible things for you, now alive in Christ, to do

Conclusion

Those two words, “But God” change everything

Maybe sitting here today thinking you’re not sure that Jesus has ever made you alive

Even that thought is the gift of faith that God is giving you, inviting you to receive it

And to be made alive today

Maybe you are wondering if you really are God’s masterpiece

You don’t feel like a poem, you feel like a broken record

You don’t see yourself as a work of art, you see the smudges and stains

You are acutely aware of how broken you are, how badly you have been hurt or how wrong some of your decisions are and you wonder if anyone could ever think you are a beautiful work of art

Invite you today to soak in the truth of our passage

Christ has made you alive

He has made you unique and special, his masterpiece

He has promised you eternity with him, receiving his immeasurable kindness

Maybe you know you are alive

Today I want to invite you to ask God one question: What good works has he prepared for you?

You were dead. You were a child of wrath. Now you are alive. Now you are his workmanship.

Praise God for those two words, my favorite two words in the Bible, “But God…”

Pray