Ephesians 2:1-11

OPEN

Do you have a favorite poem or lyrics from a song? Could you share a few lines of it?

Or, is there some work of art you enjoy? A painting, sculpture, play, film, video, etc.?

What do you enjoy most about that work of art?

How do you think the artist/poet/maker felt about making it? 

READ

Read: Ephesians 2: 1–10

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.

WATCH

Show Session 3: Ephesians 2:1–10 (11 minutes).

DISCUSS

Early in the video J.D. Greear talked about two “deeply ingrained myths our culture believes about evil:”

1. The main problem in the world is other people.

2. Deep down, we’re really not that bad.

In what ways does our culture propagate the ideas J.D. mentioned? Do you know people who hold those beliefs?

Biblically speaking, what’s wrong with the ideas that our problem is people, or that all people are really good?

How does Ephesians 2 speak to those beliefs?

Take a moment and read through verses 1–3. (Leader: You could also read it aloud, slowly.)

In verse 1, we read, “You were dead in transgressions and sins.” What does that mean?

How does that make you feel?

What’s “wrath”? Why would we be “deserving of wrath”?

Simply put, “wrath” refers to God’s righteous anger. In this case, it’s directed at human sin. We know God is loving and forgiving, but He is also holy, and sin is a rebellion against Him.

There’s a distinction here between “us” and “them.” Do you see it? What’s the difference?

Paul was talking about “you”—the Ephesians—but suddenly he includes himself and it becomes “we” and “all of us.” Notice that the past tense is used here for this group of people (and we can include ourselves in that group). We were dead in sin. We used to live in those sins. We lived among them at one time.

There’s a story of past and present here. The human race has been dead in sin, and we’ve been dead too. But, for us, that’s in the past now. Our story is different now, and we’ll see it in the next few verses. 

GO DEEPER

Learn more about “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” in the following verses:

Job 1:6–12; ;

Job 1:6–12 ESV

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Matthew 4:1–11 ESV

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

1 Peter 5:8–9 ESV

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

The references to the “ruler of the kingdom of the air” and the “spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” both refer to the same being—the one elsewhere known as the tempter, the devil, the enemy, Satan, etc. The “kingdom of the air” is based on an ancient way of looking at the universe: the earth and heaven and the air in between. The devil is nowhere set up as being equal with God, but he has power that can cause havoc among humans.

How do the passages listed above reflect Satan’s status as ruler of the air?

In Matthew 4, how did Jesus withstand the devil’s temptations?

How does that compare with what we’re asked to do in 1 Peter 5?

J.D. describes the “but” in verse 4 as “the largest conjunction ever uttered.” Why? What’s so important about it?

Verse 4 turns the corner from death to life. We were dead. We were sinners. What changed? What do verses 4–5 tell us?

According to verses 4–7, what has God done for us? 

Leader: Consider writing these on a board up front as they list them. 

Loved us

Made us alive

Saved

Raised us up

Seated us with him in heavenly realms • Will show His grace

Shows kindness

What is mercy? Is that different from grace?

Grace is always associated with giving; mercy is associated with help. In the context of Ephesians 2, you might think of mercy as God not giving us the punishment we deserve and grace as God giving us the blessings we don’t deserve. 

GO DEEPER

John 1:14–17 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1–2 ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

2 Timothy 1:9–10 ESV

9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

Hebrews 4:14–16 ESV

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Grace was a major theme of the apostle Paul, as we see in his epistles to the Romans, Corinthians, Timothy, and others (including the Ephesians).

How do the passages in John 1 and Hebrews 4, which Paul didn’t write, compare to the passages he did write? Does grace mean the same thing there?

What is the relationship between grace and faith (as we see in Romans 5 and Ephesians 2)?

Why is there so much emphasis on grace coming “not because of anything we have done” (2 Timothy 1:9; Ephesians 2:9)? 

Leader: Read Ephesians 2:8–10 for the group, slowly. You might prepare a board up front with the words Past, Present, and Future. 

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

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.

There’s a lot going on in these verses. It’s helpful to think of the content with a timeline.

What has happened in the past, what’s going on now, and what can we expect to happen in the future?

The chart may look something like this: Answers on next slides.

PAST

You have been saved by grace through faith.

You have been created and prepared to do good works.

PRESENT

Faith continuing?

No boasting.

FUTURE

Good works that we do.

Why is the timing of each thing Paul described important? Why do we need to know that our good works come after our salvation and not before it?

Many people have the idea that we have to earn our salvation by doing good things. This passage makes it clear that we can never do that. We’re spiritually dead. Salvation is a gift. And then, once we’re welcomed into a relationship of God’s grace and our faith, we are empowered to do the good things God designed us to do. Good works are good, but they’re the result of our salvation, not the path to it.

As J.D. mentioned, the Greek word for handiwork—some translations have “workmanship” or “masterpiece”—is poiema. We get the word poem from it. It refers to something that God in His divine power is carefully crafting.