Ephesians 2:1-10 | In Christ Alone

Graduation Sunday: Senior recognition

Call High School and College Graduates to come up to the stage

“State your name and plans after graduating”

Pray for them

Read Passage

Ephesians 2:1–10 “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.”

New sermon series: But God (based on Article 5: The Work of Christ)

Graduation is by works. Salvation is by grace—through faith—in Christ alone. And that is what makes this passage one of the most beautiful in all of Scripture.

During the month of May, across the country, graduates are walking across stages to receive diplomas they’ve earned based on their work. Graduation is a celebration of achievement. You did it. You made it. You earned it.

But salvation is not like graduation.

Paul says in Ephesians 2 that when it comes to our standing before God, we haven’t earned anything but judgment. We weren’t high achievers—we were spiritually dead. Not summa cum laude (with highest praise), but ‘sons of disobedience.’ Not full of achievements, but ‘children of wrath.’

And yet—God stepped in.

God didn’t call us up to the stage to give us what we deserve, He poured out His mercy. Why? Because of His great love. Because of His rich mercy. Because of His amazing grace through Christ and Christ alone.

1. Humans Are Sinners by Nature and by Choice

The first step towards fixing a problem: admit you have one.

Humanity’s # 1 problem?

According to the internet:

War and military conflict

Acces to clean water

Access to food

Human rights violation

Humanity’s # problem according to the Bible?

The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. Humanity’s #1 problem : our total being is totally corrupted to the core by sin.

Paul uses strong language in Ephesians 2.

Dead in the trespasses and sins. This speaks of total corruption and our inability to love God. We are not sinners just because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.

You. The language is plural (you all). Not, “some of you.” All of you, outside of Christ, are dead in your sins and trespasses.

To be dead in sins and trespasses is to be in slavery:

Following the course of this world

Following the devil

Carrying out the desires of the sinful nature

The word follow (2x) in English it doesn’t convey the strength of the Greek word (kata). In context, the word can be translated as “being under the controlling influence” of the world and the devil.

Paul’s word picture is not pretty: there you are, dead in your sin like a helpless dead body unable to do anything because you are completely controlled. Controlled by what? Three things:

Controlled and enslaved by the ways of the world

Controlled and enslaved by the devil

Controlled and enslaved to the sinful nature (lit. the flesh)

What does it mean to be controlled by the world, the devil and the flesh? In one simple phrase, “controlled by sin.”

In v.3 Paul describes those who are not in Christ as people who embrace a lifestyle of giving in to the desires of the sinful nature (lit. the flesh)

The flesh is the fallen disposition of the heart towards sin and rebellion. In other words, the flesh is about “living for myself” (2 Co 5:15)

Okay, but what about the world and what about the devil?

What makes the devil the devil? 1 Timothy 3:6 Paul speaks of the temptation of becoming puffed up with conceit and then fall into the condemnation of the devil.

Isaiah 14:13 “13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;”

What makes the devil the devil? Pride, conceit, self-centeredness

He set ups a system called the world which basically says “Live for yourself!” “It’s all about you.” “Follow your heart.” “Do it your way!” Or more Biblically put, the rally cry of the devil and the world is “Why live for God when you can become your own god.” (Gen. 3:5; Is 14:14)

The world, the devil and our sinful nature embrace the same worldview: “live for yourself!”

Humanity’s #1 problem : our total being is totally corrupted to the core by sin.

“What does that mean? Think of it like this. To be a sinner, according to the Bible, is to have a little computer in the very center of your heart, and it never stops. It goes on and on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and do you know what it’s doing? It’s analyzing everything. It’s viewing everything. It’s seeing everything, every person, every object, every interchange, every event, every setting, and it’s basically saying, “What’s in it for me?” Everything is being analyzed with regard to how it benefits your happiness, your glory, your power, your reputation, your comfort, your control of things.” (Tim Keller)

Self-centeredness makes people do wicked immoral things.

But self-centered makes people do good moral things because our we try to prove to the world how good we are. It’s all about you. You are living for yourself. You are living for your glory. That’s what religion is all about: me earning God’s grace through my good behavior.

Everybody needs a savior: Drug addicts and prostitutes. Hard working, moral, church going people. Everybody needs a savior because we are all dead in our sin. We are sinners by nature and by choice.

Paul closes v.3 with some sad news. Outside of Christ, humans are “by nature children of wrath.” Here’s why…

2. God is Holy and Infinitely Perfect

God is holy, righteous, and loving. Those are beautiful, wonderful attributes — but they present a problem. Because as we’ve already established, we are sinful — not just by actions, but by nature. And that means if God is going to deal with us according to His justice, then we’re in a very predictable dilemma: He would have to destroy us.

Here’s why: God’s holiness, righteousness and love CANNOT TOLERATE SIN. God’s wrath intensely hates all sin and all those who practice sin because it is a violation of God’s own standard of what is right. This concept is essential in our understanding of the cross.

Paul says it bluntly in Ephesians 2 — “we were by nature children of wrath.” This is not a minor issue. This is our condition apart from Christ. And I know — we don’t like to talk about the wrath of God. We’d rather focus on His love and mercy. But please hear me: You cannot truly appreciate the love and mercy of God if you don’t understand His holiness and His wrath against sin.

Now, I know there’s a common phrase out there — “love the sinner, hate the sin.” And I understand what people are trying to say. But that phrase doesn’t fully capture the weight of how the Bible talks about sin.

Psalm 5:4–6 “4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. 5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. 6 You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.”

Psalm 14:1–3 “1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”

We sin because we are sinners. It’s our nature. It’s in our DNA. We are rebels at heart.

Nahum 1:2–3 “2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. 3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.”

And this is not just an Old Testament idea. Paul, the same apostle who wrote about grace, also wrote extensively about the wrath of God. In Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” (c.f. Ro 2:5,8)

The wrath of God is a serious, relevant reality. This isn’t about God being angry for no reason — It is the righteous response of a holy God against evil.

And listen — God’s wrath is not random. It’s not cruel. It’s not some angry deity flying off the handle. No. It is the response of a God who is infinitely holy, just, and loving — who cannot overlook sin. A God who must punish sin and evil. That’s us. We’ve broken His commands. We’ve turned our backs. We’ve said, whether with our words or simply in our hearts, “I don’t want You to rule me. I want to do life my way.”

And if God were to just shrug and say, “No big deal,” then He would no longer be good. He would no longer be righteous. He would no longer be loving. He would no longer be worthy of worship.

That’s our predicament. That’s humanity’s condition. And if the passage in Ephesians ended at verse 3 — “children of wrath” — then we would get exactly what we deserve. God’s justice. And none of us could complain. Outside of God’s intervention we are hopeless.

The best words you’ll ever hear: BUT GOD!

3. God Redeems a People for Himself, for His Own Glory

“But God…” — two simple words that change everything.

We were dead in sin. We were alienated. We were under God’s wrath. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, made us alive with Christ. Those two words — But God — are the heart of the Gospel. They are the turning point of the gospel story.

[The phrase] “But God” appears time and again at many crucial junctures in Scripture. It is the perfect phrase for highlighting the grace of God against the dark backdrop of human sin.

To the left of “But God” in Scripture appear some of the worst human atrocities, characterized by rebellion. O the left of “But God” is hopelessness, darkness, and death. But to the right, following “But God,” readers of Scripture will find hope, light, and life.

“But God” marks God’s relentless, merciful interventions in human history. It teaches us that God does not wait for us to bring ourselves to him, but that he acts first to bring about our good. It also teaches us of the potential consequences if God were not to act. Scripture shows over and over that without God’s intervening grace, without the “But God” statements in the Bible, the world would be completely lost in sin and under judgment.” Casey Lute, But God: The Two Words at the Heart of the Gospel

What’s happening here in Ephesians 21 is stunning. God is not obligated to save anyone. He could have left us in our rebellion and remained perfectly just. But instead, He chooses to rescue — and how He rescues us is nothing short of unbelievable.

This is why the message today is titled Christ Alone. Because it is only through the finished work of Christ —His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation. Period.

It is only through Christ that we can go from being enemies of God under wrath to being fully adopted sons and daughters who now have access, relationship, and peace. It is by grace — not works, not effort, not performance. Paul says it: “By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”

And because of Christ’s work, three powerful things happen in this passage. Paul outlines three astounding realities that become true for us through Christ:

Alive with Christ

Raised with Christ

Seated with Christ

Every single one of those actions is God’s doing. Not ours. He doesn’t meet us halfway. He comes all the way to the grave and breathes life into dead sinners. Why?

Verse 7 tells us: “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Main idea: I was once dead, but now I’m alive—all because of Christ, and Christ alone.

Let Jesus and his finished work through his death and resurrection be your only boasting.

Conclusion: Communion Graphic