Dead in Sin and in Need of Jesus (Ephesians 2:1–3)

Introduction

Someone asked me earlier this week what I was preaching on today. I told this person that I was preaching on sin. Now, every sermon should talk about sin, because every sermon should point to the gospel. But Ephesians 2:1-3 gives us some cold, hard facts about who we are without Jesus.

When I was in the police department, there were three letters you didn't want to have to say over the radio, because if you did, it was going to be a long day. Those three letters were "DOA." That stands for "Dead on arrival."

Working for seven years in the NYPD, I had the unfortunate experience of having to say DOA on the radio numerous times. One thing was the same with all of them. They didn't move.

Because if they had moved, it would have spooked me out.

As we get into the Scripture today, Paul is going to describe our human condition in stark detail. He's going to tell us that, spiritually, by our nature, we are people who are DOA. Dead on arrival.

How bad is our spiritual condition without Jesus? We're going to take a look at that today in three verses, Ephesians 2:1-3.

Scripture Reading

Ephesians 2:1–3 CSB

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.

Pray

Paul is describing to us the depravity of the human condition. We are doing verses 1-3 this week because of the depth of the description of who we are as humans without God. However, looking at verses 1-3 is like looking at part of a thought. In the original Greek of the New Testament, verses 1-7 are one long sentence. Everything in verses 1-3 leads us up to "But God" in verse 4. Before we get there, the Bible asks us to take an honest, realistic reminder and look at who we are without God and why we need Jesus.

Ephesians 2:1-3 describes the human condition in three layers.

First, without Jesus, we are spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins.

Second, without Jesus, we are enslaved to disobedience under three influences: the world, the devil, and our flesh.

Third, without Jesus, we stand condemned under God's wrath, people destined to hell under God's eternal judgment.

The description of humanity in Ephesians 2:1-3 is a sobering look at the reality of our condition. Sometimes, speaking in love requires that we not sugarcoat the truth. God loves us enough to tell us just how desperate the situation is. Why is that? Because one must understand that the sickness they are dealing with is terminal. Only then do you know the immensity of your need for the only cure that can save you, faith in Jesus Christ.

How bad is our human condition? The first point that the Bible makes in Ephesians 2:1 is,

I. Without Jesus, we are dead in sin.

It says this in Ephesians 2:1,

Ephesians 2:1 CSB

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins

What does the Bible mean when it says that, without Jesus, you are "dead in your trespasses and sins"?

A. Death means spiritual inability.

Death is the spiritual condition of every human being who is living their life without Jesus Christ. A life without Christ is not a weak life or a sick life. It is a dead soul before God.

What's important to know is that dead people cannot move toward God. If you are dead, there is no getting up. You cannot fix yourself. You cannot cry for help. You cannot move an inch toward God, because without Jesus, there is no ability for life in you. Your dead soul cannot come to God without Jesus Christ because it has no life in it.

If you've ever taken a CPR class, you know that CPR can help save a life. If you act quickly enough, you can help someone whose breathing has stopped or whose heart has stopped beating. You do the breathing and the chest compressions, and you can revive someone who is on the brink of death.

But once a person has truly died, no amount of chest compressions or rescue breaths can bring them back. It doesn't matter if you have the best equipment in the world. Once someone has passed into death, death is final.

That's the picture the Bible wants to give us about our condition before God without Jesus Christ. There is no self-help good enough to revive a dead soul.

People love self-help. Did you know that the self-help book market in 2025 has a $14 billion value?(https://wordsrated.com/self-help-books-statistics) Today, there is more self-help than ever. You can buy books, listen to podcasts, watch online videos, go to workshops, and take online courses. There is no shortage of people trying to sell you on how to heal your soul.

What does that tell us? It says that our culture is addicted to trying to improve the status of our souls. But there is no way to revive a dead soul, because spiritual death does not need a lecture or a new idea. Death requires a resurrection to have new life. Colossians 2:13 tells us about our need for new life. It says,

Colossians 2:13 CSB

13 And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses.

In Jesus Christ, your soul is made alive, and God has forgiven your sins. Why is that important? Because,

B. Death is caused by sin.

The reason that death exists in the world, both physical and spiritual, is due to the presence of sin. Sin is the cause and the sphere of our death.

In Genesis 2:17, God warns Adam that on the day he disobeys God by eating the fruit from the forbidden tree in the garden, he would surely die. Romans 5:12 speaks to that by saying,

Romans 5:12 CSB

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.

Imagine a tree dying because it has poisoned roots. The poison is the cause of death. As the poison spreads through the soil, the tree exists in a sphere of death, effectively existing as a dead tree.

Like the poison that has killed the tree, sin causes and defines the environment of our spiritual death.

In our society, we continually see the power of sin to cause death. Whether you're talking about crimes, addictions, sexual diseases, or general corruption, sin shortens lives and destroys communities.

C. Death is the universal condition of humanity.

As Paul writes to the Ephesians, he says, "You were dead." Then, in verse 3, he includes himself in what he is describing to the Ephesians when he says, "We all." Romans 3:23 says,

Romans 3:23 CSB

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;

Every person living without Christ shares in the desperate condition of spiritual death. We are dead in sin and need Jesus. The death that people exist in apart from Christ is a state of enslavement. The second point that the Bible makes in Ephesians 2:1-3 is,

II. Without Jesus, we are enslaved in disobedience to God.

Ephesians 2:2-3 describes this by describing a way that we previously walked. It says,

Ephesians 2:2–3 CSB

2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.

If you notice in these verses, it lays out a three-fold paradigm of our disobedience. The world pressures us, the devil deceives us, and our flesh entices us. Without Christ, humanity is in bondage to the evil forces around us and within us. Apart from Christ, you are not free. You are in slavery to sin.

Without Christ, the first evidence of our bondage is being,

A. Enslaved to the world’s system

Paul says in Ephesians 2:2 that we "once walked according to the ways of this world." The way we "walked" refers to our lifestyle. It is the way we lived. The evidence of our proclivity to sin was shown by how we allow the world to pressure us into sin.

We follow the ways of this world when we do things because everyone else is doing it. You hear youth say this all the time. "Well Johnny was doing the same thing, and he didn't get in trouble."

Some time ago, social media challenges were going viral because everyone was doing it. In 2021, TikTok spread the milk crate challenge, where people stacked milk crates to walk across them. Soon enough, people started breaking bones, suffering concussions, and winding up in the hospital. In 2018, the Tide Pod challenge happened, where teens filmed themselves biting into laundry detergent pods on social media. The results were thousands of poison-control cases, ER visits, and several deaths.

These spread because people want to fit in, be part of the trend, and follow what everyone else is doing.

Why do we follow what everyone else is doing? We follow it because we believe a lie that someone else is happier than we are, and we try to follow what they are doing. People in our culture prioritize personal happiness above all else and will do whatever they can to achieve it.

In a recent survey in 2024 done by Empower, 59% of the respondents, over half, said happiness is the most important benchmark of success (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/over-half-of-americans-say-there-is-a-secret-to-success-and-reaching-it-takes-270-000-per-year-302313131.html). Heading in 2024, 22% of Americans named "be happy" as a top resolution, right alongside fitness and health goals, and it was the second highest resolution, right under "saving more money" (https://today.yougov.com/society/articles/48233-what-are-americans-new-years-resolutions-for-2024-poll).

The world seeks happiness outside of God, yet every year, people are unable to find it. That's because we don't find joy and fulfillment through the ways of the world. The Bible says in Romans 12:2 that we should,

Romans 12:2 CSB

2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

The biblical answer to personal happiness is in the pursuit of holiness, so that we can know the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. If you want joy, joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, which doesn't come through the ways of the world, but only through faith in Jesus Christ.

Not only are people without Christ in bondage to the ways of the world. Without Christ, we are also,

B. Enslaved to Satan’s rule

According to Ephesians 2:2, without Christ, we are people who live “according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient.” The term "the ruler of the power of the air" is a reference to the realm of Satan's demonic rule.

In this world are things seen and things unseen. We are not only engaged in a physical struggle. We are primarily involved in a spiritual battle. Behind the patterns of this world is a spiritual enemy.

You don't need to see a demon in the shadows to know the enemy is real. In John 8:44, the Lord says of Satan, “When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” Not only is he the father of lies, but he also blinds the minds of unbelievers. It says in 2 Corinthians 4:4,

2 Corinthians 4:4 CSB

4 In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

There are some lies people believe that are so obviously wrong that demonic deception is the only plausible answer. There is an entire generation that has grown up thinking they can define their truth, and as a result, they are experiencing more confusion, loneliness, and instability than ever.

Satan loves to attack your identity, and will provide you with any lie that works as long as it leads you away from faith in Jesus Christ. First Peter 5:8 says to,

1 Peter 5:8 CSB

8 Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

There is a spiritual enemy on patrol for your soul. He is looking for any path in, and he has the world under his influence. Revelation 12:9 calls Satan “the one who deceives the whole world.” When you look out at a lost and confused world and wonder how the lies it says over and over permeate so deeply within the thoughts of your loved ones, there is an ancient deceiver at work.

The answer to spiritual deception is the truth of God's Word and prayer. A church weak in God's Word and prayer is a church weak against spiritual deception.

When we are without Christ, we are in bondage to the ways of the world, in bondage to Satan's rule, and we are,

C. Enslaved to the desires of the flesh

It moves here from the external, the ways of the world, and the dominion of Satan's rule, to the internal, an enslavement to the desires of the flesh. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:3 that “we all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts.” Even if you somehow resisted the ways of the world and the deception of Satan, the flesh will still pull you in.

Our fallen human nature is wired for disobedience to God. Paul describes this in Galatians 5:17,

Galatians 5:17 CSB

17 For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.

Even after conversion, the flesh will still try to reclaim control. But for the one without Christ, there is a hopeless enslavement to our desires.

We might restrain some impulses for societal reasons. We won't assault that person at work because we need our job, and we don't want our boss to call the police. But internally, our desires will drive our thought life.

James describes the desires of the flesh in this way in James 1:14-15,

James 1:14–15 CSB

14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.

The desires of our flesh will entice you with satisfaction, but the result will instead be slavery. That's why James compares it to a pregnancy that results in death. Our desires will not stop until they destroy us. Without Christ, there is no spiritual power to say no to the desires of the flesh.

It's obvious when we look at the culture. Pornography is a billion-dollar industry. Americans owe trillions to credit card companies because their desires drive them to buy what they can't afford. People have a desire to escape, so they fall into substance abuse and addiction. The destructive nature of the desires of the flesh is all around us.

But John 8:36 says, “So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.”

Free from the grip of the world that pressures you.

Free from the lies of the devil that deceive you.

Free from the desires of the flesh that enslave you.

If the Son sets you free, you really will be free. If you are dead in sin this morning, you need Jesus.

Before we get to the "But God" of verse 4 that we'll hear more about next week, there is one more thing to know about the human condition.

Without Jesus, we are dead in sin, enslaved to disobedience to God, and there's one more thing to know about being without Jesus.

III. Without Jesus, we are under God’s wrath.

Ephesians 2:3 finishes up by saying,

Ephesians 2:3 CSB

3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.

The wrath of God is our birthright. It's like a king long ago banishing an entire lineage from his land, and we were born into that lineage. We were, by nature, children under God's wrath.

The first thing to know about God's wrath is,

A. God's wrath is deserved.

God's wrath isn't the product of a hot-tempered tyrant lashing out. It isn't random, and it isn't cruel. God's wrath flows from His holiness and his love for what is good, pure, and perfect. Wrath is God's righteous response to rebellion.

Ephesians 2:1-3 presents an honest and real account of the human condition without Christ. The sobering reality is this: When you and I live in disobedience to God, we place ourselves under God's wrath.

Scripture is not afraid to tell us the truth. Jesus told the Pharisees they were "children of hell" (Matt. 23:15). Paul spoke of people as "objects of wrath prepared for destruction" (Rom. 9:22). Revelation describes those who reject God as "drinking the wine of His wrath" (Rev. 14:10). Each picture is different. Still, the message is the same. Without Christ, we are people who deserve judgment.

God's wrath is not only future.

B. God’s wrath is present.

Make no mistake. There is a real, future place called hell, where people walking around today will exist separated from God and under his wrath for eternity. We should live every day with the message of the gospel in our hearts and our speech, praying that more people would believe the good news of Jesus Christ and be saved.

But God's wrath is not only future. It is also here now. Romans 1:18 says, “God’s wrath is revealed from heaven.” That is a present tense statement, talking about here, today.

God's wrath exists every time he gives someone over to their sin (Rom. 1:26). All of the brokenness in this world, the hatred, the addictions, the chaos in relationships, all of it. God shows his wrath by giving people over to their sin and letting them experience the consequences of their rebellion against him.

C. God's wrath is final.

Without Jesus, there is no hope for humanity. Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment.” Revelation 20 shows a picture of that judgment.

There is a great white throne, and nowhere to hide. You look around, and there are people as far as you can see. Everyone is there: the rich and the poor, the famous and the ordinary. Everyone's eyes are looking toward the throne.

In front of the throne are books. These books have the names of everyone who has ever lived. John, Bill, Susie. Each one has an account of their life, and everything about them is listed. Things they thought no one knew.

There's one more book. Funny thing about this book, it only has names. All of the disobedient actions, thoughts, all of it, are gone. This book is called the book of life.

Listen to what it says about that scene in Revelation 20:15,

Revelation 20:15 CSB

15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

The thing you should be asking yourself right now is this: "Is my name written in the book of life?" On the day of judgment, nothing else is going to matter. Is your name written in the book of life? Because,

D. God's wrath is escapable in Christ.

The truth that you are, by nature, a person under God's wrath, is what makes the good news good.

If you are not under wrath, then you don't need rescue.

If you are not guilty, then you don't need forgiveness.

If you are not lost, then you don't need a Savior.

But you are under wrath. You are guilty. You are lost.

That is why the cross of Jesus Christ is not some small thing, just one option among many. The cross is the collision point of God's wrath and God's mercy. At the cross, the wrath of God that you were under is satisfied, and by his grace, you are saved.

Wrath that should have fallen on you fell on Christ.

People dead in sin need Jesus Christ. Jesus took your death sentence. Freedom, forgiveness, and life are yours because of Jesus.

Conclusion

Apart from Jesus Christ, we are spiritually dead, enslaved to sin, under God's wrath, and desperately in need of Jesus.

Where are you with the Lord today?

If you are a believer, the reality of what God has done for you should humble you and encourage you not to turn back but to live every day for Jesus.

If you sit here today and don't know if your name is in the book of life, the Bible says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom. 10:9).

Believe in Jesus Christ, follow him, and live every day in your new life in Jesus.

Prayer

Last Song

Doxology

Numbers 6:24–26 CSB

24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you; 25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’

Jude 24–25 CSB

24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!

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Sermon Reflection Questions

What does Ephesians 2:1-3 teach us about the human condition without Jesus?

How is spiritual death described in relation to our ability to seek God?

What are the three influences that Paul mentions as enslaving humans without Christ?

What is the significance of the statement 'we were by nature children under wrath'?

Why is it important to understand our condition without Jesus?