From Death to Life: The Amazing Grace of God

To the students in the room, you can imagine what I am saying, but like the Greek word “know” in last week’s text, you don’t have the experiential knowledge, it isn’t real for you.

God supernaturally gifts us with the ability to parent. Isn't it crazy how she can trow up and pee on you in the same day and steel sleep from you streaming and instead of saying ‘Well, this one is broken and leaks’ and setting her on the curb, you study her while she sleeps and instantly your ready for round two.

Need

The same way we can know but not understand what parnting is like until God makes us one, the Bible says that we are dead in our sins and trespasses. We cannot not know God unless he opens our eyes to the spiritual life around us.

We are dead spiritually and we cannot save ourselves. Before you were saved others talked about Jesus relationally but to you, you were like ok you lost me on that part.

Interogative question

Has God made Himself known to you?

Like a new parent suddenly thrusted into this new relationship, Do you know what it is like to be made alive in Christ and to instantly want to give up everything for this new relationship?

This is what Paul says happens to a person’s heart when God draws them to Himself from death to life; through Amazing Grace.

Main sentence

Knowing that we were dead spiritually, but we made alive in Christ, and Saved by God’s grace, should overwhelm our souls with praise to the God who has Rooted us in Christ.

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.

Prayer

1. Dead in Our Sins

2. Made Alive in Christ

3. Saved by God’s Grace

1. Dead in Our Sins (1-3)

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

Explanation.

This morning, we’re going to be looking at Ephesians 2, specifically versus 1-10 and it’s outline is simple.

We are dead in our sins.

We are made alive in Christ and

We are saved by the grace of God

However, there are a few questions that need to be answered based on some of the words that Paul uses.

He uses the word, dead and trespass and sin.

What does Paul mean we are all dead?

The Greek is Neckros. Do you know what it means in Greek? It means dead

Paul is going in a specific direction when applying this word dead.

Neckros means a corpse, destitute force in operation, unable to respond to impulse, powerless, unresponsive.

Paul is sayin that on some level you are (repeat phrasing)

Argumentative

If you’re a skeptic here this morning and you woke up and you got dressed, and you got in your car and you managed to make it in here and found a seat, sing a song, maybe clapped your hands.

You’re probably thinking to yourself ‘I don’t feel dead at all! I’m very much alive!”

And in that sense, yes, you absolutely alive.

Paul uses Neckros here; which is difficult to explain, because you’re trying to define it for someone who has not experienced it.

Illustration

I believe it was Dr. Edward Clowney, who said you can explain death by explaining life. There is more than one type of life. He says take a pepper, a dog, and a human being, they all live up to their capabilities.

A pepper can respond to certain stimulation it can grow eat food. It’s alive, right?

A dog has the same complexities of a pepper, but they have advanced nervous systems, mobility, cognitive function and instincts. The dog is certainly alive, right?

A human is even more complex in that we have language, abstract thoughts, and reasoning, morality, and philosophical intuition. We are clearly alive right?

And yet the dog advanced as it is, does not understand how a human has the ability to reason, understand how we advance our environment.

Instead of responding instinctively, we can respond rationally and change the environment around us to our benefit.

If someone suddenly loses some of those capabilities, maybe through a car wreck, they suffer serious brain damage, and they can only respond to simple stimulation, their cognitive function; their ability to instinctively recognize dangers in the world, are destroyed, Are they still alive?

You sometimes hear the insensitive phrase they have become a vegetable.

Are they still alive?

Does the pepper know what it’s missing by not having the complexities of a dog?

Does the dog know what it’s missing by not having the complexities of a human?

They have no clue.

Their limitations prevent them from understanding what is beyond them..

Paul is saying we have another part to us; a deep spiritual complexity laying dormant within us. It is dead within us. Unless God makes us alive, we cannot understand it or obtain what we are missing.

Neckros is defined as decaying corpse. Imagine you get the chance to have your favorite meal prepared by the worlds finest chef. Only thing is, that chef is a zombie. Sure he’s decaying and the smell is overwhelming, but he can cook better than anyone alive.

You going to eat what they have prepared with their hands?

Our dead condition is not like a light switch waiting to be turned on the part of us needing to be made alive is activly decaying. There is a stench in our soul to the Lord.

Isaiah 64:6 ESV

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

People walk around with no clue, what their works look like to the Lord.

We think our works will be accepted, but they are dead and decaying and our works are rejected by God.

Paul says this death within all of us has us enslaved so we only do what is unpleasing to the Lord.

Enslaved (2-3)

By the world (2)

The world’s limited view of life being only what is material. That is why unsaved people look at you like your crazy when you say I believe in God, angels, demons and spiritual warfare.

The dead view the world as all their is, and they worship it’s ways and not the creator and His ways. They cannot so we should not expect any different from them.

By the Devil (2)

Those dead in sins do not belong to God. In fact, they belong to the Devil and are forced to live lives addicted, humiliated, and broken for the Devils delight. He love to kill, steel, and destroy the unredeemed soul.

By the flesh (3)

We can blame the world, and the devil, but we also shoulder some of the responsibilities too. We carry out the desires of the body and mind (when we act like animals be it savage or in our passions [verse below])

Ephesians 5:3–5 ESV

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

And it is not that God would not be willing to grant them the greater understanding of life, it is that they want no part of it, they want those things more than life itself.

Therefore

Resulting in the wrath of God (3)

Ephesians 2:3 ESV

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.

Transition: This is a tragic state we are in unaware of a great life available, Unable to find it on our own, Unable to please a holy God who will still judge us for the sins and trespasses we commit.

Enter the two strongest words in this passage. But God

2. Made Alive in Christ (4-7)

Explanation

But God, whose wrath is coming for all those who deny Him, reject his purpose, and aline with his enemy,

Is at the same time, compelled by His love, to intercede on their behalf.

Has made a way for us to be alive according to his immeasurable richness to give life to those who absolutely do not deserve it.

By God’s rich mercy and love (4)

Ephesians 2:4–5 ESV

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—

The life that he gives is not in the form of a new body

it is the awareness to

Understand and know the goodness of God,

The holiness of God,

The favor of God,

The mercy of God,

The grace of God,

And when all of those things overwhelm us who are dead in our sins, we confess our sinful ways as evil and want to bring our lives into full surrender to God.

And God, who is rich in mercy and love, breathes life into your soul.

Illustration

I have a board with a few effects pedals for my guitar. Each one serves its own purpose and when you chain them in the right order they produce some really cools sounds. One is a compressor, another distorts the sound waves and another is for that angelic Hillsong sound.

They all have on/off pegs you step on, they all have knobs that control sound and sensitivity, but none of it is impressive or fun until it receives power. When it is able to be plugged in they go from simple toy to these incredible sound machines that give life to a song. Those sounds drive the spirit of the song.

Being made alive is like God adding power supply to you that takes your from a simple being to an enhanced life that loves deeper, celebrates life, recognizes beauty otherwise never noticed and it enables us to see and understand God.

How I arrange those pedals matters. One must be first and so on, or the sounds are off.

Being Alive starts with an awareness of His holiness,

God illuminates his presence to you through the Holy Spirit.

You recognize your sin before a holy God through the Spirit’s convicting

And you know, suddenly you know, He is real and I am sinful. You repent

In that moment, He doesn’t show the wrath you deserve, he gives you forgiveness and love.

And just like that! His Spirit fills you and life has a whole knew meaning!

Like a new parent, you love instantly. Your life is consumed by this new life and you love it.

Reading the Scripture takes on new life.

Your understanding the world in a whole new light.

The Word becomes interesting, and you hunger for it,

Your knowledge of His Word helps you know Him better.

Your prayer life is incredibly fruitful,

You want others to know Him but they look at you like a freak.

Then, He introduces you to His bride, the church and she’s incredible!

They love you like your family and you’re worshipping the Lord and you cry over things you never carried about. You’re Alive!

Made alive.

Saved by Grace

He raised us up with Him.

Seated us with Christ in Heaven

That is a t-shirt right there “I am a saint, Made Saved, Raised, and Seated with Christ”

Transition

For what purpose?

(v.7) So that in the coming age, He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace and kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

3. Saved by God’s Grace (8-10)

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

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.

Explanation

Salvation is a gift (8-9)

If you are here today and you do not have the gift of eternal life, you need to hear this. God loves you and he wants you to know Him

John 3:16 HCSB

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

The gift of salvation is a gift but you must accept the gift and the Giver.

Jesus said I am the way the truth the life, no one comes to the Father but through me,

John 11:25–26 HCSB

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever. Do you believe this?”

God Cannot accept our works because they are polluted in sin. We need someone who is sinless to pay for our sins so that we can have life.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Rejection of human works as the basis for salvation (8-9)

Paul then says it by Grace that you have been saved not through works;

Instead we need to trust in the work that Jesus Christ

Came to earth from heaven

Born of a virgin (had no sinnature)

Lived a perfect life,

Was acceptable in God’s eyes to be sacrficed for our sins

He was buried and raised to life three days later.

He ascended into heaven is returning for His bride

Being made alive happens when you recognize with God’s help that you are helplessly in need of Him to make you alive and that you are willing to give up everything to follow Him.

Our salvation leads us to do work based on our being a new creation (10).

This is absolutely important to understand because you were not saved to sit on the sidelines.

You were saved for a good work. Now that our souls sing with life , we should sing with great passion and allow those dead in their sins to see your life.

The Bible says you are his workmanship meaning you are his masterpiece to be put on display for all to see so that through you.

They may be drawn to him and He would be able to bring life to all who begin to see and understand Him as His Spirit illuminates the trueness of their situation.

Appeal [Worship Team Up]

The way that we love one another in deep community,

The way that we worship our Lord,

The way that we testify of his goodness in our lives,

The way that we declare his word to those who are perishing,

Is how we declare that there is spiritual life in Christ and the world needs awaken too Him

1 Corinthians 14:24–25 HCSB

But if all are prophesying and some unbeliever or uninformed person comes in, he is convicted by all and is judged by all. The secrets of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is really among you.”

Christ is the embodiment of God's grace, the one who transforms our death into life, and who calls us into partnership in His redemptive work.

The grace given through Christ enables us to live as His representatives.

Application: This passage reassures us that salvation is not based on our works, but solely on God’s grace.

Are you alive in Christ? Are you resting in His works or relying on your own?

I believe that God speaks at certain times, and when He does, we need to listen and respond before it is to late.

If God is awakening your understanding to His presence this morning, there is only one response.

Call out to Him ask Him to make you fully alive.

Commit to surrender your ways to His.

Trust that He is leading you to confess your sins not to destroy you, but to deliver you.

If you allow Him to work in your life this morning You will expieience what it means to be Alive.

Sermon Questions

What does Paul mean by being 'dead in our trespasses and sins'?

How does the Greek meaning of 'dead' enhance our understanding of spiritual death?

According to the sermon, how is God's grace described in relation to our salvation?

What does being 'made alive in Christ' mean for your everyday life?

How can you actively recognize and share God's grace in your own life?

How can we explain our faith in Christ to our friends who might be skeptical?

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