Grace Defined

Good morning

If you are a guest, my name is Stefan Wilson and I am the pastor of preaching here at Harvest

Happy new year!

I am grateful for Dennis faithfully shepherding the church last week through Heb. 13

And I am excited to be back with all of you as we kick off the new year with a new sermon series…

The New Year always brings with it a kind of paradox.

On the one hand, we’re hopeful and think about how this year might be different than last year

But on the other hand, the New Year reminds us that we are still the same people.

We still struggle with the same sins.

We still feel the same weaknesses.

And we still live in the same broken world.

And this paradox reveals an important truth:

Real change doesn’t come simply from turning the calendar.

It doesn’t come from stronger resolve or better intentions.

Real change only comes from engaging more deeply with what needs to change and going to the God of every grace for that change

2026 will be more of the same for you and I if we neglect our need for the grace of God.

But 2026 can also be a year of growth for us as God’s people if we will press in to the grace of God that meets us where we are in the most need.

So with this in mind, we are going to start a new sermon series this January

(and it's going to take us into February, at which point we will pick Matthew back up)

But for the next six weeks, we're going to be talking about the ordinary means of grace.

The ordinary means of grace are those things that God’s word has told us are the ways that God grows his people, by his grace.

Those means of grace are specifically: the Word, prayer, fellowship, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper.

These are the ordinary ways God has appointed to give grace to His people

They are called ordinary, not because they are insignificant, but because, on the surface, they look unimpressive.

Words. Prayers. People. Water. Bread and cup

In themselves, these things are ordinary. You can find them anywhere.

But Scripture teaches us that when God’s Spirit is present and active in these particular things, they become something extraordinary

The presence of God with his word, in prayer, among his people, in baptism and communion, causes real change in us

And if we will see these things as means of God’s grace…

A way to grow in the presence of God…

And press into them as a church together…

We will be a church that, in the words of 2 Peter 3, is growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

But before we can talk about the means of grace, we need to start by understanding what grace is

And our sermon today is going to be in Eph. 2 where we will have “Grace Defined” for us

So would you turn in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians, chapter 2.

[Hook]

Now, before we get to the text, I want to read a quote from Kyle Strobel. He's a professor of theology at Biola

What he says highlights very well for us why it is so important for us to have a clear understanding of what grace is:

“If you go to a church, the first thing you should attend to (before you ever talk to them about discipleship or the Christian life or anything else) is to attend very closely to what they believe grace is. Because if they have a reductive view of grace, they will have a highly reductive view of the Christian life.” - Kyle Strobel

What is he saying?

He is saying that the depth of understanding that you have about grace will be met with an equal depth of your view of the Christian life.

If your Christian life is shallow, it is because your understanding of grace is equally shallow

So if we are to be a church that is growing in the Christian life, it will require that we have a deeper, growing view of grace.

And what we will find in Eph. 2:1-22 is that grace is much more than a word… It is what we need in this coming year, and every year, as a church family.

Let’s give these words our full attention

Ephesians 2:1–22 “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. Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

These are God’s words for us - May we have ears to hear them and hearts to obey them.

Big Idea: God’s grace gives us unhindered access to Himself. [11:00]

“Grace” is one of the most familiar words in the Christian vocabulary, but it’s also one of the most misunderstood.

We often say grace is a gift. Or we say grace is favor.

And those things are true, but they’re really just synonyms for the word, not definitions of it.

A gift always has content Favor always has a purpose.

So the question we need to ask is this: What is God actually giving in His grace? What is His favor actually aimed toward?

To answer that question (and to guide us through this series) I want us to work with this definition of grace:

Grace is God’s self-giving favor that gives undeserving sinners unhindered access to Him, with all the benefits of life with Him [REPEAT].

Grace means that what God gives us is Himself.

And in giving us himself, he welcomes us into the life that only he can give us

A life marked by all the blessings and benefits that come from having unhindered access to God.

That means the Christian life is not a Christianized version of what the world says life should be.

The Christian life is life is totally different from the world

Because in a world that is opposed to God… A life of Grace is a life with God Himself.

And the reality of God’s grace is that, though we are undeserving, God’s grace gives us unhindered access to that life with himself.

So that leads us to the question we need to ask of Ephesians chapter 2:

How does God, by His grace, bring us into life with Himself? And what does it look like not only to have that access, but to live in it?

We are going to see 4 important truths if we are to be a people growing in grace this year

The first two points will show us how God brings us into access to Himself. The second two points will show us how we live in that access once it has been given.

Now, let me say at the outset that there is substantial theological weight in this passage and lots of places we could go, but if we did a deep dive into each on, we’d be here until 2027…

(we preach the thought of the passage)

For our purposes this morning, we want a high-level view of the point Paul is making about grace in this passage, as that is the point of the chapter itself

So we are going to just see 4 points this morning, and I trust the Spirit of God will use his word to enlighten our minds and illuminate its truth to our hearts.

God’s grace is…

Necessary for us (1-3) [14:00]

I want you to notice how Paul opens this passage

He does not say, “You were struggling a bit”

He does not say, “you weren’t living your best life”

Look at v. 1 - Ephesians 2:1–2 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…”

For every person who follows Jesus by faith, prior to new life in Christ, you were dead in your trespasses and sins

And if you are here today and have not given your life to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, you are currently dead in your trespasses and sins

Now you might be saying “I feel pretty alive…”

That is because when scripture talks about life and death it is not first and foremost talking about physical vitality

When Scripture talks about life and death, it is almost always in relation to your standing with God

Life is found in the presence of God

Death is the reality of not being in his presence

Life comes from God and so to truly live requires that you and I remain in his presence

So when I am cut off from God, I am no longer in his life-giving presence… which is death.

True life is not a matter of having great experiences or being physically healthy

True life is found only in relating rightly to the God who made us and the God who gives us life

And Paul is telling us in Eph. 2:1 that our natural state before we met Jesus Christ was death… Being cut-off from the live-giving presence of God.

And this is the natural state of every person… Being cut-off from he presence of God

And Paul gives us a diagnostic for seeing this reality in the world and seeing it in ourselves…

First, we need to ask the question:

Who am I following?

Ephesians 2:2 “… 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…”

What is Paul saying?

The first sign of death is just going along with the world

And Paul is saying that when you go along with a world that is opposed to God, you are also participating with forces of evil that are opposed to God

Whether you realize it or not.

And we need to see the subtle, but very real danger here

Death does not always look rebellious. Often it looks normal.

Just going with the flow of the world

walking on the wide, easy road… That leads to destruction.

A life that is lived in God’s grace will be one that doesn’t follow the world, but that follows Christ, the narrow, difficult road that leads to life.

Paul is saying that if you are following the world, that is a sign of death, not life.

But you can’t say… “The devil made me do it…”

Because it is first and foremost an issue of our hearts

So we need to ask a second question…

What am I wanting?

Ephesians 2:3 “among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind…”

The first sin that alienated humanity from God was a desire to live life our own way, not God’s way.

And so the natural state of every human heart is to pursue the desires that come naturally to us - Selfish desires

So you and I have to ask: What desire drives me most in this life?

When I am growing in grace, I will grow in desiring what God wants for me

When I am living in death, I will want life on my own terms.

And the third question shows us why the first two questions are so important…

Where am I going?

Ephesians 2:3 “and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

Death has a direction. And left to itself, it always leads away from God.

And toward his wrath

Here is Paul’s point

When you are simply going along with the world, living for yourself, following your desires, you are not free… you are dead.

And in that state, you are not sovereign. You are an instrument—shaped by the world, influenced by evil, and driven by disordered desires.

And if you stay on that course… the wrath of God is waiting.

And this is the natural state of every human person…

God’s grace is necessary for us, because left to ourselves, we will not pursue true life… we will find only death…

But look with me at the first two words of v. 4…

“But God”

You and I were dead… “But God.”

Which leads us to our second point

God’s grace is…

Given by God (4-10) [22:00]

God’s grace is not dependent on you and I… because we were dead… we couldn’t offer anything.

and v. 4-10 help us to see how it is that we receive God’s grace

There are lots of theological rabbit holes we could chase… but for the purposes of understanding God’s grace, I want you to see three truths in v. 4-10

First…

1. God Did It

Ephesians 2:4–7 “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.”

Even when we were cut off from the life-giving presence of God, even when we had no ability to restore access, God acted.

And notice the verbs:

made us alive

raised us up

seated us

Every verb belongs to God.

You and I are not the agents of these verbs. We are the recipients.

And this highlights an important truth:

God did not wait for you and I to get it right

He acted first so that we could be made right with him by his grace.

And notice, second, how it is that he made us right by his grace:

God did it…

2. Through Christ

Look back at v. 5 - “Made us alive together with Christ”

We were dead, cut off from the life-giving presence of God…

But God brought you into his life-giving presence through the life that is only in Christ.

If Grace is access to Him, with all the benefits of life with Him…

It is because Jesus Christ made that access possible through his life, death, and resurrection

The sin that cut us off from God, paid for and removed through Christ

We were alienated → Christ reconciles

We were cut off → Christ gives us access

We were dead → Christ gives us life

So God did it, through Christ…

3. For us

Now Paul knows exactly what we’re tempted to think.

We’re tempted to say, “Okay, but surely God did this because He saw something in me.”

Like, “God did this BECAUSE of me”

No, he did it FOR you, BY himself.

Look at v. 8-9

Ephesians 2:8–9 “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.”

This is offensive to many who want to take credit for some part in the grace they have received...

But the simple truth is that God did it, through Christ, for us, not because of what we did.

And so there are only two things for you and I to do…

First, place our faith in Christ

Faith = Dependence

[Leaning on his grace]

Second, live our lives for Christ

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 didn’t just save us BY himself… He saved us FOR himself

Remember, grace is access God Him, with all the benefits of life with Him

There is a life that God has purposed for us - It is not death, where we live however the world says

It is a life that God prepared for us, that we should walk in it

What kind of life is that?

A life that depends on grace

I needed grace

God grave me grace

Now I live in grace, continually depending on the access I have to him so that I can live this life for his

I go to his word

I go to him in prayer

I live among his people

And in all of it I am being changed more and more to live the life he prepared for me.

And it will change the way that I interact with others

Which leads us to the next point…

God’s grace is…

Reconciling among us (11-16) [29:00]

Paul moves on here to show us the relational consequence of God’s grace in our lives…

Look at Ephesians 2:11–12 “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

What is Paul saying?

He’s reminding them that before the fullness of grace and truth came in Jesus Christ, humanity was divided into two groups: those inside the covenant people of Israel, marked by circumcision, and those outside—without the promises, without hope, and without God.

In the Old Testament, Israel belonged to God… but through the grace of God in Christ Jesus, now anyone can belong to God

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

Because Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for sinners, it no longer matters who you are, where you’re from, or how far away you once were.

When you embrace the grace of God by faith, you are brought near to God.

And we need to hear this…

There are many people today who feel very far from God because of the sins they’ve committed—and what they believe those sins say about them.

And to see yourself as further from God than someone else…

And Paul is saying, listen: because of the blood of Christ, you who were far off can be brought near.

The truth is that we all share the same problem:

Because of sin, we were cut off from God.

And we all share the same solution:

By faith, we can all be brought near to God and have unhindered access to Him.

And here is the point Paul is making…

When you and I approach the throne of grace with confidence, your sin and my sin have both been paid for.

We look at one another as people who were equally far off and are now equally brought near.

… Why would we ever let something stand in between us?

Conflict between believers is first and foremost a matter of forgotten grace…

You and I have forgotten the grace God showed us…

So we don’t show it to one another anymore.

Hostility between believers says: You have to deserve my favor

However… God’s grace is given, though we are undeserving…

When you and I have a clear view of God’s grace, there is no room for hostility toward one another

Look at Ephesians 2:14–16 “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”

What Paul is saying is that when we have a right view of God’s grace in Christ, our differences should never be strong enough to produce hostility, division, or ongoing conflict.

What should hold us together is the grace of God that has made us one in Christ.

So let me ask you honestly:

Where are you living in conflict with other believers right now?

Where are you angry because they don’t see it your way?

Where are you convinced you’re right and they’re wrong—and if they would just admit it, everything would be fine?

Where are you looking at the sins of another believer and saying, “You are further from God than I am”?

And then let me ask you: What did God’s grace do for you?

It brought you near when you were far off.

It removed the barrier between you and God.

It gave you full access to God and all the benefits of life with Him.

And God did all of it—and you did none of it.

So, then, go and do likewise…

Show the same grace God has shown to you.

We needed it

God gave it

And it is the means by which we will reconcile to one another.

Dwelling with us (17-22) [35:00]

For many of us…

We believe God forgives us. We believe God saves us. But we often imagine Him as distant.

Yes, He loves me—but from far away. Yes, He forgives me—but He’s not really involved in my daily life. Yes, He’s accessible in theory—but in practice, He feels hard to find.

It’s like that boss who says, “My door is always open,” but every time the door is open, he’s not actually there.

Paul ends chapter 2 by correcting that assumption entirely.

Ephesians 2:17–18 “And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”

Notice what Paul is saying.

we have access

in one Spirit

to the Father

Through the Son

This is a trinitarian truth

The Father is the destination

The Son is the one who secures peace and access

The Spirit is the one who brings us into that access

Grace is not God standing far away and allowing us to approach cautiously.

Grace is every person of Trinity participating in bringing us into his presence.

Drawing us near to him and him drawing near to us

Look at the imagery he gives

Ephesians 2:19–22 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

This is beautiful imagery

God brought us near as citizens and a family members

And the household of faith is being built into a building in which God will dwell.

You and I were cut off, dead in our trespasses and sins, far off from God

And by his grace that gives us access to himself… He has not just made it possible for us to reach him far away…

He has drawn near to dwell in us and with us.

God is not far off… he is as near as he could possibly be

He dwells by his Spirit in every person who belongs to him

He dwells in our midst as we gather as a church

And this is so important for us because…

the Christian life is not about chasing God down.

It is about living with the God who has already drawn near.

God’s grace is

But for all of us, so often, I think the reason we don’t go to him is because we misunderstand grace

I can’t draw near to God because he wouldn’t approve of how I’ve been living

I can’t draw near to God because I haven’t been reading my Bible enough

I can’t draw near to God because I don’t know how to pray like I should

Our default mode is to think that Grace depends on our performance

But grace depends on God’s kindness

And he has given us access to himself, though we are undeserving

And he has drwn so near as to dwell with us

So we have free, inhibited access to him

[Anything else]

For the next 5 weeks, we are going to see the ways that God has prescribed in his word for us to come to him and access his grace

And what we will find is that we do not need a self-help book to make 2026 a year of growth

For us to grow in 2026, what we need to grow in is grace by simply pressing in to those means of grace that God has given us.

Because God’s grace is:

Necessary for us

Effective through Christ

Reconciling among us

And his dwelling with us

Giving us unhindered access to God by his self-giving favor.

So let’s be a church that desires to grow in grace this year, and in the next 5 weeks, we will see exactly how to do that.

[Communion]

Remembrance - Spirit’s presence

Open communion

Don’t mock the cross

Directions - GLUTEN FREE