Power to Live a New Life

It’s so important that we know who we are before what we do. Jesus has given you your new identity. You are chosen and adopted for an eternal purpose and sealed with the Holy Spirit.

Everything we do comes from our God given, new, bought and paid for identity through Christ. Through Christ, we have the power to live a new life in the new year.

As we are united with Christ everything changes because we learn what it means to live empowered instead of living exhausted. We no longer strive and achieve trying to meet other people’s expectations because we just want to worship God.

In the text this morning we see that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in us and gives us the power to live a New Life.

Let’s Stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Ephesians 1:15–23 NLT

15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. 19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

Ephesians 2:1–10 NLT

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

PRAY

Paul expresses gratitude for the faith and love of the Ephesian believers while praying for their spiritual insight and understanding of God's power.

Then he speaks of the transformation of believers from death to life through God's grace, emphasizing the unmerited nature of salvation and our new identity in Christ.

We were dead, but God made us alive (2:1–5)

Salvation is by grace, not works (2:8–9)

We are God’s workmanship, created for good works (2:10)

When we are feeling lost or struggling with our spiritual identity, remember that we are now rooted in Christ and called to abide in His love and grace.

It’s so important that we cultivate our faith, grounded in the knowledge of who we are in Christ. God has given us the gift of salvation and we respond by receiving that gift and living a life that reflects God’s grace and power.

You can’t be rooted and abiding in Christ and not be transformed and empowered to be more like Jesus.

Grace doesn’t just save you—it sustains you

You don’t try harder; you trust deeper

Good works flow from salvation, not for salvation

1. Praise and Prayer gives us Spiritual Sight

Paul begins by going vertical. He thanked God for these believers and remembered them in his prayers.

Ephesians 1:15–16 NLT

15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,

Paul knew that prayer is the oil in the engine.

Solid preaching and Biblical doctrine are extremely important; in fact, they are essential. But so is prayer.

If we have all truth but little or no prayer it’s like driving a beautiful sports car without oil in the engine. It may look and sound great for a while, but sooner or later it will break down.

Prayer is the oil that keeps us running. Prayer unleashes God’s power within us… Prayer is what gives us that power to guide, convict, encourage, heal.

Ephesians 1:17 NLT

17 I pray for you constantly asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

Paul’s prayer was that God would give them spiritual wisdom and insight through the Holy Spirit.

It’s the Holy Spirit that gives us “wisdom” the ability to see life from God’s perspective.

He also gives “revelation,” which refers to enlightened understanding into God himself and the mysteries of God’s divine truth.

Paul mentions to the church in Corinth that if we are going to understand Spiritual wisdom and revelation we must be filled with the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:14 NLT

14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.

1 Corinthians 2:16 NLT

16 For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit gives us the mind of Christ and having the mind of Christ takes time.

How do you get to know someone? By reading biographical information or historical data about that person? That will help you know a lot about that person, but it won’t enable you to actually know that person.

If you want to get to know someone, you have to spend time with that person. There is no shortcut, no microwave process. It takes time…

The same holds true with God.

Reading the Bible, reading great works of theology and devotional material are all wonderful, but there is no substitute for knowing God personally.

If we want to know God, we need to spend time with HIM.

Ephesians 1:18 NLT

18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

Paul prays that our hearts will be flooded with light so we can understand the confident hope HE had given to those HE called HIS holy people who are HIS rich and glorious inheritance.

Light illuminates in the darkness. When you loose something it takes light to find lost things.

In crime shows, the police never turn on the lights when going into a house or a crime scene for dramatic effect.

When we are in darkness, it’s hard to navigate through an unfamiliar area with confidence without light.

When God’s light is turned on in our hearts we have the ability to understand with confidence:

1. “the hope to which he has called you” (1:18)

Our hope is not a vague feeling that the future will be positive, but we have complete assurance that God will do all that he has promised.

We expect it to happen, trust God to bring it about, and patiently await its arrival.

2. “the riches of HIS glorious inheritance in the saints” (1:18)

Our inheritance is not limited to what this world can give. God gives us so much more but we need to be united in Christ… we are HIS, HE is mine, and HE makes us holy.

Rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, listen and seek God’s wisdom and understanding in our walk with Christ. Faith and love underlines the importance of acknowledging God's work in us.

As we praise the Lord by recognizing and appreciating God's past work in our lives, those things will inspire confidence and gratitude, regardless of current struggles.

It’s prayer and praise that gives us spiritual insight.

2. Power and Position comes from being Raised with Christ

Ephesians 1:19 NLT

19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him.

Because of God’s great, complete, and unlimited power we benefit when we trust in God.

There is never an outage with it comes to God’s power. HE is always actively working on our behalf;

God is always fighting our battles for us when we put our faith and trust in HIM.

God is never overwhelmed by human strength or any spiritual power from the evil world. God’s power is limitless.

It’s only God’s power that can change weak human beings into strong believers who are willing to sacrifice everything God.

Ephesians 1:20 NLT

20 This is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

1. Raising Christ from the dead

This is why the resurrection of Christ is vital in our faith. The resurrection gives us the power to live out the new life God has created us to live.

Romans 8:11 NLT

11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

If Jesus was still in the grave today we would still be dead to our sin. Thank God for HIS resurrection power because now the same power that raised Christ from the dead is now is in us if we put our faith in Jesus.

2. Exalting Christ to HIS present position of authority

Jesus humbled himself to live as a human, accomplish our redemption and then Jesus is now in the highest position of authority at God’s right hand.

God’s power raised Christ from the dead, defeated Satan and gave us that promised resurrection power to all believers. His power exalted Christ to a position of authority where he intercedes with God on behalf of believers and from where he will exercise leadership over all creation.

Romans 8:34 NLT

34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

3. Appointing Christ to be head over the church.

Jesus is the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, the One Israel longed for, the One who would fix our broken world.

As Christians we can be confident that God has won the final victory, HE is in control of everything, and HE is the head of the church.

Death is the enemy no one could conquer, the one that held us powerless in its cold, cruel grip.

That is, until Jesus came and conquered death, breaking its bondage over us forever.

Because of this, we can live free, without fear. We can attempt great things for God, knowing no failure is fatal with him in our corner.

Since Jesus conquered death and reigns over all, that means that we can live as HIS victorious and liberated people.

Draw your strength from Christ; stay committed and unified to HIM.

Ephesians 1:21 NLT

21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.

Jesus is superior to all the rulers, authorities, powers, and dominions in heaven and on earth, of both the visible and invisible world. Physical government and spiritual forces all come under the authority of Christ Jesus.

We live in a universe where things fade away and disintegrate… the planet, the atmosphere, your house, your car…

Even though the world just fizzling out, we are heading toward a definite conclusion where Christ is Lord and God will make all things right.

We are called to proclaim truth in a world that embraces falsehood… we are called to be light in a world that dwells in darkness, and hope in a world that has given in to despair.

Ephesians 1:22–23 NLT

22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

The Church is so much more then just a place where we sing songs and listen to some dorky guy talk about the Bible every Sunday.

The church is the Body of Christ and Christ is the head of the church…

Christ is over all things for the sake of the church and in HIS position God controls everything in all of creation.

As the church, we are HIS hands, feet, muscles, tendons, voice.

If Christ is truly the Head of the church, what does that say about the role of the pastor, elders, deacons, worship leaders, and other members?

If we are truly his body, what does that say about the role we are to play at our jobs, in our schools, in our relationships?

If we are united in Christ, we now have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead living in us.

Even in a lifetime we won’t fully understand the incredible greatness of God’s power.

When we put our faith and our hope in Christ, we are united in Christ, and we are connected to the Body of Christ.

As your pastor, this is not my church, this is God’s church. It’s not perfect but the more we surrender to Christ, the head of the church, the more perfected we will become as HIS church.

We have a choice, God gave us free will, but whether we agree or disagree the truth never changes. Jesus already has complete authority over everything.

We can either surrender to God’s plan and be alive through Christ or live according to the world and give into our sinful nature which is death.

No matter what trials we will have to overcome, no matter what spiritual challenges we will be facing in the coming year, remember your identity is in Christ. You no longer need to rely on your own efforts but trust in God's sovereign strength and HIS mighty power because we now have resurrection power running through our veins.

3. Past and Present: Life from Death

Paul then makes a distinction between our past before Christ and our present life with Christ and there is a stark contrast between the two.

Ephesians 2:1–2 NLT

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.

Those who are spiritually dead have no communication with God. They are physically alive, but their sins have rendered them spiritually unresponsive, alienated from God, and incapable of experiencing the full life that God could give them.

Resurrection life through Christ requires our old self to die.

Sometimes you have to know how bad the bad news is before you can appreciate the good news. Paul tells us how bad the bad news is: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.”

Dead. Not sick, not dying, not having an off day—dead.

Dead people do to absolutely nothing to help themselves. That is why God, in his mercy, had to reach out to us and give us our diagnosis. Before Christ we were dead in our sin.

The word “live” could also be translated “walk,” Instead of moving toward God, we were moving in one direction—away from God, walking in sin.

Jesus warned his followers:

John 15:18–19 NLT

18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.

People who live like the rest of the world cannot also follow Jesus. (Romans 12:2, Galatians 1:4).

Ephesians 2:2 NLT

2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.

When we were walking in sin, away from God, according to the patter of this world we were “obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.”

The devil has a sphere of influence in our world and even through his influence is great among unbelievers, his power is limited because he knows he is defeated. Satan cannot separate believers from the love of God.

Satan is also called the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. Paul wanted the Ephesians to recognize satan’s work as a present threat.

The evil powers at work rival the work of the Holy Spirit. Those who have not surrendered to God are energized by the evil power of satan.

Ephesians 2:3 NLT

3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

Our natural tendency is for us to follow the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature.

Throughout history, human beings have lived in sin and disobedience, and Paul’s audience, who are now believers, lived among them. Even though we still live among sinful unbelievers, we no longer participate in those sinful lifestyle choices.

Unbelievers cannot follow God because they do not know him; instead, they live enslaved to the cravings of their sinful nature by following its desires.

The philosophy “if it feels good do it” is still relevant today.

The “sinful nature” refers to people’s natural state without God. Without God we are self-centered, enslaved to our own desires and because of that we are by our very nature subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

But that’s who we used to be…

Ephesians 2:4–5 NLT

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)

The 2 words spoken here are huge… “but God.”

God is so vast in love that the human mind cannot fully comprehend it—all we can do is humbly receive it.

We were dead in our sins, but God…

We were rebels against our Creator, but God…

We were enslaved by Satan and our sinful natures, but God…

God could have left us spiritually dead, in rebellion against him and in bondage to our sins. But he didn’t.

It was God’s mercy and love that moved HIM to rescued us. HE made us alive, HE raised us with Christ, and HE seated us with Christ.

God saw that we were hopeless, trapped in sin, under Satan’s power, and unable to save ourselves so HE had mercy on us and saved us.

Notice that Paul writes of this in past tense. Our past state of being was dead in sin but our new life now is alive in Christ.

This is a process of transformation that happens by God’s grace as we become more and more united with Christ.

Our past no longer defines us because now, in Christ, we are made alive, forgiven, and renewed.

4. Promise and Purpose that God has Created us for Good

God has rescued us from sin, given us life, and set us free for an incredible purpose that goes beyond the limits of our life on earth.

Ephesians 2:6–7 NLT

6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

Christ has taken his seat at the right hand of the Father, indicating his finished work and his victory over sin.

Christians we will reign with Christ in future event, but here we see that we are seated with Christ now. We share with Christ in his victory now.

Being united with Christ now gives us this incredible status, in the present day, through our daily work and trials God has given us a greater hope for today!

We are now heirs of the kingdom along with Christ, we are spiritually exalted from the moment of salvation. We have a new citizenship—in heaven, no longer just on earth.

Philippians 3:20 NLT

20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

Being raised with Christ and seated with Him calls us to live with heavenly purpose and readiness to do good works.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NLT

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

We never can and never will earn the right to be saved… remember dead people can’t help themselves and we were dead!

We live in a society that rewards people for doing good. Even in the church, we sometime allow this to influence our relationship with Jesus.

If we give more, do more, be kind more, pray more, read the Bible more, go to church more… Then I’ll be okay.

Salvation will never be a reward for doing good works but our new life in Christ is an opportunity to respond to God's extravagant grace by reaching out to others. By sharing Christ by serving and loving more. By fleshing out the reality that we are a new creation in Christ.

Ephesians 2:10 NLT

10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

The verb “created” is used only of God—for only God can truly create. As he created the universe from nothing, so he creates new, alive, spiritual beings from the old, dead, sinful creatures that we once were.

Why would God do it? Why would he sacrifice his only Son for sinners like us?

God gives us one reason: so that we could be living, breathing pictures of his grace and mercy. Not only does he change us radically into new creatures, he also wants to use us so we can be put on display for HIS glory. It says that we are HIS workmanship, his masterpieces. That would be an arrogant to claim if God hadn’t already said it HIMSELF.

VIDEO “The Chisel”

The fact that “we are God’s masterpiece” impacts how we ought to see ourselves but also how we ought to treat one another. God’s masterpieces should not lower or degrade themselves with sin. Nor should we devalue our brothers and sisters in Christ because they are also God’s masterpieces.

God is making us a work of art out of our mess of a life therefore, our heart is filled with gratitude… “to do good works”—to help and serve others with kindness but not so we can obtain salvation.

Good works do not produce salvation but good works are the evidence of salvation. We are saved not merely for our own benefit but to serve Christ and build up HIS church.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

TAKE AWAY

Are you trying to change yourself or letting God transform you?

What areas of your life need resurrection power?

Stop striving in your strength—start living in His.