By Grace
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
As Paul moves into ch.2, it is important to remember what he purposed in ch.1
In Him… In Christ, we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places
We have been redeemed
Forgiveness of sin
Made known the mystery of His will
obtained an inheritance
Sealed with the Holy Spirit
All of this is in Him!!!
Last week:
Paul’s prayer that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened, so they would know the richness of what we have in Christ.
Today, we get to dig deeper into what that actually means.
Illustration:
The New Volunteer
A kind-hearted but not-so-bright fellow named Earl decides he wants to give back to his community. He signs up to volunteer at the local funeral home — not because he had any experience, mind you, but because, as he put it, "The ad said the customers are always quiet, and I've had enough of retail."
On his first day, the funeral director, Mr. Pemberton, gives him the tour. Very professional. Very serious. At the end, he hands Earl a suit and tie and says, "Your first job is simple. The Henderson viewing is at 2 o'clock. Just get Mr. Henderson presentable. Dressed, tie on, hair combed. Can you handle that?"
Earl nods confidently. "I've been dressing myself since I was six. This should be easy."
Two and a half hours later, Mr. Pemberton finds Earl slumped against the wall outside the preparation room, shirt untucked, hair disheveled, looking like he'd gone ten rounds in a boxing match.
"Earl! The viewing started twenty minutes ago! What happened?!"
Earl looks up, completely winded. "I got the jacket on him. I'll tell you that much. But that tie..." He shakes his head slowly. "That man refused to cooperate. Every time I got it around his neck, he just... wouldn't hold still. Kept flopping. I tried the Windsor knot, I tried the half-Windsor — at one point I think we both ended up on the floor."
Mr. Pemberton stares at him. "Earl. Mr. Henderson is dead."
A long pause.
Earl looks at the door. Then back at Mr. Pemberton. Then back at the door.
"Well," he says quietly, "that would explain why he never once offered to help."
And that's the thing about dead men — they can’t help. They can't. They don't reach for the tie. They don't sit up straight. They don't meet you halfway. You do everything, or nothing gets done.
This is what we get to see here in the first part of Ephesians 2 , we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Not sick. Not struggling. Not trying our best. Dead. And dead men can’t do anything, they certainly have no part in their own salvation. That is what we get to see as we go through this, that as dead as we were, no use, of no help, we were made alive in Christ.
Dead in Sin (V.1-3)
V.1
O: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
I: Before Christ, you were spiritually dead because of your sin
A: The point is, we all started at the same place… dead in our sins
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
We were dead, so the question always comes:
What does a dead man have to offer?
To rot and decompose
V.2
O: in which you formerly walked, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience
I: We lived in our sins, in line with the world, Satan, and the spirit of disobedience
A: This is the best we could do, because look at our influence
The world
Look at what we read in 1 John 2:15-17
15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
This is what the world produces. Why is it so bad? Because of what influences the world
Prince of the Power of the air
This is Satan, the ruler of the this world.
Jesus speaks of Satan in John 8:44
44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
This is why we can never find common ground with the world, because they are of their father, the devil
Have you ever wondered why things keep getting crazy in this world? They are under the prince of the power of the air, and also…
spirit working in the sons of disobedience
Not the Holy Spirit, but there is a spirit that is working to keep people opposed to God
V.3
O: Among them too we all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
I: We also lived the same way they do.
A: This was us. Our influence was that of Satan, and lived just like the world did, as children of wrath
Nobody was exempt from this, no matter what your upbringing was or when you gave our heart to the Lord, we all have come from the same, disobedient and godless life.
When Paul says, “among them too, WE ALL”
Who is we? Us, including Paul
Who is all? Every last one of us
Made Alive (V.4-10)
V.4
O: But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us
I: Even though we were dead, God stepped in, because of His love for us
A: Those two words should be the highlight of everyone’s mind… But God
Children of wrath, dead in our sins, but God!!!
Being rich in mercy, because of His great love for us
V.5
O: even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)
I: In spite of our sinful nature, we were made to live together with Jesus
A: It blows me away, that His death meant life for us
We were dead, we had nothing to offer, following a corrupt world who’s god is Satan… but instead of leaving us there, He made us alive together with Christ
I think of those cheap toys you buy, that come with batteries that are near impossible to replace. Once it is dead, you throw it out. That is what we were, but God, in Christ, decided to make us alive together with Him
V.6
O: and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus
I: Just as Jesus was risen from the dead, we were raised to life, and given authority in eternity
A: What an awesome concept we see…
Christ died for us, redeemed by His blood, and now we have life
Then His resurrection, we are raised up with Him.
Not only that, but seated with Him in the heavenly places.
Makes me think of 1 Corinthians 6:3
3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?
Notice this… seated us… past tense.
We have already been seated with Christ in the heavenly places
It isn’t something we have to obtain or strive for… In Him, we have already been seated there.
And maybe this is one of the most incredible things to ponder. We were dead, children of wrath, then at a moment, when we heard and believed the message of the gospel, we were made alive together with Christ, and now, seated with Him in the heavenlies.
Our status went from dead to favored… what a contrast, what a miracle
V.7
O: so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus
I: This is so His grace in Christ would be known for ages to come, eternity
A: That is the one thin I want, to know the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward me in Christ Jesus.
Luckily, I will have an eternity to figure it out
V.8
O: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God
I: It is because of God’s grace that all we have to do is believe, to receive, because it is a gift.
A: God’s unmerited favor toward you is why you are saved. All you have to do is believe, have faith
Some argue that faith is a works, but I want to make it very clear, just as the Bible does… it is not.
It is not of us, it is a gift. Something we do not have to work for, it is something unearned, undeserved. That is what a gift is.
V.9
O: not as a result of works, so that no one may boast
I: This had nothing to do with what you did, you cannot be prideful nor arrogant
A: A theologian said one time, “You actually are saved by works, just not ours, but the work of Jesus.”
Remember, you were dead, there was nothing that you could do to hep out or save yourself.
Nobody was smart enough, nor good enough, to be saved.
A youtuber one time was sharing how he became a christian. He said he found himself sharing more and more political beliefs and moral beliefs as christians, so he kind of just found out that he was a christian.
Even though I am glad to hear that someone shares my political and moral beliefs, the unfortunate reality is that this guy wasn’t saved. You don’t just fall into becoming a christian. You simply believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Not one of us can boast about what we have done, it was His work, not ours
V.10
O: For we are His workmanship
I: We are His masterpiece, His creation
A: The word here is “poeima”, the same word we get poem from.
We are His creation, His poem, His masterpiece
O: created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
I: God’s plan for us is that we would walk in the way He created us to be
A: The important part is to remember this… “You were saved for good works, not saved by them.”
Works become a result of salvation.
We use to be dead, influenced by the world and Satan and the spirit of the sons of disobedience. But now, God has brought us to life, and now what we do in Him are good works. We have left the old behind and are now walking in the new life.
We use to walk in sin and transgressions, now we walk in good works.
Conclusion:
The work is all the Lord, not us. This is such a sweet reminder, especially knowing from ch.1 that IN HIM… we have been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly. We didn’t do anything to help it out, it’s what we have in Him. And as we went through this today, nothing has changed, that what we have… is IN HIM
