Understanding Your New Life

Introduction

I am happy to say that we are in another state of challenge here at our church. Things are growing, your fellow church members are hungry for the Word of God, and now, because of that, we need everyone in our church to understand their new life in Christ and then to begin contributing to the church through ministry (work).

But, for us to be engaged in the work of the church, we need to understand that God has a specific purpose for us. It might seem odd to us, but God has specific things that He wants us to do in the church, and He gives us spiritual gifts to accomplish those things.

Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The message to the Ephesian church is this, “God has given you His riches, and now He has a job for you.”

However, just before that in v. 8-9, Paul reminds us that we don’t produce the good works, but that it is God Who is working in you that produces good works.

So v. 10 gives us a direction and v. 1 gives us a reminder of who we were without Him.

Read Eph 2:1-10

Why should we be reminded who we are apart from Christ?

Because our life is a story that is being unfolded one chapter at a time. It’s not a book where you can skip to the end and see where God has taken you, it is something you are experiencing in real-time.

So, God often takes us back to show us who we were, then He shows us His faithfulness, then He tells us where we are going next.

He doesn’t want us to forget because He doesn’t want us to become prideful and think that we are the source of blessing. He wants us to be surrendered to Him in our weakness so that He can accomplish His work in us.

I. Who You Were Apart From Him

A. (Dead) Apart from Christ, You Were Dead

Ephesians 2:1 NKJV

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

1. “Dead”

The word “dead” in the Greek is the word “nekros”. It literally means corpse.

When we understand the word “death” in the Bible, we need to understand it as more than just being physically dead. “Death” (nekros), is a word that describes a shell, a lifeless corpse.

When the Bible says, “you were dead in trespasses and sins” it is referring to the inner man, not the physical man.

It is also describing separation from God, not separation from soul and body.

We have to consider Adam and Eve. That when they sinned in the Garden against God, they didn’t physically die, but the Bible says that they died. Why? Because they had now been separated from God because of their sin.

To be “dead” in trespasses and sins is to be separated from God.

2. “In Trespasses and Sins”

Physical death is the final result of sin, spiritual death is the immediate result of sin.

“Trespass” means to “deviate from the right path” or to “wander”. Hence, when we trespass against the commands of God, we have wandered into the territory of sin. When we go into the territory of sin, we are caught in a trap. And we cannot set ourselves free, we need The Lord Jesus to set us free.

John 8:36 NKJV

Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

“Sin” literally means “to miss the mark”. If you think about it, you’ll realize this is an athletic term. It as if we were in an archery tournament, and we needed a perfect score to win, and whether or not you almost get a perfect score, or you completely miss the board, it doesn’t matter, you still didn’t win because you missed the mark.

3. Everyone has missed the Mark

What we get are too many people that hit a nine in morality and think that they win the game. But the Bible says that everyone has missed the mark, thus everyone is dead in their trespasses and sins.

Romans 3:23 NKJV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

James 2:10 NKJV

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

So, even when we lose by one point, we still lose.

We cannot start believing that our friends, family, and neighbors don’t need salvation because they are “good people.”

They may be good people according to our standards, but they are dead in their trespasses and sins, separated from God, just like we were before we were made alive in Christ.

B. (Disobedient) Apart From Christ, You Were Disobedient

Ephesians 2:2 NKJV

in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

1. “The World”

v. 2 says that we “walked according to the course of this world.” It is not talking about the physical world. It is not talking about the people of the world, it is talking about the worldly powers that exist in the world.

Ephesians 6:12 NKJV

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

When the Bible talks about “the world” it is talking about the power of this world, the devil. It says in v. 2 that the devil is the prince of the power of the air.

God has His angels and satan has his demons, and so he is the prince of the powers of the “air”...of the lower atmosphere, where humanity lives.

Now, Jesus has won the war, and He has paid for the world, but He has not come to claim the world yet. He will do that when He comes again…but for now, satan still rules this world.

Consider: When we defined trespasses, we said that it was to “deviate from the right path”. When the Bible says that we “walked according to the course of this world”, it means that we wilfully abandoned the path of God, and began to walk in sin, far from the path of God, and we walked according to the path of the devil.

2. “The Spirit in the Sons of disobedience”

This is an interesting phrase, because it cannot be that satan works in us the way that Christ works in us.

What the Bible is saying is simply that satan in the prince of the spirit that lives in every person.

What is that spirit?

It is the spirit of Cain, it is the spirit of the anti-Christ, it is a spirit of rebellion against God.

We call that a “sin nature”

From the very beginning we acknowledge that satan didn’t possess Eve and cause her to sin, but that he stirred up lust within her and she began to look at that fruit, eventually eating it, and then sin spread to everyone else so that we all have a “sin nature” (the spirit of rebellion against God). It is the same spirit that Adam set loose into the world, and that spirit reigns in the life of everyone who is not “in Christ”.

C. (Depraved) Apart From Christ, You Were “Depraved”

There’s a word that causes some confusion! The proper understanding of depravity is that a person who is depraved, can never do what needs to be done in order to “hit the mark” (to be saved).

“Depravity” does not mean that a lost person can’t do something that is good, it is that a lost person cannot do something that pleases God.

Why? - Because everything that a sinner does is corrupted by the corpse that they walk around in.

In the OT, you’re going to find something called a “ceremonial law.” A major part of what the OT refers to as “staying clean” (stay pleasing to God), is that they don’t touch a corpse.

Numbers 19:11 NKJV

‘He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days.

Well, if without Christ a person is “dead (corpse) in trespasses and sins,” then everything that person does is unclean and cannot be accepted by God.

Ephesians 2:3 NKJV

among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

That is, without Christ in us, we were just like the others, depraved, no matter how good we were by the worlds standards.

All Sufficient Merit (Song)

I am going to introduce a new song to the church called “All-Sufficient Merit” to the church when we’re done practicing it. The song is about how the works of Jesus were sufficient and our works are not. That His merit, His works which were good and not tainted by sin were pleasing to God. These first chapters in the book of Ephesians are no doubt the foundation of this song, and I want to read some of the verses in the lyrics so that you can praise God for what He’s done when we sing it.

Chorus:

It is done, it is finished, no more dеbt I owe Paid in full, all-sufficient merit now my own

Verse 1:

All-sufficient merit shining like the sun A fortune I inherit by no work I have done My righteousness I forfeit at my Savior's cross Where all-sufficient merit did what I could not

Verse 2:

In love, He condescended eternal now in time A life without a blemish, the Maker made to die The law could never save us, our lawlessness had won Until the pure and spotless Lamb had finally come

Verse 3:

I lay down my garmеnts, any empty boast Good works now all corrupted by the sinful host I'm dressed in my Lord Jesus, a crimson robe made white No more fear of judgment, His righteousness is mine

Verse 4:

All-sufficient merit firm in life and death The joy of my salvation shall be my final breath When I stand accepted before the throne of God I'll gaze upon my Jesus, and thank Him for the cross Yes, I'll thank Him for the cross

1. Christianity is a Heart Religion

I always want you to remember that Christianity is not primarily a religion of intellect or of performance, but that it is a religion of the heart.

Without Christ, we are dead (separated from God in our hearts), we are disobedient (we have a spirit of rebellion in our hearts), and we are depraved (by nature, we corrupt every good thing we do because our hearts are unclean).

Therefore, even as a Christian, when we do something out of a heart of pride or lust instead of from a heart for God’s glory, then it is corrupted and unacceptable to God.

II. Who He is in Spite of You

God has every right to destroy the earth and everyone in it. We’re so prideful that we actually think that God is impressed when we show up to church, when we wear the right clothes, when we say the right words…etc. And sometimes we think that we’re hopeless because we aren’t what we think we ought to be…But God is God in spite of everything that we are.

A. The Author of Love

Ephesians 2:4 NKJV

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

By nature we are dead, disobedient, and depraved. But Scripture testifies that God by nature is love.

So, God does not need sinners or anything else in order to love, because He is love.

And because He is love He expresses great mercy towards us.

1. Explaining the Attributes of God

There are those attributes that He possesses (intrinsic attributes), and there are those attributes which He extends (relative attributes).

Warren Wiersbe, Be Rich, pg. 55.

God has two kinds of attributes: those He possesses of Himself (intrinsic attributes) ([such as] life, love, [and] holiness) and those [that] He [uses to] relate to His creation, especially to man (relative attributes).

For example, by nature God is truth, but when He relates to man, God’s truth becomes faithfulness. God is holy, and when He relates that holiness to man, it becomes justice.

Love is one of God’s intrinsic attributes, but when this love is related to sinners, it becomes grace and mercy.

So God does not save us by His love, He is love. Because He is love, He saves us with the riches of His mercy and grace.

The Two Rich Men

Let’s say that there are two rich men.

One who is rich but does not have love, and the other who is rich and does have love.

Which man would you go to in your time of need?

You would go to the man who is rich and has love, because his love would move him with compassion, causing him to act with mercy and grace towards you.

Mercy means that we do not get what we deserve (God’s judgement). and Grace means that we get what we could never earn (God’s salvation through the death of Jesus on the Cross, His burial, and His resurrection).

B. Giver of Life

Ephesians 2:5–6 NKJV

even when we were dead in trespasses, [He] made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

The King James always uses the words “He quickened us.” We went from slow moving corpses to empowered and energized co-heirs with Jesus Christ because He made us alive.

How did that happen?

1. Jesus became Sin

Scripture tells us that Jesus became sin (2 Cor 5:21).

It also tells us that on the cross, when the Lord Jesus became sin, that Jesus died in the same way that were dead. The Lord Jesus was separated from God the Father.

2. Jesus Came to Life

But, because of His righteous sacrifice, He came back, raised by His own power back to life.

And because He was raised back to life, if He is in us, then we will also be raised back to life.

v. 5-6 - He made us alive together with Christ and raised us up together!

C. Keeper of Promises

Ephesians 2:7 NKJV

that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

He promised us way in the beginning that if we will trust in Him “by faith”, then salvation would come. He kept His promise, and now we can rest in His promise.

III. What He Did For You

Ephesians 2:8–10 NKJV

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

A. He Rescued You

You were trespassing against the commands of God and you were caught in the steel trap of sin, and God rescued you by His grace when you trusted in the Lord Jesus.

1. We Were Depraved, Dead, and Unclean

We were depraved, and every good work that we did was corrupted because we were dead and we were unclean. This is why v. 9 says “not of works lest any should boast” because our works weren’t satisfying to God…our works were tainted by these dead hearts that we had.

v. 5…But God, Who is rich in mercy because of His great love, sent His Son to become sin, so that we could be rescued from sin.

B. He Recreated You

Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

For we are His workmanship.

That is, when you were dead, He made you alive, and He has recreated you with a new heart.

To say that we are His workmanship is to say that any good thing about us is from the builder, not from us.

The Bible says that the Lord Jesus is the cornerstone (Eph 2:20-22). Without Him, the entire building falls. Without Christ in you, nothing has been built. So, we don’t have any reason to consider ourselves to be anything special as we so often do. And the Bible reminds us to stay humble before a holy and a loving God.

Understanding that we are His workmanship shows us that salvation is not the end, but the beginning, and that God has recreated us into a different person.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

We are His workmanship…

IV. What He Does In You

Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

When you are “in Christ” by grace through faith, His Holy Spirit enters you, and regenerates you.

Regeneration means that to give life and to purify.

Once you were dead, and because you were dead you were unclean, but through faith in the Lord Jesus, God’s grace was extended to you, and you became His workmanship. The Holy Spirit entered in, cleansed you, and made you alive. So now, you are not unworthy, but you are worthy because of God’s grace.

So, the Holy Spirit works in through the witness of God’s Word, through the discipline of prayer, and through sufferings and trials.

This is the meaning of the biblical word “sanctification”.

Sanctification means “being made holy” or it means “to be purified”.

“Regeneration” is the beginning of your new life in Christ, “sanctification” is the ongoing process of becoming more like Jesus Christ.

What God did for you is He regenerated you, what He does in you is He sanctifies you.

A. He Renews You

This is a day by day pursuit of Godliness through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us.

Romans 12:2 NKJV

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

The Bible says in v. 10, we were “created in Christ Jesus for good works.”

He has taken us from a spirit of rebellion to a spirit submission, so that now when we work for God out of a purified heart, our works are considered good instead of evil.

Because of this renewal that has taken place in us, we are qualified and we are worthy to work for God. It’s not because of anything that we did, but its all according to the riches of God’s mercy and grace.

B. He Energizes You

God has placed His Spirit in you…and by His Spirit He has empowered you!

Ephesians 1:15–16 NKJV

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

Ephesians 1:18 NKJV

“that you may know”

Ephesians 1:19 NKJV

what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working (energizing) of His mighty power.

C. He Employs You

v. 10 “[You were] created in Christ Jesus for good works”

That word “works” is the Greek word “Ergon”.

It simply means that we are “employed” by God to do His work.

It is very true that God performs miracles, but He always uses His people as the means of production.

The Word of God is taught by a man we called a preacher.

Churches are built and sustained by the faithful giving of God’s people.

The darkest places of the world are reached by people we call missionaries.

There are many other wonderful examples of this, but the bottom line is that God accomplishes His purposes through the work of His people which He prepared beforehand so that we can walk in them.

So…Don’t throw a pity party and say you can’t work for God because of some past guilt. Don’t tell me that you don’t have the power to direct your focus to the ministry of the church because you “aren’t strong enough to live a moral life.”

Look again!

Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Conclusion

A. How To Stay Renewed, Energized, and Employed

1. Admit You Are Personally Weak

1 Corinthians 10:12 NKJV

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

That is, if any of you think that you’re too spiritual or good to be caught in sin, you better watch out before you fall.

1 Peter 5:8 NKJV

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

And we cannot resist temptation, and we cannot overcome hardship in our own strength because we are weak. And when we are willing to admit our weakness in faith, then the Holy Spirit of God energizes us.

2 Corinthians 12:10 NKJV

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2. Understand and Submit to God’s Authority

You’re Not My Authority

I am having my quiet time in the sanctuary on Tuesday morning before basketball camp. I walked into that place with God to confess my sin and to be prepared for the day.

But instead of approaching God as my authority that day, I approached Him carelessly, and the first thing out of my mouth after “Father” was “forgive me.”

But when I said, “forgive me,” I wasn’t saying it out of contrition, I wasn’t saying it as though I was saying it to a superior, I said it from my heart as if God were obligated to forgive me, and in my spirit I was rebuked and it was as if God said to me in that moment, “You’re not my authority.”

I had opened my Bible, I had bowed my head, but I had not bowed my heart. I wasn’t ready that morning to submit, and it pierced my heart.

What’s the deal with authority?

In Luke 7 you’ll find the story of the centurion.

The centurion had a sick servant and he sent for Jesus to heal the servant.

Jesus begins to go towards the centurion’s home, and the centurion sent friends to Jesus and said this:

Luke 7:6–10 NKJV

Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

Why did Jesus marvel?

A centurion is a man who has 100 men under his command. And yet, a centurion is also a man who is under the command of those that are superior to him.

Jesus marveled because the centurion rightly understood authority. That if the centurion did not wilfully submit to those in authority over him, he had no right to have authority over others. This is because the authority of that commander came from those in command over him.

The Incredible Power of Kingdom Authority: Getting an Upper Hand on the Underworld Chapter 5

When it comes to authority, you cannot be over those things that God wants you to be over until you learn to be under those things that God has set over you.

Jesus said the same about Himself, that “He does nothing without the approval of His Father.” Jesus was saying, that as a man, “I have power over death and disease only because I submit to My Authority, My Father, in everything that I do.”

3. Surrender Your Life to Him

Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Each and every day, get in prayer and say to God, “I am surrendered to You, I will allow you to direct my paths.”

Psalm 119:10–11 NKJV

With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

When you pray and confess your sin and your weakness to God, get in His word and hide it in your heart.

The Bible calls this “meditating” on His word. It means to speak it, to sing it, to recite it, and to think on it all day everyday.

Colossians 3:17 NKJV

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Finally, you have to remember that you’re not just working for the church, you’re not just working for the job, you’re not trying to please the pastor, but you are working under the authority of the Lord. And when we do it all for His glory in the name of the Lord Jesus, we are pleasing to Him, and by His Spirit we are energized to serve Him.