Ephesians: But God...
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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.
What does it mean to be “dead?”
What does it mean to be “dead?”
I don’t want to be graphic, but we have minimized the metaphor in our culture. We block all images of death, we don’t have to kill our own food, loved ones don’t die as often as they do in other times or other parts of the world.
To top it off, modern “spirituality” wants us to believe death is natural. It’s all part of the “circle of life.”
[Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW7PlTaawfQ]
But let’s look at the text again:
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—
Obviously people walk around who are “dead” in the trespasses and sins. So what does this mean?
This is spiritual death.
This is spiritual death.
To understand spiritual death, we need to go back to Genesis.
God created everything good. Adam was in a beautiful and full relationship with God.
What’s the best relationship you’ve ever had?
What’s the best relationship you’ve ever had?
Have you ever had a great relationship with another human being? Maybe a parent? Maybe a brother? Maybe a friend? Maybe a girlfriend or boyfriend? Any good relationship you ever had would only be a shadow of this perfect relationship Adam had with God. And I believe it was much more tangible than the way we relate to God today.
That relationship was one built on love and worship. Adam’s heart was directed toward God. And as Adam’s heart was oriented towards God, Adam was satisfied. He was full of joy.
Everything has its purpose
Everything has its purpose
Chairs
Violins
Paintbrushes
Books
Mankind
Mankind was created to worship God
Mankind was created to worship God
Have you ever noticed how everyone worships something?
To worship is to be human.
Celebrities
Money
Intellect
Environment
Family
Politics
Self (Image)
Self (Comfort)
Mankind was created to worship God
Mankind was created to worship God
God gave man (Adam) a choice
God gave man (Adam) a choice
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
When Adam worshiped himself, rather than the creator, God, he died spiritually
When Adam worshiped himself, rather than the creator, God, he died spiritually
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.
Following the course of this world
Following the prince of the power of the air
Carrying out the desires of the body and the mind
Following the course of this world
Following the course of this world
Because Adam is the Father of all mankind, his rebellion is passed down to all his descendants
Look at the text again (nature, children of wrath)
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.
Following the prince of the power of the air
Following the prince of the power of the air
Those who are dead in sin are continuing to believe the lies of Satan.
Here’s Satan’s biggest lie:
Here’s Satan’s biggest lie:
God does not want what is best for you.
God does not want what is best for you.
God offers us a life of worship and surrender to him! Satan says that’s not what you want, you want FILL IN THE BLANK.
Satan wants to pit your holiness against your happiness! Don’t let him!
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.
Carrying out the desires of the body and the mind
Carrying out the desires of the body and the mind
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Sin promises what it cannot give
Sin promises what it cannot give
Or, put another way, sin promises what only God can give.
Side note: every person is dead or was dead
Side note: every person is dead or was dead
Outside Chris...
we are DEAD
But God...
But God...
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.
Explain the following:
Being rich in mercy
Because of the great love
Even when we were dead
Made us alive together with Christ
Two ways we shrink the glory of God
Two ways we shrink the glory of God
1. We think too little of our deadness (our sin)
2. We think too little of God’s holiness
When we realize rightly the depth of our sin and the height of God’s holiness, it ought to bring us to our knees.
When we realize rightly the depth of our sin and the height of God’s holiness, it ought to bring us to our knees.
Only Christ could close such a gap.
Only Christ could close such a gap.
Questions for reflection:
What is my view of the purpose of mankind?
Do I shrink the glory of God by thinking too little of my sin or God’s holiness?
How big is my “but God?”