Ephesians 2:1-7

Being Spiritually Dead

Paul says to the church at Ephesus that before knowing Christ they were spiritually dead. This means they had no concept of God or spiritual matters. Just as a corpse cannot hear the conversations in the funeral parlor, so a person that is spiritually dead cannot hear the voice of God.

I believe that we can all attest to the fact that before we knew Christ the things of God were not even a consideration in our lives. We just lived our lives as though He did not exist. We lived just for ourselves and only sought to please the things that are natural to us. What did you live for before knowing Christ?

Our Trespasses and Sin Is What Causes Our Death.

Adam and Eve experienced this when they sinned.

16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

The Lord told Adam that he would die if He disobeyed Him. Death was not a reality during the time between creation and Adam’s fall. Everything was perfect and was not affected by death.

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the [c]cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

We see Adam cross a barrier that he was not suppose to cross. He ate the fruit that God told him not to. The result was shame and hiding from God. They did not want to have fellowship with God because they were ashamed for what they had done. They wanted to get away form God so they wouldn’t have to own up to what they had done.

This death has been passed on throughout history to every person.

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—13 for [h]until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a [i]type of Him who was to come.

It is not the action of sin that condemns us it is our sin nature.

Our Trespasses and Sin Caused Us To Walk according to the Course Of This World

world system n. — the people constituting the world whose values, beliefs, and morals are in distinction and rebellion to God’s.

What are some of the worlds values, beliefs, and morals.

Values - anything that benefits me.

beliefs - I am owed everything

morals- everything is relative.

Satan Is the Prince Of This World and Influences the Lost. They Are Sons of Disobedience and Are Under God’s Wrath.

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

This passage of scripture shows that Satan has spiritual powers and forces to help him accomplish his mission of death. Satan is not like God. He is created and can only be at one place at one time. He does not know what you are thinking because he is not omniscient. However we must not take lightly his existence and spiritual forces of wickedness.

God Made Us Alive In Christ Jesus.

God’s mercy and love brought life to our dead souls. This is a theological term called regeneration.

26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

This is God initiated. He is the one that gives us a new heart and take away the old one. He is the One that causes us to walk in His ways.

Jesus refers to this as the new birth.

3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born [b]again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born [c]again.’8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

When God calls a person to regeneration, it is usually done by means of conviction. A person begins to realize that there is a God and that they are not pleasing in His sight. As they seek relief from their conviction, God reveals His Son, their Savior. It is when the person receives Jesus Christ salvation and forgiveness that they are regenerated or born again.

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

God Raised Us Up With Him and Seated Us With Him In Heavenly Places.

When God regenerates a person, they are saved forever. Paul is saying here that when a person is saved their place in heaven is secured. This is a wonderful promise of God. He is the one that secures us, it is not anything that we do that gets us there or anything that we do will cause us to lose our place in heaven.

I often will use this when I am asked about people that commit suicide. I first want to know about the persons salvation experience. If that person was regenerated by God, then not even suicide can take away their place in heaven.

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Even Christians can suffer from mental illness that lead to suicide. This is because we live in a fallen world where every person is affected by sin.

One may say what about the person that was very involved in their faith, but seems to have walked away. We would need to go back and assess the person’s salvation experience. Was this person genuinely saved? If so, why are they not producing fruit in their lives? If they are genuinely saved they will return to their faith when confronted by the Holy Spirit. If they refuse and walk away from their faith we must question whether they were saved to begin with.

God Demonstrates His Surpassing Grace and Kindness Toward Us In Christ Jesus.

When God saves a person, the mountain of sin that is forgiven, can only be attributed to a loving God. We cannot even begin to conceive the mountain of sin we had when we came to Christ. All of it is removed! Only an almighty God could do this! PRAISE HIM!