Grace Through Faith Part 1

Ephesians 2:1-3 – Sermon

Introduction: Last week was Halloween. Several of us stood outside the Schultz Ministry Center handing out candy. We saw princesses, dinosaurs, ninjas, skeletons, monsters, and even some zombies. Zombies are weird. Their origin is from Haiti where dead people come back to life by means of magic. They were greatly feared. The ones we saw last night, not so much. Basically, a zombie is a walking dead person.

Ephesians 2:1-3 begins by telling us that we were also “once dead in trespasses and sins.” Once, the people that Paul is writing too, were dead spiritually. They were alive physically, but dead and separated from God spiritually. This passage is the bad news that is common to all mankind. It is addressed, however, to believers who were once this way, but are not alive, no longer separated from God through the grace of Jesus Christ. We are going to answer the question: What do all believers’ past have in common?

Let’s read Ephesians 2:1-3.

Let’s pray.

NOTE: Remember, this is a letter to the church at Ephesus. If we were to receive a letter from a friend or a loved one, we would read it all the way through in one sitting. That is how we should be reading Ephesians. Because when we left off a couple of weeks ago, we were talking about the Greatness of God’s power as seen through the resurrection of Jesus. That resurrection power is seen in that life of the believer in that we were dead in our sins but are made alive through Jesus Christ by grace through faith. I want to encourage you, again, to read through Ephesians at least once this week. If Ephesians was laid out like a normal book, then it would only be fourteen pages long. We should be able to read that in less than an hour. Let me know how many times you were able to read Ephesians this week.

What do all believers’ past have in common?

I. We were all once dead. 2:1-2

NOTE: Like the zombie, we were walking around the world without a clue that we were dead. We were completely separated from God. We were alive on the outside, dead on the inside.

A. We were walking the course of this world.

1. The “And you” refers to the Gentiles at the church at Ephesus.

a. The had come to agree with God about their sin and believed that Jesus died for them.

b. They had witnessed the greatness of the power of God through Jesus Christ. And experienced it in their own lives as God brought them from death to life.

c. Notice verse 3, “among whom also we all once.” Here Paul is including himself into this description of man without God, as well as, his Jewish brethren.

d. What is stated in these verses is true for the Gentile, for the Jew, for all humanity. We were all once dead in our sins and trespasses until we met Jesus.

2. What are trespasses and sins?

a. The Greek word for “sin” means to “miss the mark”

1) Last Saturday, Micah, Mary, and I went shooting at Roy’s house. Well, not at his house, but in his woods.

2) We set up cans on a board and started shooting. On some shots the cans would fly into the air. On some shots, the leaves on the ground would fly in the air. What is the difference between the two shots?

3) One hit the target and one missed the mark. Whose mark did we miss? God’s mark. We will never be able to hit His target of holiness. We are dead in our sins.

b. What about trespasses?

1) This has been described as falling or slipping.

2) It is a deliberate breaking of a law.

3) When Michele and I were in Benin, we went to a village on the border of Benin and Nigeria. Since we did not know the language, we wandered around taking pictures. We walked over to the river which was dry that time of year. There we found Fulani boys tending their family’s sheep. They wanted to show us the rest of the flock on the other side of the river. Now, we were not allowed to cross that river and enter Nigeria. We did not have a visa for that country. For us to go over there would have been trespassing. We could have gone and not had a single problem. Or we could have gone and been immediately arrested for entering the country illegally. To go deliberately is to trespass.

4) So, sin is missing the mark and trespasses are deliberately breaking God’s law.

5) We are all guilty of trespasses and sins!

3. We were dead and once “walked according to the course of this world…”

a. The course of this world is a course without God.

b. It is interesting, this being an election year, to see how the world treats each other. I was especially captivated by the supreme court justice nomination process so close to the election. Often, I listened to the senators debating and asking the nominee questions. Then she was confirmed on Monday night. The next day, the Democrats were loudly saying they would have their revenge. Since you treated us this way, we will treat you worse. Wow! What is happening to our country?

c. Well, it is following the course of this era which is what Paul is saying here. This era is one that is ruled by the prince of the power of the air, not by Christ like in the era in the future.

d. Why would we expect our representatives to follow Biblical principles in this age? Now in the age to come, when Jesus rules, they will.

e. This age can be described as one with religion but without Christ except for those who have been made alive through His resurrection.

4. We were all once dead in our sins and…

B. We were held captive by evil spiritual powers.

1. One of those is the prince of the power of the air.

a. The prince of the power of the air is none other than Satan himself.

b. The Jews believed that the air, the atmosphere, was filled with evil spirits.

c. So, this prince, then is ruling over the evil spirit in the world.

d. And all those without Christ are held captive by him. They have no choice but to follow the course of this world while being dead in their sins and trespasses.

2. This prince works in the children of disobedience.

a. This is an old Hebrew term that is all inclusive.

b. We were all once the children of disobedience.

c. We were not adopted; we were born into the family of disobedience.

d. Each of us can speak from experience. We know that our parents were disobedient. We witnessed it. We know that we are sinners, we experience it. We know that our children are sinners, we see it in their actions.

e. We are dead in our sin and being held captive by Satan who is working in us. But by God’s love and grace, we are not longer dead, but alive. We are no longer captive, we are free in Him.

f. We see Him on the throne in heaven, though are past is terrible, our future is with Him forever!

II. We were all once fulling sinful desires. 2:3a

NOTE: What does a zombie do? Well, it depends on how it became a zombie, I guess. But the most common thing a zombie wants is to eat…uh…brains. I wonder if that is why there are no movies about zombie outbreaks in Washington D.C.? Anyway, the zombie is portrayed as walking, shuffling about trying to eat someone. That is about all there is to a zombie. And, well, that is pretty much what a sinner is, what we were, before Christ. We just wanted to fulfill, to do our sinful desires. (among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind…) We were…

A. Continually fulfilling the lusts of the flesh.

1. Now one commentator mentioned that God gave us certain appetites.

a. There is nothing wrong with fulfilling them in the right context.

b. We can sleep when we are tired that is not a sin. But to constantly sleep and do nothing else, now we are slothful.

1) To much food and we are a glutton.

2) Sexual desire outside of marriage becomes lust.

2. We sometimes think of the “lust of the flesh” as only sexual sin. But “flesh” here has to do with sins while we are in this body.

a. In Galatians 5:19-21 (GO TO), Paul lists the works of the flesh.

b. As we can see they are not limited to just sexual sins. The list covers every area of life and shows that each of us is guilty of sins/lusts of the flesh.

3. Being dead in our, walking according to the course of this world, and being held captive by the prince of the power of the air means that we are constantly walking about doing whatever sinful thing comes to mind.

a. We once were no better than a zombie milling about fulfilling our perverse desires.

b. What’s worse, is that many who live this way believe that they can sin against God, that they can break His law, and still live a life good enough to get into heaven.

c. A dead person can do nothing good. They are dead. Continually doing the sinful desires of the flesh. And…

B. Continually fulfilling the sinful desires of the mind.

1. Sin is more than just doing.

a. Sometimes we get to thinking that since I did not do, I only thought it, that it is ok.

b. The Greek words for sin and trespass cover thinking as well as doing.

2. Jesus told us that we would be held responsible for our thoughts and actions.

a. In Matthew 5, if we are angry at our brother in our heart, we are guilty of murder.

b. Also, in Matthew 5, if we lust after a woman, we are guilty of adultery.

c. According to Jesus, if we are thinking sinful thoughts, we are just as guilty before God as we would be if we had actually done them physically.

3. Not this is not an excuse to do what ever is in our hearts because we are already guilty. No, this is a challenge to stop thinking that way. To stop putting those things in your heart.

a. Remember, this is how a believer once behaved.

b. We were once dead in our sins. And we once continually committed sinful desires.

c. Now we are alive. Now our relationship with God is restored to what it should have been. Now we should be putting these sinful desires asides and following Jesus, not the prince of the power of the air – Satan.

d. These verses tell us how we once were, if you are still this way, then there is a problem with your walk.

1) Are you walking with God?

2) Are you walking with the world?

3) We are called to heavenly places, not to fulfill the lusts of the our flesh.

III. We were all once children of judgment. 2:3b

NOTE: Zombies do not face judgment, but what do they face? A second death? I guess that is true. They are dead people that have been reanimated and then they will die again. I have never understood zombies anyway. They are rotting, so in the heat of summer it will not take long for them to be gone. In the winter they would freeze. And they do not move very fast, so I would think we could just drive away? Those that are dead in their sin will also face “The Second Death.” That is, they are dead spiritually, then they will die physically only to face God at the Great White Throne Judgment. There they will see Jesus, the only one who could have saved them, and it will be too late to be saved. They will then be thrown into the Lake of Fire which is the second death. It is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

A. We were born into the family of wrath.

1. One commentator said that mankind was dead, enslaved, and condemned! (Stott)

a. That is what this final phrase means, “and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

b. The wrath is God’s wrath.

1) God’s wrath is not like our wrath. When we choose to be angry, it is usually something that happens quickly.

2) God’s wrath takes a long time to build.

3) He is angry at sin. One day He will judge and it will be a terrible day.

2. Notice that we were once “children of wrath.” This was our nature.

a. We were born with a sin nature. We were born sinners.

b. We cannot pass the buck back to Adam and blame him for our sin. Because even though it is our nature, we still choose to sin.

c. How many times did we choose to sin this week? Or even today?

d. So, we were born into a family of sinners. We were born into God’s wrath. We then chose to sin. Then we were waiting for God’s wrath to fall upon us.

e. That is how we once were and how so many still are at this moment. They could be one second away from eternity still dead in their sins. They could be moments from Hell still held captive by the prince of the power of the air. They could be minutes from disaster still continually fulfilling the lusts of the flesh…living in sin. They are, as we once were, without hope – dead, enslaved, and condemned.

3. But that is not so of the believer. The “And you…” of this passage.

a. They have been made alive, freed from the power of Satan, and the penalty for their sin has been paid by Jesus death and resurrection – the greatness of the power of God.

b. Also…

B. We have been adopted (made alive) into the family of God.

1. Go To Ephesians 1:3-6

a. We have been adopted into the family of God.

b. We are no longer the sons of disobedience; we are the sons and daughters of God.

c. We are no longer the children of wrath; God’s wrath has been satisfied, we have been bought back, redeemed from our enslavement to sin.

d. Are sins have been forgiven!

e. Why?

1) To the praise of the glory of His grace! (1:6)

2) Why? According to His good pleasure of His will (1:5)

3) Why? Because God loves us and wants us to be with Him for all eternity.

2. Where does that leave us?

a. This is the way we once were. By His grace we are no longer this way.

1) We all struggle with sin.

2) But we are no longer dead in our sin and following Satan. So, when we sin, we should be convicted of our sin and desire to change.

3) Our desires should no longer just fulfilling our flesh.

b. Also, we should praise God more because of the great work He has done in our lives.

1) He brought us back from the dead!

2) He took care of our sin. He saved us from Hell.

3) We should be praising His power, glory, and grace continually!

c. And, if you have not agreed with God about your sin, admitted you are a sinner, then you still are this way. Stuck in an endless cycle of sin. The believer’s past is your present. The only way out, is to admit you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died and came back to life, and commit your life to Him. Please do this today!

d. Don’t forget to see how many times you can read through Ephesians in one sitting this week!

e. We have become, through the power of God, alive and children of grace

Let’s pray.