Ephesians 2:1-10
Notes
Transcript
Review
Review
Thus far in this letter Paul has been overflowing with Praise to God as he recounted the great spiritual blessings that we have in Jesus Christ, blessing that are made that much more glorious because they were the eternal plan of God, brought about in history and will continue into eternity.
Paul’s expressed his desire, that his prayer to God for them, was that God would give them a deeper knowledge of Himself so that they would have a greater appreciation of their Salvation, that they would understand the hope of God’s calling them, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and the surpassing greatness of His power toward them as believers.
He ended the chapter by pointing out that that power was the very power of God that raised Jesus from death to life and exalted Him to the place of Highest Authority.
Introduction
Introduction
As Paul continues this letter he now moves from a discussion of the working of God’s power in Christ to the working of that power in those who have believed. In verses 1-10 of Chapter 2, Paul sets forth the Unity of Salvation and in verses 11-22 he will set for the Unity in the Church.
So, tonight as we study Ephesians 2:1-10, Paul will set the basis for church unity. In verses 1-10 Paul will make it clear that Jew and Gentile had the same need of salvation, the same way of salvation and the same goal of salvation.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
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.
Among them we too 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.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions, 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 ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Same Need of Salvation Vs 1-3
Same Need of Salvation Vs 1-3
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
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.
Among them we too 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.
Foundation of Unity - Spiritual Death
Foundation of Unity - Spiritual Death
The Ephesians Believers
The Ephesians Believers
Gentiles were Dead in their Trespasses and Sins
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
To trespass means “to deviate from the right path, to turn aside, to wander.” (Wuest).
Sin means missing the mark. So put together we are talking about violating God’s ways (trespass) and therefore missing the mark (Sin) of bringing glory to Him.
Spiritual Walk of the Ephesians
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.
They walked in their trespasses and sins.
“walk”: how a person lives on a daily basis.
Daily Actions of the Ephesians
Among them we too 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.
Their daily actions (lived) were in accordance with trespasses and sins.
Worldview: Paul says in verse 2 that they lived in accordance with the course of this world. They lived according to the philosophy of the world at large. And those philosophies were according to the Prince of the Power of the Air, that is Satan.
Set Apart to Satan, not God
Set Apart to Sin not Holiness
Before Christ the Ephesians were dead sinners who belonged to the Kingdom of Satan and lived according to worldly philosophies that were in rebellion to God’s truth.
The Jewish People
The Jewish People
Among them we too 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.
Unity of Jew and Gentile:
Paul makes a distinction here between “you”, “you were dead...” and “we”, “we too all formerly lived...” The distinction is between Jew and Gentile. That is made clear in verse 11 where Paul will begin to speak directly of Gentiles and Jews. Not only were the Gentiles guilty of sinning against God, so too were the Jews.
Spiritual Walk of the Jews
The Jews were among the sons of disobedience. Not that they were in the world with them but that they joined with them in their sinful disobedience to God.
They indulged the desires of their flesh and of their mind. They willfully gave into the desires of their sinful nature instead of living according to God’s word.
Children of Wrath
Paul continues at the end of verse 3, “and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” That is the desperate condition that they were in, both Jew and Gentile. They were dead in their trespasses and sins and deserved the wrath of God by the very nature of who they were.
By nature:
In their natural condition, before they were saved they deserved God’s wrath. It is not that they sinned and therefore spiritually died, but rather that because they were spiritually dead, they sinned. They were sinners by their very nature, they were born that way
Same Way of Salvation Vs 4-6
Same Way of Salvation Vs 4-6
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions, 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,
The Turning Point: “But God...”
The Turning Point: “But God...”
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
Rich in Mercy
His desire was not to punish them, not to give them what they deserved
Because of Love
Agape Love - both the noun and the verb form of ‘agape’ love.
God’s love for them was shown in love to them.
There was action involved.
even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
Gave us Life
We deserved death (even while we were dead…)
Brought to Spiritual Life In Christ!
Spiritual Unity - Made us alive together in Christ - Jew and Gentile
By His Grace
Gave us what we did not deserve!
and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Raised us Up with Him
Resurrected from death to life with Christ!
Seated us with Him
Seated With Christ!
Not only resurrected but Exalted!
Kingdom of Darkness to Kingdom of Heaven:
They were at one time walking according to the course of this world, influenced by the Kingdom of darkness, but God raised them up and seated them with Christ in the heavenly places. They were no longer part of the Kingdom of Darkness but had been brought into the Kingdom of Heaven. The influence, the control over their lives was no longer the world, the flesh or the devil, but Jesus Christ, the head of the church.
Same Goal of Salvation Vs 7-10
Same Goal of Salvation Vs 7-10
so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Grace on Display
Grace on Display
Ages to Come:
There is much debate over what this phrase means but it seems that it simply means that God desires to put His Grace on Display for all to see throughout the remaining history of the world and into eternity.
Display of Grace:
God’s great kindness toward us puts his grace on Display. God is glorified as our lives, lives of holiness as opposed to lives of sin, are a witness to God’s tremendous, abundant grace. (Lavished on us…)
Undeserved Salvation
Undeserved Salvation
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Simple definition of Grace:
Grace is, as RC Sproul said, “the unmeritied favor of God.”
It is Unearned and we do not deserve it.
Deeper Understanding of Grace:
And while that is a good definition, it does not say enough. Grace is not just a character quality of God. Something happened to those who were dead in their sins. God “made us alive together with Christ, by Grace you have been saved,” Paul said in verse 5.
Let us not forget what it is that Paul desired for them to learn. He wanted them to know the surpassing greatness of God’s power toward them. A power that Paul went on to describe as the very power of God that raised Jesus from the dead and exalted Him to the highest authority in both the physical and spiritual realms.
In our text Paul has been showing the parallel between Jesus and His followers. Paul and the believers in Ephesus had been dead but God made them alive! It was the surpassing greatness of God’s power that raised Jesus and it was the surpassing greatness of His power that raised them to Spiritual Life, “by Grace you have been saved.
Grace is more than just a kind quality of God. Sproul goes on to say, “grace is a personal act. It is something that God does. Grace is a Divine activity, it is an expression of graciousness.” And from the context of our passage, grace is the very power of God poured out upon sinful man in salvation!
Salvation Inseparable from Christ
By Grace but through Faith - Faith in Christ
They had to believe the gospel, which they did. Paul had heard of their faith (1:13, 15)
Salvation is a Gift
Faith, salvation are “not of yourselves, it is a gift of God”.
Faith is the gift of God. Salvation from beginning to end is brought about by the Grace of God.
Not the result of works: God is not obligated to save us. We can not do anything to deserve salvation
Points again to the abundance of grace, the grace that was lavished on us. In spite of our sin, in spite of the fact that we did not deserve it, God poured out his grace on us and provided salvation in Christ!
Boasting is Impossible
We have no basis to Boast, only to humbly glorify God for our salvation!
Spiritual Walk Transformed
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
God’s Workmanship
Works of Art - God’s works of Art - have been made into something new, something beautiful
Set Apart to God
They used to walk according to the course of this world, but now they had been set apart to God.
Good Works / God’s Work
They were created in Christ Jesus for good works. Before, their life was characterized by sin and now they were to be characterized by the good works, works which God had prepared beforehand. They were to be holy! As they walked in these Good Works they would truly be God’s Workmanship, His works of art that would display the glory of His grace to the World!
Summary
Summary
Centrality of Christ
They were made alive together with Christ, seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus and it would be in Christ Jesus that God would display His grace in kindness toward them.
We are Alive in Christ!
No Longer spiritually dead and bound to the course of this world
God had mercy on us, great love for us and has lavished us with His Grace
God has prepared Good work for us to do
Application
Application
1. Humility
Let us be humble knowing that Salvation from beginning to end is the great kindness of God.
Let us be humble knowing that it is only by the Grace of God that we are not like the world, that we are not like those who’s worldview is influenced by Satan. May our growing knowledge of who we were and what Christ has done for us lead us to humility toward those who are still in the Kingdom of Darkness
2. Doxology
Let us be amazed, amazed at the love and grace poured out on us by God. It was by his will and for His glory, but it was done because of His Love
3. Daily Living
Let us earnestly desire to put God’s grace on display by involving ourselves in the good works that God has prepared beforehand for us!