From Dead Sinners to Raised Saints
Intro: We left Chapter one with the picture of Jesus, raised up by the Father, and seated on high, far above every being on earth and under the earth. Paul tells us that Jesus is the head and we, believers in Christ, make up the body of Christ (the Church).
Now in chapter two, he moves on to describe how we got there and where we came from.
From Dead Sinners to Raised Saints -- Eph 2:1-7
I.What We Were (Eph 2:1–3)
Eph 2:1-3 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
A.Dead In Trespasses and Sins (Eph 2:1).
1.Trespasses – one definition is “false steps,” “a lapse; a deviation from truth & uprightness.”
a.All of us do things wrong, that in our humanness are committed almost “innocently.” i.e. Getting angry with someone when provoked, a false statement made in ignorance, etc. Nevertheless, they are sin and even if they were the only things we ever did wrong, they would bar us from ever entering heaven.
2.Sins – that which is done wrong, sin, an offence, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act.
a.There are 613 laws in the Levitical Laws.
b.Jesus shows that even the violation of a law in one’s mind is sin.
c.By these standards, all of us were in a totally hopeless situation if we were in any way responsible for our qualification to heaven.
B.You (we) were following “the course [age] of this world, (Eph 2:2)
1.Course of this world, or this age = humanity’s values. I.E. “this day & age”
a.We know the unsaved world has an entirely different value system than God’s.
b.I Read in yesterday’s (Mar 20, 2009) KC Star, that a humanist in Cambridge, Mass. is working towards growing a church without God. This man (Greg Epstein) is author of book “Good Without God.” Note: This is the course of the world.
c. In the OT God continuously warned about compromise with the world. In the NT we have similar warnings (Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 6:14).
2.How about us in the church? How influenced by this age are we? I hate to admit it but, I think we are all more influenced than we even care to admit.
a. Consider your values concerning: finances, entertainment, dress, language, possessions, hobbies, etc.
C.Following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience (Eph 2:2b) Influenced by Satan
1.Prince of the power of the air = Satan.
a.2 Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
2.In other words, we were “spellbound” think of someone drugged.
3.And we know that Satan still works (1 Pet 5:8)
D.Fulfilling Our Lusts – Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (Eph 2:3a)
1.When we hear the word lust, it conjures up an idea perhaps of immoral or greedy desires. The dictionary’s first definition is: Pleasure, Delight
2.Yet wherever the word appears in the NT, there is no doubt it has a negative connotation. Why?
a.Because our flesh is at war with the Spirit. cf. Rom 7
b.There is a way which seems right to a man, But the end thereof are the ways of death. (Prov 14:12; 16:25)
3.Before we were saved we did what comes naturally to sinners. Now, we need to guard that we don’t do what is unnatural for Christians.
E.Children of Wrath. Everyone without Christ is destined to taste the awful wrath of God.
a.There is a day of wrath coming for all who are not in Christ. (Rom 2:5)
F.How Did This Come About?
1.Gen 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
a.All they did was eat the fruit of a particular tree.
b.That is how strict God’s standard is for His heaven! Death came
2.Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
a.Since Eden all people are born “dead.” This includes all of us here today.
b.So, no matter how nice you are, when you were born, you were born with imputed sin. It didn’t take long to rack up a list of committed sins.
II.BUT GOD – (But is such an important word in the Bible). Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
A.God is Rich in Mercy – Sparing us what we deserve cf. Rom 6:23.
B.God has Great Love
1.Agape – God’s love is superior to how man “loves.”
C.God Loved Us!
1.He loved (agape) us with his divine love.
2.1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
D.He Made Us Alive Again! Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved) When?
1.Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
2.God did all of this based on no goodness in us at all.
a.None of us can pat ourselves on the back for being saved.
b.We never deserved it.
c.We are only saved by the grace of God. (We will delve further into this subject in the next message).
III.He Raised Us Up – Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
A.Eph 1:20 says: “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.”
1.Now we see Jesus, the “Firstborn of Many Brethren (Rom 8:29)” has preceded each of us.
B.I want to catch what the Holy Spirit has inspired Paul to write. Jesus, who never deserved to die for sin, did so voluntarily for us (while we were yet sinners)! Then, God raised him from the dead.
1.He never deserved to die for sins; he did deserve to be raised from the dead. Not only that, it was his plan all along.
2.God the Father then gave Jesus his rightful place – at his right hand in heavenly places (Eph 1:20). Jesus deserved this.
a.Now, God also gave us new life (which we didn’t deserve).
b.He then raised us to heavenly places (which we didn’t deserve).
c.The keys are “together” and “in Christ Jesus.”
IV.Why did God do this for us?
A.Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Note: “ages” is same Greek word as “course” in Eph 2:2 (αἰών)
V.Summary:
A.Let’s have the same excited attitude of thanksgiving that Paul has. If you carefully examine Chapter one and two, it seems as if Paul is making every effort to convey what is in his heart. All of us have had the experience that we “know” something in our heart and it just seems impossible to really convey that to others. cf. Eph 1:18
1.The best way to understand Paul’s heart here is to read this passage over and over.
B.We need to take some time and think about our condition prior to our salvation. I was saved late in life; this isn’t too hard for me. But, I wonder about people saved early in life. I think those saved as young children have to:
1.First take it on faith that you were vile, filthy sinner, undeserving of the mercy and grace of God. Our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isa 64:6). Through Christ, we are given real righteousness; the righteousness of God 2 Cor 5:21
2.Draw from the experience of your own Christian life. As long as you and I are in this body of flesh, we are not free from sin (1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.)
C.We need to remain on guard. As far as our eternal outcome, we can certainly read Eph 2:2-3 as it is written; namely in past tense. But, we are still living on earth in bodies of flesh and can therefore be shipwrecked by this age.
D.I think this passage should humble us; it should utterly take our breath away, and it should produce the results indicated by the text:
1.Namely that all is to the Praise of His Glory (Eph 1:6, 12, 14).
2.To show for all eternity the exceeding riches of his grace (Eph 2:7).
Benediction: Eph 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)
