Apr 20
19
New Testament Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10
“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. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not 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, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:1–10, ESV)
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[Please excuse any and all typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church, but without the benefit of proofreading.]
Introduction
The scene is a very familier one in drama. Someone is in distress, even to the point of death, hopeless and unable to help themselves, when all of a sudden a hero appears to rescue them — to pull them from the flames, or something like this. A few days or weeks pass before the one who was saved awakes in a hospital bed being largely unaware of all that transpired. And then a witness appears — a friend who saw the ordeal unfold — to testify to the one who was saved concerning the reality of their helpless and hopeless situation, and the brave and self sacrificing actions of the hero who saved them. And how does the story go? The one who was delivered is moved to say concerning the hero, he saved my life! I’m eternally grateful. I owe him everything.
This is that scene in the book of Ephesians. It is here that Paul testifies to the Christian concerning the hopelessness and helplessness of our natural condition, and the fact that we are spiritually alive today only because God took the initiative to rescue us through the shed blood of Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This, in my opinion (and in the opinion of many others), is the most powerful section of Paul epistle as it pertains to opening the eyes of the Christian to the marvelous grace and superabundant love of God that has been poured out upon them. For it is here in this text that Paul presents the Christian with the rather unpleasant and very humbling news that we were in fact spiritually dead, and by nature children of wrath, prior to our adoption as sons. Truly we were hopeless and unable to help ourselves. All of these wonderful blessings that we have in Christ Jesus — these blessings which Paul has made mention of in the previous passage — are ours only by the grace of God.
I know that I have been very redundant in previous sermons mentioning time and again Paul’s stated purpose for writing, but it is important to keep this in mind. Paul’s stated objective is to open the eyes of the Christian to the marvelous grace and overflowing love of God shown to us in Christ Jesus. This is what he reported to pray for in 1:15ff and 3:14ff. His prayer was that Christians — both Jews and Gentiles — would have their eyes opened to the greatness of God’s love for them so that they would then walk worthy of this calling to which they have been called.
And I am saying that this passage that is before us today is the most powerful in this epistle as it pertains to opening the eyes of the Christians to the marvelousness of the grace of God, and to the fact that every blessing that we have in Christ is ours only because God has determined to set his love upon us, to rescue us out of our state of sin and misery, and to raise us to a new life in and through Jesus the Christ.
To go back to the illustration of the man who had been rescued, who awoke in a hospital bed being largely unaware of the severity of his condition, and the heroic actions of another — I do believe that many Christians spend some time in a state like this; in a state where, though they are truly alive in Christ, and sincerely happy and thankful in him, they have yet to fully comprehend just how gracious, merciful and kind God has been to them. They know that they were once in a bad place, and now they are blessed in Christ, but perhaps they have not yet realized just how bad of a place they were in, nor have they fully appreciated the greatness of the grace of God that has been shown to them.
Truth be told, we, in our pride, tend to minimize the severity of our sin and the helplessness of our condition when thinking of our life before Christ. We also tend to overestimate our contribution to our conversion and our new life in Christ — some even erroneously believe that while God did his part, they had to do theirs. And as a result we fail to see just how marvelous the grace of God bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus truly is.
Here, Paul is that witness who comes to us as we recover in the hospital bed. He comes to say, brother, you have to know this — you were dead. You were lying there lifeless and hopeless as the flames drew near. And this man put his own life on the line to save you. In fact, he himself was touched by the flames as he drug you to safety. And once there, he breathed life into your lungs until you were revived. It was not luck or chance that saved you. You didn’t crawl out of that situation, friend. Indeed, you couldn’t even call out, being dead as you were. But this man took the initiate. By his grace you were save, it was not your own doing…” You owe him everything.
This is the wonderful and very humbling news that Paul delivers to the Christian here in Ephesians 2:1-10. Concerning our salvation and the new life that is ours in Christ — it is all by the grace of God alone.
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You Were Dead In Your Sins (vs. 1-3)
Here in verses 1-3 Paul magnifies the marvelous grace of God by first revealing to us the severity of the situation that we were in, the helplessness of our natural condition, from which Christ has rescued us, to the praise of his glorious grace.
In verse 1 we read, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…” This is sobering.
Paul was speaking to Christians who were members of the church in Ephesus. And we should not forget that these were real people — individuals with life stories, not all that different from you and me. And he is here speaking of their lives prior to faith in Christ. “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…”, he said. Walking is often used in the scriptures as a metaphor for one’s way of life. And here Paul says that these Christians, who were certainly no different from all Christians, once walked in “trespasses and sins.” They were in their sins, and living in constant rebellion against God as violators of his most holy law.
And concerning their condition, Paul says that they were “dead”. This is a strange way to talk about people who only a few words later are also said to have been “walking”, but the meaning is clear. Though alive according to the flesh, and though walking in this world, they were in fact dead, spiritually speaking, in their trespasses and sins. Prior to faith in Christ they were the walking dead. And this is the natural condition of all who are born into this world now that the human race is fallen into sin. In our natural state, though alive according to the flesh, we are dead according to the spirit.
This idea should not surprise anyone who is familiar with the scriptures. In fact, the notion of spiritual death as the consequence of sin is established very early in the pages of scripture. To Adam God said, “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” (Genesis 2:17, ESV). Some have wondered what we are to make of the fact that Adam went on living for many, many years after eating of that forbidden tree. Was God mistaken when he said, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”? No, God was not wrong. The scriptures are very clear that Adam, though he continued to walk in the world which God had made, passed from a state of spiritual life, to a state of spiritual death when he sinned against God — and physical death would eventually come.
Paul, in seeking to awaken the Ephesians to the marvelous grace of God shown to them in Christ Jesus, informs them of the hopeless and helpless situation that they were rescued from — they were dead in their sins. Notice that he does not say that they were sick, wounded or weak, as if they merely needed a little assistance to climb out of the predicament they were in. Nor does he say that they were or ignorant, as if what they needed was an education. Nor does Paul say that they were immoral, as if they only needed to learn to do what is right. No, Paul says that they were dead in their trespasses and sins. This means that they were spiritually lifeless, dead to God, and to the things of God, unable to help themselves in any way. What they needed, therefore, was to be revived, born again, regenerated. Clearly, they could not do this for themselves, but needed someone to do this for them, for dead men cannot make themselves alive.
The rest of verses 2 and 3 helps to clarify what this spiritual deadness involves. Notice four things:
One, those dead in sin follow “the course of this world.” Being dead to God and to the heavenly things of God, they live for this world only, and according to its values and ways.
Two, those dead in sin follow “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience…” This is a reference to the Satan, the Evil One, who Paul refers to elsewhere as “the god of this world”. In 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 he says, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:3–4, ESV).
We know that Satan is not God, nor is he a god — for there is only one. Instead, Satan is a created being, an angel who is fallen. But Paul refers to him as “the god of this world”, because if people do not honor God as God, they have Satan as god.
This is might seem like a very radical way of speaking. When we think of those who honor Satan as god, we tend to think only of those who do it intentionally and knowingly. And certainly there are those who openly admit to worshipping Satan as god. But the scriptures reveal that all who are alienated from God and in their sin do in fact have Satan as god, even if they know it not.
To illustrate, we should remember that Christ himself spoke to some of the most highly respected, prim and proper, religious leaders of his day and said, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires” (John 8:44, ESV). Friends, having the “prince of the power of the air” as your lord, god, and father, does not always look dark are spooky on the surface. In fact, very rarely does it look dark and spooky. More often then not, it looks prim and proper. The wealthy businessman who wears a nice suit and tie every day follows “the prince of the power of the air” if he is not in Christ. He is living for the things of this world and not for the glory God. He is following the way of the “prince of the power of the air”, therefore. Even the religious man who busies himself with good deeds follows “the prince of the power of the air”, if he is not in Christ. He is living for the things of this world and not for God, and is in his sins, even if he is “a good man”, relative speaking.
Though it might sound radical to you, the scriptures teach that either we have God as Lord, or the Evil One as lord. And following the Evil One takes many forms. Some look dark and spooky, but must look very civilized, sophisticated, and even good on the surface.
Three, Paul tells us that those dead in sin live “in the passions of [their] flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind…” To be alive to God is to live for his glory and for that which pleases him. To be dead to God is to live for ourselves, to please the flesh, to carry out the desires of the body and mind. Those who are in Christ do not perfectly live for the glory of God. We do sometimes still live to please the flesh. Indeed, corruptions remain within us. But those not in Christ — those dead in their sins — live only “in the passions of [their] flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind…”
Four, Paul says that those dead in sin are “by nature children of wrath”. Please think about this phrase. Paul says that all who are not in Christ are “by nature children of wrath”. The word nature here refers to the natural, innate or inborn characteristic of a thing. So, by nature and according to natural brith, men and women are “children of wrath” — that is, children who are objects of God’s wrath, or children who are deserving of God’s wrath. This, Paul says, is our natural and inborn condition now that we are fallen into sin. So there is a sense in which all are God’s children. He is the Creator of all. All come from him, and will return to him. But given our sin, we are not by nature beloved children of God, but “children of wrath”, Paul says.
Notice the repeated emphasis peppered throughout this text that this is true for all of mankind. This is the condition of all who are born into this world, Jew and Gentile alike, who are not yet in Christ. Again, Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus, saying, “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 [a reference to those who do not yet believe]— 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” (Ephesians 2:1–3, ESV). This is the natural condition of all mankind, according to the scriptures — men and women are dead in the their sins, worldly, obedient to the Evil One, fleshly, and are children deserving of the wrath of God by nature. Brothers and sisters, this was our condition when God, in his mercy and grace, rescued us, redeemed us, and adopted us as sons through faith in Jesus Christ.
Aren’t you glad to know the truth? I will admit, this truth can be hard to swallow. This truth is humbling. This truth is a bit troubling. But it is the truth! And it is this truth concerning the terribly helpless and hopeless situation that we were in that enables is to most fully appreciate the marvelous grace that has been shown to us and the lavish love that has been bestowed upon us by God.
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But God Made You Alive (vs. 4-7)
The bad news turns to good news in verse 4 with the words “but God”. Verse 4: “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…” (Ephesians 2:4–5, ESV).
Here Paul magnifies the marvelous grace of God by revealing that it was God who took the initiative to save us in Christ, we being without hope and unable to help ourselves. God was gracious, merciful and kind to us, and Jesus Christ is our heroic Savior.
There are some who think of God the Father as being angry and stern, and as Jesus Christ as the one who is merciful and kind, who somehow managed to convince the Father to have mercy on us, to forgive us and to receive us as his own. And while it is indeed true that God is able to justly forgive our sins because the punishment due to us was paid by Christ, it is not true to imagine a disunity between the Father and Son as it pertains to our redemption. To the contrary, the mercy, grace and love of the Father was the cause of our redemption in Christ. It was the Father who sent the Son. In other words, it was the Father who took the initiated. And this he did, being moved by nothing more than his mercy, grace and love.
The scriptures everywhere testify to this. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV). Here in Ephesians we read, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us… made us alive together with Christ…” And 1 John 3:1 says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1, ESV). It is true that Christ bore the wrath of God in our place. This was so that God might both be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Christ (Romans 3:26). But that does not change the fact that the love of the Father was the fundamental cause of our redemption in Christ, and our adoption as sons. By nature we were all children of wrath, but in love the Father determined to adopt us as sons through faith in his Beloved Son, the obedient and risen Christ.
Again, Paul says that the Father, “being rich in mercy and because of his great love…” I will pause here to draw your attention to the superlatives that are found throughout this passage. “The Father, being rich in mercy and because of his great love…” — you can almost feel Paul straining to communicate to us how magnificent God’s love is! His love is great! His mercy is rich!
Verse 5 says, “even when we were dead in our trespasses” — here we have yet another reminder of our pitiful and helpless condition — we were dead! We could not help ourselves. But this is when God “made us alive together with Christ…” So what did the Father who is rich in mercy and great in love do for those who were dead? He made them alive. Just as God breathed life into Adam’s body at the time of creation, so too God breathes spiritual life into the souls of of those who are dead in their sins at the time of regeneration.
We do not reginarte ourselves, friends. We cannot cause ourselves to be born again, but must be born again from above if we are to live in Christ. Is this not what Jesus said to that man Nicodemus when he came to him at night? Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God…” (John 3:3, ESV) And a little later Jesus explained that to be born again is to be “born of the Spirit” (John 3:8, ESV). To be born again is not something that a person choses to do, but rather it is something that is done by God to a person who is spiritually dead. It is God who makes a dead soul to live. And this he does through the Son and by the Spirit, being moved only by his magnificent mercy, his superabundant love, and his marvelous grace.
That men and women do not cause themselves to be born again or made alive spiritually is the clear teaching of scripture, and it is also common sense. Dead things cannot choose to live, but must be made alive. Things that are not cannot choose to be — things that are not must be called into existence by Another. Truly, as Romans 4:17 says, our God is the one “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist”. And this he has done in regard to our spiritual life.
Notice how Paul again emphasizes that this new life that is ours, is ours in Christ, or through our union with him. In other words, God does not simply make a person spiritually alive. Instead, he makes them alive in Christ, through union with him, and by faith. In other words, it is because Christ lives, that we live. It is because Christ was raised, that we are raised. It is because Christ was glorified, that we are glorified. In all of these things Jesus the Christ is the vehicle, if you will. God makes us to live, but only in him. God makes us alive, raises us, and glorifies us, but it is Jesus the Christ, the true, obedient and victorious son of God who carries us there.
Paul mentions three things that we have by virtue of our union with Christ. In verse 5 we read that God “made us alive together with Christ…” In verse 6 we learn that God “raised us up with [Christ]…” And after that Paul tells us that God “seated us with [Christ] in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 2:6, ESV). So, it is in Christ and by our union with him that we are made alive, raised up, and seated in heaven.
The Greek is actually very strong and clear, though it is a bit difficult to bring over into English. I appreciate very much how Dr. Baugh translates this section. He renders verses 5 and 6 this way: “even though we were dead in our transgressions — it was us he co-made alive with the Messiah — by grace you have been saved — and he most certainly co-raised us and co-seated us in the high-heavenlies in Christ Jesus.” Again, the idea is that these things are ours only because we are in Christ, being united to him by faith. Because Christ was made alive, raised, and seated in heaven, so too are we.
Brothers and sisters, if you are in Christ, it is because God has given you new life in him. God has raised you to a newness of life now, and will raise you from the grave at the end of time, for Christ is risen. And because Christ is glorified at the right hand of the Father now in the high-heavenly places, you also are glorified with him. And in him you will be glorified for all eternity.
Someone asked me just this last week why in Romans 8:30 Paul speaks of the Christian as if they are already glorified, for isn’t our glorification something that will take place in the future when Christ returns to raise the dead and make all things new? That is a good question. And yes, there is sense in which our glorification is future. But there is also a sense in which the Christian is glorified now by virtue of our Spirit wrought union with Christ. You are on earth, and Christ is in heaven — but because Christ is glorified in heaven, then you too are glorified with him even now, for you are in him by faith. And this is why Paul has said “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:29–30, ESV) — “glorified” is in the aorist tense in the Greek, which indicates that this “glorification” is in fact a present reality for the believer, and not a future hope only.
And all of this, friends — our new life in Christ, our being co-raised and co-seated with him — is by the grace of God alone. You probably noticed that little phrase in the middle of verse 5 which almost seems out of place — “by grace you have been saved”, Paul exclaims. It almost feels like Paul couldn’t help himself. He is rolling along talking about what is ours in Christ, but he seems to interrupt himself, saying, ”by grace you have been saved”. This is deliberate, of course. He introduces this important truth here because he will return to it in moment to develop it further.
And why did God make these who were dead in their sins alive in Christ, co-raise them and co-seat them in the heavenly places? What was God’s reason for doing this? Verse 7 answers this question beginning with the words, “so that” — all of this was “so that” or “in order that” in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7, ESV).
The meaning is this: after Christ returns, and for all eternity, the immeasurable riches of God’s grace and kindness will be put on display for all to see in those whom God has redeemed. The redeemed ones — the ones who have been forgiven and adopted as sons through faith in the Messiah and by virtue of their union with him — will be like trophies that testify to God’s superabundant love and marvelous grace which will forever adorn his new creation (see Baugh, 157).
Brothers and sisters, you were dead in your sins, but God made you alive.
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So That You Might Live For Him (vs. 8-10)
Thirdly and lastly, Paul magnifies the marvelous grace of God by revealing that all that we do in Christ — our believing and our good works — are themselves gifts from God. In verses 8 through 10 we learn that God has saved us graciously so that we might live for him.
In verse 8 we find these famous words: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not 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, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8–10, ESV)
“Saved” is a rather generic term which encompasses the many benefits that are ours in Christ. In him we are justified, redeemed, sanctified, forgiven, cleansed and adopted, to mention a few things. And if we wish to speak generally of all of this (and more) we can used the word “saved”, which means to be delivered or made safe.
Paul is insistent that we have been saved “by grace.” In verse 8 he says, “For by grace you have been saved…” The word “for” is important. The Greek word translated as “for” indicates that Paul is about to present the reason for what has been stated above. Why will it be “that in the coming ages [God will] show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7, ESV). Answer: “the immeasurable riches of his grace” will be displayed in the redeemed, “for by grace [they] have been saved…” It is all by God grace! The redeemed will enjoyed eternity with God in the news heavens and earth only because God has been gracious to them. He did not give them what they deserved as children of wrath. Instead, he lavished his love upon them and adopted them as sons. And this he did for no other reason than because he is merciful and kind.
We are saved by the grace of God alone. But notice that this salvation is received “by faith”. When a gift is exchanged the gift is presented by one, and then it is received by another. And how do we receive God’s gift of salvation? How do we come to have it as our own? We receive it by faith. We lay ahold of our salvation and all that it entails by believing upon Christ, and trusting in him.
If one is to have true and saving faith, one must know certain things. We must know the truth about who God is, who we are, what our need is, and how Christ has meet that need. To have true and saving faith we must truly believe these things. And to have true and saving faith we must trust. We must say from heart, I am a sinner deserving of God’s righteous judgment, but I know that Christ has payed for my sins so that I might be forgiven, and I trust in him.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith.” And then Paul adds, “And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God”. We must ask, what does the “this” and the “it” of verse 8 refer to? In other words we might ask Paul, what is not our doing? And what is the gift of God? Is Paul here saying that the grace mentioned in verse 8 is not our doing? Is he saying the salvation is not our doing? Or his he saying that the faith is not our doing? The grammar of the Greek text, and also the context make it clear that all of these things are in view. None of it is our doing. More precisely, none of it originates in us. All of it — God’s grace, the salvation, and even the ability to believe — is a gift from God. All of it is by his grace.
I have said that the grammer of the Greek leads us to take this interpretation. The Greek pronoun translated as “this” in verse 8 is in the neuter gender. The nouns, “grace” and “faith” are feminine. The verb “saved” is masculine. If Paul were refering to any one of these things with the word “this”, then we would expect the pronoun to agree in gender with the word that it is referencing. But in Greek it is common for a pronoun to appear in the neuter when it is referencing an event with many components. When Paul says, “And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God”, he is refering not to one of these things — grace, salvation or faith — but to all of them together considered as an event. Christians are saved by grace and through faith, and none of this from them. A more literal translation of the Greek text would be “This is not of you” or “from you”. That is to say, neither the salvation, nor the grace nor the faith originates in the believer, but all of this, including the ability to believe upon Christ, is a gift that has been bestowed upon them by God.
I have also said that the context favors the interpretation that all of these things, including the ability to believe, are a gift from God. I would draw your attention back to the text which we have already considered. Remember that men and women are naturally dead in their sins. Dead men cannot believe, but must be enlivened so that they will belief. And notice also what Paul says next in verse 9: this is “not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Friends, if faith were something that arose from within us, as opposed to a grace or gift imparted to us from God, then there most certainly be some room for boasting. If this were the case, then when I ask you why are you in Christ, friend? Why are you saved? Why have you been adopted as a son? Then you would be rightly to say, because I believed! But there is not room for boasting, friends. And the reason is that all of this — the salvation, the grace and the faith — are gifts from above. So why are you in Christ, friend? Why are you saved? Why have you been adopted as a son? The only answer that will do is: by the grace of God alone.
Lastly, in verse 10 Paul further explains why there is no room for boasting in the Christian. Here we learn that even our good works come about because God has prepared them before hand. And we do them because God has recreated us to walk in them.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV). I have said before that the theme of this epistle is unity in God’s inaugurated new creation. And here we begin to learn about this new creation. It is present now in those who have been created anew in Christ Jesus. Christians are said to be God’s workmanship. As Paul says elsewhere, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17–18, ESV). But here in Ephesians we learn that God has created us in Christ Jesus “for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV).
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Conclusion
So here in Ephesians 2:1-10 we have the whole book of Ephesians in miniture. Paul has here informed us of the hopeless and helpless condition that we were in — we were deaden our sins. He has reveled to us how marvelous God’s grace truly is — though we were dead, God made us alive! And he has shown what the end result will be — having been saved by the grace of God alone, and being now eternally grateful, with hearts filled with love, we are to go on living for him. We are to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which [we] have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love…” (Ephesians 4:1–2, ESV)
