Lesson 4 – Ephesians Chapter 2:1-10
Looking back over chapter 1, we discover numerous doctrines of faith. These, of course, are my own opinion, but I feel they warrant another look.
DOCTRINES OF OUR FAITH FOUND IN CHAPTER 1
All spiritual blessings are given to us from God. (vs. 3)
We were chosen from eternity past (vs. 4). With this comes salvation, making us holy and blameless before God.
We are God’s adopted children (vs. 5). God predestined us.
We are saved by God’s own blood (vs. 7). God’s personal sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, because of His grace.
God gave us wisdom and understanding, which led to salvation (vs. 8-9). God allowed us to know His mystery.
The fullness of time is coming, everything will happen just as God planed (vs. 10). A revelation of what we can expect.
We are predestined by God, to receive an inheritance (vs. 11), a glorious inheritance.
We were sealed with the Holy Spirit, He is the guarantee of our salvation and inheritance (vs. 13).
The doctrine of prayer, pray for others and pray for wisdom (vs. 16).
God’s power… He is omnipotent, there is none greater. God raised Jesus from the dead. This same power will raise us from our grave… if He tarries (vs. 19-21).
We have the distinct honor and privilege to be a part of the body of Christ. Jesus is the head of the church! (vs. 22-23)
• A review of last week… We talked about the hope that we hold onto in our hearts. Hope is what carries the Christian throughout their lifetime. Also, the fact, that we are God’s inheritance… what a privilege that is. Then we lightly touched on God’s amazing power… I say lightly because God’s total power is unknowable. God’s power is always working and His power is in us. God raised Jesus from the dead and He will raise us from the dead as well. Last, but certainly not least, Jesus is the Head of the Church.
Now we will get into the subject of grace and faith. Yes, we’ve talked about grace and faith before, but when it comes to God’s Word, it always bears repeating, and we’ll look at it with fresh eyes.
In verses 1 through 10, we will see that we come to a new position personally with God.
Eph. 2:1
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,”
Right out of the gate we hit the road running! We closed chapter 1 by saying Jesus is the Head of the Church. Now, we have our “come to Jesus moment”… apart from Christ we are dead…
Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Left alone in sin, everyone is dead… spiritually dead. Paul is reminding us of our past, being separated from God.
We were not dead because we’ve committed some kind of sin, we’re dead because we were in sin. Doing sinful things doesn’t make us sinners, we do sinful things because we are sinners.
John 3:3 (Jesus shows us the path to freedom):
Jesus answered and said to Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
To escape the deadness we’re in because of sin, according to Jesus, we need a rebirth of our soul, we need to be born-again!
Col. 2:13
“And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,”
We have been forgiven of all our trespasses if we have given our life to Christ.
II Cor. 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
We also see new life with the “Prodigal son”:
Luke 15:24
“For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.”
And you He made alive… made alive from what?
Eph. 2:2
“In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,”
This was our starting point; this is how everyone’s life starts out… we walked according to the course of this world.
The word “walked” translated speaks of someone who is meandering. An appropriate synonym of this word is “snaking.” This describes someone walking around without direction or goal.
Walking in faith is just the opposite:
Psalm 1:1
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;”
Psalm 1 describes a person who’s goal is to pursue God, but Paul is reminding us that we were “snaking” around this world until we met Jesus.
The course of this world lines up precisely with satan’s agenda… according to the prince of the power of the air.
The environment we’re living in today seems to be a very clear-cut indication that satan has an extremely strong foothold on the world today.
Isa. 5:20
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
The spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience…
A sad fact is, satan and his demons direct, influence, and control every person who isn’t born-again. The use of the word “in” points to willing followers (works in the sons of disobedience). These are the people who have no respect for God or His Word.
John 8:44
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
I’m sure you’ve seen people like this. When you see these people, please remember to pray for them. We are truly in a spiritual battle.
Eph. 2:3
“Among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”
So, before we get too high and mighty with ourselves, Paul reminds us that we were just like the sons of disobedience, that is, unless you gave your heart to Jesus at “Vacation Bible School.”
Jon Courson, “Finally, not only were we dead because of sin, drugged by our sin, and depraved by our sin… as children of wrath, we were doomed by our sin. Why were we children of wrath? Because the wrath of God abides on those who do not receive the gift of salvation.”
Col. 1:21
“And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled.”
As children of wrath, we were God’s enemy, separated from God. Just saying that is depressing, so let’s look at verses 4 and 5:
Eph. 2:4-5
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”
Here’s one of the big “buts” in the Bible. When we say “but” it is usually followed by some kind of excuse, or a way out of something. With God’s Word, “but” should grab our attention. But God… in this case means God has done something. For those He called, predestined, and chose, He had a different plan. Why? Because of God’s mercy and love. That could easily be the title of a book. This is an action toward us by God because of His love and mercy for us.
Psalm 118:1
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”
Lam. 3:22-23
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (ESV)
Psalm 23:6
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
In the Septuagint (which is the Hebrew translation) the word “mercy” (eleos) means a “loyal love.” In the NT it also means “undeserved kindness” toward sinners. Everyone is qualified in this department. Because God is so rich in His mercy, meaning His mercy is abundant, God takes action on our behalf, because He has a great love for us. John gives us proof of this love:
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
I John 4:9-10
“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
A little refresher on the word “propitiation,” it means “appeasement” or “satisfaction.” Jesus dying on the cross for our sins satisfied the demands of God’s judgment, thus appeasing God’s holy wrath against our sins.
In chapter 1 we talked about God being omnipotent, all powerful. Here we focus on another characteristic of God, that He is immutable, the wonderful truth that God never changes. With that, His love for us will never change.
Even when we were dead in trespasses… this is a testimony to God’s unchanging love. Yes, God loves us when we’re nice to other people. Yes, He loves it when we make a point of going to church and studying His Word, but, and here’s another “but” for us…. but God loved us when we were dirty rotten sinners, dead in our trespasses, even when we were His enemies! This is how holy and pure God’s love really is.
Made us alive together with Christ…
Col. 2:13 once again:
“And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,”
A life apart from Christ is spiritually dead, a life joined with Christ is alive. The person who is separated from God cannot communicate with God, they can have no part of God, that is unless confession and repentance come into that person’s life.
John 13:8b
“Jesus answered Peter, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
Rom. 4:17b
“God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;”
We were dead, now we’re alive in Christ.
Rom. 6:4
“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Once we are made alive in Christ, we are to walk in newness of life. Like I’ve said before, there needs to be a visible difference between a believer and an unbeliever. Sometimes this happens overnight, and other times it is a process. If a person looks back and sees that there’s no real change in them, that should be a warning signal.
Alive together with Christ… This phrase requires a little deep thinking on our part. Every believer is together with Christ, this puts us on the same level with Christ. Not in His deity, but in His righteousness. “It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,” (Rom. 4:24).
Rom. 6:8
“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,”
Gal. 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
In this new life, we can now understand God’s spiritual truths, and desire holy spiritual things.
How are we made alive in Christ? By grace you have been saved.
Acts 15:11
“But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
Eph. 2:6
“And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”
Not only are we alive in Christ, now we are raised up with Christ in the heavenly places with Him. This is addressing our new position with God.
Jesus is the first Resurrection, and now we’re included in that resurrection. Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, which takes us as it says, to the heavenly places.
Phil. 3:20
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,”
The person who commits to Christ with a heartfelt plea becomes brand new, thus nothing remains the same.
And with this transforming change, new things come about. We are no longer dead spiritually, because Christ is in us. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit and we have God’s power in us, making our future destination heaven. As far as God is concerned, we’re already in heaven, we just haven’t occupied it yet. With all this in mind, the believer should have a new set of values when it comes to living out the remainder of their days on earth.
Col. 3:1-3
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
This isn’t much different from Romans 12:1-2:
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (NLT)
These are paramount scriptures to live by.
Eph. 2:7
“That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
“So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all He has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.” (NLT)
For lack of a better term, we are in a way God’s trophies, as examples of His endless grace and mercy. In a good way, every believer is on display for all eternity. This is for our benefit as well as it is for God’s benefit… with every person that is saved, this brings more glory to God. This takes us back to chapter 1, verse 3:
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.”
The divine power of God which can give new life to the worst of sinners, and cause them to be resurrected and exalted with Christ, is the same power that resides in each believer. Praise be to God!
Eph. 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Here we have another “flagship” verse from Paul, a verse every Christian should memorize. Paul first mentions God’s grace in Eph. 1:7:
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
And then at the end of 2:5, Paul gives us the exact phrase; “by grace you have been saved.”
To put it simply, the gospel message is the good news of God’s grace. If we didn’t have God’s grace, we would still be in our sins, staying dead spiritually. Grace is an essential part of God’s character, and it is woven into His love and mercy.
A picture of God’s grace can be seen in the Old Testament when Pharaoh and Egyptians were about to get hit with the tenth and final plague, where the first-born of every household would die unless the blood of a sacrificed lamb was on the doorpost of their house. As the Angel of Death came through, he would pass-over the house with the lamb’s blood on it… that was God’s grace in action.
In His grace, God is willing to forgive us and bless us abundantly, in spite of the fact that we don’t deserve to be treated so well or dealt with so generously.
We greet each other by saying, “How are you doing?” A good reply to that is, “Better than I deserve.” Which is an accurate response, being none of us deserve God’s grace.
Rom. 3:10-12
“As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.”
Then verse 23:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
God’s grace changes everything, we are saved by His grace. That is the great game changer, because nothing else will do. So, how do we receive God’s grace? It’s through faith, faith is the receiving agent for everyone who believes.
From Jon Courson, “In verses 4-7, we saw God’s work for us as He brought us back from the dead and raised us to sit with Him in heavenly places. Here in verse 8 and 9, we see His work in us.
“It might be God’s work,” you say, “but it’s my faith.”
No. Here, Paul says specifically that even the faith it took to be saved is not of ourselves. Why?
Because dead men don’t have faith. That’s why Paul declares that there is none that seek after God, no not one (Rom. 3:11).
“Then what part did I have in salvation?” you ask.
None. You were elected before the foundation of the world, and the faith you finally exercised to receive Jesus Christ was faith that God Himself put in your heart. That’s why Jesus declared, “No man can come unto Me except the Father draws him” (John 6:44).
The entire orb of salvation is totally due to God’s grace. We become worshipers now and eternally, because His work in us and for us is truly amazing.”
Salvation comes only by God’s grace, from start to finish, that’s why it is called a gift from God, a free gift. The moment we think we had anything to do with it, it turns into good works. God’s grace is truly amazing.
We are saved by grace through faith… Faith itself is not a “good work” that causes God to take notice of us. Faith is nothing that we do in our own power or by our own efforts. Faith is repenting of our sin, admitting that we sinned against God and we are unable to do anything to gain God’s favor, then simply accepting the salvation that He offers freely to us.
Rev. 7:10
“And crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Not of works, lest anyone should boast… it should be obvious to us now that us being saved is all because of God’s grace, there is no human effort. With this in mind, nobody could ever brag about gaining their salvation, because they had nothing to do with it. A person can only receive salvation.
The next time you’re alone in prayer, think about the fact that God chose you (He predestined you) to be saved, then He brought you to Himself by His grace, He saved you by His grace (grace alone) and then He gave you the faith that you needed to believe in Him. Once you’ve wrapped your mind around that, meditate on it.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Hopefully now, when you read this or hear this it has a little deeper meaning for you.
Eph. 2:10
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Salvation is God’s workmanship… (poiēma) meaning that which has been made. We are God’s workmanship… the believer is like a work of art in the eyes of the Lord. Created in Christ Jesus for good works…
Being created in Christ, we’re now brand new, we’re God’s masterpiece. The condition of our soul’s can’t get any better, we are now righteous in God’s sight.
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.”
Before salvation, our works meant absolutely nothing. In Isaiah (64:6) they’re referred to as nothing more than filthy rags. Now that we’re saved, doing good works does mean a lot. The purpose of this creation in Christ is that believers will do good works.
Titus 2:14
“He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.” (NLT)
The same power that created us in Christ empowers us to do good works, which God has redeemed us to do.
II Cor. 9:8
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (ESV)
II Tim. 3:17
“That the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Just like God had everything to do with our salvation, He is the One who enables us to do good works.
Phil. 2:12
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
We talked about the fact that God is always working, and here we’re reminded that He is working in us… and as He is working in us, this gives us the desire to do things that please Him.
In Christ, we are now approved by God. Not only are we free to “move about the cabin,” as they say, we are free to serve God to our heart’s content. Everything we do that glorifies God is credited to our heavenly 401K. And, when we stand before Jesus at the Bema Seat, these works will not be burned up!
Phil. 1:6
“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
This means that we’re not alone in our work, we have the Holy Spirit in us (we’re sealed), and He is perfecting us until the day of Jesus Christ. The day of Jesus Christ is the day of our resurrection.
Which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them…
Just like God predestined us to salvation, He predestined the work we should do. I say “should” because we always have a choice. We chose to receive God’s free gift of salvation, and likewise we choose to work for Him or not. Working out your salvation with fear and trembling doesn’t mean you’re working to gain your salvation, it means you’re working for God because you love and respect Him.
We were all lost at one time, we were part of the world and belonged to satan. Then Jesus made us alive! God did this for us out of His love, grace, and mercy. This gave us our heavenly position with Him. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
We are God’s Workmanship created in Christ, we are His Masterpiece. We are also created unto “good works.” Don’t miss the opportunity to work for the Lord.
James 2:17
“Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”