08 Ephesians 2:1-3 The Bad News

Title: The Bad News

Text: Ephesians 2:1-3

FCF: We often struggle recognizing our need for God’s power to save us.

Prop: Because we are by nature dead in sin and under God’s wrath, we must trust in God’s power alone to save us.

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Ephesians chapter 2. In a moment we’ll read verses one through three from the Legacy Standard Bible. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer.

I appreciate greatly Gary Montgomery filling in for me last week. What a harrowing look at the way of the transgressor. Unfortunately, today’s sermon won’t give you much of a reprieve from what Gary spoke on last week. In fact, it may only add to the anxiety and the discomfort.

After Paul traces the Holy Spirit blessings the Father gives to His people through all of chapter 1, he prays that God would show through His Spirit, their hope, their value, their power and their purpose.

It is the subject of God’s powerful grace in salvation that prompts Paul to speak about what he does today. Verses one through seven represent a single sentence in the Greek. For our purposes though it seems best to tackle the first three verses before getting to the rest next week.

Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read.

Invocation:

Holy Father, You are Light and you dwell in unapproachable light. You are Holy and there is none like You. You are limitless in your power. You are God and we are not. Indeed, we are sinners. All of us. Not because we have sinned only, but because we have inherited this sin nature from our first representative, Adam. We confess this because without doing so, we cannot hope that righteousness would pass to us through Christ. Father help us to hear the bad news today. Help us to grasp the depth of our plight and the hopelessness of our condition, for no other reason than to marvel at the glory of Your powerful grace. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Transition:

[Slide 2] “Every sin should convince us of the general truth of the corruption of our nature.” John Calvin

“As no man can give himself faith, neither can he take away his unbelief.” Martin Luther

[Slide 3] “We have all been born in sin, and, conceived from the pleasure of the flesh, we have all contracted the original fault in ourselves; so it is that we embroil ourselves in sin also by our own will.“ Gregory of Nazianzus (Nah-zee-AN-zus)

“We are not sinners because we commit this or that sin, but we commit them because we are sinners.” Martin Luther

Let these quotes, mostly from the reformers, help to guide us in the exposition of the text this morning.

I.)                 Believers were powerless to escape their own sin, so we must trust in God’s power alone to save us. (1)

a.      [Slide 4] 1 - And you were dead

                                                              i.     Coming off of the most recent thought, Paul has outlined all that God has done to save believers.

1.      He praises God for blessing us with every spiritual blessing

2.      The first of these was predestined before the earth was formed.

3.      God predestined us to adoption and chose us to be in Christ and under his mediatorial headship.

4.      We were redeemed through Jesus’ sacrificial atoning death on the cross.

5.      We were chosen as an inheritance for God.

6.      After hearing and believing the gospel, we were sealed by the Spirit and guaranteed future redemption.

7.      And Paul thanked God for doing all this and prayed that God would give us wisdom and revelation from The Holy Spirit to know that He is our hope, that by making us His inheritance He has given us infinite value, that we are given strength from His limitless power.

8.      And that this Power also raised Christ from the dead and established Him as Lord of Lords and King of Kings, gave Him to the church, and He is actively completing and perfecting the church as He is also completing and perfecting all things.

                                                            ii.     But why is God’s power necessary for us, to raise Christ, to make Him Lord, to perfect us? What did God’s power have to overcome? Gospel in itself means “good news”. But why do we need good news?

                                                          iii.     This verse, this chapter, does not start with the contrasting conjunction “but”. Probably because Paul is not contrasting anything. Instead, he is expanding upon the powerful work of GOD to save us.

                                                          iv.     Paul seems to be answering the theological question, “Why was all of this powerful work by God necessary to save us? And why do we need to hear about it and believe it?”

                                                            v.     And the answer is a good bit of bad news.

                                                          vi.     Paul begins here by saying that you were dead

                                                         vii.     Each word in this phrase needs to be analyzed if we are to arrive at the conclusion Paul intends.

1.      You – who is the you?

a.      Up to this point “you” has been used most recently to refer to the Ephesian church in contrast to Paul and also has potentially been used to contrast the believing Jews’ faith in Christ with the faith of the gentile Christians, although as we discussed, that interpretation is anything but certain.

b.      In these three verses Paul once again uses “you” and will use “we” later in verse 3.

c.      So once again we are left to wonder to whom Paul is referring.

                                                                                                                                      i.     It could be Gentiles and Jews again.

                                                                                                                                    ii.     It could be Ephesians and Paul and those whom He is writing with.

                                                                                                                                  iii.     It could be a rhetorical device to bring a personal lesson and then expand it to all.

d.      In the end, because of two specific things Paul says in verse 3, and because he uses “we” in verse 5 to say that he too was dead in his transgressions… 

e.      For me, it seems best that we understand this as a rhetorical device where Paul merely uses “you” to make a personal impact on the Ephesians and “we” to expand the thought to a greater audience.

2.      Were –

a.      Were here is not actually a linking verb as it appears in English.

b.      It is actually a participle in the present tense. Almost every English translation renders this in a past tense because contextually that makes it much clearer since the main verb of the sentence doesn’t actually occur until verse 5. The main verb is “made alive together with”

c.      Some older English translations actually move the main verb from verse 5 to verse 1 to help us to understand that.

d.      Youngs Literal Translation is the only one I found that renders this more literally… “being.”

e.      Now this word indicates something that was true during the time of the main verb’s action. This is who the Ephesians were when they were made alive together with.

f.       We also know that this word is used when the action of the main verb is true in spite of the action of the participle.

g.      That is why many translations say “although you were dead” or “in spite of being dead”.

3.      Dead –

a.      The Greek word here is nekros. It is the same word we would use to describe a corpse or something that is without life.

b.      Since the participle means “being” or “existing” we see a somewhat paradoxical relationship between these two words back-to-back.

c.      But dead doesn’t always mean physical death. In the parable of the prodigal son, the father rejoices that his son was once dead and is now alive. Which seems to indicate estrangement. In the Old Testament there are psalms that depict being far from God as being under his wrath and like those who are dead.

d.      But perhaps more relevant to our discussion, New Testament writers connect death to an eschatological fact of judgment. Paul later in chapter 5 and in Colossians 2, and John both in his gospel and first epistle equate death with judgment and life with salvation.

e.      Therefore, we cannot understand this word to speak of actual physical death. Instead, we must understand this as a spiritual death.

f.       We’ll define spiritual death as we go along because I think the context helps us to do that.

                                                       viii.     Putting it all back together, the word “were” or “being” and the word “dead” come together to rename or explain who the Ephesians are. If I said, “Kadie, my wife, is helping with Jr. Church.” “My wife” is functioning the same way “being dead” is functioning here.

                                                           ix.     And you, being dead…

                                                            x.     So let’s carry on.

b.      [Slide 5] in your transgressions and sins,

                                                              i.     The words transgressions and sins are tied together with the word “and” meaning they are essentially one thing.

                                                            ii.     To transgress is to trespass or misstep over a moral limit and to sin is to disobey a command or law, particularly one set by God.

                                                          iii.     But Paul often uses these words interchangeably. If anything, I think we could safely conclude that Paul covers the gamut of all sin, accidental or purposeful.

                                                          iv.     But what does it mean that we are spiritually dead IN our transgressions and sins?

                                                            v.     Greek Scholars say that this means that being spiritually dead is located inside the sphere of or surrounded by our own transgressions and sins.

                                                          vi.     Much like how we were chosen into Christ, they were dead into the sphere of their own transgression and sin.

                                                         vii.     So, what does this mean? What is Paul trying to say about the condition of the Ephesians before they heard the gospel and believed? What does it mean to be spiritually dead and how does that relate to trespassing and sinning?

                                                       viii.     From this verse alone it is clear that since we are dead in the sphere of our own sin, it is impossible for us to do anything ourselves to get out of it.

                                                           ix.     In every context in the New Testament where death is mentioned similarly, it is always something that we have to have been made alive to escape.

                                                            x.     This is what I think Paul means by dead. That we were spiritually incapable of escaping the state of sin we were in. Although it is a strong word, it seems appropriate here to use. We were damned.

                                                           xi.     Dead men do not move. They do not breathe. They do not leave where they are. Wherever a dead man is, that is where he stays. Dead men have no power.

                                                         xii.     We even have an expression… stopped dead in their tracks.

                                                       xiii.     From Paul’s point of view, one key reason that God had to powerfully do all that He has done in chapter 1, was because we were unable to get out of where we were in our sins and transgressions.

                                                       xiv.     We were spiritually stuck there. And there was nothing we or anyone else could do about it. We were dead and our sin was our tomb.

c.      [Slide 6] Summary of the Point: Paul begins this next sentence somewhat awkwardly. We won’t see a main verb for a while. But he does this to build the case for God’s mighty hand being necessary in our salvation. Why was God’s sovereign power necessary to save us? Because we were stuck. We were dead in the midst of our own sin. The US military has a saying. “No man left behind.” There have been numerous missions executed to retrieve dead soldiers from the battleground. Why? Because they won’t make it back if no one goes to get them. Paul reminds the Ephesians that they were powerless to escape the sphere of their own sin. They were trapped in it. That is why God’s grace and power had to raise them with Christ. So, what must be our response to this? We must trust in God’s power alone to save us.

[Slide 7(blank)] Transition: We were stuck… well surely it can’t get any worse than that can it? Actually… it can. Instead of moving on to the main verb, Paul wants to talk a little more about the condition of being dead in sin.

II.)               Believers formerly lived lifestyles dominated by the forces of darkness, so we must trust in God’s power alone to save us. (2)

a.      [Slide 8] 2 - in which you formerly walked

                                                              i.     The words “in which” indicate the location of the action that will follow. 

                                                            ii.     Since it matches the use of trespasses and sins, it refers back to the state of being dead in trespasses and sins.

                                                          iii.     Not only were we stuck, powerless to escape the sphere of our sins, but we formerly walked in that state.

                                                          iv.     To walk here is a common biblical expression to communicate living or lifestyle. It is a practice or characteristic that someone is known by.

                                                            v.     In other words, not only does being dead in our trespasses and sins mean that we were trapped in them, but it also means that in that place we used to live in a particular way.

                                                          vi.     By what pattern or following what standard did we formerly walk?

b.      [Slide 9] according to the course of this world,

                                                              i.     A person who is dead in their sin lives a lifestyle that follows the course of this world.

                                                            ii.     Course here is a word that means age or time period.

                                                          iii.     World is a New Testament idiom that refers to the world system, the kingdom of darkness, or the way of the wicked both angelic and human. It is set in opposition to the way of righteousness or God’s moral will.

                                                          iv.     In other words, while being dead in our trespasses and sins, we lived a life that was characterized by worldliness. We lived a life in conformity to all those who oppose God. 

                                                            v.     But that’s not all…

c.      [Slide 10] according to the ruler of the power of the air,

                                                              i.     We also lived a lifestyle that follows the ruler of the power of the air.

                                                            ii.     The entity that Paul is referring to is somewhat of an enigma although we assume to the original readers it would be much less uncertain.

                                                          iii.     The air is the space between the heavens and the earth.

                                                          iv.     The heavens would be where God dwells and reigns. And the earth is where humans have authority and dominion.

                                                            v.     So, the air, is a place in-between.

                                                          vi.     By the New Testament times it is established that Satan, or the devil, had achieved the highest rank among evil entities. The New Testament clearly speaks of him as the power ruling the forces of darkness.

                                                         vii.     It is unclear if he has always held that position, but at least by Christ’s time this seems to be the case.

                                                       viii.     Therefore, it is likely that the ruler of the power of the air – refers to Satan or the devil.

                                                           ix.     The power of the air then is the realm or sphere in which spiritual beings battle and in which the kingdom of darkness resides.

                                                            x.     In this, Satan is viewed to be the ruler of the external influence over mankind.

                                                           xi.     And those dead in their sin live a lifestyle not only according to the world system but in obedience to the one ruling over it.

                                                         xii.     But wait… it gets worse.

d.      [Slide 11] the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience,

                                                              i.     Rather than translating this “the spirit” we should translate this, “of the spirit” Meaning that this is continuing to stack descriptive words onto the word ruler.

                                                            ii.     What else is Satan the ruler of? Not only of the dominion of darkness. But he is also the ruler of the spirit which is now working in the sons of disobedience.

                                                          iii.     Is this some separate spiritual entity that Satan controls or is this an internal spirit found in each person?

                                                          iv.     While it could be either, it seems best to see this as an internal spirit found in all men.

                                                            v.     Working is the same word that was used earlier of God’s power that produces an effect.

                                                          vi.     Here this spirit is currently working in the sons of disobedience.

                                                         vii.     Even though we are spiritually dead, our spirit is capable of doing some spiritual things. But who rules over the spirit of man and what does it produce?

                                                       viii.     Satan rules over that spirit and it is working in the sons of disobedience.

                                                           ix.     This is yet another title or expression that is difficult to pin down.

                                                            x.     Son does not always refer to something that is birthed. Oftentimes a son is someone who is of a particular class or group often subordinate to the group itself.

                                                           xi.     Our idiom “chip off the old block” somewhat has the same idea. A son of something is someone who completely embodies the thing in which it is the son of.

                                                         xii.     Sons of disobedience refers to beings who are disobedient or are given over to disobedience.

                                                       xiii.     The Greek word for disobedience here does not simply imply behavior but also lack of belief. It is rebellion. And rebellions produce disobedience borne out of fundamental disagreement.

                                                       xiv.     The sons of disobedience are unbelievers that are slaves to unbelief and sin. 

                                                         xv.     Putting it all back together, before God called us with the gospel and we believed, we were spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins.

                                                       xvi.     This means that we were not only unable to escape, but that we lived lifestyles in conformity to the kingdom of darkness, obeying its ruler the devil, who also ruled over our trapped but working spirit bringing us into a lifestyle enslaved to unbelief and sin.

e.      [Slide 12] Summary of the Point: As if being trapped in the sphere of our sins was not bleak enough, Paul adds that in that state, we were also living lifestyles that conformed to the kingdom of darkness, in submission to its ruler the devil, who influenced our spirits, our inward spiritual persons, to continue in unbelief and rebellion. Not only were we trapped because we were powerless… but we were held there by the lies and influence of ancient, intelligent, and malevolent spiritual forces. Yikes. So, what response could we have to such a terrible plight? We must trust in God’s power alone to save us. 

[Slide 13 (blank)] Transition: Well by now you might assume that this certainly couldn’t get any worse. So now Paul will turn to the good news… Oh… my friends. It gets worse. It gets much worse.

III.)              Believers lived out our wicked desires and thoughts being born condemned sinners, so we must trust in God’s power alone to save us.  (3)

a.      [Slide 14] 3 - among whom we all also formerly conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh,

                                                              i.     Here we see Paul applying himself to the discussion.

                                                            ii.     Paul opens with the preposition “in” and says that we all also were in or among these sons of disobedience. We all were also among those obedient to the devil. We all were also among those who lived according to worldliness.

                                                          iii.     Paul says, we all also were dead in our sins too. He just waits to say it until verse 5.

                                                          iv.     As such, all believers formerly conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh.

                                                            v.     The word translated “conducted ourselves” is a synonym for the word used before to walk. It also communicates living or lifestyle.

                                                          vi.     In this way Paul says that we too also lived in or into the lusts of our flesh. Much like being dead in trespasses and sins we also lived in the lusts of our flesh. We were trapped in them. Unable to escape. Unable to stop ourselves from living in them.

                                                         vii.     Lust means sinful desires and flesh is a term the scriptures use to talk about the seat of sin and unbelief.

                                                       viii.     Up to this point we might assume that since Satan is ruling over all this and master over our dead but working spirit to cause us to disobey… that means we are helpless victims trapped by him.

                                                           ix.     We might also assume that when Paul says later that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, that this confirms that men are hapless victims trapped by all this.

                                                            x.     But my friends… it is worse than that.

                                                           xi.     What could be worse than being a victim? Being a perpetrator.

b.      [Slide 15] doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind,

                                                              i.     We were not held there against our wills.

                                                            ii.     As a pig wallows in the muck because he loves it, we wallowed in our sin in accordance with our own desires.

                                                          iii.     The devil may wish to keep us there… but he doesn’t make us do anything. We want to sin. We love our sin.

                                                          iv.     Paul says we did the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Whose flesh and whose mind? By context it must be our own.

                                                            v.     Paul seems to imply that these wicked desires of flesh and mind are a commonly shared deformity in humanity. As if the flesh and mind of humanity is not in accordance with what God desires. We’ll talk more about that in a moment.

                                                          vi.     Mind here refers to the seat of reason, thoughts, and emotions.

                                                         vii.     Being dead in sin, and living in the lusts of our flesh is not something we are unwilling slaves to.

                                                       viii.     Instead, these are things we desired. They are things we wanted.

                                                           ix.     Our flesh and our minds are corrupted completely, to the extent that we did what we were trapped by what we wanted.

                                                            x.     We couldn’t escape and we didn’t want to.

                                                           xi.     But still, it gets worse.

c.      [Slide 16] and were by nature children of wrath,

                                                              i.     Paul adds to the description of the plight of someone dead in their sin and living in their lusts.

                                                            ii.     The word “were” is imperfect meaning an ongoing state of being in the past.

                                                          iii.     “Children” here is similar to the expression “son” used earlier. It is a category of things or people who are characterized by the same common characteristic. In this case, wrath.

                                                          iv.     We might be tempted to treat this similarly to “sons of disobedience” but it is clear that this doesn’t mean “given over to wrath” but takes on another use of condition or destiny.

                                                            v.     We saw a similar construction in 2 Thessalonians where the man of lawlessness was called the son of destruction. Man of lawlessness was a description of his actions where as son of destruction spoke of his destiny to be destroyed.

                                                          vi.     Children of wrath, then, expresses how we all were doomed to receive wrath. In particular, God’s wrath.

                                                         vii.     Why? Well, we know that God doesn’t punish us without cause. He doesn’t condemn us for no reason.

                                                       viii.     For what reason are we doomed for God’s wrath?

                                                           ix.     The one phrase we’ve omitted is “by nature.” What does this mean?

                                                            x.     Nature is a word in Greek that refers to origin or source.

1.      Paul uses this same word in Galatians to say that he was a Jew by nature.

a.      Certainly, this cannot mean choice or action.

b.      He was born this way.

c.      After he was born as a Jew, he certainly made decisions in accordance with being a Jew.

d.      But by nature, or from birth, he was a Jew.

2.      We also cannot see nature part of God’s created purpose.

a.      A Jew did not exist when God created Adam and Eve.

b.      Paul can’t be saying I was created a Jew by God.

c.      Rather Paul means lineage and ancestral birth.

                                                           xi.     And the preposition “by” answers the question how. How did we become children of wrath?

                                                         xii.     We became children of wrath by birth.

                                                       xiii.     If we are condemned from birth, and God does not condemn us for unjust reasons, what does this suggest?

                                                       xiv.     It suggests that from birth we inherit a sin nature. From whom? The bible answers this.

1.      God warned Adam that “the day that he ate the fruit, he would surely die.” And yet, Adam did not die the same day he ate the fruit, did he?

2.      Either God lied or God meant something more than mere physical death.

3.      Romans 5 tells us that Adam was a representative for mankind.

4.      Let’s turn there and read the whole section, not just a verse or two. Romans 5:12-21

5.      There is, obviously, a lot going on in this passage, but let me draw out a few ideas which help us here in Ephesians.

6.      Every single person who was in Adam – (and since all humans trace their heritage to Noah and his family, who traces their heritage to Adam this means every human being alive) – inherited from Adam 3 things.

a.      Death (5:12-14)

b.      Sin (5:14;19)

c.      Condemnation (5:16;18)

7.      From this passage it is clear that sin, death, and condemnation are linked together. By one man’s trespass all in Adam inherited all three.

8.      How do you know you inherited it from Adam? You have sinned. And how many have sinned? The bible says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Therefore, all have inherited these things from Adam.

                                                         xv.     Putting all the pieces together…

                                                       xvi.     Our human nature has been so corrupted, that all who are in Adam inherit a sin nature that is deserving of wrath. We inherit a dead in sin nature, a slave to sin and unbelief nature, a slave to lusts and passions nature, a ruled by Satan nature. And it is a slavery that we are unable and unwilling to leave.

                                                      xvii.     And Paul finishes this thought with a final piece of bad news.

d.      [Slide 17] even as the rest.

                                                              i.     Paul, with this last little phrase, communicates quite clearly that all men share in the same nature.

                                                            ii.     Not just you, not just we, but the rest. Everyone else too.

                                                          iii.     We deserve wrath because we are dead in sin and slaves to it, subjects of the ruler of the air.

                                                          iv.     Why do we need God’s sovereign power to save us?

                                                            v.     Because if He was to save us – He’d get no help from us. We were trapped in unbelief and without faith it is impossible to please Him. We were trapped living in sin and lawbreakers must depart from Him.

                                                          vi.     We were neither able nor willing to be saved from our birth. We were happy to be where we were.

                                                         vii.     That is our state when we enter this world. And that is why God had to act before time began to save us.

e.      [Slide 18] Summary of the Point: Paul finishes up the bad news. And as far as bad news gets… its really… really bad. Not only are we powerless to escape the sphere of our sin. Not only are we held captive by the world, submitted to the devil who rules over our spirit trapping us in unbelief and sin. But we lived out our own desires of our flesh and our thinking being by birth destined for His wrath for our inherited sin, just like every other unbeliever out there. What options do we have in this state? We must trust in God’s power alone to save us. 

Conclusion:

So CBC, what have we learned today that refines or even corrects our beliefs and hones and guides our lifestyles?

Basics of Faith and Practice:

[Slide 19] The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is only given its fullest status as “good” when we come to the fullest understanding of the “bad” news. If mankind was merely sickened or harmed by sin, God’s cosmic reconciliation plan merely gives us a leg up to get out of a tough situation that we found ourselves in. This is good news. But is it the good news of the gospel? The only way to know is to test those beliefs against what the New Testament tells us about our condition before we heard and believed the gospel. And Paul reminds the Ephesians, and himself, exactly what the condition of every single man is from birth. They are trapped in their sin, slaves to the forces of darkness, slaves to its ruler the devil, who rules over their spirits to continue in unbelief and sin and in that state, they live out their own wicked desires of flesh and mind which they inherited from birth and for which they deserve God’s wrath. As far as bad news goes… that is far worse than sin sickening and harming us. Sin has completely obliterated us. To the point that not only are we unable to break its hold on us… but we are not willing to. In that state… God’s cosmic plan to reconcile the world to Himself… is good news indeed.

Let me get to the heart of what we must do with the text this morning. As we might expect, since this text is primarily giving us truths, most of our application affects what we must believe. Specifically, what we must believe about ourselves.

1.)   [Slide 20] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm the doctrine of original sin.

a.      The doctrine of original sin holds that humanity’s universal condition of sinfulness stems from Adam’s disobedience when he ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

                                                              i.     Rather than simply describing a historical event, this doctrine performs three interconnected theological functions.

                                                            ii.     It preserves God’s goodness by affirming that creation was created good while acknowledging evil’s reality.

                                                          iii.     The doctrine also characterizes the human condition as one of fundamental estrangement from God, locating sin within human agency itself as a precondition rather than merely as a consequence of individual choices.

                                                          iv.     Most significantly, by establishing sin’s universality, the doctrine demonstrates humanity’s universal need for grace to achieve salvation.

b.      This doctrine has come under some scrutiny in the modern era, even though it has been held in some form or another throughout the church age.

c.      Irenaeus in AD 180 wrote of the recapitulation theory of the atonement wherein he said that Adam was humanity’s first representative and that by his disobedience we are all taken captive in disobedience and condemned. Christ is the second representative for humanity and all who are represented by Him have the disobedience of Adam erased and the obedience of Christ applied.

d.      In other words, Adam representing mankind is not only taught by Paul but interpreted thusly by some of the earliest writers of soteriology in the church.

e.      We are by birth, destined for wrath. Before we commit sin, we are destined for wrath. Why? Because we are spiritually dead in sin when we are born physically.

f.       Paul in Romans 7 describes sin as a seed planted within us. Although mankind needs God’s law to obey His commands, the law germinates that sin seed and causes it to grow and produce the fruit of our sin.

g.      Yet even without the law sin and death reigned in men. Meaning what? People were still living with the results of a sin nature before they had a law. They just couldn’t see how pervasive it was.

h.      The law then is good as Paul says because it proves to us that sin is within us. It shows us how far we fall short of God’s standard.

i.        Therefore, we do not become sinners because we sin. We do not inherit the seed of sin or the destiny of wrath because we have sinned.

j.        Rather, we sin because we are sinners. The seed is in us from birth, inherited from Adam. The law merely causes it to be evident. And for this seed of sin, we are already destined for God’s wrath.

k.      And just as sin, death, and condemnation is passed to us from Adam, righteousness, life, and acceptance is passed to us from Christ.  

l.        Affirming this doctrine only serves to make God’s grace all the greater. God must predestine and elect and adopt and redeem and forgive and seal and claim and call and empower us. He must do all of it because we could do none of it.

m.    If any would be saved, God must do all the saving and that is what this doctrine helps us to see.

2.)   [Slide 21] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that this means we are all as evil as we could be.

a.      Spiritually dead means damned not incapable of any spiritual behavior. 

b.      It means being trapped in the sphere of sin, living for the forces of darkness, being ruled by Satan and influenced to continue in unbelief and sin, being controlled by our ungodly desires and thoughts, and being by nature destined for wrath.

c.      In short, we lack the power and freedom to do anything but be separated from God and living in our sin.

d.      But this does not mean that we are as wicked as we could be.

e.      In fact, Paul indicates in Romans 2 that all men can come to some aspects of goodness and even law obedience, even apart from God Himself.

f.       This suggests that though we are in a hopeless state, there still exists some of the image of God stamped upon us wherein we have conscience and a sense of moral rightness.

g.      This seems to coalesce with the light of nature or the light of reason where God has not completely shut Himself away from unbelievers but instead is near to them.

h.      In this we understand that as bleak as our state is, it does not mean that we are unable to make morally upright decisions or to keep the law of God in some ways.

i.        But it does mean…

3.)   [Slide 22] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that our natural condition precludes us from escaping our destiny of wrath.

a.      Paul’s words here are not to suggest that we can’t be nice or upstanding citizens.

b.      The Jews, in general, became convinced that living righteously and upholding the law without faith, would be enough to please God.

c.      The Pharisees specifically were relatively moral and pious people.

d.      But as Jesus described them, they were white washed sepulchers containing what? Dead men’s bones.

e.      That piety not leading to spiritual life proves Paul’s point here and the reason that God had to go to such lengths in chapter 1 to save us.

f.       Because without God doing all, we were unsavable. Because the problem was not in our behavior… it was in our nature. And we no one can change their nature.

g.      No good thing we ever did could ever make up for the sin nature in our hearts nor could it ever prevent us from sinning again. The seed of sin was in us. And it is so bad that merely introducing God’s expectations, only makes it worse.

h.      Therefore, if God wills to save us, He must intervene. Not just corporately, but individually. Not just in the Ephesians, or the gentiles, or the apostles, or the Jews, but in any person who might be saved. God must intervene.

i.        Just as His power personally raised Christ from the dead, so His grace must personally raise us to life with Christ.

j.        God’s grace is God’s power which He gives out of His free will to enable us to be or do what we are unwilling or unable to be or do on our own.

k.      We are unwilling and unable to free ourselves from sin and our rightful condemnation.

l.        So, what must we do?

4.)   [Slide 23] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” We must trust in the power of God alone to save us.

a.      Look with me one last time this morning to the text of Ephesians 2 and observe the first two words of verse 4. Never have two words held such power to bring joy and relief than the two words “But God”.

b.      If you are believer here today, God’s grace raised us with Christ and through faith in His power, we have been saved.

c.      That is what Paul says in Colossians 2.

d.      Why must we trust in God’s power? Because we are powerless… But God…

e.      Why must we be raised with Christ? Because we are dead… But God…

f.       Why must we have Christ represent us? Because our first representative failed. And we have inherited in his sin and are now destined for wrath… But God…

g.      Why can’t we just do better? Because we don’t want to, and it ultimately won’t change our destiny anyway… But God…

h.      My friends, if you are here today and you have not been raised with Christ. If you are here today and you have not believed in the mighty sovereign power of God to bring you out of death and darkness to life and light through faith in His Son.

i.        If you have not turned from the sin that has condemned you and trusted in the God who raised Jesus and sat Him as Lord over all…

j.        I beg you to see what you are in this text. You are dead. You are a slave to ancient, intelligent, malevolent beings. You are doomed to continue to fulfill the evil desires of your body and your mind. And you are, from your very birth, destined for wrath.

k.      There is no hope for you without the power of God raising you to life by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone for His glory alone.

l.        Will you not cry out for mercy? Will you not plead with Him today to save you from this body of death?

[Slide 24 (end)] Let me close with a prayer from the reformer William Tyndale,

Even if we have fallen to the bottom, Lord, reach down Your arm after us. It is long and strong enough to pluck us out again.

Deliver us out of the flesh, the world, and the power of the devil. Deliver us from evil! And place us in Your kingdom, to the place where we are beyond all jeopardy.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power forever, Amen.

Benediction:

May the Lord grant you to see where you are lacking, that you might have everything;

May He grant you a vision of your poverty, that you might be rich beyond measure;

May He show you that you are destitute so that you may be filled with fullness of His supply.

Until we meet again, grace and peace to you.