Scripture:
Ephesians 2:1-10 NKJV
[1] And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, [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, [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. [4] But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, [5] even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), [6] and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, [9] not of works, lest anyone should boast. [10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Observation:
Staying in the letter to the church in Ephesus was a somewhat easy decision. Not just because I feel like it’s full of wisdom that can change the way we see things, but also I want those men who attend the Friday night man up Bible study at Cross Pointe Church to see the level of depth that can be found in the word of GOD. After finishing the letter the church in Philippi. They had chosen to study through this one, and honestly I couldn’t be more proud of a group of men. Understanding the gift of salvation and what that does in the life of a believer is important. By the time we get to the end of these 10 verses the understanding of what that does will be in full view. So let’s look at what the LORD is saying through the apostle Paul. As we look at the first verse here my thoughts are drawn back to the very beginning of the Bible. As GOD was finishing up the creation process. HE grabbed a hand full of dirt shaped man and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, HE then laid down a short list of instructions, Genesis chapter 2 and verse 15 through 17 says, “Then the LORD GOD took man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD GOD commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die.” We all know what happened. The reason my mind was drawn to this scripture is because the death that was spoken about was a spiritual one. When we were made in GOD’S image we were made just like the Holy trinity, the part of man that died that day was the spirit, and the part of us that is made alive through Christ is the spirit. Confirming what we learned in the last SOAP. GOD has made us alive through the Holy Spirit. The very same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead has made us alive in Christ. So as Paul begins to lay the groundwork to teach this church about spiritual warfare, he has to clearly identify the difference that has been made and what it means to be alive in Christ. He started doing this in the first chapter by explaining the fact that we are sealed for the day of redemption with the Holy Spirit. By identifying the transition that has been made in verses 2 and 3, in a sense what he is saying is, “we used to be a slave to the prince of the power of the air, the one who in pride rose up against the one who created him and got cast out of heaven. By our very nature we are destined for the wrath of GOD. I can’t help but let my mind run right back to the garden with all of this, and see GOD’s amazing redemption plan. Without the knowledge of good and evil that was obtained through the fall in the garden, we wouldn’t necessarily have free will. The choice to do whatever we wanted not knowing if it was good or bad. No guilt, no shame, no fear, no death. That knowledge changed the game. It gave us a sin nature, making us children of GOD’S wrath. But here is the good part, GOD saw past all that. As Paul continues to teach about how truly good GOD is, he begins to explain that by uncovering HIS mercy and love for us. What Paul is saying in verses 4 through 6 is that even though our sin had separated us from HIM, HE not only did not give us what we deserved but HE also gave us what we didn’t deserve. Mercy and grace are key words when describing the nature and character of our heavenly Father, and even though we were sinners that did not change the fact that GOD loved us. Most of us know the point that Paul is working towards as he lays the groundwork for it here in chapter 2. We may even be aware of some of the names that the enemy has been given. The one that comes to mind right now is, the accuser of the brethren. Paul is preparing this church for the spiritual warfare they will face, and understanding GOD’S mercy and grace is a concern to that. HE didn’t expect us to eliminate the sin that was in our in order to come to HIM. What Paul is saying here is that GOD made a way for us to come to HIM sin and all, and the thought of that takes me back to the beginning of it all. I honestly feel like GOD painted us a picture of HIS plan in the book of Genesis. You see HE knew what the knowledge of good and evil would do to us. When Adam had sinned he hid himself from GOD. He covered his nakedness with the work of his hands, and that’s not how the LORD’S plan was going to unfold. It was insufficient. The bible says that Adam not only hid from GOD, because of guilt, shame, and fear, but he covered his wife and himself with fig leaves. After that moment when GOD came to walk with Adam in the cool of the day, everything was brought to the surface. GOD covered them with animal skin. That means something had to die. Do you see the picture being painted here? It all points to Jesus. HE is the animal skin that covered Adam and his wife. Adam’s job was to tend the garden. Hence the fig leaves he used to hide his nakedness. GOD knew we would have a tendency to try to hide our sin through the work of our hands. So HE gave us Jesus so that nothing would stop us from coming to HIM. That’s what is being said here in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 4 through 6. Verses 7 through 9 is where the perspective shifts. Paul tells us it’s not about what we do or have done, it’s about what GOD has done. The key to it is verses 8 and 9, “For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith, (in what Jesus did by covering your sin) and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of GOD, not of works, lest anyone should boast. That statement takes it all out of our hands. Paul is saying to this church it’s not about you, what you have done or what you can do. It’s about GOD what HE has done and what HE will do. As Paul brings these thoughts to his point. Taking all the pride and work out of it. He leaves us with this, verse 10 says, “For we are HIS workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which GOD prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Paul is saying it’s all because of Jesus. Anything good that comes from GOD’S children, is because of what Christ did. One of the last statements made on the cross. It is finished, the work is done.
Application:
The power of freedom that I have found in GOD’S redemption plan is truly amazing. It removes everything that hinders my walk with Christ. Now I know why I never got what I deserved, and in turn got what I didn’t deserve. I can remember countless times in my life that what I received was nowhere close to what should have happened, knowing the bible and looking back on it. What I deserved was 3 nails and 2 pieces of wood. A brutal death. However even at my worst GOD loved me, and was calling out to me, showing me exactly who HE is. HE sees all and knows all, not one of my sins has escaped HIS sight, and HE still did it, HE still sent HIM, HE didn’t wait for me to change my life, HE didn’t make some kind of contract that said I had to do anything to obtain the gift that HE wanted me to have. What HE did was so much greater than all that. After painting a picture for thousands of years in the Old Testament, HE showed us the picture HE had painted in real time, sending HIS one and only SON to pay the price for all the horrible things I had done. There is no greater love than that. The perfect plan was executed in a fashion that the enemy couldn’t see coming. So many years of trying to figure it out. Killing young Jewish boys. Only to help our Father in heaven fulfill HIS plan by nailing our homeless SAVIOR to the cross at just the right time. Not after we got good, but when we were stuck in our sin with no way out. What Christ did was something that no one else could do. Living a perfect life, becoming the spotless lamb, who took our place. I don’t know about you but when I think about it, I can’t help but have an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. The desire to tell others rises up in me, and I can’t help but be in awe of how much HE loves me. Ultimately what I want is for my personality and character to be more like HIS. The life that I have today as the result of something I had nothing to do with, blows my mind. I didn’t earn it and honestly don’t deserve it, HE did all the work. The thing is, there is honestly no difference between you and I, HE died for all of us while we were stuck in the pit of our sin, HE willingly gave HIS life, knowing that the grace that came from it would grab ahold of our hearts and we would see the love HE exhibited on the cross, HE knew that it would touch us in such a way that we would feel compelled to take action that it would change our lives in such a fashion that others would take notice and wonder how we did it, and all we would be able to say is…. GOD did something for me that I could not do for myself. It was HIS amazing grace that created the person you see. Honestly I had nothing to do with it. The acts of love and random acts of kindness were truly produced by an act of love that was undeniably bigger than anything we could have thought of, or put together on our own. It’s all because of Jesus. Even the good things we do today have nothing to do with us, HIS death on the cross was the sacrifice needed to cover our sins and allow the Holy Spirit to refine our lives from slave to sin to redeemed, restored, set free, victorious, more then conquers, no longer slaves to sin, doing greater works than Christ HIMSELF did, and all that was a part of GOD’S plan before we physically came into the picture.
Prayer:
Father, all we can do this morning is thank you. There is no way we could have done what you did. We know what we deserved, and we thank you for sending your one and only SON to pay the price for our sins. I honestly can’t thank you enough, and the only request that I have today is that you would continually fill our cups with your Holy Spirit. It’s easy for us to grow weary when we don’t see the next step clearly. So we asked that you would show us what you would have us do. We want to be smack dab in the middle of you. Loving those around us in the same way and fashion that you do. This morning we thank you for choosing us and our desire is obedience to the calling that you have placed on us. We do not want to go in the wrong way so just show us your way for us. You are truly amazing and we honestly can’t thank you enough. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.