Welcome back to VBVF Tuesdays…tonight we continue with our study of the book of Ephesians, returning to our theme “Fitted Together: the Church as the Body of Christ” -- this letter from the apostle Paul has been called “the storehouse of God’s riches for believers…” -- we’ll see why tonight 

Thank you for being present with us for this livestream tonight -- we invite you to worship with us as our worship leaders, Charlie and Amy, lead us

Welcome back -- we so appreciate the ministry Charlie and Amy bring to the fellowship. It is vitally important that as the people of God, we deliberately spend time in praise and worship before our Lord…there are many ways, to do that, of course, but honoring God by singing with His people -- even though we are temporarily separated -- is a great way to express the love you have for Jesus. We are sharing these videos with you for you to join in with them and praise Jesus as they sing. You’ll be seeing more of Charlie and Amy in the coming weeks

Tonight we have some news to share about our reopening plans, as we prepare to re-gather back here in person. As you know, our circumstances here in San Antonio regarding the COVID-19 pandemic have been improving -- the number of new cases are dropping as the rate of transmission is holding steady -- and our elders have met and have decided that with the proper risk mitigation measures and procedures inside the building, we can gather again here for worship on the weekend of June 13th and 14th. We so look forward to that day! For more details, please go to the church’s website, www.vbvf.org, and watch for updates to the COVID-19 Action Plan -- stay connected with us there -- that’s where we will update all the details. 

Also, next Tuesday, one week from tonight, this Bible study, our midweek study on June 9th, will also be live and in-person here in our worship center! We look forward to seeing some of you even then! Please come and join us as we continue our study through Ephesians!

Tonight we continue our journey through this book that was addressed to the church at Ephesus, a major city in the eastern part of the Roman Empire of the first century, on the coast of the Aegean Sea in what was known then as Asia Minor, and today is the nation of Turkey. It is a significant city in the narrative of the New Testament, and was a central location of ministry for not just the apostle Paul, but also Timothy, and notably John the Apostle, the author of the Gospel of John, three shorter letters, and the book of Revelation, and Ephesus is thought to have been the final residence of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as we expect that she was taken in to John’s household and under his care, based on Jesus’s direction to that effect from the cross

By way of short review, as we look back at the first chapter, we see Paul’s praise to God for the work of the three members of the Trinity -- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit -- in the work of salvation…in one long sentence in the original Greek, Paul tells us of the work of the Father to choose and predestine those who are His, the work of the Son to redeem, forgive, and purchase for us an inheritance, and the work of the Holy Spirit to seal us as a guarantee of the completion of the work of God

Then in the second half of the chapter, Paul turns from praise to prayer, asking that we might know the hope of our calling, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and the immeasurable greatness of his power, concluding with a unique description of the risen and exalted Christ, seated at the right hand of the very throne of the Father

That brings us to our passage for tonight -- Ephesians 2.1-10

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 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— 3 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. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Pray

Sometimes chapter breaks are helpful -- but at other times, like tonight, we need to read the text as if it wasn’t there…after the praise and prayer of chapter one, Paul turns from Christ back to us, and begins to describe more fully this work of reconciliation, as God forgives the guilty sinner, not just changing us or helping us or overlooking our rebellion, but in very fact, raising us from the dead. He begins to work out, in space and time, the action of the Father to choose and predestine us that we learned about in chapter one. 

But before we get to the good news of God’s salvation, first we must look carefully and clearly at ourselves. Who were we, spiritually, before we came to faith in Christ? And who are the people all around us who yet today do not know Jesus? What does the Bible say about the state of mankind in our lost and unregenerate condition? Because if we don’t understand that, we won’t fully understand or appreciate the beauty and truth of salvation by grace through faith that follows. 

In the early years of the 20th century, the English journalist and writer, G.K. Chesterton, responded to a call from the London Times to write an essay on the topic, “What’s Wrong with the World?” Chesterton’s response was classic:

Dear Sirs:

I am.

Sincerely Yours,

G.K. Chesterton

That’s the heart of Ephesians 2.1-3.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 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— 3 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. 

I. The Human Condition                           2.1-3

Having described salvation and the risen, exalted Christ, Paul now turns to the other extreme -- lost humanity. This is critically important -- if we don’t grasp this passage, we have little hope of grasping the rest of the book. We must know who we were before we were raised and came to faith in Jesus Christ.

Dr. James Montgomery Boice writes that there are three basic views of humanity: we are well, we are sick, or we are dead. 

The world might have us think that humankind, while somewhat lightly flawed in many ways, is mostly good…deep down, we are prone to act largely in love and kindness, and that over time, we are improving, and that human society is much better today than at any other time in human history…while we still make mistakes, we are basically well, and getting better

The second view is that we are desperately sick, maybe fatally so…humankind isn’t getting better, but that we are deeply flawed, and we will require drastic improvement and change to rise to our better state; but we are still living, and so there is hope

The third view is the one described by the apostle Paul in this passage…we are indeed not well, and not just desperately sick; we are, in fact, dead. The Greek word is ‘nekros’ -- a corpse. And we are not dead having lived a good life and awaiting our redemption at some future point -- no, we are dead “in trespasses and sins” -- parallel terms that together describe both violating God’s righteous law, active disobedience, and missing the mark of all that He demands of us, passive disobedience -- sins of commission and sins of omission 

We are dead -- spiritually dead while physically we have the appearance of life. We are severed from God, alienated from Him; in the Gospel of John alone, there are nine descriptions of our radical corruption

We are spiritually ignorant -- John 1.9-11

“9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” 

We are spiritually blind -- John 3.3

3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 

II Cor 4.4 -- 4 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. 

I John 2.11 -- 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes 

We are in spiritual hatred -- John 3.19

19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 

We are in spiritual defiance -- John 3.36

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

We are spiritually dead -- John 5.25-26

25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 

We are spiritually unable -- John 6.44, John 6.63-65

44 No one can come to me (believe in Christ) unless the Father who sent me draws (helkuo, drag or compel; no hint of simple invitation or enticing) him.

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

We are in spiritual slavery -- John 8.34

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 

We are in spiritual bondage -- John 8.44-46

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 

We are spiritually deaf -- John 8.43, 47

43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

This is a devastating depiction of the state of lost mankind -- apart from the sovereign grace of God, we are completely hostile to the claims of the gospel, blind and deaf to the Word of God, entirely unable to understand or respond to any offer of salvation; hating the light and loving the darkness

To return to Ephesians 2,we learn that these trespasses and sins were that 2 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— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind

It seems that in verse 2, Paul is speaking to the Gentiles in the Ephesian church, but then in verse 3 he includes “we”-- the believers of Jewish descent -- so that in the end of the passage, it is clear that this description of the state of lost humankind is just that -- applicable to everyone. Let’s look at the details.

We “walked” -- active language -- following the “course” -- path or journey, observing the milestones -- of the world, the kosmos -- and personally, following the “prince of the power of the air” -- a description of Satan himself, our adversary. It recalls the words of Jesus -- 

Matthew 7.14 -- 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Paul describes the lost as “the sons of disobedience” -- as we noted in John 8, they are following the ways of the spiritual father, the Devil. And this condition and pursuit was the common life of all of us, we lived in the passions of the flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind -- listen to Galatians 5.19-20

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. 

Those two words -- the body and the mind -- summarize that passage of the fruits, if you will, of the flesh. Some are physical sins -- sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, drunkenness, orgies --- and some are sins of the mind -- idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, and envy.

All that we did in the flesh, in our lost state, was to please ourselves, and by extension, that one who orchestrated and works through this world system in which we lived and breathed -- Satan himself.

That’s all very grim news -- but wait, it gets worse.

We are spiritually dead, completely lost in and fully committed to the world, the flesh, and the devil, spiritually ignorant, blind, deaf, in a state of hatred against God, in bondage and slavery, and utterly unable and unwilling to recognize our condition and unable to act in any way 

Then in verse 3, we learn the worst news of all: we are, by our very nature, children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. It is one thing to be utterly full of sin, dead, entirely insensitive and unaware of the things of God, consumed by the passions of the flesh…but then we learn that in that condition, that we are absolutely unable to change on our own, even if we wished to, which we do not -- we are now the objects of the abiding and burning wrath of God. Such is the state of the lost man apart from Christ

II. The Divine Solution                           2.4-7

Now come the most joyous words in all of holy writ: “But God…”

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 

What a nearly unbelievable statement of immeasurable grace and love!! 

When we were dead in trespasses and sins -- as the NEB says, “God’s rebel subjects” -- completely immersed in perversity and wickedness -- God, being rich in mercy and because of His great love, even when we hated Him -- He, God, made us alive. He took that which was dead -- us in our sin, our lostness, our rebellion -- and brought us to life. Why? Why would God do that? We hated Him, loved the darkness, were hostile toward Him, were spiritually blind and deaf to everything He showed us…yet somehow, He chose to buy us back from our sin, our slavery, our bondage, and then unite us with His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ

The only answer the Scriptures give us is simple yet profound -- because He loves us and chooses to show His mercy to us and in us.

Look at what God the Father has done -- this is where the praise of chapter one connects to the blessing of chapter two

What the Father did for the Son in chapter one He now extends and gives to us in chapter two

It is captured in the words “quickened,” “raised,” and “seated” -- we use three nouns to describe this truth: His resurrection, His ascension, and His session (being seated at the right hand of the Father) -- these three historical events in the life of Jesus Christ are now applied to us as well

He raises us from the dead spiritually as He raised Jesus from the tomb, and we ascend even as He did

Ephesians 1.20a: 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead 

Ephesians 2.4-5: 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him

He seats us with Him in the heavenly places…

Ephesians 1.20b-21 -- and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 

Ephesians 2.6b -- and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 

This describes something so unique, so unprecedented, that Paul had to coin three new words to describe it:

Syzopoieo -- to make together with

Synegeiro -- to raise together with

Synkathizo -- to sit down together with

We find it summarized in the ancient Apostles’ Creed, the oldest known creedal statement of the church:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

the Creator of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,

whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting

It’s almost more than we can understand and believe, but it pleases the Father to unite us with Christ -- and this spiritual union with Christ, this solidarity with the Son of God -- is really the heartbeat of the gospel -- for salvation is more than just forgiveness, it is this as well -- the incredible truth that we are not just forgiven BY God, but united WITH God

In a chapter known as the High Priestly Prayer, John 17, Jesus prays for Himself, His disciples in that day, but then He extends His prayer to include even us…and His desire, which He asks of the Father, is that we would be together with Him where He is, in glory…

John 17.20, 24 -- 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, … 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 

The truth is this: because Jesus was raised from the dead, so shall we be raised from the dead …and because Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Father in heaven, so shall we be seated with Him

Colossians affirms the same truth

Colossians 3.1-4 -- If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

We have to ask: why, Lord? Why would You choose to bless us like this?

That isn’t exactly the right question, I think…because it places the emphasis and focus on us, instead of God…we have the answer in verse 7:

7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The real reason isn’t for our blessing, though we are certainly blessed as a result…but the reason for God’s actions to raise us from the dead, raise us to the heavenly places, and seat us with Christ in the place of highest authority seems to be to exalt Himself. We are to be, as it were, “trophies” of His grace…thus Paul’s interruption of himself in verse 5 -- “by grace you have been saved” -- we will forever be examples of what the Almighty God can do in rebellious and wicked people…He is sovereign, He is holy, He is wrathful against sin -- but He is also loving, gracious, kind, and merciful

As God displayed the “immeasurable greatness of His power” by the resurrection, ascension, and session of Jesus, so too does He display the “immeasurable riches of His grace” by doing the same things for His people, the Bride of Christ, the Body of Christ, the Church

That’s the divine solution: “But God!” God takes those who were dead in trespasses and sins, and brings them to life, raises them to the heavenly places with His Son, and seats us there in places of authority and responsibility, in spiritual union and solidarity with His own Son -- answering the prayer of Jesus that “where I am, they may be also”

III. The Gracious Salvation                           2.8-10

Now we turn to the final portion of the passage…

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them

Paul returns now to one of his essential themes: the grace of God

Verse 8 is a favorite memory verse, and rightly so…we must all know how it is that we were saved, how we were taken from death in Adam and placed in life in Christ, how not just our hearts and wills, but our destinies were changed in a moment, to turn from sin and wickedness to righteousness and holiness

This short passage describes and defines not just Who did this magnificent miracle, but who did not; it defines this salvation as a gift not a wage; it takes us from our past, through the actions of God on our behalf in the present, to the marvelous future which is ours in Christ

Let’s take a closer look

Paul restates verse 5 -- as if he wants to make absolutely sure and certain that once we have no doubt about how we came to faith -- it is “by grace” -- Gr ‘charis’ -- unmerited favor, given by God, received by us

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith.

But the next sentence starts with “And this” -- so what is the antecedent of “this”? What’s the “this” the apostle is talking about? 

And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 

In English, when we find this situation in a sentence, we look to see what the last thing was the writer spoke of…in this case, it’s the word “faith” -- some might say that it actually refers to the whole sentence, “For by grace you have been saved through faith” -- so that salvation might better be said to be the antecedent of “this” -- either way, it’s clear -- what we experienced as God changed us from being in Adam to being in Christ, from death to life, is a matter of grace -- it is not our own doing -- we did not accomplish it or contribute to it

Frankly, that flies right in the face of most Bible teaching and preaching today that says salvation is the result of a transaction between God and man -- that on the cross, Jesus died to make salvation possible, and God offers man that salvation, but that God waits for man to exercise his “free will” to choose Jesus and accept the offer, completing the transaction and “closing the deal” -- so in that view, salvation is a joint venture, if you will -- God accomplishes most of it, but in the end it’s man which has to choose God, to “say yes to Jesus” 

But when you examine the Scripture carefully, as we have over the last three weeks, it’s clear -- God Himself is the only Actor in this work -- even what we often say we contribute to the transaction, our faith, is in fact a gift from God in the first place -- were it not for God raising us from death to life, and giving us faith, we would never choose Him or believe in Him -- we would still be dead in our trespasses and sins -- we are saved by God’s grace, and through the faith that He Himself gives us

It’s only when we have been brought from spiritual death to life, and granted faith by God, that we respond as we hear the gospel with the words “I believe” -- that’s the first sound a new, born again, saved person makes -- that new heart of flesh, not stone, says, “I believe”

Why does He choose to do this -- save humankind -- in this way? Look to the Scriptures for the answer: 

not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

It’s BY grace -- NOT BY works -- an act of God, not an act of man -- why?

So that we would not fall into the trap set by our first and most hateful Enemy, Satan himself -- the trap of pride. The trap of thinking we did this ourselves, that we managed, through our own mind, strength, and ability, to lift ourselves up out of our sin, see and understand the truth, then by our own will, unaided by God, take hold of the salvation of Jesus.

That trap -- taking at least partial credit for what God alone has done -- is serious. We should consider carefully how we understand our own salvation.

But again God doesn’t stop with this gracious salvation -- there’s more! God isn’t content to just save us so we can sit around and think about how good it is that we’re saved -- no, He calls us into service and activity with Himself

He indwells us with His Spirit, the same Spirit we learned in chapter one is the Guarantee, the Deposit, the Promise that God will complete that which He began in us -- and that Spirit now leads us into service to our Sovereign God

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them

The Word tells us we are His workmanship -- His masterpiece, His work of great art. Gr ‘poiema’ -- we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, acts of grace, love and kindness, just as God has acted toward us, He now leads us to act in the same way toward others

In essence, He is teaching us to follow Him, to imitate Him, to see His works and His ways, and to do the same things we have seen Him do.

When we see Jesus act in love and compassion toward a distraught and embarrassed young newly married couple, we follow that example. 

When we see Jesus reach out in grace and acceptance to the lost and dying, to those whom the religious society despised and rejected, we follow that example. 

 When we see Him invest His life in others, teaching them the truth of His Father, we follow that example. 

And when we see Him ultimately give His life to both obey His Father and save those who hated Him, we follow that example.

In the words of the apostle Peter,  

I Peter 2.9-10, 21       9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy…      

21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

So as we wrap up tonight, let’s compare where we finished with where we started:

We were dead -- now we’re alive forevermore

We once walked according to the ways and course of this world -- now we walk in the works and ways of God

We followed after the Devil -- now we follow after Christ

We were by nature children of wrath -- now we are children of the Almighty God

And it was -- and is -- all of grace -- the work of the One Who loves us more than life itself, Who gave Himself to redeem us from our sin and ourselves -- blessed be the Name of the Lord!