The Need Of New Life

OCTOBER 9, 2022 STUDY NOTES EPHESIANS 2:1-3 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES THE NEED OF NEW LIFE INTRODUCTION In Ephesians 1:15-23, Paul prays for believers to understand our salvation He prays that we will comprehend what God has given us “in Christ” For us to know the power that God wrought in Jesus when He raised Him from the dead And know that the same power of God is at work in those who are saved The same power that raised Jesus from the dead will raise those who are spiritually dead Ephesians 2:1-3, reveals that the lost need to be made alive, to be resurrected from the dead In salvation, those who are spiritually dead are resurrected from death to a new spiritual life To be “Born Again” is to receive a new spiritual life, resurrected unto a new way of life When you are born-again you receive a new spiritual life filled with the power of God In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul reveals to us the truth of the old life of spiritual death, what it was like The way our life was before we received a “New Life in Christ” (Galatians 2:20) In salvation every Christian has received a new and different life (Ephesians 2:10) When Paul describes the life before salvation, he describes the life of every lost person He describes the way life is without Jesus as our Savior and the present state of every unbeliever In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul reveals The Need of New Life: The lost are spiritually dead (Verse 1) The lost are dominated by Satan and sin (Verse 2) The lost face the wrath of God (Verse 3) WE WERE ALL DEAD--Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; “And you,” who? “You,” all who are lost need to be saved, you need to be made alive in Christ “All” are sinners, Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: “All” have sinned, and “all” need to be saved, “all” need to be made alive spiritually “And you hath He quickened,” is in italics and means that it was inserted by the translators It was inserted for the purpose of clarity or better understanding (which it does) In verse 5, Paul does say that we have been “quickened,” made alive with Christ, Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) “We were dead in sins” (verse 5) refers to “you who were dead” (verse 1) Those who were dead in verse 1, are those who have been made alive in verse 5 So, the translators were correct in inserting “hath he quickened” in verse 1 The understanding of verse 5 is much more meaningful when we know the truth of verse 1 Christians are no longer the “you” of verse one, we are now the “we” of verse 5 “You” who needed salvation, now by grace “you” are saved, you “who were dead” In this verse the word “dead” does not refer to physical death It refers to spiritual death, they were “dead” because they had no spiritual life Those who are lost and without Christ in their life, are “dead” living beings The word “separated” gives us a better understanding of what death means according to scripture In the Bible, death does not mean “ceasing to exist,” it never indicates nonexistence There are three deaths identified in Scripture and each death involves a separation Page 1 of 6 Death is a separation, to be dead is to be “separated” from life “Physical death” is life separated from the body that we now live in (Hebrews 9:27) Physical death is when the soul departs from the physical body A dead body is inactive and lifeless, there is no longer any physical response “Spiritual death” is life separated from God, physically alive but spiritually dead (1 John 5:12) Spiritual death is being dead to the life of Christ, it is the opposite of life “in Christ” Ephesians 2:1 speaks of those who are dead being spiritually separated from God Those who are lost live in a realm of life known as “death” They have physical life, mental life, and emotional life, but there is no spiritual life You can be physically fit, mentally alert, emotionally excited, while spiritually dead Because the lost are dead spiritually their works are dead also Salvation includes a “repentance from dead works,” Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Through the blood of Christ, we are made alive spiritually and cleansed from dead works, Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Being spiritually alive and cleansed we can now “serve the living God” The third death identified in the Bible is known as the “Second Death” or Eternal Death Eternal death is life eternally separated from God, Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. The “lake of fire” is the eternal state of those who die physically without being born spiritually, Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Eternal death is the everlasting separation from the “presence of the Lord,” 2Th 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; The order of death presented in scripture is, spiritual death, physical death, second death When people die physically, one of the first questions is, “What caused the death?” Paul gives us a spiritual autopsy report, his diagnosis of death is, “in trespasses and sins” Man is spiritually dead or spiritually separated from God because of “trespasses” “Trespasses” refers to the fall of man from his original position before God (Genesis 3) To “trespass” is to step outside the bounds of law that God has set, the wrong path of life Righteousness is the standard that God has set for His people, the right path of life To “trespass” is the opposite of “righteousness,” it is living the wrong way in the wrong place Spiritual death is also living in “sins,” sin is the transgression of the law of God The word was used to describe an arrow that fell short of the target, meaning “to miss a mark” The target for every person is the life that God has prepared for you To live in sin is to miss the target of life, to miss the mark of God is to hit some wrong target The lost are a walking tombstone which reads, “dead in trespasses and sins” THE LOST ARE WALKING DEAD--Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: “In time past” is the time-period before one is saved, before you were “Born Again” Paul presents the truth of the path of life for those who are lost or spiritually dead Revealing the characteristics of a life without Christ, any and every kind of sin is possible The kind of life that Christians are not supposed to live because they are now saved This should not be a description of the walk of a Christian (1 Cor 3:1-3, the carnal life) Your “walk” is your daily lifestyle, the way you live your life, your conduct and behavior Page 2 of 6 “Walk” is your whole manner of life, one step after another, following the same pattern of life “According to the course of this world,” refers to the characteristics of today’s society Satan’s organized system that he does not want God to be a part of (2 Corinthians 4:4) The social value system of the world, the evil ways of the world, 1Jn 5:19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. Wickedness identifies with the pleasures and practices of the world in which we live It is how the world thinks you ought to live your life and the world advertises that lifestyle Our world has witnessed many different time periods, but none without sin Sometimes sin has been more open and public than other times, look at America today We are certainly living in the time of the freedom to sin in America, and with government support America has never been more open to sin than we are seeing today Examples: Public nudity; cursing; the entertainment of sexual perversion is prime time T.V. today That which was once in the dark alley of the city or in the country barn is now in public view It is now living room entertainment through T.V. or downtown conversation through face book Today people laugh at the thoughts and practices of morality once found in the American public There was a time when the ankle and lower neck of a lady was not to be seen in public Now there is very little left to the imagination, there is almost full exposure of the body today There is a commercial that says, “hide my skin, not me,” sinful America is not hiding skin today Today news cameras search a crowd and focus on exposed skin to show the public Cursing was once only heard among men and never in the presence of a woman or child Now you hear public vulgarity from men, women, and youth wherever you are (normal language) It is Satan that has made the changes, Christian don’t change from the “Old Time Religion” The real question is, what is Satan going to do from here, his work is not over, 1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Satan is not satisfied with his work so far, what will we soon see and hear in public? In today’s world the way of life is, take but don’t give, get even but don’t forgive And let others serve you but don’t serve others, put self-first before all others People are living according to worldly wants and not heavenly desires (Colossians 3:1-3) Christians have been delivered from the death penalty of sin but not the temptations Satan The world is living “according to the prince of the power of the air” Satan is “the prince” who rules in the hearts of those who are lost, worldly, and wicked He has been around for every period-of time since his appearance in the Garden of Eden “The power of the air” refers to his leadership over the demons, Luk 11:15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the “chief” (prince) of the devils. Satan is the lord or ruler over the demons who dwell and rule in the atmosphere (Ephesians 6:12) Satan’s forces are like the wind, an invisible power, always present and always working Satan does not work alone, the fallen angels who work under his will are identified as--“The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” It is the “spirit” of Satan that works evil in our world today We can see the results of Satan’s work, evil deeds, wicked ways, and sin of every degree The “spirit” of Satan speaks of the personal desires of Satan, his frame of mind Paul says it is that which “now worketh,” and it is working through disobedience to God Satan and his demonic forces are at work at this present time in this world (Watch the news) Satan energizes sin and is the influence behind all disobedience toward God (Worldly wisdom) Satan leads the world down the path of evil and he is working through his own to deceive others Those who obey Satan and disobey God, all who are opposed to God’s will are of Satan’s will Unbelievers are characterized by disobedience to God, obeying Satan is their nature Those who are classified as “children of disobedience” are those who are spiritually dead Page 3 of 6 Christians are to be “Children of obedience,” 1Pe 1:14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: (Before you were saved) Being children of God and being obedient to God go together, which is “Spirituality” He is our Father, we belong to the family of God, we are to be obedient to His Word and His will Paul tells us the same thing Peter does, Rom 12:2 And be not conformed (same word) to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Living the spiritual life because you are saved) Christian, don’t allow the fads and the fashions of a worldly lifestyle to mold your way of life Christians are not to live a daily life according to what is going on in the world around them Christians should live their daily life according to what they have experienced within (2 Cor 5:17) Christians must make up their minds before Satan comes with his temptation to disobey God A mind like Joseph, there are things that I am not going to do and sin against God (Genesis 39:9) There are things that I must do because I am going to continue to obey God (Philippians 4:8) Sinful lusts should be something of the past, things that were in your life before you were saved Your life before you had a choice, before you received a new nature in Christ Don’t go back to the life of the old nature, carnal desires, strong desires of evil Sinful lusts should always be a thing of the past, never live like that again, life must be different Why would anyone ever allow their life to be controlled by sinful lusts? You lived that way because you didn’t know any better, you were spiritually blind Now you have a new mind, heart, and will, a new nature, a new way of life You can get your mind off evil and sinful desires, you can now love God and righteousness LIFE OF THE DEAD--Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. At one time we were all “children of disobedience,” before we were saved We were numbered among “all” of those who are spiritually dead “We all had our conversation,” which is presented in a very personal way, “we all” “Conversation” refers to more than what is being said, it is the daily life that is being lived The way we were living our daily life, passing the time of life, our daily conduct of life We all came from a life being lived under the desires of the old nature A life tossed to and fro, turning back and forth, swayed by a sinful nature (Ephesians 4:14) We should “all” be able to say, “in times past,” no longer “in the lusts of our flesh” “Lusts of our flesh” are the cravings of the sinful nature, the old nature, the fallen nature The longings and cravings of the nature inherited from Adam by physical birth When we were lost, we could only follow the impulses and imaginations of our evil nature That which is contrary to the will and pleasure of God The twisted thoughts influenced by Satan, desiring what Satan offers Satan will feed the flesh and the old nature will eat it up The longer a person lives in sin the lustful appetite increases and Satan’s menu offers it We “all” leave footprints in the sand, those who are lost leave a path of sin Often people do not recognize those steps of life until the road comes to a dead end When sin has run its course and sorrow, heartache, and destruction have come Then they can look behind them and see others who are following their path of life But they don’t want them to follow any more, but often it is too late People do not realize the results when they take that first step down one of the roads of Satan What it is going to do to their life and how it will influence others to follow them It is amazing that Satan can blind sinners to the end of the road of sin, they think “not me” We must realize that our daily life is a testimony, an example of righteousness or sin Page 4 of 6 Example, people will sit and have a social drink as they talk about the tragedy of alcohol Talking about someone who lost everything because of alcohol (It won’t happen to me) Talking about someone who either killed or was killed by a drunk driver (It won’t be me) Young people are not influenced to take their first drink because of an alcoholic under the bridge They are influenced by the social drinker, the party life, the “live it up” lifestyle” Which is “fulfilling the desires of the flesh,” consuming what you want out of life When the appetite is sin, everything on the menu is sinful, and you partake of your share Partaking of that which is pleasing to the flesh, the things that the flesh likes And those who are spiritually dead feel free to consider and accomplish any sin they desire Regardless of how long you fulfilled the desires of the flesh, it was long enough, 1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. It is now time to live for Christ and not of the mind of Satan “And of the mind,” refers to the mind that is centered in the sinful nature The mind that Satan controls is in the dark (Ephesians 4:18) It is the mind of the wicked works of Satan (Colossians 1:21) Satan will give the idle mind something to think about through the sinful example of others The mind will think evil and reason it out as okay, a perverted mind cannot think right “And were by nature the children of wrath,” the spiritually dead are creatures of nature The sinful nature that they received from their physical birth And they are by nature “the children of wrath” which is in-contrast to “Children of God” Children of wrath are subject to the wrath of God, something that we naturally deserve “Wrath” is the divine judgment to be inflicted upon those who do not believe in Jesus (Jn 3:36) The wrath that will fall upon the children of disobedience (Ephesians 5:6) Because of the sins that come from the sinful nature of those who are lost (Colossians 3:6) But the children of God are not appointed to wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9) “Even as others,” those who have not received a new life and are spiritually dead How much difference is there between the saved and the lost? As much difference as there is between those who are physically dead or physically alive There is a world of difference and there is an eternal difference What the world says is “real life,” God says is “really death” Those spiritually dead cannot understand the spiritual life or appreciate the spiritual life Those spiritually dead cannot respond to the spiritual life (1 Corinthians 2:14) You are dead without Christ and lost man cannot deliver himself from death (Ephesians 2:9) Man can educate the mind, man can legislate the will, man can please self Man can regulate his character through religion, but he is still spiritually dead Those who are spiritually dead are helpless, hopeless, and Hell bound But there is a way, there can be a difference, a world of difference, an eternal difference It is called salvation, it is a born-again experience, it is a spiritual birth that gives new life But there is only one way, and we find it presented in Ephesians 2:4-10 Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, “But God” is describing what God has done for those who are described in verses 1-3 CONCLUSION Those spiritually dead are living under the evil forces of the world, the flesh, and the devil Those who have been made alive in Christ have experienced God’s mercy, love, and grace Which is experienced “At Calvary,” the song we sang before the message Watch the screen and listen to the song Page 5 of 6 Page 6 of 6