Called From Death to Life
:1 The veil is rent: our souls draw near
Unto a throne of grace.
The merits of the Lord appear,
They fill the holy place.
His precious blood has spoken there,
Before and on the throne.
And His own wounds from heaven declare
Th’ atoning work is done.
‘Tis finished! Here our souls find rest.
His work can never fail.
By Him, our sacrifice and priest,
We pass within the veil.
1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved, us, 5even when were dead in our transgressions, 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, 7so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Eph 2:1-10, NASB)
Let’s pray:
O Great God who makes all things new, that you would hold up a mirror to our face this morning. Show us ourselves first as you SAW us, then as you SEE us – in Christ!, and finally how you PERCIEVE us from this morning forward, living in the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
:2 Back in 1984 I had one of the first portable computers made by Compaq. This thing was about the size of a large sewing machine, and weighed about 50 pounds. It had a keyboard that dropped off the side, and had no memory at all. Your cell phone has more computing power than my old computer. Sometimes I think of the man-hours invested in getting this “cutting edge” technology out the door. You know what it is like: Design reviews, modifications, budget meetings, marketing strategies, on and on and on. Many of you are probably involved in something like that right now. I wonder how many marriages and families were sacrificed, or ethical compromises were made, for this bit of technology that we laugh at now as a “dinosaur.” Maybe I just described your life. :3 Whatever it is you are chasing after, comes at some cost – money, time, relationships – and you want to know, “is it really worth it?” In the end, does it satisfy? You ask, “what’s my life all about, anyway?”
Believe it or not, God has given us the secret to finding significance in life, and satisfaction in whatever makes up our life. It starts with first, knowing who you WERE, next who you ARE, and only then, why in the world are you still here! So, if you have a Bible, please turn to Ephesians Chapter 2, verse 1. If you are using our pew Bible you will find the passage on page 151 in the New Testament. There Paul starts off with some “happy news: :4 1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Some of us may feel “dead” from time to time, or experience frustrations at living in a fallen world. But you need to know from the outset, that Paul does not use the term “dead” as a metaphor for the frustrations and setbacks of this life. Paul says that every person experiences death, even while he is alive. He’s talking about spiritual death. :5 A life alienated from God. It’s a view that sees God as an adversary, or at least - someone to hide from, so that I can go and do my own thing.
:6 So here’s our problem: we want to have real life, with meaning and significance – but cannot because, apart from Christ, we are broken, and we live in a broken world. Paul describes it this way: 2In which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, - he is talking about Satan right there - of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. The “course of this world” means being caught up in the current of our culture. It’s like being on a raft in the middle of the Potomac. Some places on the river the water may move faster than others, but no matter where you are, the current carries you downstream to the sea. And when you get carried along like that, the results for a society are ugly, aren’t they?
:7 Paul spells it out in Second Timothy 3, but you tell me if this doesn’t sound like the evening news: 1 …realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. . . ( 2 Timothy 3:1-4) Jesus just puts it this way: The love of many will grow cold. (Matt 24:12)
Try this for a test. Next time you are standing on line at Giant, or Panera, or MacDonald’s, listen to the carping and complaining all around you. How do folks talk about the people behind the counter? Like they are not there? You know, sometimes Lisa and I will be standing in line, her patiently waiting, me grumbling like an old bear, and she’ll call me on it – when I’m talking about the people behind the counter as though they aren’t there.
:8 3Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of the flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, - that’s God’s wrath - even as the rest. Notice that Paul changes from “you” to “we” here, because – all of us lumped in together in the same category: dead in our sins. Paul makes a statement of fact – whether you feel it or not or believe it or not: a person without Christ is spiritually dead. The best way to think of it is a total inability to respond to God in a way that will satisfy His holy nature. Imagine that we were holding a funeral, and here in front we have the coffin. It is open. A man walks in and goes up to the dead person and begins to demand that he repay the thousand dollars he owed him. He screams at the dead person. He even pounds on his chest. Will he get anything? No! Why not? Because he is dead! We all understand that.
The point Paul makes here is that, before Christ, you and I were as dead as that man in the coffin, and incapable of paying God anything we owed Him: respect, honor, good works, holy lives – anything. Apart from Christ, we are spiritually dead, and what we need is spiritual life. So the question is, “how do we get it?” If you have your own Bible, I want you to circle the next two words, that begin verse 4. They are, I think, the two most important words in all of Scripture. :9 “But God.” But God.
4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, . . . Here’s the big idea: Although we were spiritually dead, God made us alive together with Christ. Paul is saying that salvation is a work of God, from beginning to end. It is God who takes the initiative, even when, and really especially because, we were incapable of doing anything that would please Him or appease Him – because remember that God’s right response to sin – our sin – your sin - my sin – is holy wrath. Anything less would show him to be an unjust God, one who allows evil to go unanswered. :10 But God is also merciful and loving, and THAT prompts Him to save us. Save us in such a way that He can remain just AND merciful at the same time. God does not overlook our sin. No, instead He pays for it Himself, through the death of his one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
We often think of salvation as release from the penalty of Hell, and of course that is a HUGE part of salvation. But salvation is much, much more than that. :11 Not only does God, through Christ, forgive us, He gives us new life – a supernatural life - life from the dead! Even when we were dead in our transgressions, [God] made us alive together with Christ. From the moment of our first faith in Jesus Christ, God unites us with the Source of all life, the One who because of His righteousness could not be held by the grave, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Remember from last week that Paul prayed for the Ephesians, that they would “know the surpassing greatness of God’s power toward those who believe.” He wants them to know that the source of vibrant Christianity is the power of God – a supernatural power that enables us to live a life above and beyond the “course of this world.” It strengthens us to overcome the sinful nature that tugs at our heart. It prepares us to live a life of meaning and purpose, in relationship with our families, co-workers, friends here at Immanuel, and neighbors in the community.
:12 What Paul prays for in Chapter 1, he explains here in Chapter 2, and this is what he’s saying: Just like God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and elevated Him in victory, we, by virtue of being united with Christ, are made alive with Him, and even seated with Him in victory over the course of this world, the influence of our culture, and even the devil himself. Did you catch that? God gives us the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and the way He does it is by giving us Christ Himself. You know, sometimes I think I need more patience, or humility, or kindness, or love - as though God is issuing me little bags of grace. No! What I need is Jesus Christ – because when I have Him, then He will be patient, and kind, and loving, and whatever I need at the moment I need it, on my behalf, through me!
:13 What we are going to learn again and again as we go through Ephesians, is that Christianity is not a work, it’s a walk - a walk in unity with Jesus Christ. A walk in resurrection power. A walk in victory over sin, the flesh, the world, and the devil. A walk in conviction that we are here for a purpose, and that purpose is played out in the everyday affairs of life. As we will see in the second half of Ephesians, a walk is demonstrated in all our primary relationships: husbands, wives, parents, children, employers, employees. A walk that is ours from the moment we decide to step out in faith and take it.
Which leads to the question, how is all of this effected – how does it all become ours? :14 In June of 1976, I heard these two verses for the first time, and they literally changed the course of my life. Ephesians 2:8-9: Let’s all say it together, shall we? 8For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
:15 The main point is: salvation is all of God. As Brian pointed out several weeks ago, God “chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.” So in effect we could say we were “saved” before there was even a creation. Salvation also has a “past” aspect. It’s founded on a historical event: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ some 2,000 years ago, Christ accomplished our forgiveness, and paid for our sins to God’s satisfaction. And by the way, if God says He is satisfied, who am I to argue and feel like I have to add to it some way – to somehow repay God for what Christ has done?
Then there is our past. That’s what Paul is talking about here in these very verses in Ephesians. Salvation is a gift that we must, at some point in time, accept. We must transact with God. But are you seeing that all of this is God’s work. You and I were incapable of even responding to God, yet He “made us alive” so that we could respond to Him. It is all of God. Now, what about our present? Again, it is the work of Christ, working in us through the person of the Holy Spirit, to effect His salvation in our daily walk. Finally there is the future aspect, when our salvation will be realized. As Brian said several weeks ago, we have received the Holy Spirit as a “down payment” to guarantee our full redemption, including resurrection bodies and a new heaven and a new earth. In the past I were released from the penalty of sin. Today, I am being released from the power of sin – I am to walk that out. In the future I will be released from every presence of sin!
:16 You see, it really has nothing to do with me. 8For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Grace means “whatever God gives us that we do not deserve.” So really, everything we have, from the air we breathe to the food we eat, the jobs we work at, the lifestyle we enjoy – it is all because of God’s good kindness – His grace – toward us. Salvation is God’s greatest grace, His greatest gift to you and me. Salvation is a gift from God, from beginning to end.
Now there is an important technical point I have to make here, that is going to require a little grammar lesson. It has to do with the verbs we translate ”have been saved.” This is called a “perfect periphrastic construction,” and the only reason I tell you that is because I got it wrong once on a Seminary exam, and I have vowed ever since to use say “perfect periphrastic construction” whenever I can, just so I don’t forget it! But for that to mean anything to you, I have to give you a little Greek lesson.
Greek has tenses, just as we do in English. :17.1 First let’s talk about the present tense. Our title verse for our Ephesians series, “The Calling,” uses this tense. “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” “Walk” is in the present tense. It is something we are to do right now. :17.2 What about the future tense? Well, you all should recognize that easily enough. In Ephesians 5:14, Paul says, “Awake sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” “Will shine” is in the future tense.
But in Greek, there are three types of past tense verbs, and this is where I want to focus for a moment. :17.3 First we have the simple Aorist tense. A dot on the line is probably an oversimplification, but it is a good way to think about it. It shows something that just happened. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says that “… Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried…” Jesus died and was buried – that denotes an action that occurred in the past – simple Aorist tense.
:17.4 The second type of past tense is what we call the “Imperfect” tense. The imperfect tense marks continued action in past time. It is something that started in the past, and continued on for an indefinite amount of time and then stopped. When Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for the do not know what they are doing,” Luke puts that in the imperfect tense (Lk 23:34). It was not only when they nailed the nails in His hands, or when they spat upon Him, or when they cursed Him and mocked him. The imperfect tense tells me that Jesus repeatedly said, “Father forgive them,” as they did all these things to him.
:17.5 Finally, we have the perfect tense. It denotes an action which occurred in the past, but the results of that action continue on indefinitely. The best example in all of Scripture is when Jesus cries out on the cross, “It is finished!” This is in the perfect tense. Then, now and forever, Christ’s work was accomplished on the cross, but the results go on for all eternity.
So why did I tell you all that? Here in Ephesians 2:8 we have a combination of the perfect tense with the present tense. “Have been saved” is a perfect tense participle, combined with the present tense “are.” So a very wooden, literal translation would be this: 8for by grace you are having been saved. You are in a condition of “having been saved,” and that is how we must think of our salvation. It is an action accomplished in past time, for which the results continue forever, but it’s effective right now! I am to live in Christ’s salvation every moment of every day, because it always speaks to the Father on my behalf. And Christ’s life is always at work, in me. There is never a moment where I am not in Christ, and He is not in me!
How beautiful this is! It is Christ! Christ! Christ! It is never me. Christianity is always an entrance into the work that God does on our behalf. It is always Him, from beginning to end.
:18 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we would walk in them. Christianity is never a work, it is always a walk - because the work has been done! In fact, we are the product of that work. We are God’s workmanship! We say this as Christians in many different ways. “You must be “born again.” “…If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature…” Here in Ephesians we call it being “made alive together with Christ…” But it all comes down to God, taking something that was dead, and bringing it back to life again.
The million dollar question is, “Why?” Why? Why would God go through all the trouble? Paul gives us the answer: we are created (or re-created) for “good works.” This last Christmas, I received my very own pair of ice skates. You wouldn’t know it to look at me, but I rather enjoy skating. It’s my small way of cheating death, knowing that, were I to fall and crack my head open, it would be a pretty stupid way to die. Just the same, I now have my own skates, which I strap on bravely and head into the rink whenever I get the opportunity.
Now I am NOT poetry on ice. To be honest, I have only one criteria for success: not falling down. Falling down brings me way too close to the stupid way to die, so I keep my goal simple: Stay upright. Well, several months ago, while not falling down, I contemplated whether or not one could really define skating that way. And then I thought about walking. I used to have a friend with one leg. We used to go for walks at lunch, and once he remarked, “basically Bob, walking is pretty much not falling down.” And I thought that is pretty astute. With every step, I deny gravity its due of pulling me into the dirt.
But as I circled the rink, I realized that that is only one way to view walking. Really, isn’t walking more than “not falling down?” Isn’t it also getting from one place to another? A walk implies progress. Even if you walk on a treadmill, at least you are getting exercise. Even that is more than “not falling down.” Too often we define Christianity as “not falling down.” Our goal becomes to avoid sin. And, as important as that is, it’s not Christianity.
:19 We are his workmanship! We are created to go way beyond “not falling down” to walking with Christ, impacting our homes, our workplace, our ball fields, our neighborhoods with the message that Jesus Christ came, died and was raised from the dead. And just like Jesus was raised from the dead, they too, can walk in newness of life. And that is not just a bunch of pious sounding words. We can say with serious conviction, because we have ourselves experienced life from the dead. When we walk into our office, and face our budget review, or prepare that customer briefing, or when we herd our cats together to get them ready for school in the morning, we bring the fragrance of life, new life, resurrection life – in to the daily work-a-day world.
:20 Now, I can’t finish this message without recognizing that there are some in this room who are still spiritually dead. Your life is still a work. As it stands right now, God will judge you for your works. And in your heart of hearts, you know that your works will not stand the judgment. Paul would say you are still “dead in your trespasses and sins.” The old King James English word for “made alive” is “quickening.” I want to ask, is God “quickening” you right now? The apostle John tells us, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13)
Is your life still “death?” Do you want it to be “life?” And not the kind of life that is “not falling down” but the kind that reflects God’s workmanship? Is that what you want? If so, all you have to do is go with Ephesians 2:8-9. 8For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God,9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Let’s pray.
Lord there are some here in this room, who right now are saying, “I believe – please save me.” Hear their prayer O Lord, and give them life from the dead. And for the rest of us, may we walk with Jesus this week, and show our dying world what quality workmanship looks like. And may that be to the praise and glory of your grace. Amen
If you are believing in Christ for the first time today, please tell someone in our Guest Reception following this service. Pastor Ralph Weitz will be there, and will help you take your first steps in your walk with Christ.