But God

Text:    Eph 2:1-4 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

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:

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.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,”

Subject: But God

·       Introduction:  Paul writes 13 letters or Epistles of the New Testament

·       Nine of them were written to the Seven Churches

·       Five were written from prison

·       Three were written to pastors and

·       One was written to a personal friend, by the name of Philemon

·       All of them, with the exception of the book of Hebrews, begin with his name and close with the word “Amen.”

·       They initiate with his signature and conclude with that word of crowning and benediction.

·       However, the book of Hebrews opens with the divine proclamation:

·       So then, Hebrews chapter one, verse one declares:

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”

But within these 6 chapters, 155 verses, 3,039 words, Paul writes to the church of Ephesus, where he left Timothy to pastor and to work out their soul salvation.  Perhaps, he gave Timothy charge over this church because of the unfeigned faith that was planted within him by his grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice; and in this letter to the church of Ephesus, we discover the wealth, the walk, and the warfare of the believer.  Paul was a minister of his message: and while he was not an eye witness of the resurrection, he had an encounter with Christ on the Damascus road that changed his name, his life and his walk. 

As for our wealth: we have a spiritual inheritance that is greater than any Earthly possession.

In other words: we have a spiritual bank account:

                                                             i.      We have been chosen before the foundation of the world.

                                                           ii.      We have been predestinated by Adoption as sons.                   

                                                        iii.      We have been accepted in the fellowship of the beloved. 

                                                        iv.      We have been redeemed by the blood of Christ.

                                                           v.      Forgiveness, according to the riches of his grace;

                                                        vi.      Enlightened in his Wisdom that we may know the hope of his calling and the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.

                                                      vii.      Inheritance

                                                   viii.      We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit  

                                                         ix.      We were dead in our sins but, now we have been made alive in Christ.  

As for our walk: we are admonished to walk worthy of the calling in which we have been called. 

As for our warfare: Paul admonishes us to put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand the wilds of the devil…

In chapter one, as believers, we discover our possessions in Christ But:

In chapter two: he has done at least three things for us:

First, we have been made alive with Christ

Then, we have been raised with Christ

And finally, he has made us to sit with him, in heavenly places.

But Chapter 4:1 – Paul admonishes us to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you have been called.    

But in chapter two, verse one, Paul reminds us of who we were before we found Jesus. In other words, watch how you treat folk.  Be careful how you answer because if it had not been for God’s grace and his mercy, but for the grace of God, it could be you or me.  Be careful how you talk to folk because those you meet on your way up, it is possible that you might greet the same folk coming down.

We were:

·       Dead in sin

·       Influenced by the devil

·       Controlled by lust

·       Under God’s wrath

·       Pagans without God

·       Separated from Christ

·       Without hope in this world

But God:

Loved us

Liberated us and

Lifted us

(Songwriter) penned these words under the Unction of the Holy Spirit:

What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought,

Since Jesus came into my heart

I have light in my soul for which long I have sought

Since Jesus came into my heart

Paul speaks to the church of Ephesus in comparison and contrast as he reminds them of who they are opposed to who they used to be.  Sometimes, as believers, we need to be reminded of what God has done in our lives because every now and again we begin to disclose or expose the old man; the man that supposedly is dead and was crucified and buried, when Christ came into our lives; this nature that should have been destroyed when Christ took up residence in our new house.

Perhaps, Paul reminds this band of believers of how they lived without Christ. 

And the only thing that stands between who we are and who we used to be is, the changing agent and the transforming power the Holy Spirit, which is spoken here in verse 4, of chapter 2, “But God…”

As we examine the subject: one word is a conjunction; it is a word of interjection or interruption.  The word “But” always brings about a change in the nature or connotation of what has been previously spoken.  This word, “but” nullifies or negates all that has been previously stated.  Therefore, the conjunction of verse 4, changes everything that has been previously spoken From the b clause of verse one to the beginning of verse four. 

The second word, is the transforming agent that brings about the change in verses 1 through 3.  Perhaps, many of us are just like the members of the church of Ephesus.  We don’t want folk to know we were far from God.  In other words, we seem to be ashamed of our testimony;   what is Paul saying here? Perhaps, he is saying that you were living your life in the fast lane; dancing with the devil; trying to empress your friends; you and I had made a reservation for hell and when we thought I were living, we found out that we were walking dead.  But God…with his mercy and his love, resurrected me in my sinful state and transformed my life

Yet, before we consider this change in our state, chapter one, verse three says that we have a new seat.

Eph 2:6

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

·       I was sick – But God

·       I could be in the hospital – But God

·       I was Lost – but God

·