But God

I have a friend whose young wife has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. They have two small children together, and they had always dreamed of raising them together and growing old together and serving in the ministry together. But now, their dream has been interrupted by the nightmare of cancer and a near expectation of loss and grief. Desperate to find any answer, any hope, any cure, he has committed himself to staying up late into the night to read and study so that he knows everything that there is to know about her cancer and experimental treatments and potential options. Though he is a pastor, he can speak to you with a depth of understanding of medical terms that would impress any medical professional, and he can speak competently about treatment options that most of us don’t even know exist. You see, for him, for his family, for his wife, this isn’t simple biology and chemistry to be learned in a classroom. This is life and death. This is the difference between his kids being raised by their mother or without her. And so, as part of his vow to love her in sickness and in health, he has resolved to learn all that he can so that he can do whatever is within his power to help her.

And, I think this is a painful picture of how God intends for us to learn the gospel. The gospel isn’t a mere subject to explore intellectually in a classroom if we have the time. The gospel is the difference between life and death as we prepare ourselves and our spouses, our children, our friends, and our neighbors for certain judgement that is near. As Christians, this is what we believe. We believe that every person of every age is going to exist forever and that the difference between hell and life is the gospel, the Good News about Jesus Christ. Yet, for most, if someone we love were to come and ask us the simple question, “What is the gospel?” I’m not sure that most would even know where to begin. And so, this is the question that we’ve been seeking to answer over the last few weeks. Aaron talked with you a couple of weeks ago about God’s holiness, justice, and goodness. Last week, John talked about the humanity’s wickedness and separation from God. And so, this week, we will seek to converge those two realities so that we can see how the seemingly impossible takes place: Wicked man being reconciled with a holy and just God.

“And you…But God...” So, we come to one of the most beautiful passages in the Bible. Now, I want you to notice how verse 1 starts and then compare it with how verse 4 starts. And as simple as these words are, they give us the essence of the Gospel. Verse one starts off as ‘And you...’ And, you were dead in your trespasses. And, you were following in the way of the devil. And, you were a child of wrath to be cut off from all good forever. “But God!” But God, intervened. But God, came down from heaven. But God, changed your destiny. You were dead in your trespasses, but God has made you alive in Christ! You were following after the natural path of this world, a slave to sin and satan, but God raised you up and seated you with Christ far above ‘all rule and authority and power and dominion.’ You were to be under the relentless wrath demanded by God’s justice, but God came to you so that you could know just how relentless and immeasurable his kindness is. This is the gospel in its simplest form. It’s the reversal of your destiny because of the initiative and intervention of God.

‘rich in mercy....grace…kindness…great love’ The words that Paul uses in this text are crucial to our understanding of the gospel. He says in verse 8 that our salvation is 'the gift of God.' And, he's been building up to these points by talking about God's rich mercy, great love, saving grace, and inexhaustible kindness. Now, these are a lot of the same words that are used in the church today, all the way until we get to verses 8 through 10. In verse 8, it says that God gave it to you as a gift, and that it's a gift of such generosity that you have no boast left. That is, you aren't deserving of this gift. You aren't good enough for this gift. For any person looking in, they would be dumbstruck that God was being so merciful, so loving, so kind, so generous with someone as wretched as you. But, it is more common today to not understand God's grace and salvation as a gift, but as an entitlement. It is the most common belief today that if I do things a certain way and carry myself a certain way and pray a certain way that I am entitled to God's blessing in my life. There is the apparent belief that we are, at heart, good people who are entitled to God's forgiveness and God's salvation, regardless of how we actually follow him with our lives because of our inherent goodness, because 'at heart' we're good people, no matter how we actually live or treat people or have any devotion to God himself. And so, Paul is obliterating this entitlement mentality.

This is the gospel in its simplest form. It’s the reversal of your destiny because of the initiative and intervention of God.

You see, the Gospel is nothing more and nothing less than God's love and God's nature expressed through the redemption of wretched sinners. That is, God's rich mercy, inexhaustible kindness, and overwhelming grace are all expressions of God's nature. In , John says that 'God is love,' meaning that his very nature, his very essence is love. And, the reason that God saves sinners is because He is so compelled by the love in his nature that He expresses himself by showing mercy, offering grace, and showering sinners with kindness. You aren't entitled to it. To believe this is an entitlement is to conceal the gospel. This is love expressed to those who are morally bankrupt so that God might be glorified. Paul makes this clear by contrasting our character and our entitlements with God's character and God's gifts.

APPLICATION: The gospel says that not only is God rich in mercy, but God is richer in mercy than you are rich in sin. Not only is God great in love, but God is greater in love than you are in rebellion. Not only is God determined for you to know his kindness, but God is more determined for you to know his kindness than you are to go your own way. Through Christ, God's mercy swallows whole our sin, God's love crushes our rebellion, and God's determined kindness overwhelms our determination to live for ourselves. God makes those who are dead in their trespasses alive by his mercy, his grace, and his kindness because of his great love. You aren't to receive your entitlement, which is wrath and hell, you are, instead, to receive his immeasurable riches forever. Brothers and sisters, do you see what a gift this is? This is not and could not be your own doing. You follow after your heart and your cravings, not God. You do what is easiest and most profitable for you, not what is right. Your good works are tainted and corrupted by your own selfishness. God had to intervene, by his grace and his mercy, in your life so that you might have life.

“you have been saved through faith” Now, I want you to notice the phrase ‘you have been saved.’ We see it once in verse 5 and again in verse 8. And, in verse 8, he completes the thought by saying ‘you have have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing.’ And, what’s interesting about this phrase is that the verb tense implies that something isn’t finished yet. It’s ongoing. That is, he’s saying that you ‘are being saved,’ or there is a time coming in which you will be ‘more fully saved.’ Here’s what these Ephesian Christians knew: ‘I’m saved now, but my life is still hard.’ They were still battling anger. They were still battling in their marriages. They were still struggling with raising their children. They were still struggling with their bosses at work. He goes on to address all of these things. So, even though they had trusted in Christ and been saved by Christ, they were still battling and they were still struggling and they were still fighting back the tears of life. Oh, the prosperity gospel misses this. Discouraged Christians all over the world are missing this. I don’t want you to miss this. Here’s what he’s saying: Your salvation is not yet complete, but it is already assured. And man, this is where we get our hope. This is the rock solid promise that is built on Jesus’ resurrection. This is the truth that the Holy Spirit is preaching to your heart. Your salvation is assured, but it isn’t yet complete.

And, this is what it means to live by faith and to receive God’s gift by faith. It’s so much more than mere mental ascent or mental agreement. Faith is to trust in Christ, his substitution and his resurrection, not because it fixes everything today, not because it makes everything easy today, not because it causes everything to fall in line today, but because you believe him when He says that it will one day. Faith is to trust Christ so fully about the future that you bank your whole life on him today. Faith cannot be simple agreement that there is a God and there is a hell and that Jesus is the Savior. What good is that? The demons know that. Faith is banking your whole on Jesus today even though you’re suffering today and sick today and poor today because you believe fully that Jesus’ promised future is coming. Faith is banking your life on Jesus today even though you can’t see him today.

We have joy now

APPLICATION: You see, true Christians are foolishly joyful. You can lock them in prison, and they’ll sing praises to God. You can take away from them their livelihoods, and they’ll rejoice that they share in Christ’s sufferings. They will encourage you even though they are the ones who are sick. Why? They’ve banked their lives on Jesus! They haven’t banked on a flourishing economy or a good president or a promotion at work. They’ve banked it all on a promised future, on a complete salvation. Brothers and sisters, regardless of what we face here, we can face it with joy because this life is giving way to a glorious new life. Bank your lives on Jesus. Bank your money on Jesus. Bank your children upon Jesus. Bank it all on Jesus because your complete salvation is coming!

APPLICATION: And, Christians, can I tell you what else this means? Every, single wonderful experience that you now have with Christ is but a foretaste, a shadow of the glory that you will one day know. As happy as you are able to be here, your happiness isn’t complete yet. As content as you can be now with Christ, your contentment is still incomplete. As filled with praise to God as you can be now, as submitted as you can be to his reign now, as full of grace as you can be now, they are all but a shadow of the glory that is yet to come! One day you will know fully and totally what it means to truly love God with the fullness of your heart and you soul and you mind and your body. You’ve only seen shadows now, but rest assured the day of fulfillment is coming!

In our passage, we see at least two purposes for why God has determined to make us alive, even though we were children of wrath. It's important that we realize that the gospel is not primarily about us. The gospel is about God and God's purposes. And since the gospel is about God and his purposes, we can say that wherever these purposes are not present the gospel has not yet been embraced. And, what's important for us to understand is that these purposes change things for us now. The gospel has a purpose for our lives now. The gospel has an aim for your life now.

In our passage, we see at least two reasons for why God has determined to make us alive, even though we were children of wrath. It's important that we realize that the gospel is not primarily about us. The gospel is about God and God's purposes. And since the gospel is about God and his purposes, we can say that wherever these purposes are not present the gospel has not yet been embraced.

And, what's important for us to understand is that these purposes change things for us now. The gospel has a purpose for our lives now. The gospel has an aim for your life now.

"so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" The first purpose of our new life is found in verse 7. It says that God made you alive 'so that' you might receive God's kindness forever. How wonderful is that? God saves you, raises you, and seats you so that forever He might shower you with his immeasurable riches. For all eternity, you will be the object of God's kindness. God's riches and God's kindness and God's grace are as immeasurable as eternity itself, and you will have the rest of time to search out and enjoy their full depths.

‘show the immeasurable riches of his grace’ APPLICATION: How does that impact us now? The word translated as ‘show’ in our text is used throughout ancient Greek to reference an artist and his work. It brings to mind Picasso painting one of his masterpieces and then setting it up in a showcase with perfect light so that every stroke and every hue might be seen and the full genius of Picasso appreciated. And, that’s a picture of who we now are in Christ. We are masterpieces of grace! In the gospel, we who were objects of wrath have now become objects of God’s kindness and love. We, who should be rejected, have been embraced. We, who were spiritually bankrupt, receive an eternal and immeasurable gift. You are the masterpiece that God has placed in the world so that all can marvel at his genius redemption. You are the masterpiece of grace that is intended to draw men and women into the Kingdom of God. Do you live like it? Do you live with the gratitude that grace imparts? Do you live with the kindness of one who understands the kindness of every breath you take? Do you live with the compassion that you have receive every morning? Are you shining as a masterpiece of grace putting on full display the genius of God?

"created in Christ Jesus for good works....that we should walk in them" The second purpose for our new life is seen in verse 10. He says that we have been 'created in Christ Jesus for good works.' Now, it's not using the word 'created' in the sense of and the physical creation. Rather, He is talking about our re-creation in Christ. That is, when the Holy Spirit begins to dwell in us, we become a new creation with a new heart and a new nature with new desires and appetites. This is the type of creation that he's talking about. By God's grace, you aren't who you used to be. You are able to see what you once were blind to. You are able to love what you were once cold toward. You want now what you cared nothing about before. You are a new creation and the old has gone and the new has come.

And, this regeneration of your heart, this making you alive was done for a specific purpose, namely, that you would live out the good works that God has prepared for you. And, here's what I want you to see. These two purposes come together powerfully. They are tied together like two train engines pulling you home. On one hand, God made you alive so that you might know his kindness forever. And, on the other hand, God re-created you so that you might make his kindness known forever. God has saved you so that his kindness might go to you, and then through you. I want to live a life that affects and impacts every generation that comes after me in the family tree. But, how can I impact my great, great grandchildren whom I will likely never live to meet? By pouring myself and my love and my devotion into my children. By giving myself to them I am giving myself through them to the later generations. This is the story of the Christian revolution. Jesus gave himself to 12 and then 120 who reached thousands who reached millions. God has saved you so that you may know his kindness, and God has saved you that your children and your neighbors and your friends may know his kindness through you.

APPLICATION: You are the channel of God's kindness to the world. God's kindness channels through you; it doesn't dam up and stagnate. It's moving. You see, grace is free, but it isn't still. It's moving through you to the world. Your Father is immeasurably rich, and so you can afford to be generous. It's God's kindness flowing through you. Your Father is the King who rules over every circumstance and every scenario; so, you have peace about the future to share. It's God's kindness flowing through you. You are being raised to reign with Christ in dominion over the new heavens and the new earth; so, you can offer contentment to the world no matter how much or how little there is. It's God's kindness flowing through you. You were saved and you are kept in the Kingdom because of God's longsuffering and patience with a wretched sinner; so, you are compelled to be patient with those around you. It's God's kindness flowing through you. God sought you and saved you so that you might know him personally and worship him truthfully, and now, He has sent you to seek and save those who don't yet know him so that they can experience the same joy. It's God's kindness flowing through you. In Christ, you have received a precious gift, and with that gift, you have received the ability to give good gifts yourself!

And, this regeneration of your heart, this making you alive was done for a specific purpose, namely, that you would live out the good works that God has prepared for you. And, here's what I want you to see. These two purposes come together powerfully. They are tied together like two train engines pulling you home. On one hand, God made you alive so that you might know his kindness forever. And, on the other hand, God re-created you so that you might make his kindness known forever. God has saved you so that his kindness might go to you, and then through you. I want to live a life that affects and impacts every generation that comes after me in the family tree. But, how can I impact my great, great grandchildren whom I will likely never live to meet? By pouring myself and my love and my devotion into my children. By giving myself to them I am giving myself through them to the later generations. This is the story of the Christian revolution. Jesus gave himself to 12 and then 120 who reached thousands who reached millions. God has saved you so that you may know his kindness, and God has saved you that your children and your neighbors and your friends may know his kindness through you.

Good works are part of the gospel. You were saved by good works. They just weren't your good works; they were Jesus'. You were saved by his sinless life and his sinless sacrifice and his triumphant resurrection. Oh, but brothers and sisters, see here that you were saved by Jesus' good works so that you might be channels of mercy and channels of grace and channels of God's kindness to the world. What of God's kindness does the world know through you?

But God

Introduction

God’s Word

Read

“But God...”

Love Expressed

Incomplete, but Already Assured

Bank Your Life on Jesus!

The Purposes of New Life

Receive God’s Kindness

A Masterpiece of Grace

Do Good Works

Channels of God’s Kindness

Landing