Ephesians 2:1-7
SPIRITUALLY DEAD MADE ALIVE IN CHRIST
Ephesians 2:1 (BSB) And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
SUSIE: Paul was still addressing the saints, the believers, the saved. God has made us alive. We were spiritually dead because of our sin nature, and we were incapable of pleasing God through works. Dead men cannot do anything unless they are made alive again. Since we started out dead spiritually, the Lord does not “Resuscitate” us but “quickens” us by breathing the life of the Holy Spirit into us. Before we could come to Him, the Holy Spirit had to make us alive by drawing us to the Lord. Only then would we be capable of surrendering our lives to Jesus which in turn enabled us to do good works.
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:44 (BSB)
SUSAN: When we were dead in our trespasses and sins, it was as if Satan had us on a short leash. Try as we might, we could not break free of His hold in our own power. The Lord had to instill life in us before we could resist Satan and prepare to do battle.
Ephesians 2:2 . . . in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.
SUSAN: Before the Ephesian believers were saved, they were enslaved to Satan and his ways, the ways of the world apart from the Lord. Therefore, by walking in the way of God’s enemy Satan, they were enemies of God. This is true of all who have not been made alive, quickened, in Christ.
The one not being with Me is against Me, and the one not gathering with Me scatters.
Matthew 12:30 (BSB)
For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!
Romans 5:10 (BSB)
SUSAN: There is no neutral ground, no “sitting on the fence.” If a person thinks he/she is just “non-committal” or undecided about Jesus, he/she is truly against Him because he/she remains a slave of the world. This is not a multiple-choice exam where one option is “all of the above.” One cannot remain in limbo.
SUSIE: Praise the Lord that He enables us to do what He has called us to do, and we do not have to muster up the strength on our own!
Ephesians 2:3 All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.
SUSIE: Lest we think Paul was above everyone else, he lumps himself in with other people as they were before being saved.
SUSAN: In short, before we were in Christ, we were all deserving of God’s wrath. That way of life is the way of dysfunction, chaos, disorder. Anything that conflicts with God’s will creates all of this.
What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.
Romans 3:9-10 (BSB)
SUSIE: It is the way that leads to all kinds of sin and evil. Since we were spiritually “dead,” we could not pull ourselves up out of the quicksand of the world. The Lord, in His grace, had to reach down and pull us up!
SUSAN: Can a corpse bring itself up out of the grave? Not unless God breathes vitality into him or her. The same that is true of our mortal bodies is true of our spiritual beings.
SUSIE: One might argue that he or she is “better than” most people or good most of the time. However, God’s standard is to be like Jesus, and no one is perfect. I will borrow an illustration from Evangelism Explosion™: If you are making a three-egg omelet, and the third egg you put in the bowl is rotten, would you still serve that omelet? Of course not! From God’s perspective, that one little sin spoils the entire life. We need a Savior and must be made alive by Jesus.
Ephesians 2:4-5 But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!
SUSIE: Jesus was resurrected after the crucifixion, and those of us who have trusted Him, have been made alive by God’s mercy and grace.
SUSAN: When we enter that trust relationship with Christ, we are immediately adopted into God’s family and are alive, not only physically, but spiritually.
SUSIE: God chose to do this, not because we earned or deserved it, but strictly because of His mercy and grace—unmerited favor—to those who believe. Jesus died for us while we were still the enemies of God and helplessly entangled in sin:
Romans 5:6-11 (NASB) For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Romans 5:6-11 (NASB)
SUSAN: We are enabled to love God because He first demonstrated His love to us by sending Jesus to die for us and having His Holy Spirit draw us near to Him.
We love, because He first loved us.
1 John 4:19 (NASB)
Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
SUSIE: After the Father raised Him from the dead, Jesus ascended back to Heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. What has been done for Christ will eventually be done for all those who are “in Him.” God sees the future as already done, so Paul says, “he has made us sit together in heavenly places.”
SUSAN: After Jesus took His place alongside the Father, He became our chief Advocate, interceding for all who have accepted the great gift of salvation by trusting in Him. His purpose in the incarnation was to die for us, which He fulfilled. His purpose in Heaven is to be our High Priest interceding on our behalf, and He is now fulfilling that purpose.
Hebrews 4:14-15 (NASB) Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:14-15 (NASB)
Ephesians 2:7 . . . in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing richesG4149 of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
SUSAN: The riches of God’s grace exceed all we could think, ask, or imagine.
G4149 – πλοῦτος ploûtos, ploo’-tos; from the base of G4130; wealth (as fulness), i.e. (literally) money, possessions, or (figuratively) abundance, richness, (specially), valuable bestowment:—riches.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
Now to Him who is able to do so much more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (BSB)
SUSIE: Our salvation, sanctification, and future inheritance are intended to display the grace of God through Jesus. God’s mercy, grace, and kindness to us are still for the purpose of bringing glory to Himself.
SUSAN: Because of what Jesus did and is doing, we are able to glorify God. The Father enjoys His adopted children and lavishes His grace, love, and gifts on us.
SUSIE: We, in turn, praise Him and glorify Him as a witness to others. He allows us the joy of being a part of guiding others He has chosen to surrender their will to His.
QUESTION: Do you feel dead inside? Do you feel completely incapable of changing for the better? Is a desire to know Jesus and live a fulfilled, God-honoring life, growing in you? Surrender to that nudge from the Holy Spirit by agreeing with God that you are a sinner and cannot do anything worthy of His love. Then trust Jesus completely to do inside you that which you cannot do for yourself. When you have given up the quest to be good enough and reached up to grasp the hand of Jesus pulling you to safety, tell someone else. Find a Bible teaching church and grow closer to Jesus by studying His word, praying, and spending time with others who believe in Him.
ASSIGNMENT: Write out a brief testimony of how God “quickened” you. Tell what life was like before you surrendered to the Holy Spirit’s drawing. Explain how you surrendered your life to the Lord. Give examples of the way in which you have been made new—how your life differs from the way it once was. Then bring glory to God by sharing this Good News with someone this week!