Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10. Focus for sermon: Ephesians 2:1-4.
Introduction.
Ephesians 1:3-14 forms one long sentence in the original Greek. In it we find precious truths. It points to God the Father who calls us, to the Son of God through whom redemption is accomplished, and to the Holy Spirit who applies the work of salvation to the believer in sealing them. The work of salvation is at the heart of Paul’s letter, but Paul also prays for the Ephesian believers for he is desirous that having come to know God, they might know Him better (Ephesians 1:16f).
Now it is as though Paul has opened a box of jewels or a chest of treasure. Ephesians chapter 1 is full of glorious truths which are the very gems of salvation. But in the second chapter of Ephesians we are invited to see the backdrop from which these precious jewels ought to be appreciated. As an illustration, imagine you see a beautiful piece of jewellery in a jewellers shop window, and then go inside to have a closer look at it. The first thing the shop keeper does is to bring out a black cloth and lay it on the counter. Then they take the item of jewellery and place it on the black cloth. They may then shine a light onto it. Why do they do this? Well the black cloth sets the backdrop so that we can see the jewel in all its glory and splendour. In the same way Paul is laying a black cloth on the counter here in Ephesians 2 so that we can view the splendour and glory of all that Christ has done in sharp relief. Paul is not using any salesmanship or sales techniques here. If you view those shopping channels they often highlight some item in different ways and make you feel that you would be getting the bargain of the century by buying it, even though it is probably only worth a tenth of the price they want! Paul is not doing anything like this in his letter. What we have is the word of God wonderfully provided to show us the truth.
Salvation, and all the fruits of what Christ has done, cannot be purchased, neither can it be earned. It is entirely a gift of God’s grace. Ephesians 2:1-4 gives us the background to the salvation God freely offers. This passage shows us the condition of all mankind without God’s grace. It displays the truth about humanity. In recent days many in the country have been celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE day (victory in Europe). But if you read only about the celebrations that were had on that May day in 1945 you would not fully grasp why the people were celebrating. What you have to do is look back further and see what was going on between 1939 and 1945 that led up to those celebrations. You would have to grasp the great danger and horrors of the war to make sense of the celebrations enjoyed on VE day. Half way through the war when victory in North Africa was achieved at El Alamein, Winston Churchill (who had a way with words) said: “this is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning.” So to appreciate the celebrations on VE day properly, you must have some knowledge of what people went through in those war years 1939-1945.
Ephesians 2:1-4 tells us about three enemies that all mankind has. These are enemies of the soul. We are not talking about a war in the physical realm only as was experienced 80 years ago, but a battle for the soul. We have three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Where do we find evidence of these three enemies in Scripture? Well to a large extent Ephesians 2:1-4 provides at least one example. So we are going to put out the ‘black cloth’ so-to-speak by looking at these three enemies, so that we will have a better appreciation of the wonders of God’s salvation. Believers face a world which is against them, a devil who encircles them, and an enemy from within all set on bringing destruction. We are going to consider these three enemies in turn:
[1] A fallen world:
“the course of this world … among whom also we all once conducted ourselves” (v2,3)
[2] A fallen angel:
“the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (v2).
[3] A fallen nature:
“in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (v3).
A note on translation.
The older versions (NKJV and KJV) bring the subject and verb into verse 1 from further down in the passage, so that Ephesians 2:1 reads like this: “And you He made alive, who were dead …” The words in italics have been added in by translators. In the Greek all we have to start with in verse 1 of Ephesians 2 is the object “and you,” followed by a statement about condition “who were dead …” so that the actual text reads like this: “And you who were dead …” This has the effect of making the situation of mankind’s condition very plain and stark.
Man is dead!
Now if you were to talk to a non-believer about the gospel today you often find that they reject it all as being, ‘out of date,’ ‘old fashioned,’ ‘not fitting their requirements,’ and as ‘irrelevant.’ They give the impression that in their opinion, having considered all the evidence of the gospel, their conclusion is that it is not for them. But what Paul declares in Ephesians 2:1 is that all of mankind is “dead.” That is, man is spiritually dead, or dead to God. This means that it is actually impossible for an unbeliever to make any assessment of the gospel, because they are “dead!” They do not have the capability to make any judgement about the gospel at all. It is not that mankind is ill or has caught a disease and that by taking some gospel medicine or an injection of gospel truths they can be made well again. Mankind is physically alive (and often times thriving physically), but he is dead to God and so spiritually dead.
Trespasses and sins.
The NIV has “transgressions and sins.” These two words have different meanings showing differing ideas about mankind’s lost condition. The word “transgressions” means ‘stepping over the line,’ whilst the word “sins” means ‘missing the mark,’ or ‘falling short of what God requires.’ As human beings we commit sins of commission as well as sins of omission. We overstep the mark and do things we ought not to do (“transgressions”) and we fail to do what we ought to do (“sins”).
Man-made remedy?
Let me ask you a rhetorical question: What can a dead man do to make themselves better? If we think we are unwell or sick then we resort to taking some form of medicine or injection to fight the illness and allow time for recovery. The unbeliever has this idea that he may simply administer some gospel medicine or inject some gospel truths and all will be well. But this is not the biblical teaching. The only way a dead person can be made better is by miracle! Ephesians 2:1 cuts across this idea that an unbeliever can do anything to make their condition better. It is impossible for anyone to do anything about this because they are dead.
Let us look at mankind’s three enemies
[1] A fallen world.
We live in a fallen environment. All society (in every age and on every continent) is generally organised without reference to God. There are occasions or places where the influence of God and His word may be felt (especially in times of revival), but these are not the norm. In the UK at this time society has lost much of the influence of the gospel that came through the reformation and a series of revivals, and it is becoming more and more antagonistic to God. Societies are always antagonistic to God because of mankind’s deadness and lost state in their sin. People in our culture feel that they are ‘free’ to do as they wish, ‘free’ from the constraints of morality and religion. Just as in the days of the Judges we find that where there is no (spiritual) king, everyone does what they think to be right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25).
Social science speaks of the need to conform to the prevailing culture. Where the influence of God is low, other cultural traits take over and these are often sinful or anti-God. To be part of a group you need to adapt. Modern society is governed by technology such as ‘smart phones’ and the like. This drives much of modern youth culture. A system of acceptable ‘truths’ permeates the social media. To be accepted you must agree to the consensus. If you work in an office, or study in an educational institution, there are ‘rules’ and ‘principles’ to which everyone must adhere. It is a truism that every generation thinks that they are superior or that they have got things right. People of today look back at the 1930s or even the 1970s and say ‘we would never do what was done in those days.’ Each generation thinks that it is more knowledgable and superior to past eras. I think we will not see the effect of the ‘smart phone’ culture and its social media has had on our youth for another fifty years.
[2] A fallen angel.
In Luke 10:18 we hear the Lord Jesus saying these words: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” It is not easy to unpick exactly what the Lord meant here, but at least we can say that the devil as a created being has fallen and is now subject to judgement. In Luke 4 we read of Christ’s temptation. Our Saviour succeeded where Adam and Eve failed in the garden of Eden. Christ overcame the temptations of Satan! The devil as a created being is not omnipotent, omniscient, nor omnipresent. He does not know everything, he cannot be everywhere and he has limited power. But the devil is “the prince of the power of the air,” he is “the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,” and people in the world are “by nature children of wrath.” These statements do not indicate that all unbelievers are possessed of the devil, (although some obviously are), but their actions and inclinations are managed and directed by the enemy of souls. People have an inclination to transgress and to sin, and the devil encourages such rebellion. I have never had to read a book which informs me about disobedience. I have had to read many books on how to do other things, but never one teaching me how to disobey. We are by nature sinners. The enemy of souls told Eve “you will not surely die” in flat contradiction to the word of God (see Genesis 2:17; 3:4). When Adam and Eve sinned they did not die physically straight away, but they did die spiritually the very moment they transgressed and sinned.
[3] A fallen nature.
Note that Paul includes himself in his description of our fallen nature. He writes “among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh” (verse 3). All of us have this fallen sinful nature. It does not matter whether you are Jew or Gentile, male or female, intelligent or stupid, all posses a sinful fallen human nature. The term “flesh” in the KJV does not mean the body of flesh, but the sinful nature. In many youth camps one way of teaching about this sinful nature is to use the word “sin” and to point out that if you take the first and last letter away you are left with “I,” showing that “I” is the centre of sin. Selfishness is the great problem. People mistakenly believe that doing their own thing or doing what their heart leads them to is the best way. But this is selfishness. And a selfish life is one entangled, enslaved, and in bondage to sin. It is not possible to satisfy self in this world. Both sins of the flesh and sins of the spirit are all sins. Some argue that they may not indulge in sins of the flesh, and assume they are alright. But then they will most certainly be guilty of sins of the spirit, such as hatred, lust, rage,discord and so on.
Many family troubles stem from these sins of the spirit. Inner rage, personal ambition, jealousy or envy. All of these, fuelled by the self, lead to discord, disharmony, and factions. But the disagreeable atmospheres such selfishness generates is not confined to family life. It is also evident in schools, businesses, institutions, and even parliament and in governments too. This is ultimately where wars originate (James 4:1f).Some think that humankind are born neutral. This is untrue. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No amount of education or indoctrination will change a person from dead in sin to something better. If you educate a sinner all you get is an educated sinner. The only thing which will make any difference is an intervention from God. Only a miracle will do.
The miracle of regeneration.
Looking at these three enemies the situation seems utterly hopeless. It seemed hopeless at the Battle of Britain. How was Britain to survive? But when a person becomes aware of their true state of rebellion, this indicates that the Holy Spirit has been operating in their lives. It is the Holy Spirit who brings conviction of sin. The Holy Spirit moves upon a person and makes them see their fallen state, the wickedness of the world, and the devilishness of Satan. Regeneration is the planting of a new seed of life within. The black cloth is laid out, but the jewels of salvation have not yet been brought out to view. A person comes to recognise that they are dead to God, and do not know Him. They are rebels. They are sinners and transgressors. All of this is the work of the Holy Spirit’s conviction. And then in Ephesians 2:4 we read these incredible words: “but God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive …” This incredible ‘but’ signals that the jewels of God’s grace are about to be viewed!
I wonder if, like me, you rue some of those old photographs taken of you in your youth? You look back in anguish. What was I thinking wearing that? Why did I ever think that such a hairstyle or clothing was so important? Looking back at what we valued, what we thought so important, is embarrassing. But now we are regenerated because God has intervened! We were heading for calamity and damnation, “but God” came in and changed everything! He has “made us alive”! I wonder: have you had a “but God” experience? The only answer to our condition and which will thwart the three enemies mankind faces is Christ!
Penuel Baptist Chapel, Roch 