Ephesians 2:1-7
English Standard Version (ESV)
By Grace Through Faith
2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, 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,7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Accompanying David Legge sermon: From Death to Life
Accompanying Mark Driscoll sermon: I am Saved
Accompanying John MacArthur sermon: Coming Alive in Christ
Ever since the fall, mankind's default condition is death and depravity. Total spiritual death. We have absolutely no capacity to respond to any type of spiritual stimulus in any way. We are completely, totally dead. When Adam and Eve sinned, they died spiritually that day. Yes, there physical bodies began the process of dying, but their souls were immediately dead apart from God. And ever since that moment, we are all born spiritually dead.
Our trespasses and sins are not the cause of this spiritual death - but rather the evidence of it! We sin because we are spiritually dead.
Is it possible to revive a corpse? No, of course not! Is it possible for us to revive a dead soul? No, of course not, not apart from God.
It is true that not all men/women are equally depraved. But that is irrelevant. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. We have all missed the mark. We are all depraved.
MacArthur: man is dead. He is dead in his inability to reach God's standard and he falls and slips and stumbles and goes the wrong direction because of his deadness. He is a death walking zombie manifesting a total inability to accomplish God's standard. Even though, from time to time, he manifests some moral goodness. So he's a death walker.
We are spiritually dead men walking according to the moral depravity of our times through the work of Satan in the world around us, and through our own spiritual depravity.
This is a very bleak, but very truthful, outlook.
Thankfully, we come to verse 4.
But God!
What wonderful words!!
Despite our depravity, because of our depravity - God showed us mercy, showered us with love, made us alive in Christ, saved us from sin, showed us grace so undeserving, exalted us in the heavenlies to His right hand in order to be kind to us forever.
Amazing grace!!
You were saved not primarily to keep you out of hell, you were saved primarily so that God could just shower His grace and shower His blessing and shower His riches on you.....
God saved you for the very purpose of unloading on you every rich kind, gracious thing conceivable to the mind of God so that you might be so filled with His riches and filled with His kindness and filled with His grace that you can be held up to the angels and that they can praise Him for being such a loving, gracious, kind and wise God. So His own glory is at stake and He will never diminish His own glory. Therefore if He gets glory by pouring out grace on you He'll do it. That's what he says.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Ephesians 2:8-10
Sunday's passage: Joshua 3-4
Monday's passage: Joshua 5-6, Psalm 69, John 1
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