Eph 2:1-10

Introduction:

                A friend shared this with me: “When my non-Christian friends see how busy I am with the church ministries, they are all scared away.”

Do you sometimes feel that soon after we become Christians, we begin keeping a laundry list of do’s and don’ts? Before we become Christians, we hear the gospel message, but after our conversion, we start to hear that we need to read the Bible and pray everyday. We have to share the gospel with others. We have to live a victorious life. Besides these personal disciplines, there are also the church ministries.

There is a tendency among Christians to focus on what we can and should do for God. We are challenged to be burnt up for God. No wonder sometimes we do feel tired and burned out. Personal disciplines, serving God are all important tenets of the Christian faith, yet they must be placed in proper perspective.

In our study of Eph 1 and today’s passage, we notice something different. Most, if not all the religions focus on what man can do to reach God. In this passage we see the truth that, it is not so much on what we do for God. On the contrary, it is what God has done for us.

This morning let us continue to discover the great work God has done for us.

I. We are a people with a past.

In vs 1 we find the first of 5 “formerly—now”. In this book, there is the repeated contrast between what life was like before and what life is like now. Life without God and life with God. It clearly tells us that Christians don’t just pop up out of nowhere. We all have a past that we bring into the present. When we first become Christians, we all want to put our past behind us. We don’t want to bring it up or talk about it. We are anxious to move forward to begin a new life.

You know what? Somehow the past just keeps coming back, haunting us. Almost everywhere I go, when I started to have more in-depth conversation with individuals, they started to bring out their past. Our past just won’t fade away.

Vs 1-10 is actually a continuation of chapter 1. While recounting God’s work among the believers, Paul side tracked  to discuss what life was like before one knew God. The past was not very pleasant, but without facing it, it will be difficult to understand and appreciate what God has done for us.

1. Personal sins

Vs 1, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,…”  ‘Trespass’ means crossing the boundary. Doing something one is not supposed to. ‘Sin’ means missing the mark, not doing what one ought to. One is positive and the other is negative. They are our personal sins of admission and omission. And then in v3 Paul mentioned the lust of flesh.

What is the standard? God’s law, the 10 commandments. No other gods, honor our parents, no murder or hatred, no adultery or lusting after a man or woman, no stealing, taking things that do not belong to us, no coveting of people and property that belong to others, no telling lies or half truths. In Romans chapter one we further read about all kinds of sexual perversion, including homosexual behaviors. Don’t we all have at one time or another, violated these commands and standards? Our past is not very pleasant, isn’t it. No wonder we want to put it behind us and forget about it.

2. The world order.

There is more. Vs.2, “in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” Paul wrote about the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the evil power. This verse means there is the influence and control of the evil power in this world. Resulting in a world whose value system is different from God. So, it not just some personal choices and sins, there is also an evil power affecting our thinking and actions.

For example, we may ask why during the WW2, the Germans were willing to follow Nazism leading to the killing of 6 million Jews? The Germans were pursuing what we are pursuing today: security, respect and economic prosperity. When someone came along and promised these things, people followed. This can certainly happen in this country. If a presidential candidate promises us economic prosperity and Asian-American power and prestige in his administration, aren’t we willing to overlook some issues that may affect others’ life and death? As we look at present day American society, the deep-rooted problem of racism, our needs have turned into cravings, material things have become our idols, sex has turned into a national obsession and become all kinds of perversions. Yes, they all involved personal decisions and choices. But there is a more basic and underlying problem: what is good is being distorted in a world order without God.

In a world where there is no God, the Bible tells us that it is a world of death. Since God is a holy and just God, so all we deserve is his wrath. Before we come to know God, we were dead; we were under his wrath.

This is not a very pleasant scene. Life without God is death. Spiritually we are unresponsive to God and things about God. We don’t care about him. Outwardly, we are very active; we love life vigorously. But spiritually we are dead. No matter where we turn, we smell death. Look at the disrespect for life; born or unborn all over the world, the breakdown of family structures both in the east and west, it stinks, right? We don’t like to hear this, but the Bible clearly tells us that when we’re without God, we were dead.

II. We are a people saved by God’s grace. 4-7

We have seen and smelled death around us. If we continue to stay in this situation, then it becomes miserable and meaningless. Beginning with vs4, Paul turned his attention to what God had done to us. Previously we were dead in trespasses and sins. Now, listen to these words, “……….” We are with Christ, with him, with him, and in Christ Jesus. He had transferred us from the condition of death to that in Jesus Christ.

1.     God’s work in us.

     V5, He made us alive. You see, because without God, we were dead, we could not come to life by ourselves. Only God can make us alive. V6, he raised up with him. V6, he seated us with him in the heavenly places. This does not mean that physically we are in heaven. Rather that we are with Jesus Christ. Does this sound familiar? Do we still remember our Apostles’ Creed: He rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteh on the right hand of God the father almighty. It was Christ who was made alive, raised from the dead, and seated with God in the heavenly places. And now, this has become our description: we were made alive, raised from the dead, and seated in the heavenly places. What God did to Jesus is what he did for us.

     Can you imagine this? We are so busy trying to do this and that for God, we have so often completely forgotten what he has done for us. We have become What A Person.

2.  God saved us from his wrath.

vs 5, in describing how God made us alive, Paul also wrote that by grace we were saved by God. To save means to rescue from a danger. So what are we saved from? We are saved from God’s wrath. We only deserve God’s wrath because of our sins. Yet he saved us from this wrath. And what is the purpose of this salvation?

3.   Purpose of this salvation.

So often we look at it from a rather selfish perspective. I am saved so that I can have eternal life, or have peace, or have my sins forgiven. They are true. But what is more important is, v7, “……in order that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” To put it simply, he saved us so as to demonstrate his grace, who he is.

At home, we have a replica of Van Gough’s painting, “Night Stars.” It is a very interesting picture. After looking at it for a while, inevitably we turn our attention to the painter. Who was Van Gough? What was his life like? We want to know about him and his thinking. Or having looked at one of Thomas Kinkade’s painting, one is inevitably attracted to Kinkade, wanting to know more about him. The painting points to the painter.

In Room 101, we have the pictures of many pastors that had served and are serving in this church. As you see the pictures, definitely you will comment on their poses, how come there are bright spots on some of their heads, how come there are shadows in some of the pictures. But you know, what is even more important is that these pictures will point you to God and his grace behind these pastors. Without his grace, none of us will be here.

In addition, each one of us is God’s work. We are his Workmanship (vs10). We each have a story to tell, of how God has worked in our lives. It is my prayer that when others see you, they will recognize the master craftsman and his grace behind you.

III. We are a people to whom God has revealed his heart.8-10

He saved us from his wrath. He made us alive. What is the motivation behind? 4a, ‘mercy’, 4b, ‘love’, 5,8, ‘grace’ and 7, ‘kindness’. In this passage, Paul is telling us about God’s mercy, love, grace and kindness. Out of these virtues, he saved us from his wrath. In this passage, God has revealed what is within him to us. Carly Simon, the singer, once said, “I feel the greatest gift you can give another person or an audience is a revelation of what’s in your heart and soul.” Isn’t this what so many of us yearn for in our marriage relationships? How we wish our spouse would reveal his/her heart and soul to us.

In making us alive from death, God has revealed to us his grace, mercy, love and kindness. The Christian God is not simply a deist, sitting high above. No, he is with us. He is the Emmanuel.

1.     Salvation without works.

 In order to make sure the Ephesian Christians fully understand God’s grace, Paul wrote in vs8-9, ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; not by works, so that no one can boast.” This is a very famous passage in the Bible. Many of us can memorize it. We use it to explain the gospel message to others. Its core meaning is that our salvation; God rescuing us from his wrath, has nothing to do with our good works, merits. There is nothing we can do to gain this salvation. It is all out of his grace. Therefore, there is nothing we can boast of ourselves.

     We receive this salvation through our faith in Jesus Christ. It’s not a blind faith. I believe and accept that Jesus died for my sins. His death means that he had received the wrath I was supposed to receive. For I am the one who was under God’s wrath. And now, on my behalf, on your behalf, he has received the wrath so that you and I are rescued from God’s wrath. This is God’s grace, mercy, love and kindness.

2.     Salvation to good works.

     Yes, our salvation had nothing to do with our works or merits. But having been saved from his wrath; having been made alive from the dead; having being seated with Christ in the heavenly; having been moved into Christ’s realm, his environment, we are also called for good works. That is, salvation has nothing to do with our good works. But having been made alive, rescued from God’s wrath, we are to begin to walk and to live in the good works that God has prepared for us. Beginning from vs 11 to the end of this book, we are told what the good works are. We are told that having been moved to Christ’s realm, now we are to live so ass to demonstrate his grace and love.

Conclusion:

     These past few weeks in our study of Ephesians chapter 1, we have repeated several times about our location. Are we in the world or in Jesus Christ. Where we are has a great influence on how we live. In today’s passage, it becomes very clear that at our conversion, God has moved us from the sphere of the world, from the state of death into the sphere of Jesus Christ. Out of his mercy, love, grace and kindness, God had moved us into the culture of Jesus Christ. Yes, we still live in the world, but now, Jesus Christ has become our primary culture. And we are to let this culture shape and mold us.

     This primary culture is not one of rules, do’s and don’ts. It is not a legalistic environment. Having said this, it is also important that we read God's word and speak to him. It is important that we share the gospel message with others and actively involved in the church ministries. But it is equally important to remember that it is not so much what we can do for God, but what God has done and continue doing for us. It is a culture characterized by God’s grace, love, mercy and kindness towards us. While we are in this culture, we continue to listen to and experience the gospel message of grace and love. And do you know what it is like when we are being shaped by this culture? The world will see a people, having experienced God’s grace will also be gracious to others. A people, having experienced God’s love, mercy and kindness will also be kind, merciful and loving towards others. A people having been rescued from God’s wrath; moved from disobedience to obedience, from death to life, will be the light showing others how to live.

     When others see our faith in action, they, too, will be attracted towards this loving God.

Rev. William Hsueh    Oct 22, 2000    Houston Chinese Church,  Houston, Texas