And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, ² in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. ³ Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our transgressions, 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 ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

• DEAD IN SIN vv.2:1-3. From Chapter 1’s conclusion, Paul shifts from our heavenly position to our former, earthly predicament. The most radical contrast in eternity is that between a lost sinner and redeemed child of God.
  • Dead in Trespasses and Sins. We are:
    • Born Spiritually Dead
      • Cut off from divine life. God’s Spirit separated from us.
      • Forbidden access to heaven and doomed to hell.
      • No covenant rights to God’s favor or answered prayer.
    • Incapable of Pleasing God by Our Effort.
    • Incapable of Being Saved Except by His Grace.
      
  • Subject to the Spirit of Disobedience and Death – Satan
    • “Course”= age (aiōn). Man’s fall into sin has condemned the world, cultures and societies, to patterns of sin and death.
    • Prince of the Power of the Air. Satan, legion of demons.
    • Spirit of Disobedience paradoxically leads to oppression of others in the pursuit of one’s freedom, leading to bondage.
      • Sons of Disobedience – Eph. 5:6 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”
      • Disobedience: obstinacy, contumacious, defiance of God.
      • Greek dative tense: archaic sounding, but stronger than “disobedient children”. We are possessed by disobedience. Obstinate unbelief and rebellion are bound up in our nature, not simply a choice we make.
    • Prisons are living parables of the consequence of rebellion leading to bondage. They are also a kindly, type and shadow of the most fearful holding place – Hades – the jail of the damned; and Hell – or Gehenna, the lake of fire.
      
  • Lust – The Fruit of Disobedience
    • Self-indulgence the essence of disobedience.
    • Violating Boundaries to satisfy selfish desire.
    • Children of Wrath – the inevitable consequence of rebellion is God’s wrath, revealed partially in this life, but unremitting in eternity. Sin and its bitter fruit are natural to our unregenerate nature. That’s why I can accept that some honestly feel they were “born gay”. We all have an innate proclivity to sin, whether it be sexual, relational, or prideful.
    • We cannot make excuses or allowances for our fleshly lusts; they will always lead us to failure and shame in life.
    • Even as a born-again Christian, you can choose to disobey God and experience the awful sense of being separated from God and fearful of his wrath. The right response is to repent, not run from God, and reclaim His forgiveness.
    • Sinful actions do damage the soul. God will allow us to experience the consequences of sin even while He forgives us and reconciles to Himself. Adultery damages marriage. Lying violates trust. Murder leads to just condemnation by the law, by your conscience and by accusing demons.
    • If we avoid the appearance of evil, we will protect ourselves from the reality. Psalm 19:13: “Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression.”
      
• MADE ALIVE IN CHRIST vv.2:4-7
  • God Moved by Mercy.
    • Our predicament heightens the need for divine mercy.
      • Mercy is withholds deserved punishment. It is the other half of divine favor for our benefit.
      • Mercy is also kindness to a weak, undeserving and helpless person that motivates charity. Rom. 5:6 “While we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.”
      • God’s mercy redounds to His glory.
    • Divine Mercy Stems from God’s Great Love.
      • God has an innate love for every human being; it’s His fundamental attitude. This love is unmerited and therefore unconditional. John 3:16.
      • God is free to do miracles for the undeserving, that He sometimes denies His own children. He does so for a providential purpose that we cannot fathom. Luke 6:35: God is “kind to evil and ungrateful men.”
      • God’s covenant love (agape, hesed) are only for His children. Critical distinction: kindness to sinners doesn’t save them. God saves and glorifies His own.
      • God can love someone and consign them to hell for their unbelief and rebellion. God’s justice requires that he regards the unbeliever as a child of wrath.
      • Repeated dismissal of God’s kindness stores up wrath for the unbeliever, revealed in a hardened heart. The Pharaoh in Exodus is a type of the ungrateful sinner.
        
  • God Makes Us Alive.
    • Dead in our transgressions. (Paul returns to opening theme in v. 1.)
      • Calvinist teaching: We are incapable of believing until God regenerates us from within as a sovereign act of God. Regeneration precedes justification.
      • Arminian response: We all receive divine grace that enables us to respond to the gospel; but we must choose faith. Justification releases regeneration.
    • Regenerated by God. Our response to the message releases God’s regenerating power, even as he justifies us. I accept the truth as being a mystery that only God fully comprehends – the balance between His sovereign grace and our free will.
    • Regeneration an Act of Divine Grace. v.5c: “By grace you have been saved”.
      
  • God Raises Us to Reign with Christ
    • Positional truth: What God has done mystically will be fulfilled at the Resurrection (1 Th. 4:16-17).
    • Seated us. The pattern follows Jesus’ exaltation: death, resurrection, ascension and session at God’s right hand.
    • We are one with Christ. So if Christ is seated at God’s right hand, so are we. We joint heirs with Christ who is given an eternal kingdom to reign. (Rom. 8:16-17)
    • God’s purpose: Eternally show us “the surpassing riches of His grace”. We have the highest status in eternity.
    • Everything God does for us is “in Christ Jesus” – relational.
      
• SAVED BY GRACE vv.2:8-10
  • God’s Grace Saves Us.
    • Salvation begins with God’s will for us to be saved.
    • Does God only give grace to His elect, His chose ones? (We cannot know; but God does know those who will be saved.)
      
  • Faith is Our Response.
    • Faith: relying upon Christ’s finished work on the cross.
    • Faith is God’s gift to us.
      • We would never believe unless God put it in our hearts.
      • God responds gladly to any desire for God we pursue.
      • God promises those who seek Him will find him (Jer. 29:13).
        
  • Salvation not by Works.
    • God receives all the glory for our salvation.
    • No place for pride in our faith or obedience – it’s all grace.
    • Good works are the fruit or proof of our faith, not the basis of it. We cannot earn God’s favor by our good works.
      
  • We are God’s Workmanship. Note that Paul contrasts our good works, which cannot save us, and God’s work, which saves us and makes us able to do good works.

v. 2:10 (NLT) “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

My Testimony: 1) From atheist, to 2) uncertain agnostic, to 3) Spiritually Needy man, 4) Sad and bitter, 5) A touch of God and 6) Revelation of prophecy, leading to step of faith – asking Christ to forgive me and come into my heart. Saved on the authority of God’s word.

CONCLUSION – In what or Who are you trusting for your destiny in this life, or the next? Have you agreed with God that nothing in your old life merits His love or favor? Are you trusting solely in Jesus’ merits to save you?

“Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us, now and forevermore.”