What Everyone Needs.. God's Saving Grace

Series: Born Again To Live Anew (An Exposition of Ephesians)
Sermon: "What Everyone Needs.. God’s Saving Grace"
Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10
By Rev. Tom Dooley
www.preachingtheword.com

I heard about an 83 year old man the other day who had lived his entire
life as a bachelor. One day this man gathered his four nephews and
announced that he was planning to be married. His nephews were in
shock. One spoke up and said, "Uncle are you getting married because
this woman is beautiful?" He said, "No." Another nephew asked, "Uncle
are you getting married because this woman is a great cook?" Again he
said, "No." The third nephew questioned, "Are you marrying this woman
because she is rich?" "Of course not," was his reply. The final nephew
said, "Uncle if your not marrying this woman because she is beautiful,
or because she is a great cook, or because she is rich, then why are you
marrying her?" With a wink he said, "I’m marrying her because she can
drive at night !"

I like a man who knows what he needs.

Do you intend on going to heaven? Do you know what you need in order to
experience salvation and make sure that heaven will be your destination?

Paul tells us in our text what it is that we need in order to experience
salvation and make our destination sure. Paul says that we
need............ grace !

We need God’s saving grace. Unfortunately many have no concept of what
God’s saving grace is all about.

>From this passage however, we can learn first of all of....

I. THE OBJECTIVES OF GOD’S SAVING GRACE

The objectives of God’s saving grace as expressed here in the book of
Ephesians are three fold.

First, God extends His saving grace to us that we might be...

1. Resurrected ( v. 1 )

Notice Paul’s startling announcement there in verse 1. "And you hath He
quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins."

Here Paul refers to a condition of death. Death in the scriptures
speaks of seperation. Physically when one dies there is a seperation of
body and spirit. Spiritual death, and that is the condition that Paul
is speaking of, is sinful man being seperated from God.

Without a personal relationship to Jesus Christ, you are living in a
condition of spiritual death. You are not alive to the things of God.
You need to be resurrected... made alive !

Then secondly, note that God extends His saving grace to us that we
might be....

2. Reconciled ( v. 4-6 )

Look again at verses 4-6. And I want you to pay attention to a word
that is repeated. "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love
wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"

Did you catch the repeated word? What was it? "Together..."

That is significant because it helps us to understand that God’s
intention in providing salvation to us is that we might be brought
"together" with Jesus.

Theologically Pauls point is that every person who has trusted Jesus as
their Savior is made alive... "together with Christ". That means we
share in His life. We are identified with His resurrection and we are
"raised with HIm"... that means we experience newness of life. And we
"sit together