Being alive in Christ
Ephesians chapter 2:1-10
Introduction-
You will be glad to know after seven weeks, we will not be in Matt. 5 this morning.
Please turn with me to Ephesians chapter 2 and we will look at the first 10 verses.
New series beginning this week entitles “looking for answers.”
We are up against a situation and we desperately looking for answers.
Today:
What does it mean to be alive in Christ? If we are not alive in Christ, what are we?
What has to take place in our lives to be alive in Christ?
Ephesians 2:1-10
Apostle Paul is the writer, and the theme of Ephesians is believers being in Christ.
Paul presents God’s master plan.
He prays that believers would understand what it means to be in Christ.
Here is chapter 2 he shifts his attention and describes salvation. Salvation is the miracle that brought us into God’s master plan.
He says in (v1) that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. That we followed the ways of the world, self-destructed ourselves, and we are disobedient to the things of God.
(v4) “But because of His great love for us- God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ.
Christian terms that are often thrown around. “He saved us.”
We were dead in sins. He saved us from that.
Not by anything we did, but by what Christ did.
(v8) “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, this is not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.”
The lesson today that needs to be learned in this is 3 fold- past, present, and future.
(1) Who we are without Christ.
(2) Who we are with Christ.
(3) What is our future in Christ.
Let’s begin with our past- who we are without Christ.
(v1) You……who were dead
We were dead.
If you are a Christian, that is your past.
If you are not a Christian, this is your present condition.
Your dead. Ephesians 4:18 tells us dead is to be alienated from the life of God.
It is not physical death but spiritual death. An unbeliever is dead to the things of God.
Physical death is the inability to respond. Likewise, spiritual death is the inability to respond, or the choice not to respond to the things of God.
God’s love does not draw you because you are alienated from God.
Man is not dead because he commits sins, but because he was born sinful.
Hamartia- Greek word for sin. Translated it means “to miss the target”. “to miss the mark.”
What God is telling us is – We all are sinners. Born into sin.
We all missed the mark. We have all missed the target. We have all slipped , have gone in the wrong direction.
Sin is the failure to hit God’s target.
We cannot do that ourselves because God’s standards cannot be reached by man’s abilities.
Romans 3:23-
“All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Sin is the failure to glorify God.
The Bible says were all sinners, but that does not mean everyone is at the same level of sinfulness.
Before you get all excited and start thinking of all the people that are worse that you are. Every person falls short of God’s glory, holiness, and perfection. There may be different levels of morality, but every person falls short.
Illustration-
We could all stand at the beach in Cape May and try to jump across the ocean. We would all be at different levels of jumping, but none of us would jump across the ocean. We would all fall short.
If you never accepted Jesus Christ in your life, this is the way you would physically die. You would never respond to the love of God and what Christ did for you. You would never have been alive in Christ because you never allowed Christ to be a part of your life. You spent your lifetime keeping Him out.
II. Present- what does that look like?
“But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.”
If we got what we deserved, we all would be in trouble.
Salvation is based on love… God’s love.
God doesn’t save people because of their worthiness.
It is based on his love, what He did for each of us, and our response to His love.
“Even when we were dead in sins, he hath made us alive together with Christ.”
The one thing that dead people need is life. That is what God provides in Jesus Christ.
When you became a Christian, you ceased being alienated from God and you became alive ! Amen!
You became sensitive to the things of God.
When God raised Jesus from the grave, He gave us the ability through Christ to be alive also.
When God raises believers, he doesn’t leave them in the cemetery. Jesus raised Larzarus and said, “loose him and let him go!”
Because we are saved, accepted God’s love through Jesus Christ, we are according to Philippians 3:20 “citizens in heaven.”
We are no longer a part of this decaying, dying, sinful world, we have eternal life through Christ.
Illustration-
On the back of a dump truck was a bumper sticker- “We could wreck the world” the second sticker was on the tailgate. It said “Jesus saves.” Men can wreck the world, and only Jesus can save it. On Wednesday night we talked about faith, every time you open a can of soda, you by faith drink it, trusting what is in the can. By faith, listen to me- the moment you accept God’s gift- you become alive spiritually. God releases his power in your life to accomplish the work of salvation.
III. Future- How should we act and what can we expect
(10) “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
The result of salvation is good works.
“In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit”
The Greek word translated workmanship, means “masterpiece” We are God’s masterpiece. He designed us to be in the image of Christ, our good works being an example of our salvation.
Illustration-
If a plastic surgeon called you, offering free cosmetic surgery if you would be in one of his advertisements. There is two ways to look at that. One would be proud. He picked me. The other is grateful. He picked me. The makeover was done because you lacked beauty. He wanted to show his talents by taking a hopeless case he could find, and them take credit transforming that person. God sent Jesus Christ to die in the sinner place. He died because we were in terrible shape, and he could demonstrate his grace, His power in transforming a dead man/ women into a living sacrifice. It doesn’t flatter us, it glorifies the Father.
Closing:
If you are a Christian, this should remind you of where you came from, and what and who you are in Christ now. There shouldn’t be negative pride, but a heart of gratefulness. It should make you want to accomplish much for the glory of God.
The good news this morning is that none of us has to stay in the dead spiritual state.
The Bible tells us that we can become a new creation. The old one gone, the new one can come today.
As long as you have breath, you can ask Jesus to make those changes in your life. You can go from sinner to saint. You can be reconciled to God.
But God… (That has eternal value)
But because of His great love for us, he can change a life this morning!
Consider the contrast between Christ position and ours.
Christ is alive because of His righteousness. We are dead because of our sins.
Christ is exalted, seated in heaven; we are on the earth.
Christ has been given power and authority over all the powers and authorities. We are subject to the powers and authorities.
Here is man’s dilemma. He/she doesn’t realize their condition until God begins to speak to us…like this morning.
We don’t realize how much we need a savior.
Satan says live it up, Jesus says he wants to set us free from that.
“I urge you therefore, breathren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
We love because he first loved us!
Bow your head with me this morning.
I do not know what God has spoken to you this morning.
I do know that God is speaking to some this morning.
God is that easy to get too. This morning you just have to accept it.
God’s love is motivated by his mercy for each one of us. To go from alienated to the family of God.
If that is you this morning, respond to that love that he has shown you.
To the believer- don’t forget where you came from. Remember the promises that are ahead of you.
To the un-believer- God has provided a way of salvation. One way! And that way is Jesus Christ.
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father, but through me.”
John 14:6
