The PRODUCT OF GOD's LOVE[In The Aftermath of Mercy]-V—Ephesians 2:1-10
Attention:
God offers THE cure for all man’s ills by means of His(God’s) salvation!
Need:
God’s people wrestle with life & death on a daily basis.
But what is the result of such occasion? What happens in our hearts when faced with life or death decisions?
Do you look at life differently after being spared death? Does life in Christ take on new meaning as we come face-to-face with physical & spiritual death & loss?
Do our obvious blessings transport us to the place where we become more concerned about living for our Maker’s desire?
The apostle Paul explained that the Ephesian Christians were saved because God loves.
Man’s Salvation is the Product of God’s Love.
OR...
Salvation is available because God loves.
How is salvation the product of God’s love?
Earlier we had found that
The Product of God’s Love is The CURE For...
1. DEADNESS(:1)
2. A WAYWARD WALK(:2-3)
3. SEPARATION(:4-6)
4. BOASTING(:7-9)
5—The Product of God’s Love is...
The CURE For DRAWING From The WRONG SOURCE(:10)
Explanation:(:10)Loss of Focus/Dependence
:10—“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
“For we are His workmanship,”
“We are”—Paul is including himself with those who are God’s people. All who “are” true blood-bought believing Christians. All these/such are “His”, i.e., belonging to God.
The referent of “His’ hearkens to :4, where it speaks of “God” who “made us alive together with Christ.”
“Workmanship”—Those who are “His” are not only “His” possession but are the “workmanship”(Lit.=‘His doing’) which He Himself has made. Christians are God’s finished product.
Being the workmanship of God involves & ensures that we are something other than this world’s “workmanship” or the “workmanship” of the flesh. Thereby we are noticeably different in our makeup—our thinking, manner, attitude(s), direction & directive(s), focus(God thru Christ), purpose, power, influence, etc.
2Cor. 5:17—“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Gal. 5:22-25—“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions & desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
“We are”—esmen—1) first person plural of “to be.” Strong—first person plural indicative of eimi[I am/exist]; “We are.”
“His”—autov(autou)—Pronoun—1) Himself, herself, themselves, itself; 2) He, she, it; 3) The same. Strong—from the particle au[perhaps akin to the base of ahr[Breathe/Respire/Blow/“Air”] through the idea of a baffling wind](backward); the reflexive pronoun--Self, used(alone or in the comparative eautou[Himself, herself, itself, themselves]) of the third person , & (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons.
“Workmanship”—poihma—Noun Neuter—1) That which has been made; 2) A work—2a) Of the works of God as creator. Strong—from poiew[To make or do(in a very wide application, more or less direct)]; A product, i.e. Fabric(literally or figuratively). Used 2X, here & Rom. 1:20.
“created in Christ Jesus for good works,”
These have all been “created”...“for,”(over/before) i.e. with an express purpose.
That purpose is to be God’s purpose.
His purpose is that these “created” beings will “work” & that their “work” will,
1)Have a “good” character &...
2)Exist in & retain a perpetual state of “good”ness.
Being “created in Christ Jesus” sets the bar/tone for any determination of “goodness” to be expressed, lived out, worked out.
If a “work” is entered into or meted out “in Christ Jesus” then it will honor Him above everything else.
If the “works” of Christians are expected to be ‘good’, then God will also see fit to equip His workers toward that fulfillment. No one is left out in the cold regarding giftedness from God. God enables all of his people to fully accomplish His tasks/desire.
“Created”—ktizw—Aorist Passive Participle—1) To make habitable, to people, a place, region, island—1a) To found a city, colony, state; 2) To create—2a) Of God creating the worlds, 2b) To form, shape, i.e. To completely change or transform. Strong—probably akin to ktaomai[To get/acquire](through the idea of proprietor-ship of the manufacturer); To fabricate, i.e. Found(form originally).
“In”2X—en—a primary preposition denoting (fixed)position(in place, time or state), & by implication--Instrumentality(medially or constructively), i.e. A relation of rest(intermediate between eiv[into, unto, to, towards, for, among] & ek/ex[out of, from, by, away from]).
“Christ”—Cristov—Adj.—Christ = “Anointed”—1) Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God; 2) Anointed. Strong—Anointed, i.e. The Messiah, an epithet of Jesus.
“Jesus”—Ihsouv—Jesus = “Jehovah is salvation”—of Hebrew origin [ewvwhy Yeh-ho-shoo'-ah; or evwhy Yeh-ho-shoo'-ah]; Jesus(i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord & two(three) other Israelites.
“For”—epi—Preposition—1) Upon, on, at, by, before; 2) of position--On, at, by, over, against; 3) To, over, on, at, across, against. Strong—a primary preposition; properly, meaning superimposition(of time, place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution [with the genitive case], i.e. Over, upon, etc.; of rest(with the det.)--At, on, etc.; of direction(with the accusative case)--Towards, upon, etc..
“Good”—agayov—Adj.—1) Of good constitution or nature; 2) Useful, salutary; 3) Good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy; 4) Excellent, distinguished; 5) Upright, honorable. Strong—a primary word; “Good”(in any sense, often as noun).
“Works”—ergon—1) Business, employment, that which any one is occupied—1a) That which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking; 2) Any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind; 3) An act, deed, thing done: the idea of working is emphasized in opposition to that which is less than work. Strong—from a primary(but obsolete) ergw(to work); Toil(as an effort or occupation); by implication--An act.
“which God prepared beforehand”
These “works” are such because God had ordained them “beforehand”—even before the foundation of the world(). God’s plan in bringing about creation included His appointment of all mankind to “good works.” It was God’s intention that man should live out his days given to the “good works” of God.
Rom. 9:23—“& that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand[proetoimazw] for glory,”
“Prepared Beforehand”—proetoimazw—1) To prepare before, to make ready beforehand. Strong—To fit up in advance(literally or figuratively). Used 2X. Here & Rom. 9:23?From—pro—a primary preposition; “Fore”, i.e. In front of, prior(figuratively--Superior) to.—&—etoimazw—To prepare.
“that we should walk in them.”
In God’s ideal scheme of creation, there is to be no instance of any man lacking God’s “good works.” Thus God has determined & made a way for the crown of His creation to “walk in them” or to live by them.
The whole course of a person’s life is intended to be characterized by & to be a living example of God’s “good works.”
However, God also leaves this “walk” to our freewill. That freewill ensures that man “should” “walk” in that particular manner. God never forces, but He does expect man to willingly & joyfully undertake that “walk” by God’s provision.
Given that man is born in & willingly enters into sin, God also “beforehand” prepared a way to redeem & wrest those “good works” from the possession & boasting(:9) of men.
God has provided redemption for man’s works even while they blindly grovel & are steeped in sin. He promised & provided rescue from such sinfulness with its ‘bad “works.”
!That provision was & is “Christ Jesus”!
“We should Walk”—peripatew—Aorist Active Subjunctive(possibility/potentiality)—1) To walk—1a) To make one's way, progress; to make due use of opportunities, 1b) Hebrew for, to live—1b1) To regulate one's life, 1b2) To conduct one's self, 1b3) To pass one's life. Strong—To tread all around, i.e. Walk at large(especially as proof of ability); figuratively--To live, deport oneself, follow(as a companion or votary).
Argumentation:
Rev. 2:2-4—““I know your works, your labor, your patience, & that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles & are not, & have found them liars; & you have persevered & have patience, & have labored for My name’s sake & have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”
Col.4:5, 6—“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
Lk. 6:37-38—“Judge not, & you shall not be judged. Condemn not, & you shall not be condemned. Forgive, & you will be forgiven. Give, & it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, & running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.””
1Cor. 14:20—“Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.”
Js. 3:10-12—[regarding the danger of teaching & thus speaking from fleshly motivations]—“Out of the same mouth proceed blessing & cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water & bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water & fresh.”
Mk. 7:18-23—“So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, & is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, “thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. “All these evil things come from within & defile a man.”
Jer. 2:13—“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
Illustration:
The most deadly wildfire in California history was the ‘Camp Fire’ in Butte County, Northern California( Nov. 2018)/The number of structures destroyed surpassed 6,700!/After the fire swept thru, many bodies were found in their homes & vehicles burned to death!—79(with ~1000) missing people) as of Nov. 13, 2018/They had waited too long to escape/They chose to hold into their possessions rather than hold on to their lives/They too closely bound their lives to possessions rather than consider the spiritual reality of possessing Jesus & being possessed by Him!/The CURE For DRAWING From The WRONG SOURCE
Hurricane Michael(Oct. 10, 2018) hit the panhandle of Fl as a category 4(missing cat 5 by only 2 mph!)/Nearly wiped Mexico Beach, FL off the map & severely damaged the majority of Panama City, FL & many other towns inland/The residents of these places(on the beach especially) were told to evacuate days in advance/They were warned ahead of time about the power of the sustained winds & the power of the tidal surge/Some foolishly chose to stay & paid for their choice with their very lives!/The CURE For DRAWING From The WRONG SOURCE
Detroit Michigan’s water incompetence/Untreated drinking(‘potable’) water/Thousands unknowingly were drinking the tainted water & giving it to their children/Only under duress—thru lawsuits & public exposure did the city government come to act on the problem/The CURE For DRAWING From The WRONG SOURCE
The ancient Roman city of Pompeii was consumed by an overwhelming volcanic eruption by Mt. Vesuvius in ???? A.D./Choosing to stay versus choosing to leave/The CURE For DRAWING From The WRONG SOURCE--One source ensures death in hell for eternity, the other ensures life in heaven for eternity.
Application:
?You living with The CURE For DRAWING From The WRONG SOURCE?...or are you just treating symptoms?
?Are you experiencing the Product of God’s Love?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
The Product of God’s Love is...
5. The CURE For DRAWING From The WRONG SOURCE(:10)
1. The CURE For DEADNESS(:1)
2. The CURE For A WAYWARD WALK(:2-3)
3. The CURE For SEPARATION(:4-6)
4. The CURE For BOASTING/Deserving/Merit(:7-9)
Presented 11/25/2018am to:
FBCCbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SW(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
