Back From The Dead

Opening illustration: Can a man be officially alive after being declared legally dead? That question became international news when a man from Ohio showed up in good health after being reported missing more than 25 years earlier. At the time of his disappearance he had been unemployed, addicted, and hopelessly behind in child support payments. So, he decided to go into hiding. On his return, however, he discovered how hard it is to come back from the dead. When the man went to court to reverse the ruling that had declared him legally dead, the judge turned down his request, citing a 3-year time limit for changing a death ruling.

That unusual request of a human court turns out to be a common experience for God. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians tells us that though we were spiritually dead, God “made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:1,5). Yet declaring and making us spiritually alive was a deeply painful matter for God. Our sin and its consequent spiritual death required the suffering, death, and resurrection of God’s Son (vv.4-7).

It’s one thing to show evidence of physical life. Our challenge is to show evidence of spiritual life. Having been declared alive in Christ, we are called to live in gratitude for the immeasurable mercy and life given to us. (Mart DeHaan, ODB 02/11/15)

Introduction: Paul isn't telling us this to depress us. The Apostle Paul wants us first of all to be realistic about human nature. All around us today, even in this world of trouble, people continue to say that the answer to the problems of this world is found in the human heart. The Apostle Paul wants to say to us, ‘No, my friends. All of the problems in this fallen world are found in the human heart, but the answer is not found there, but somewhere else.’ And it is that ‘somewhere else’ from which we get our Christian optimism even during this dark and depressing, sinful world, and that's what Paul wants to point us to this day.

But notice the first words of verse 4: But God ... In other words, this passage is about the movement from death, under the just judgment of God for our sin, to life in Jesus Christ, because of His finished work, and so the Apostle Paul is moving us through the divine actions which rescued us out of our predicament and brought us into the freedom and life of sons and daughters of the Lord Jesus Christ.

How are we alive in Christ?

1. Man’s Problem: Dead in Sin (vs. 1-3)

What does being dead to God look like?

(i) “following the course of this world” (v2)

Lead by peer pressure (the world) Copying others, not wanting to stand out, go with the flow …

Goes deeper than this – behind that peer pressure is the devil.

(ii) “following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” Enslaved to an alien power! NB devil is as close to us as the air we can’t escape = even as Christians easy to swallow satanic attitudes … This is a world of darkness – how at home do you feel in the world? disobedient to God. We end up with the devil inside us, and become his tool in his battle against God. There are two kingdoms in this world. If you feel at home in the world, you are most likely full of the spirit that inspires it. If it feels alien to you then perhaps you are a believer!

(iii) “lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind”

In the 21st Century West we live by unfettered desire – our modern culture is based on this! Money (NB the things money reprs), sex, power (promotion, to be the best, etc.) but also FOOD!

NB when we want what we don’t get we war with others over it …

Illustration: This week’s breaking news from Billy Graham’s point of view was a warning to our nation. Our greatest sins are: (i) Self-centered obsession (ii) Pride (iii) No guilt, shame, remorse or repentance for our sin. In fact, on the Janet Parshal radio show, she made it very clear that we are an almost dead nation. So what should we do? Can we just sit and watch or do something about it?

2. God’s Grace: Alive in Christ (vs. 4-6)

The words, “But God …” are a beacon of light and hope in a sea of despair. The condition of men in sin is not hopeless or terminal because God has come to the rescue of fallen men through His provision in Jesus Christ.

Paul begins with the motivation of God, which prompted Him to provide a way of escape from our condition of sin and eternal death. God was motivated by His mercy and His love for us. This divine motivation will do very little for our self-esteem, however. It will do much to promote humility on our part, and deep gratitude toward God.