Eph 2:1-10 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously lived according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 He also raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
We do not know the gravity of our depravity.
I. We were dead. vs 1-3, 5
A. “Dead” gk nekros meaning dead
1. We are spiritually dead before Christ
2. This death goes back to the fall of man in the garden
B. “Dead in your sin”
1. Sin is a product of our death (We sin because we ARE a sinner)
Romans 5:12 Therefore, as sin entered the world through one man, & death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned
2. Eternal Life is the product of Jesus’ Death
Romans 5:15-16 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift overflowed to the many by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ. And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification
THE RESULT: We are all spiritually dead sinners, and are under the wrath of God
II. But God vs 4-5
A. “who is rich in mercy” vs 4
Ps 51:1-2 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin
B. “because of His great love that He had for us” vs 4
I John 4:10 This is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
C. “made us alive” vs 5
Col 2:13 And when you were dead in trespasses… He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespasses.
D. “You are saved by grace!” vs 5
II. Because of Christ vs 6-9
A. What Christ Does
1. “He also raised us up with Him” vs 6
2. “He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace” vs 7
3. God displays “His kindness to us” vs 7
B. How Christ Saves
1. Saved “by Grace” vs 8
2. Saved “through Faith” vs 8
3. Both Grace and Faith are a Gift from God vs 8
4. “not by works so no one can boast” vs 9
Application:
1. God requires perfection
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
2. Because we sin we are dead spiritually
Romans 6:23a For the wages of sin is death,
3. God gift of salvation is to those who Repent and Believe
Roms 6:23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 10:9-10 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.
