The PRODUCT OF GOD's LOVE[In The Aftermath of Mercy]-I—Ephesians 2:1-10
(After ‘Dodging a Bullet’)
Attention:
Surviving what others did not, may produce 'survivor’s remorse' or 'survivor’s guilt.'
Is the surviving person’s life different after such an experience?
Need:
We confront & are confronted by ‘nature’ on a daily basis. Some of those confrontations can turn deadly, putting our lives in danger, witness: Hurricane Michael(Wed. Oct. 10, 2018).
What happens in our hearts when ‘nature’ takes it's toll regarding life/death issues?
The real question for survivors is, in what gainful ways is their life lived differently after such an experience/awareness?
Do you look at life differently after tragic circumstances? Does life in Christ take on new meaning as we come face-to-face with death & loss?
Christians are equipped not only to survive but thrive, knowing/realizing that God has allowed them continuation of life & thereby continuation of ministry!
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?
1—The Product of God’s Love is...
The CURE For DEADNESS(:1)
Explanation:(:1)
:1—“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses & sins,”
The phrase “He made alive” is actually not present here in any Greek manuscript. The the board of translators agreed to tie the entire dialogue that follows upon what is stated outright in :5...
I personally think that Paul is stating the fact that the Ephesian Christians “were” continually ‘being’ “children of wrath” prior to their becoming Christians(:3). Verse :3 tells the Ephesians(& us) that they(& we) were “just” like all “others”(:3) prior to their(our) becoming Christians.
They had no special privilege or advantage because they were in fact “dead”—had deadened themselves— to God's desire & thus to God Himself. They “were dead” to Him because of their continual dwelling “in trespasses & sins”(:1). Being dwellers “in trespasses & sins” characterizes those who are entirely separated from God having not accepted His forgiveness that is found only in Christ(Eph. 1:3-10).
Eph. 1:3-10—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy & without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom & prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven & which are on earth--in Him.”
However(“but”) rather because of God’s “great love”, though they were lost, they became targets & objects of God’s mercy simply because He is “rich in mercy”(:4).
Thus the only thing that separates & distinguishes those in Ephesus who were true Christians, is that their personal faith/belief had led them to accept God’s offer of mercy that was(& is) offered thru His “great love” for them(:5, 8).
“And”(See :3—“also”)—kai—Conjunction—1) And, also, even, indeed, but. Strong—apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative & sometimes also a cumulative force; And, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection(or composition) with other particles or small words.
“You”—umav—Pronoun 2nd Accusative—1) You. Strong—accusative case of umeiv; You(as the objective of a verb or preposition).
“Made Alive/Quickened”(See :5)—Added for English clarity. Picked up from :6.
“Were/Being”(See :5)—wn, feminine--ousa, neuter--on—Present [no voice] Participle Accusative Plural Masc.—1) Being, etc. Strong—present participle of eimi; Being.
“Dead”(See :5)—nekrov—Adj.—1) properly—1a) One that has breathed his last, lifeless, 1b) Deceased, departed, one whose soul is in heaven or hell, 1c) Destitute of life, without life, inanimate; 2) metaph.—2a) Spiritually dead—2a1) Destitute of a life that recognizes & is devoted to God, because given up to trespasses & sins, 2a2) Inactive as respects doing right, 2b) Destitute of force or power, inactive, inoperative. Strong—from an apparently primary nekuv(a corpse); Dead(literally or figuratively; also as noun).
“Trespasses”(See :5)—paraptwma—Neuter Noun—1) To fall beside or near something; 2) A lapse or deviation from truth & uprightness—2a) A sin, misdeed. Paraptwma is used in different senses, sometimes in a milder sense, denoting an error, a mistake, a fault; & sometimes meaning a trespass, a willful sin. Strong—A side-slip(lapse or deviation), i.e. (unintentional)Error or (willful)Transgression. Used 23X.?From—parapiptw—To fall aside, i.e. figuratively--To apostatize.—From—para—1) From, of at, by, besides, near. Strong—a primary preposition; properly--Near; i.e. (with genitive case)--From beside(literally or figuratively), (with dative case)--At(or in) the vicinity of (objectively or subjectively), (with accusative case)--To the proximity with(local especially)--Beyond or opposed to, or causal--On account of.—&—piptw—1) To descend from a higher/erect place/position to a lower. Strong—a reduplicated & contracted form of petw; (which occurs only as an alternate in certain tenses); probably akin to petomai through the idea of alighting; To fall(literally or figuratively).
“Sins”—amartia—Noun Fem.—1) equivalent to amartanw—1a) To be without a share in, 1b) To miss the mark, 1c) To err, be mistaken, 1d) To miss or wander from the path of uprightness & honor, to do or go wrong, 1e) To wander from the law of God, violate God's law, sin; 2) That which is done wrong, sin, an offense, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act; 3) collectively,--The complex or aggregate of sins committed either by a single person or by many. Amartia meant originally the missing of a mark. When applied to moral things the idea is similar, it is missing the true end of life, & so it is used as a general term for sin. It means both the act of sinning & the result, the sin itself. Strong—A sin(properly abstract).
Argumentation:
Lk. 15:11-24—“Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. “And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, & there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, & he began to be in want. Then he went & joined himself to a citizen of that country, & he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, & no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough & to spare, & I perish with hunger! I will arise & go to my father, & will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven & before you, & I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’ “And he arose & came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him & had compassion, & ran & fell on his neck & kissed him. “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven & in your sight, & am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe & put it on him, & put a ring on his hand & sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here & kill it, & let us eat & be merry; ‘for this my son was dead & is alive again; he was lost & is found.’ And they began to be merry.”
That is a picture of God’s love for you & His desire for your life. It is a picture of deadness versus being alive. A picture of lostness versus belonging. A picture of loss/(wasted)effort/despondency/sadness versus celebration.
Jn. 5:19-29—“Then Jesus answered & said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, & shows Him all things that He Himself does; & He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead & gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word & believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, & shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, & now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; & those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, & has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice & come forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, & those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”
A pertinent question for you to answer for yourself is, “Where or what is the dividing line between ‘doing good’ & ‘doing evil...Do you know it? God is the determiner of both! The answer lies in the mind & heart of God...Do you know His mind & heart? You can!
1Cor. 2:16—“For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”
Jn. 1:1-13—“In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God, & the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, & without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, & the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, & the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, & the world was made through Him, & the world did not know Him. He came to His own, & His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
The circumstances John describes here, speak of spiritual Deadness!...And how it can be overcome!
Jn. 3:14-18—“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Jn. 11:20-26—“Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went & met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection & the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives & believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Jn. 14:6—“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, & the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Rom. 8:1, 2, 10-11—“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin & death.”.....“And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
Col. 2:8-14—“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy & empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, & not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; & you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality & power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses & the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
Illustration:
The cure for Deadness...is to be ALIVE!
Why are bars popular?
Why do people marry their pets?
Why do people marry the same sex?
Why are people adulterers?
Why is recreational drug use rampant?...
...Because people have DEADENED themselves to God & chosen their own way!
Application:
?You living with The CURE For DEADNESS?...or are you just treating symptoms?
?Are you experiencing the Product of God’s Love?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Survivor’s remorse or guilt.
Action:
The Product of God’s Love is...
1. The CURE For DEADNESS(:1)
Presented 10/21/2018am to:
FBCCbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SW(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
