Read the text and pray. When I read this passage, my mind jumps to the fictional movie, Sixth Sense. You may recall that it’s about a young boy who is very troubled, which has his single mom very concerned about him. He begins seeing a therapist and, after a while, he finally confides in the therapist, “I see dead people.” Now, that seems rather odd and the movie takes quite the plot twist at the end when it’s revealed that the therapist is one of the dead people he sees.
If you think about it, though, we all see dead people, most likely every day. Now hold up, outside of being a funeral home director, how is this even possible? Let’s take another look at Ephesians 2:1-3. (read)
You were dead. Notice that’s in the past tense because Paul is addressing Christians here. This means that for those who haven’t found Christ, this is their current state, which is why he concludes verse 3 by stating “like the rest of mankind.”
Paul, in a manner of speaking, provides an autopsy revealing the cause of death. First, he points out that they were walking in their trespasses and sin. We know this applies to everyone outside of Christ because Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and Romans 6:23 starts out with “the wages of sin is death.”
Paul continues his diagnosis by stating they were unrighteous. He knows this because they were following the course of this world. There are so many unbelievers out there who would rather drag people down to their level than be renewed by faith in Christ. Paul speaks of the prince of the power of the air, describing him as the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. The devil is real and from the beginning of time with Eve has influenced people to disobey God.
I work with a lot of young people who struggle with who they are and where they fit in. Sometimes, they will compromise their beliefs for the sake of belonging. Even as adults, we face these same types of temptations, don’t we? (Read Proverbs 4:14-15 and Matthew 7:13-14) Both of these passages indicate that to be alive means we make the tough choices to stay on the narrow path that leads to God.
Unrighteousness is also lived out by living in the passions of the flesh. We live in a whatever feels good at the moment is what you should do. People lack self-control. I’ve got to admit, I’ve seen this in our puppy Lily lately and it has me rather frustrated. As we have folded clean clothes and gone to put them away, we’ve found too many articles of clothing with holes. In fact, the other day, I didn’t realize she had chewed a hole in my pants until I stepped outside and a cold wind blew. That pales in comparison to the disappointment that God must feel when He watches His creation go astray.
Paul’s autopsy concludes that because people have been unrighteous and walked in their sins, they have become children of wrath. This means they are the target of God’s judgment. (read Colossians 3:5-6) People who are caught up in these sins are caught up in idolatry. Their desire has moved away from God and God has rightly passed a guilty verdict with a penalty of death.
But God provides life-giving grace (read Ephesians 2:4-7). Mercy and grace are two sides of the same coin. Mercy is when God spares you what you do deserve. Grace is when God gives you what you don’t deserve. Whether mercy or grace, God is acting to benefit us, the recipients of His love.
So you see, God, being rich in mercy and motivated by love, transforms us from our status of being dead in our trespasses to being alive with Christ. How does He do all this?
Physically, we’re still here in this natural world. Spiritually, we have joined with Christ. BY GRACE, you have been saved. BY GRACE, we have been raised up with Christ. BY GRACE, we have been seated in the heavenly places with Christ. In other words, our eternity is secured. We may still be going through life here on earth, but we can do so with confidence of our final destination.
What is the result of God’s gift of grace? He has provided a testimony that would last for all the ages. We have that testimony recorded in scripture as we read all the stories of people who, like Paul, came to follow Christ. We have that testimony repeated throughout church history as people have recorded many trials and triumphs in the lives of believers. We have that testimony available still today. That’s right- you can share what God has done in your life.
Paul has provided a template we can follow or sharing our testimony in Acts 22. You might want to mark it in your Bible to read it more closely later. Paul’s testimony begins with who he was before he knew Christ. He continues by sharing his conversion, how he came to know Christ. He concludes with sharing what his life in Christ is now like. For those of us who have always been in the church, you could start with a trial or struggle you were facing, go into how Christ got you through it, and the difference it has made for you today.
Our passage concludes by explaining the relationship between grace and works (read Ephesians 2:8-10). This is the second time that Paul states that we are saved by grace. His point is that God is the one who did all the work. We don’t earn our salvation, we can’t be good enough to be good enough, salvation is a gift from God.
Now, some read verses 8 and 9 and stop in an effort to eliminate baptism from the process of salvation. They declare that we are saved by faith alone and not by works and, by their definition, baptism is a work.
There’s a few problems with that. First, as we saw last week (read Acts 2:38), when people asked what to do to be saved, Peter told them to repent AND be baptized.
Second, baptism isn’t a work. Work is something you do. You don’t baptize yourself, someone else baptizes you.
Third, grace is a gift from God. Now, here’s the thing about a gift- it must be accepted. Fellas, this Friday is Valentine’s Day. Hopefully, you’ve already done your shopping and have that special gift tucked away somewhere. But what good is it to have purchased the gift if your loved one never receives it? The best part of giving the gift is seeing the look of delight on their face when they realize what you’ve given them, right? That’s baptism- the moment we’ve opened God’s gift of grace, joined with Jesus, and are given salvation.
Fourth, there’s only one time in the Bible when the phrase “faith alone” is used (read James 2:24). Interesting that the Bible only uses the phrase to say that we are NOT saved by faith alone, but that our faith is accompanied by works.
So how do the two fit together? God did the salvation work of grace- He sent His one and only Son, allowed Him to be crucified, then raised Him back to life, conquering death and sin. We accept the gift of grace that God has provided when we’re baptized.
Instead of doing good works to earn our salvation, we do works out of gratitude for the salvation He’s already given us. Our works are a way to declare to God that we love Him.
What does all this mean for us today? We need to recognize that we were dead in our sins. We need to accept the gift of grace that God has provided. We need to do the good works that God has planned beforehand.
How do we live that out? (read Titus 2:11-14) Because God brought salvation and training for ALL people (all who were dead have the opportunity to come to life), we renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. In doing so, we declare the mercy and grace of God to the world.
As we wait for Christ to return, we share our testimony so God can provide life-giving grace. We get to be a part of God bringing the dead to life. Our church has a number of outreaches that meet people where they are at in their needs. As we provide, we need to watch for the opportunity to share the life-giving good news of the gospel. We need to share our testimony so that God can bring the dead to life. Let’s pray.
Big Daddy Weave wrote a song based on today’s scripture called “Alive.” The lyrics to the opening verse and chorus go like this:
I was dead in my transgressions, Wandering in sin
I went searching for redemption, Down a road that had no end
I was walking through the fire, I was living on the run
With my flesh lost in desire, I was drowning in the flood
But God, rich in mercy, You came to save me, Now I'm alive
But God, strong and mighty, You reached down for me
So I could rise, Now I’m alive
If you’d like this to be your testimony, now is your time. We’re going to stand and sing our song of invitation. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and He died then rose again for your sins and want to declare Him to be your Lord and Savior through baptism, we invite you to come forward.
