March 30, 2003 Ephesians 2:4-10
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
What is the most exciting time of the year for your child? It would have to be Christmas and birthdays, wouldn’t it? I remember as a kid, I couldn’t wait to receive those gifts, and open them up. When I look back on it, I am glad that the Santa Claus song wasn’t true, “you better not pout, you better not cry, you better not shout I’m telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town. He knows if you’ve been sleeping, he know if you’re awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.” If my parents would have gone by this criteria to give me gifts, I wouldn’t have received much. The truth is, that Christmas is a time when parents give you gifts in spite of the way you’ve been. St. Paul says that God is the same way. We have not been good, yet His grace, or his love for us, which is undeserved, drives Him to give us give us gifts anyway. Today and we are going to concentrate on how God’s grace gives you three gifts, three gifts which you need to live, thrive and survive.
God’s Grace Gives You Three Gifts
I. A New Life
Gifts are easily taken for granted. Walk into a nursing home and look around at the elderly people there. All of them were younger - like you. When you think about it, you will become painfully aware of the fact that all of us are dying - some slower and some faster. Eventually, if we live to be older, all of us will most likely lose the abilities that we associate with life. Like it or not, you may need someone to change your diaper some day - feed you - and put your clothes on. When you think about it, it will make you appreciate the life you have right now.
In a more graphic manner - Paul doesn’t take us to a nursing home, but to a graveyard. Even more scary is the fact that he walks you past a gravestone that has YOUR name on it. He says, we were dead in transgressions. Death is the ugliest thing there is in this life. Back when I was in Norton I happened to find a dead rabbit in my backyard a week or two after I moved there. Not knowing what to do, I threw it in my garbage can in the middle of summer. The garbage wasn’t emptied for another week, and by the end of the week, that rabbit was full of maggots and the stench was completely disgusting. Even after I poured cleaners in the garbage can and sprayed it out several times, it still stunk. That’s the picture Paul draws of us - we were not just ugly, not just lazy, not just stained with a little smudge of sin. We were dead in transgressions - absolutely helpless. There was nothing attractive in us that made God choose us for salvation. God didn’t look at you and say, “hey, that corpse isn’t too ugly - it’s only got a little decay and stench - I think I’ll choose that one.” Don’t get the idea that we were more spiritually attractive just because we are now believers. We were just as spiritually dead and stinky as any other unbeliever in the world. We were there because we went where we weren’t supposed to be in the first place - in transgressions.
Nobody loves to look at a dead body. Neither does God. But there’s one more dead, lifeless, pile of flesh and bones we need to look at - on the cross. When we see this lifeless body - it is repulsive. It is terrible to look at a Holy God let His wrath out on His only Son - who was also perfect in every sense of the Word. He shouldn’t have been on the cross - he had no trespasses. Why did God do this? Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. The sight of this dead body gives life to our souls, because it assures us that our God is a God of grace - who sent Jesus to die for us - and bring us to life. Instead of leaving this body to rot, this dead body of Christ was raised from the dead, proving that God’s anger over our sins of arrogance and unthankfulness was satisfied. So we thank God for His gift of life - for giving us faith and life in Christ. Without it, we would still be rotting in the grave.
II. A New Home
If that were the only gift that God gave us, it would be enough. But it is far from all that God has given us. God has many other wonderful gifts for us, but so often we lose sight of these gifts. I might compare it to giving a kid a new toy at Christmas, but he is so enthralled with the first gift he opens that he never takes the time to open the other ones. This second gift is a result of the first - one that we can also have great enjoyment it - a new home.
Paul goes on to say that God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Notice the tense that Paul uses - it’s a past tense. He was speaking as if the Ephesians were already living in heaven with Christ. As far as he saw it, they were already seated in heaven. This is hard to understand. Yet Paul said the same thing to all of the Christians. Philippians 3:20 Our citizenship IS in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, Colossians 3:1-3 You have been raised with Christ, . . . where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. . . Your life is now hidden with Christ in God. This applies to us as well - we have a new home in heaven - which according to Paul we are occupying right now. You might say to yourself, “How can this be? I don’t feel like I’m in heaven. I don’t see Jesus or his angels. I’m still suffering pain and the results of sin.”
Notice that all of these terms have one catch phrase that Paul continues to repeat - you are raised WITH CHRIST. God seated us WITH HIM in the heavenly realms. Since Christ lived a perfect life, died, and rose again, God considers this as good as us having done it. Believers in Christ are to live vicariously through Christ. When I was a kid I used to like to imitate famous basketball players out on the ball court. One kid would yell out, “I’m Marques Johnson”, another “I’m Brian Winters”, and another “I’m Bob Lanier”. When they won, it was as if I was winning. That’s what we are to do with Christ. Look at what Christ did, and imagine that you went along with Jesus, got crucified, and rose again from the dead.
That’s what Paul did when he said in Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Paul believed that his sinful nature was crucified with Christ. He considered it as dead, because Christ died. So Paul reminds us in Romans 6:3 Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? And he reminds us today that God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Just as we died with Christ, we were also raised with him. He wants us to think of ourselves as being so connected with Christ that wherever he goes we go. That’s how close we are with Christ. It’s not as if we’re actually living in heaven, but since our groom is living there, it’s as good as done in God’s eyes. The ticket has already been purchased - the plane provided - and the airline is under His control.
How did all of this happen to us? How come we’ve got this wonderful new home and others don’t? Some think, “I must have done something special to have God give me life and invite me to heaven to live with him!” But God goes through a seven step process to eliminate any thoughts such as this. Look at vs. 8 - it says
1) by grace (undeserved love)
2) you have been saved (a passive thing - something that was done to us)
3) through faith (simple trust in Christ crucified and raised)
4) not of ourselves (we don’t even bring ourselves to faith - it isn’t something that we decide on - we’re dead)
5) it is the gift (a gift is something that is unearned)
6) of God (God gives us this gift of faith in Christ - we can’t say we decided to come to faith)
7) not of works, so that no one can boast.
This eliminates any thoughts whatsoever that we could be saved by choosing, working, or doing anything to get to our new home in heaven. Once again, God points back to His grace.
If Paul was able to speak with such confidence to the Colossians and Ephesians about their future home - then why not about yours? Are you any more sinful than they or Paul - who actually persecuted Christians? If you are, will God be any less gracious to you? Not at all. We have the same forgiveness and the same Lord. God assures us - through the sacrifice of Christ - you are as good as in your heavenly home. This is not a home that you have to worry will not be there when you die, because Christ is already there. He will come back to take you home. He won’t leave you behind.
III. A new job
Paul mentions one last gift of His grace; a new job. Now might hear that and say, “ a new JOB” - how is that a gift of God’s grace? It’s nice to hear that God has given us a new life and a new home - but many don’t like this idea of actually doing something for God. The first job I ever had at minimum wage was detassling corn. At first, I liked the idea of getting paid more money than I’d ever gotten before. But when I found myself walking miles and miles in the middle of a corn field, I thought twice about it. It was more work than I wanted. That’s how many look at Christianity - too much work. “That means I have to go church every week, give money, donate time, and be nice to people? No thanks.” Let’s be honest. Even though heaven is free, Christianity is work, isn’t it? Should we give people the impression that it’s real easy to be a Christian? That Christianity is just like a country club where we sit around on a nice seventy degree day and play golf? It’s not that easy - not even close. As Christians, we don’t get drunk. We don’t hold grudges. We don’t get revenge. We bless those who curse us. We give our first fruits to God. We study the Bible on a regular basis. We get up early on Sunday mornings to come and worship God. It’s not easy. It’s hard work.
But why do we do these things? Paul says we work this way because we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. We do them because that’s what God created us to do. Just this past week we went to the Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, and on the way in we saw a huge crane outside that boomed hundreds of feet into the air. On the top was a thick metal cable with a hook on the end. This huge piece of metal was designed to do one thing - carry stuff - heavy stuff - and place it where it needs to be placed. In the same way, we do this heavy Christian stuff - forgive others - talk about Jesus - pray - because that’s what God created us to do. With the Holy Spirit living in us, these things come naturally to us.
Now, there are probably some of you sitting out there saying to yourself, “I don’t know who Pastor is talking about - this willing worker. There must be a flaw in my design. I don’t have an easy time turning the other cheek. It doesn’t come very ‘naturally’ to me. It’s more like pulling teeth.” It may very well be that you are having a hard time on the job sight as a Christian. Could it be that Christianity has gotten old to you? Did you ever notice how eager you are when you get hired for a new job? You’re happy you got the job, and you can’t wait to show the boss that you can perform well. But then after a year or so, your zeal starts wearing off, and you start slacking off a bit. The same thing might happen to you as a Christian. Many of you have been on the job for years and years. The thrill of the Gospel or searching the Scriptures might not seem quite so fresh to you any more. It might seem more like drudgery. That’s your old man talking - your sinful nature. He’s begging you to give him a break. He’s saying, “why not have some ‘fun’ with life? You need a break. You already know all that Bible stuff. Let someone else talk about Christ. Let someone else do the work”
Remember what Paul told you today. That man talking to you has been crucified. That lazy old man whispering in your ear and tugging on your legs is dead. He was buried at your baptism! Why are you listening to a dead man? Do you really want to deteriorate into a dead man like him? Wouldn’t you rather live! Tell that lazy crab to get back in the grave - because he’s dead and you’ve got a new life to live. Since you have been crucified and raised with Christ, you have the power and energy to live a new life - as hard as it may be. And remember who you’re working for! This isn’t some evil task master - this is our loving Father and Savior and Comforter. This Christianity thing isn’t just a job - it’s a privilege.
The neat thing about Christianity is when the Holy Spirit really gets working in your life - it can become a real rush to see the courage and strength you are given. When you find yourself living a stronger life, it really is a wonderful thing. But once again, we need to realize who deserves the credit. God’s Word says that these good works we perform were something that God prepared in advance for us to do. When a carnival comes to town and the trainer has the elephant do tricks, who deserves the credit? The elephant or the trainers? The trainers showed the elephants how to do the tricks. The elephant didn’t just decide to start doing handstands and balancing a man on himself one day. It was trained to do it. In the same way, we need to remember to give credit where it is due - to God. He created us and even pre-planned the good works in our lives that we could do. All of this is a gift of God’s grace.
If you had three things to ask for - what would it be? When King Solomon was young - he was given one thing to ask for. He asked for wisdom. As a result, God not only gave him wisdom but riches and honor. Without even asking, God has given us three greater gifts than wisdom, riches and honor - that last into eternity. Just out of pure mercy and grace, we have a new life from death, a new permanent home in heaven, and a new job - all through faith in Christ. Thank God for these gifts today and enjoy them. Amen.
