DEAD MAN WALKING

EPHESIANS 2:1-10

Adapted from a Jim Black sermonhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/

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Ephesians 2:1 NET And although you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you formerly lived according to this

world's present path, according to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of

disobedience, 3 among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children

of wrath even as the rest…

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 5

even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you are saved! — 6 and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

7 to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace

you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, having

been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may

do them.

The beauty of our salvation is displayed as Paul contrasts life before Christ to life in

Christ and reveals to his readers a future to look towards and a purpose to live for.

In coming to the text just read to us, I have to admit I am just a little bit intimidated! This

is one of the most beautiful and grandest texts in all of Scripture! It is HUGE in

language, in depth, in meaning, and in scope!

Preacher & teacher Fred Craddock talks about passages in Scripture that are just

too big to preach. Either the language is so grandiose or the meaning so deep that a preacher can hardly do it justice. But he says, “Texts do not always have to be

mastered. There is immense value in taking the hand of a congregation and leading it up close to a huge passage where it can stand

with face upturned in awe and wonder.”

What so many sermons lack is not truth or clarity or relevance, but size.” And so, it is with that in mind that I intend this morning to lead us to this huge passage where we

can gaze at it ‘in awe and wonder’ and marvel at just what God has done for us! As

I see it, the danger in preaching is in reducing a text such as this to three points

and a couple illustrations! There is so much more here that God would

have us see!

Here Paul begins making a clear distinction between “life before Christ” and “life in

Christ” which will form the basis for much of the rest of the letter. Lets look at it again & notice the number of contrasts that Paul

makes.

1. Living in transgressions & sins vs. living in good works prepared by God

2. This world vs. the heavenly realms3. Death vs. life

4. Sinful nature (lit. “Flesh”) vs. union with Christ5. Wrath vs. mercy & salvation6. Under the “ruler of the air” vs. seated with

Christ7. By nature vs. by grace8. Not from works vs. thru faith

Paul wants to make sure that the Ephesians understand that this new salvation to which they are called makes a radical difference in

their lives! It’s not just a change of status, but a change of life! That’s what chapters 4-6 are all about! How does this new salvation play itself out in real life? What does it look

like?What difference does it make?

You’ll remember that in chapter 1 Paul has sought to motivate his readers towards that goal by reminding them of the REASON to live for Christ. “God... who has blessed us

with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ..” (1:3b) AND by reminding them from where their POWER to change

comes from.

1:17a I pray…18 — since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened — so that you may know what is the hope of his calling,

what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19a and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who believe, Now Paul turns to

reminding the Ephesians of three other things:

1 their past 2 their present 3 their future.

Paul reminds US of ‘How Bad it Was.’

Ephesians 2:1 NET And although you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you formerly lived according to this

world's present path, according to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of

disobedience,

3 among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the

mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest…

Notice the language that Paul chooses to use. We WERE Dead.

Do you remember your life before you came to know Christ?

Was it anything like this?

Paul very much viewed life before Christ as spiritual death! Now, I think Paul was a

pretty good fellow! He was a good Jew a “Hebrew of Hebrews,” a good Pharisee, a keeper of the law, & a zeal for God doing what he thought was defending the faith!

Philippians 3:4b NET ... If someone thinks he has good reasons to put confidence in human credentials, I have more: 5 I was circumcised on the eighth day, from the

people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. I lived according to the

law as a Pharisee. 6 In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was

blameless.

He may have been a pretty good guy, but no matter how good he might have been,

from the perspective of his new life “in Christ”, all life “before Christ” is

characterized by death! Paul says that he was simply ‘dead’.

In Paul’s letter to the saints in Rome he views death as a tyrant that dominates

unredeemed humanity, both in the here & now AND in the grave!

Romans 6:20 NET For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness. 21 So what benefit did you then reap from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those

things is death. 22 But now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit

leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. 23 For the payoff of sin is death,

but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“For the payoff of sin is death” This stands opposed here to eternal life, and proves that one is just as enduring as the other.

(Barnes) I think it is interesting that he chooses the word DEATH to describe the reality of life without Christ. We understand a culture of death. Look at our world today and think

about how death controls our culture still! In the “third world” countries, famine, disease

and death are everyday realities.

And not just in the “third world” countries, either!

Death permeates our reality and as a result, threatens to control life! How many people have gotten rich from ‘miracle drugs’ that were supposed to lengthen our life-span? How many people have bought into those things, frantically striving to stave off old

age and death?

The cloning controversy stirred up in the last few years has been from a group who has been pursuing a way to have eternal life and eternal youth. Death still plagues

our present humanity and remains an ever-present threat! This shouldn’t have come as

a surprise! God told Adam & Eve in the garden that if they ate from the forbidden

tree, they would surely die! How many of us are afraid to face death, either our own or

the death of a loved one?

We WERE Worldly. This is the way we ‘used to live’ when we followed the ways of the world, the “ruler of the kingdom of the air”. This was our former way of life; the

way we used to walk. And Paul reminds us of just who is in control in this world, without

mentioning his name.He’ll come back to it in chapter 6.

But for now it’s enough for us to make note that this ‘ruler’ has been handed over authority concerning the affairs of this

world. John confirms what Paul has said. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil

one. 1 John 5:19 NETThis ruler, this spirit, is at work in all those

who are disobedient!

And ALL OF US (Paul is including himself) also formerly lived out our lives…of wrath even as the rest! We were one of them!So, we WERE objects of wrath! Whose

wrath? God’s! You might have thought of God as ONLY a ‘warm & fuzzy’ loving

grandfatherly type; you might have thought of Paul as ONLY the Apostle of Grace &

Mercy; but even in his letter to the Romans (the gospel of grace) he talks of wrath.

Romans 1:18 NET For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all

ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their

unrighteousness,Wrath is an important concept in the Bible. Because of our sin we were at enmity with

God!His wrath was against us!

No hope of relationship; no hope of reconciliation, because we had

broken it! BUT, NO LONGER!

Paul points out that God took care of that for us. That was the way we were.

Paul reminds us ‘How Sweet It Is’!

Ephesians 2:4 NET But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together

with Christ — by grace you are saved! — 6 and he raised us up with him and seated us

with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

“How Sweet it Is!” Paul points to our past and emphasizes

how good we have it NOW! In the present!Notice the words he stacks on top of each

other; Mercy, love, grace, kindness, and gift, in an

attempt to describe this awesome and incredible salvation!

It’s as if simple words aren’t enough to adequately describe the reality of the

gospel! Each of these words carry a nuance just a tad different from the others, but their meanings shade into each other. It’s like “a cascade of expansive language” attempting to describe the grandeur of God’s work in

Christ! Notice the key ideas here.

Even when we were dead he made us ALIVE! He didn’t have to! But God, being rich in mercy and out of his great love for us, he took care of our sin! Romans 6:3

NET Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were

baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.

And so, if you’re ’in Christ’; if you’ve been baptized ’into Christ’ then you are quite literally a “Dead Man Walking”;

though once dead we have been raised again to live a new life!

By grace he saved us! Saved us from what? Saved us from that death! We are NOT just saved from hell, but saved from life, a life on earth dominated by death;

life lived in fear of death!

We are saved from that “worldly” lifestyle that only leads to death! Think about people

you know that you’d describe as just ‘worldly.’ People who you’d say are

consumed by the pursuit of wealth or power, things of this world. People without

God. Are they generally happy people?

By grace…he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,! Paul isn’t talking about the final resurrection, this is something that God has already done for us. We, right here and now, are raised with Christ & seated…in the heavenly realms! How? In what way? If we

are joined with Christ now as Paul has already made clear…where is Christ?

1:20 This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and

seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms

What is true of Christ is true of us if we are joined together. If he is exalted to God’s right hand, so are we. In other words, we have been put in a place of honor next to

God;

Our position has changed from being “in the world” to being “in Christ.” Its not that we WILL be “in Christ” but that we ARE “in

Christ.” With that comes a sense of privilege, honor and security about our

salvation! That should make a difference in HOW we live life NOW, not just where we

spend eternity.

Paul also reminds us ‘How Glorious it Will Be!’

7 to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness

toward us in Christ Jesus.

Not only in the here and now, but God has a future plan for his church and it will be full of grace! What is that future? Jump forward to

Ephesians 3:10 just a second.

Ephesians 3:10 NET The purpose of this enlightenment is that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in

the heavenly realms. God’s plan for the church: reveal God. Show Him to the world.

As we look over the last 2,000 years of church history how have we done? How

have we pointed the world to the multifaceted wisdom of God? How are WE doing right now? How do we show God to

the world?

All of this is for a point:We are Saved for a Purpose!8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift

of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his

workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared

beforehand so we may do them.

Paul doesn’t want anyone to misunderstand: we’ve never done anything to come close to deserving this salvation!

God has done it all; ‘this is not from yourselves’. We are saved by God’s grace

through our faith and NOT by works! Yet we are certainly saved FOR good works.

He created us in our mother’s womb; he re-created us in Christ. We are his creation, his ‘workmanship.’ We’re His work of art! Sculpted, painted, crafted TO DO GOOD

WORKS! A life being lived ‘in Christ’ is a life that is ’purposeful,’ always on the lookout

for good works.

Is your life characterized by obedience & good works? It strikes me that many people

have trouble in the Christian life because either;

They’ve forgotten ‘How Bad it Was’ They don’t appreciate ‘How Sweet it Is’

If we’re really honest with ourselves, I don’t believe many of us really believe our situation was as bleak as Paul says.

I don’t know about you, but I saw myself as a pretty good person. But, I didn’t know

God. And I didn’t know that I was dead in my sins! But, I was! My situation was as

bleak as the murderer awaiting execution on death row!

Your neighbors around you may be pretty good folks. They keep the yard cut, they

love their kids, they’re good citizens.

But do they know God? Do they have a relationship with Him?

You’ve probably heard this saying, “Before you can get a person saved, you’ve got to

get him lost.” There is tremendous truth to that! Before

individuals make a decision to follow Christ, they’ve got to be convicted that they need

Christ!

That’s exactly what happened at Pentecost when Peter preached to the crowd. Acts

2:37 NET Now when they heard this, they were acutely distressed and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "What should we do, brothers?" 38 Peter said to them,

"Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the

forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

They were convicted and responded.Acts 2:41 NET So those who accepted his

message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added.

Have you ever really been convicted that your life WITHOUT Christ was dead? You’ll

never appreciate ‘How Sweet it Is’ (in Christ)

until you remember ‘How Bad it Was’ (without Christ).

Another problem many have is in truly taking hold of just how good it is to be in

Christ! Can it be THIS good? Isn’t this just too good to be true? The answer to that, of

course, is NO, it IS true, when you’re talking about a loving God who would rather die

than spend eternity without you. 8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift

of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast.

What good news! Have you been saved from death? Are you ALIVE with Christ? Are

you enjoying the good works he has prepared for you?

If not, how can we encourage you to leave your old life of death, take a step of faith

today and commit yourself to being a disciple of Jesus Christ by being buried with

him in baptism and raised to walk a new life!