Eph 2:1-10
SS Lesson for 11/20/2022
Devotional Scriptures: 2 Cor 9:8-12
Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians as a prisoner of the Roman Empire (see Ephesians 3:1; 4:1; 6:20). If he wrote during his imprisonment in Rome mentioned in Acts 28:30-31, then he was living in his own rented house and could receive visitors, both his fellow Christian workers and those interested in hearing about Jesus. He was not in a dark dungeon, as we might imagine a prisoner to be. However, his situation still was not pleasant. Being a prisoner meant he could not move about as he pleased. It meant that he faced the threat of a judgment against him that could even mean his execution. Confinement, worry, shame, these were his experience. But Paul’s prison letters do not suggest that the misery of Paul’s condition dictated his outlook. Even as a prisoner, Paul repeatedly emphasized that Christians have an exalted place in God’s plan. Being a prisoner might seem like death, but Paul could only speak of being raised from the dead. Paul’s readers, though not prisoners, were also in a difficult position. Their new faith put them at odds with the world around them. Many of their familiar relationships had been cut off: Christians of Jewish background were sometimes no longer welcome in the synagogue; Christians of Gentile background were no longer to participate in the worship rites of paganism. Each group was under additional scorn for associating with the other. Christians were suspected of wanting to undermine the foundations of their communities. Paul’s message to the Ephesians emphasizes a different perspective, the perspective of God. From God’s throne, Christians are not downtrodden but victorious. They are not rebels against the community but God’s agents of renewal for the world. Despite rejection by neighbors or even those in authority, Christians, then and now, are the grateful recipients of everything God has done. We’re already experiencing God’s eternal blessings and anticipating a still greater future when Christ returns. We live together as God’s temple (Ephesians 2:11-22). And Paul himself, proclaiming the gospel despite his confinement, exemplified what the lives of his audience were truly like (3:1-19). But this status was not something they deserved or had earned. The work was all God’s. They needed God’s work in Christ to rescue them from the helpless state of death and make them alive to all that God had for them.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
6 But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.
14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
3 "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
2 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them — bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. 19 He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.
4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.
32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," declares the Lord. "They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least," declares the Lord.
30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the Day of Judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
3 for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.
2 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.
63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
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.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring — not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed — the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
If Ephesians 1:19-23 takes us to the heights in exploring the power and authority of the risen and ascended Christ, Ephesians 2:1-3 takes us to the very depths, as Paul expounds the powerless, hopeless, lifeless condition of fallen men, enslaved by their own fleshly desires, and dominated by the world around them and by Satan.
The first words of chapter 2 indicate Paul’s intention to contrast the condition of lost men with that of the risen and ascended Christ. Verse 1 begins, “And you …” The NIV does an excellent job of catching and communicating the thrust of Paul’s words, when it renders the first words if verse 1, “As for you …”
Consider the contrast between Christ’s position and ours. Christ is alive because of His righteousness, but we are dead, because of our sins. Christ is exalted, seated in the heavens; we are on and of the earth. Christ has been given power and authority over all other powers and authorities; we were subject to the powers and authorities.
The irony of fallen man’s dilemma is that he doesn’t even realize his condition until after he is saved. Lost men, blinded and deceived by Satan, think they are really “living it up,” when in reality they are dead. They think that by living in sin they are enjoying life to its fullest, but they are not. They suppose that they are free, subject to no one, but they are really enslaved.
Paul sums up the condition of lost men in one word: dead. To be dead is to be lifeless. To be dead is to be unable to help oneself. To be dead is to be absolutely powerless. To be dead is to be beyond hope (in the eyes of the world).
Death is ultimately the result of sin. But in our text, Paul examines some of the contributing factors to our sin. First, men are sinners because they are born that way. We were, “by nature, children of wrath.” We were sinners, subject to the wrath of God because of our sin nature, which we obtained at birth. The unbelieving world looks at children as innocent, contaminated only by their environment. The Bible informs us that we were born in sin, having inherited the fallen nature of our forefather, Adam (see Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12).
Second, men sin and are therefore sinners because they follow the world in its course of sin and rebellion. Sinners love and seek companions, co-sinners, to share in the excitement and (unknowingly) in the penalty of sin (see Proverbs 1:8-19). This is why the Bible instructs us to avoid being pressured by the world to conform to its values and lifestyle:
I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2, emphasis mine).
Third, unbelievers sin because they are unwittingly subject to the influence of Satan.
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the dumb idols, however you were led (1 Corinthians 12:1-2).
And the Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will (2 Timothy 2:24-26).
He who practices sin belongs to the devil, for from the beginning the devil sins (1 John 3:8, Berkeley Version).
We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19).
Finally, men are sinners because they follow the dictates of the flesh. Elsewhere, Paul much more fully explains the role of the flesh in relation to sin (see Romans 7:7-25; Galatians 5:16-21). These are the natural, self-serving impulses and desires of fallen men. The flesh includes not only the sinful passions of the body, but also of the mind.
What is most interesting is that it is here that Paul chooses to unite the Jews and the Gentiles in the common condition of sin and death. In verses 1 and 2, the pronoun “you” is employed, but in verse 3 Paul changes to “we.” The “you” refers to the Gentiles; the “we” refers to the Jews. Paul’s statement in verse 3 is crucial to our understanding of the gospel. It is one thing for Paul to have said these words concerning the Gentiles. No Jew would disagree with him on that point. But Paul says these things about the Jews. The Jews thought that they were born “special,” that they were, because of their physical descent from Abraham, better than the Gentiles:
9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham (Matthew 3:9).
The self-righteous claim of the Jews, “We are Jews by nature, and not sinners from among the Gentiles” (Galatians 2:15), is not only challenged, but reversed by Paul, when he writes, “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Ephesians 2:3, emphasis mine).
The Jews thought that of fleshly sins as those in which the Gentiles indulged themselves. In some ways it was true that the Jews were less addicted to the fleshly sins of sexual immorality and idolatry compared to the Gentiles. In the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere, Jesus indicted the Jews for being guilty of committing many of the fleshly sins mentally, if not literally (see Matthew 5:21-32). Often times, the Jews were guilty of the same sins, but found pious ways of justifying them (see Matthew 23).
As a friend of mine likes to say, “There is a difference between sin and crime. There are many sins which are not crimes, and many crimes which are not sin.” The self-righteous often pride themselves for living in a way that is socially respectable, but which is sin in the eyes of God (see Luke 16:15). As he has done in greater detail in Romans 1-3, in our text Paul demonstrates that the Jews, like the Gentiles are “dead” in their transgressions and sins, born under divine condemnation, and desperately in need of divine grace. In their fallen state, Jews and Gentiles are equally guilty, equally condemned, and equally hopeless apart from God’s grace.
Our condition as unbelievers is so foundational to our Christian belief and practice that Paul repeats it again in Ephesians chapter 4:
17 This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness (Ephesians 4:17-19).
In and of ourselves and apart from God, we are desperately and hopelessly lost. We are not “sick,” we are “dead.” We are without life, without hope, without potential, without “worth.” Any value we may have, or any hope, must come from outside of us. And so it does come, in Christ. This is the good news of the gospel, and that which Paul explains next, in verses 4-6.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,
The words, “But God …” are a beacon of light and hope in a sea of despair. The condition of men in sin is not hopeless or terminal because God has come to the rescue of fallen men through His provision in Jesus Christ.
Paul begins with the motivation of God, which prompted Him to provide a way of escape from our condition of sin and eternal death. God was motivated by His mercy and His love for us. This divine motivation will do very little for our self-esteem, however. It will do much to promote humility on our part, and deep gratitude toward God.
Our love for God is prompted by His love for us, a love which initiates our love in response: “We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God’s love for us is vastly different from our love for Him. He loved us while we were His enemies, while we were still dead in our sins and transgressions:
5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:5-8).
God’s love is not a response, but a cause. God’s mercy is not prompted by our potential or by any qualities we think we possess, but by our own pathetic condition. Divine grace was not bestowed on us because we were so worthy, or because God found anything good in us, but because of the goodness which is in God Himself. The goodness is in the giver, not the recipient.
Suppose that you were called by one of those beauty businesses which specializes in “make-overs.” If you were offered a free “make-over” should you feel flattered? Should you take pride in your beauty? I think not. The make-over is needed because of your lack of beauty. No beauty business is going to advertise its work by selecting a beautiful woman and then making only slight improvements on her beauty. They are going to take the most hopeless case they can find, and then take the credit for the transformation.
If a plastic surgeon called you, offering you free cosmetic surgery, so that he could use you for advertising, you should feel grateful, but not proud. He did not choose you because you were so attractive, but because you were so ugly, and could demonstrate the marvelous skills he has as a plastic surgeon.
So it is with God’s grace. God sent Jesus Christ to the world, to suffer and to die in the sinner’s place. He did this because we were in such terrible shape. He did this so that He could demonstrate His grace, and His power in transforming a “dead” man or woman into a living sacrifice, a living testimony of His grace and power. God’s motivation in saving us should not flatter us, but it does glorify Him.
God’s grace and salvation does not come to us in various forms, from which we may choose. His grace has been poured out to us lavishly in Christ, and in Him alone. It is through our union with Him that we are transformed from what we were to what He is. Our separation from God through sin has made us what we were in Ephesians 2:1-3. Our identification with Christ, through faith, makes us all that Christ is, as described in Ephesians 1:19-23.
Though on account of our sin we were dead, in Christ we are made alive (verse 5). Though we were formerly dead, we have been raised up in Him (verse 6). And although we were formerly enslaved to our own passions, to the world, and to Satan, in Christ we are seated in the heavenly places, now free from all heavenly and earthly powers that oppose God, and have become enslaved to Him who by love delivered us from our bondage to sin and to death.
7 in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
It is most unfortunate that in most of our minds the thought unit is not Ephesians 2:7-10, but rather 2:8-10. Verses 8-10 are two statements, introduced by the word “for,” in support of Paul’s main statement in verse 7. The primary purpose of God for sending His Son to die in the sinner’s place, was not to produce the happiness of the sinner, saved by grace, but rather the demonstration of the grace of God for all eternity.
God’s purposes are not merely temporal, they are eternal. God’s purpose in saving sinners is not just to make men happy, to provide blessings, or to enable men to escape the torments of hell. The fact is that God is just as glorified by the punishment of the wicked as He is the salvation of those whom He makes righteous (see Romans 9:14-23; 1 Peter 2:12; Revelation 16:4-7). Whether it be in the punishment of the wicked or in the salvation of sinners by grace, God is working out all things to His own glory. The salvation of sinners is thus subordinate to God’s ultimate purpose of bringing glory to Himself. In the case of the salvation of sinners, it is the grace of God which is on display. In the case of the judgment of the wicked, it is the holiness and justice of God which is demonstrated.
It should be pointed out that if, as Paul writes, it is the riches of the grace of God which is to be displayed for all eternity, then salvation must be all of God’s doing, and not of our own. Grace is divine favor which is undeserved. God will not share His glory with any other being, and thus the work of salvation is entirely His work.
Paul gives two lines of supporting evidence for his statement that God has saved us for the demonstration of the riches of His grace. Each of these begin with the word “for.” The first is found in verses 8 and 9, the second in verse 10. The first concentrates on the cause of our salvation; the second on its effects. Whether in its cause or in its effects, salvation is all of God, and all of grace.
In Ephesians 2:8 and 9 Paul contends that salvation is not of man’s doing, but of God’s. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” Men are saved by grace, not by works. This would come as more of a revelation to the self-righteous Jews than to the Gentiles. Men do not enter into eternal life because of their good deeds, but because of God’s goodness, in Christ. We have been saved by grace, through faith. This salvation is God’s gift, and not compensation for our efforts. And this is so that we will not boast, but will rather give glory to God. One cannot boast because of what we have done, but only in what He has done. As Paul writes elsewhere,
26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, 29 that no man should boast before God. 30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).
The second reason why God will be glorified for all eternity for His grace toward men is that any good deeds which result from our salvation as also the result of God’s grace:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).
As saints, we are what we are because of His doing. We are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), but we are His creation. He created us in Jesus Christ. Any good works which we might do as Christians are the works which He foreordained, which He planned and prepared in eternity past. We dare not take credit for them. We are simply to “walk in them.” Good works will not save us, and neither will they be the cause for our boasting, except as we boast in the Lord.
(Adapted from URL:https://bible.org/seriespage/8-guilt-men-and-grace-god-part-1-ephesians-21-10)
If we are new to faith, we may feel overmatched by our calling. How can we measure up to expectations? How can we possibly overcome all the wrong in our lives? Paul reminds us to put our focus not on our inadequacy but on Christ’s abundance. In Christ God has done everything for us. Forgiveness is full, and his power is sufficient. We need only continue to receive and trust, doing moment by moment what the Spirit directs and enables. If we have followed Christ for a long time, we may fall into a habit of thinking we deserve any good things or benefits we have. Paul reminds us that our best was never good enough; that we stand with Christ by his action, not ours; and that whatever is good in our lives is now the result of freely receiving God’s gift. And if we are still considering faith in Christ, Paul gives us a powerful introduction to what God offers us. God has done all for us. But as we receive his gift, we will be forever different, set on a path to become what God, the good God of grace and mercy, has intended for us since before the beginning.