Advent 2024: Love – Ephesians 2:1-10

Good morning, and there we go. Merry Christmas.

I'm very excited to be gathered with you all to consider the Advent theme of love.

! It is a joy for me to be filling the pulpit today.

Those of you who know me well know that I am a big Christmas enthusiast.

I celebrate Christmas from about March until about mid-January.

I really appreciate all the themes that personify Advent truths in the winter season

and some of the traditions we participate in.

I think that if we're going to celebrate Advent,

it is helpful to let our festivities be responsive to what we are celebrating.

This can amplify our meditations.

For instance, the trees outside are barren,

but there is an evergreen inside the house that never dies.

The winter seems to linger as we anticipate the second coming of the spring.

In the meantime, it is cold outside, but there is a warmth around the hearth of Christ.

And as the world anticipated God giving us the gift of Christ,

we simulate an anticipation of gift-giving on Christmas Day.

Our physical experience can complement our spiritual experience

to increase our enjoyment and recognition of Christ's Advent,

but none of these are to be over-spiritualized or taken as authoritative.

Celebrating Christmas has really waxed and waned over throughout history,

so we ought to be cautious that we aren't giving into traditionalism this season.

But Scripture does not prescribe these modern cultural rituals

and ever explicitly makes these connections.

But nonetheless, with the right heart posture,

celebrating Christ's Advent can be done well.

With that said, it is the last sermon before our Christmas Eve service,

and we are considering God's love.

In light of Christ's incarnation,

what makes this gift of Jesus such a preeminent act of love?

It is not simply that there was a miraculous conception.

The conception of Jesus is really significant

because it displays the power of God over all living things.

But there is a much grander reality here that puts God's love on display.

To understand and experience the act of love I'm talking about,

we are going to consider Ephesians 2 today.

As Reformed Baptists, most of us are familiar with Ephesians 1.

Ephesians 1 is a beautiful and a glorious scripture

on how our sovereign God predestined those who would be recipients

of spiritual riches in Christ.

And this is termed the unconditional election doctrine

from Calvin's doctrines of grace, or TULIP.

But in the second half of the chapter,

Paul prays that the Spirit will open the eyes of their hearts

to see the immeasurable greatness of his power toward believers.

And then Paul goes on to reveal a bit of this mystery in chapter 2

as he shows us how or why it is so immeasurably great.

So before we get into our text,

I want to present a framework in thinking through

the kind of love that God has for his people

and the immeasurable power God employs because of his great love.

We often think of love as a transaction.

When we love someone or something,

it is because the object of our love is attractive to us,

even though we make sacrifices for the things we love.

It is still selfish to some extent.

There is a reciprocal benefit to ourselves.

We love watching childhood Christmas movies

because they make us feel nostalgic.

They're fun.

We love eating honey-baked ham

because it makes our taste buds happy and our bellies full.

There is a desirable quality about the objects of our love.

God's love is unique and mysterious

in that he has a completely selfless love for his people.

He is not in it for personal gain.

And furthermore, our love for one another is limited in power.

God's love is unique in its outward focus,

but it is also the greatest love fathomable

because it satisfies the greatest need of the ones he loves

at the greatest cost to himself.

We may have love for others and meet some practical needs,

but we are limited in what we can offer.

Within Ephesians 2,

we are going to see this principle drawn out to the greatest extent.

Christ overwhelmingly fills the greatest need

to those who deserve it the least

at the greatest cost to himself.

All right, so our main text today is Ephesians 2, 1 through 10.

And we're going to be breaking this down in three chunks.

The first being verses 1 through 3,

the unloveliness of man.

And then verse 4, the love of God.

And then verses 5 through 10,

loved in Christ.

Okay, so let's start with Ephesians,

or with verses 1 through 3.

Paul just described in chapter 1

his prayer and encouragement for the Ephesians

and concluded with a beautiful doxology

of the supremacy of Christ.

And then he says this,

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

in which you once walked,

following the course of this world,

following the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that is now at work

in the sons of disobedience,

among whom we all once lived

in the passions of our flesh,

carrying out the desires of the body

and the mind,

and were by nature children of wrath,

like the rest of mankind.

In these first three verses,

we see our first point,

the unloveliness of man.

Paul emphasized God's unconditional election

in chapter 1.

Now he's describing the total depravity

of mankind.

And when you consider these doctrines together,

they not only make logical sense,

but through them,

you see just how emphatic

the love of God is.

We can't fully understand

God's total loving power

until you understand man's depravity.

And again,

that is really what I hope to do today,

is to draw out the gravity

of God's provision in Christ.

So Paul is starting to justify that claim

he made in chapter 1,

verse 19,

about God's immeasurable greatness

of his power toward us who believe.

So verse 1 depicts the spiritual state

of the natural man as dead.

And you are dead in the trespasses and sins.

In the scriptures,

there are many ways God describes

our spiritual status without Christ.

We are blind,

deaf,

sick,

slaves,

strangers,

alienated,

but here we are dead.

The natural man,

the person without the spirit of God

is dead.

Holy night speaks of a sin and error pining,

but Paul says it's not just that we are pining

or withering away,

we are already dead.

I and a number of you

have had the misfortune of witnessing death.

Some of you have been pallbearers,

some work in the ER,

some have experienced tragic life events firsthand,

but most of us

have not had to experience death this intimately.

Our society today attempts to white glove

the reality of death.

We make softer terms for it,

like passing away or no longer with us.

We have hospitals and crematories,

morgues and other institutions now

that handle the dirty work for us.

We visit a dying person at the hospital

and say our final goodbyes,

and then a week later,

we have an urn of ashes.

We never really have to interact directly with death.

In Paul's day,

they did not have these conveniences.

Most people were much more familiar with death.

When this text says dead,

I'm sure many of the Ephesians

could recall a personal example

of seeing or even handling

the body of a dead person.

People died at home

and the family had to wield a shovel

and dig a hole

and place that body in that hole.

Paul is setting up this analogy

between physical death

and the spiritual state of mankind

to help capture the severity

of our condition.

Physically, there's nothing

that a dead person can do

to resuscitate themselves.

They are hopeless in and of themselves.

If someone stops breathing

or their heart stops pumping,

they require another person

to perform CPR

or hookup in AED.

The spiritually dead person

is likewise cold and animate

and with no ability to revive itself.

Obviously, our bodies are alive,

so this death is a spiritual one.

We are dead to righteousness,

and therefore,

we are dead to a good standing

with our Heavenly Father.

Because we cannot fulfill

the righteous requirement of the law,

we find ourselves condemned

before a holy God.

Romans 2.13 says,

For it is not the hearers of the law

who are righteous before God,

but the doers of the law

will be justified.

So in order to be justified,

we must be doers of righteousness.

Unfortunately, in Romans 3,

the author explains that

there is none righteous,

no, not one.

So we are dead to righteousness.

This means that we don't perform

some righteous things.

It means we can't do

any righteous deeds

apart from Christ.

And while we may perform

some morally good acts,

Romans tells us that

anything not done in faith

is sin.

It is not righteous.

The deeds of our flesh

are not done

for the right reason.

They are not done in faith

for the glory of God.

If we are not justified before God,

then judgment is due

because of our trespasses and sin.

This judgment means

we will be forever separated

from God in eternity.

In and of ourselves,

we can do nothing

to gain favor with God.

So we are not physically dead

and somehow we can walk.

So what does this look like

to be dead men walking?

For starters,

in verse 2,

it says that we do have

a spirit at work within us,

but it is not of God.

It is a dark force within

and around us

that causes us

to wander about

seeking to indulge

the passions of our flesh,

somewhat like spiritual zombies.

Our natural kingdom

under the influence

of the prince

of the power of the air

is in the atmosphere

of carnality.

As long as the prince

has his way,

we will follow him

to death.

A path disguised

by the gratification

of our flesh

until the nails

are driven

into our spiritual coffins.

David Guzik says this,

a dead man

feels comfortable

in his coffin.

In the same way,

when we were spiritually dead,

we felt comfortable

in trespasses

and sins.

Satan is the great deceiver.

He will use every resource

the Lord permits him to use

to try and entice our flesh.

He will often try

to make you feel justified

and satisfied

in your sin.

So be cautious

that you are not putting

your hope in your own works

because it can feel good

to get rewards

from the world

and success in your affairs.

This is a false hope.

Satan will put this

imaginary carrot

before your eyes

until you find yourself

in eternal ruin,

away from the presence

of the Lord

and away from the glory

of his might.

Without Christ,

this is our fate.

We are enslaved to sin.

We follow and submit

to the prince

of the power of the air.

We reject God

for who he is,

the real king.

The underwhelming title

given to the person

in this state

is a son of disobedience

and child of wrath.

We have inherited

disobedience

from our first parents.

Like our first mother,

Eve,

who saw that the tree

was a delight to the eyes

and desired to make one wise,

she took of it and ate.

God promised that

the day we ate of it,

we would surely die.

That death,

promised in Genesis,

was both a promise

of physical death

and spiritual death.

On that day,

they were separated from God

because of their

unrighteous disobedience

and they would no longer

live forever.

Death now has spread

to all men

because all sinned.

We would not

nor could not

choose otherwise.

It is who we are

naturally from birth.

We follow Satan

just like our parents.

As birds fly,

man's natural condition

is sinful.

We were naturally

enslaved to sin,

following Satan

and participating

in his works.

We declared ourselves

to be gods

by ignoring the Lord's decrees

and obeying our own will

and the will of the devil.

This is a spiritual corruption

which demands

spiritual justice,

which is what

the children of wrath

will get as their inheritance.

The willful transgressions

that we commit

merit the judgment of God

because it is breaking

of God's law

of which the Lord

will execute his wrath.

Verse 3 goes on

to tell us

that this is our life.

We lived

in the passions

of our flesh.

We loved it.

It was our passion.

We're not only

by nature

in this condition

but it is a willing pursuit

of gratifying

our fleshly desires.

It is eerie

how common,

accepted,

and subtle

that sin can be.

But don't be deceived.

The sin we possess

is ugly and nasty.

It's rebellious,

deceiving,

and it's morally wrong.

It causes children

to lie to their parents.

It causes brothers

to bully their sisters

or for sisters

to steal from their brothers.

It causes husbands

to be disloyal

to their wives,

whether in person

or virtually.

It causes wives

to envy other marriages.

It causes fathers

to abdicate their duty

as spiritual leader

of the home.

And for mothers

to complain

about those little souls

that the Lord

has entrusted them

to steward.

Roommates bicker

over who does

or doesn't do the dishes.

People murder

and steal.

Body, image, anxiety,

pride,

and physical performance.

Trusting that money

will satisfy us.

Complaining about

our circumstances.

All envy,

boasting,

pride, addiction,

disorder,

hate, deceit.

It is all because

of our condition

of sin.

And furthermore,

the stain of sin

runs deep.

We carry out

the comprehensive

desires of both

body and mind.

Our sin nature

is not simply

outward in action.

It also takes place

in our mind.

For instance,

everyone who hates

his brother

is a murderer.

And everyone

who looks at a woman

with lustful intent

has already committed

adultery with her.

We are not just

partially depraved

in our bodies.

We are totally

depraved throughout

in body and mind.

Even though our sin

may be less outwardly

harming when it is

concealed inside the mind,

God sees

and he knows

the inward thoughts.

Those inward sins

also merit

the due sentence

of law-breaking.

We all once

lived like the rest

of mankind

denotes that

all humankind

starts this way.

Physically alive,

spiritually dead,

we are overall

unlovely

and without the ability

to revive ourselves

spiritually.

We are unrighteous

and desperately need

to be justified.

We are at enmity

with God

and desperately need

to be reconciled.

We are dead

and desperately need

to live.

So this is the first half

of considering

the severity

of God's love

in Christ

by understanding

the severity

of our need

for him.

We will suffer

the eternal

and just punishment

of God

as lawbreakers.

We miss out

on the joy

and honor

of knowing God

personally

as Abba Father.

We have a very

great need

to alter this outcome.

It is a matter

of eternal life

and death.

So throughout

verses 1 through 3,

we may have

a faint hope

in our hearts

as Paul speaks

in the past tense,

but it is overall

gloomy and discouraging

as we are reminded

of our depravity.

Our heads start

to drop

in defeat

until

verse 4.

In verse 4,

we will see

our second point,

the love of God

burst onto the scene.

It reads,

but God,

being rich

in mercy

because

of the great love

with which

he loved us.

On a clean

and sharp break

into verse 4,

we have a reason

to lift our heads.

Our ear catches

a slight burst

of hope

in that three-letter

conjunction,

but.

We are like

the rest of mankind,

except.

Like the first

blooms

in springtime,

we anticipate

a coming turn

of events.

The winter

is coming

to a close

and a new day

is dawning.

But what?

The noun

following the

conjunction

backs up

and reaffirms

the hope

we start to sense.

The noun

is God.

The unfailing,

promise-keeping,

truth-telling,

life-giving being

who has power

and authority

over all things

has something

to interject.

This God

is the one

who does not

disappoint

as the things

of this earth

disappoints.

He is not like

the Christmas Eve

dinner that fills

us for a time

and then we

hunger again.

He is not our

fading youth

that allows us

to be productive

and sharp

for a while.

He is not

uncertain like

a house that

has potential

to burn down

or flood.

He is not like

our earthly parents

or our best friend

or our spouse

that will fail us

at times.

He will not

desert those

whom he loves.

He says

that he is with us

always to the

end of the age

and God has

no higher name

to which he can

swear by so when

he gives a promise

it's good as done.

He can create

something from

nothing.

He is from

eternity past

and will be

until eternity

future.

He never grows

weary or hungry.

Time and space

do not affect him.

If we are to have

hope in anyone

to rescue us

from our grave

spiritual condition

it is the great

I am.

So we have

here

but God

but God

has something

perhaps

change this

reality

and outcome

of her depravity

from verses

1 through 3

but what is it?

It is his

agape love

being rich in

mercy

because

of his

great love

with which

he loved us.

This is

a significant

word here

because the word

for love

is different

from the other

words translated

to love in the

Bible.

I'm sure a lot

of you are

familiar with that.

It is not

eros

which is

marital love

it is not

philia

brotherly love

and it is not

storge

familial love

it is not

based on

affection

or feelings

as you might

love eating

gingerbread

cookies

and watching

Home Alone 2

it is also

not based on

obligation

like paying

a debt

it is a

sacrificial

and committed

and confirmed

love that says

despite your

unloveliness

I love you

true agape

love

doesn't say

to the beggar

go and

be warmed

it actually

ensures

the good

outcome

of its

object

it is an

authentic

sympathy

that will

achieve the

well-being

of its

recipient

or die

trying

additionally

this mercy

that God

bestows on

his people

has to be

based on

God's

love

it is

because

of the

great love

with which

he loved

us

whatever

this exchange

is

or whatever

it is going

to be

it makes

no sense

in and of

itself

there is

not going

to be

any

economical

benefit

for God

in this

deal

and he

is the

one

initiating

it

for instance

if I

purchase

a red

rider

air rifle

for $100

that is

a fair

trade

money

for a

gun

it doesn't

take love

to make

that purely

economical

transaction

now if I

gift that

red rider

to my

son

for free

this requires

an amount

of love

to be present

because I

get no

economical

return

from it

because I

love my

son I

give him

this free

gift

and this

may even

be less

than free

because I'm

risking a

trip to the

ER if he

shoots his

eye out

because we

bring nothing

to the

bargaining table

indeed we

cannot

there has to

be an

amount of

love

mercy

and grace

on God's

part

this is an

unfair trade

and it should

cause us to

stand in

awe at the

mystery of

God's love

this rich

mercy that

is lavished

upon us

has to be

founded on

his own

attribute of

love because

it makes no

sense otherwise

this is the

unique kind of

love that God

has in fact

scripture says

that God

is this

kind of

love

the attribute

of loving

your enemy

is not

natural to

man

it is

foreign to

anything that

man could

have conceived

it originates

from God

he is the

source

God is not

just loving

but God

is love

look at

chapter 3

really quick

chapter 3

and verse 14

to kind of

explain this

a little bit

more

Paul says

for this

reason I

bow my

knees before

the father

from whom

every family

in heaven

and on earth

is named

that according

to the riches

of his glory

he may grant

you to be

strengthened with

power through

his spirit

in your inner

being so

that Christ

may dwell

in your

hearts

through faith

Christ

dwelling in

your hearts

through faith

that you

being rooted

and grounded

in agape

may have

strength to

comprehend with

all the saints

what is the

breadth and

length and

height and

depth and

to know the

agape of

Christ

that surpasses

knowledge that

you may be

filled with

all the fullness

of God

so what does

it mean that

we can know

the love of

Christ and

yet it

surpasses

knowledge

what means

without

Christ

it is

unfathomable

to know

this kind

of love

it comes

from above

when the

love of

Christ dwells

in your

heart through

faith

then you

are rooted

and grounded

in that

agape

and it

gives you

the strength

to comprehend

the dimensional

and measurable

love of God

it is otherwise

foreign to

man

God

loved

us

God is the

subject

acting

on the

direct

object

Paul

tells us

that he

has

bestowed

his

love

on us

this

love

is

something

tangible

and

effectual

he has

an abundance

of mercy

that he

somehow

has imparted

to us

in love

we know

that we

need

rich

mercy

because

we

by nature

are so

spiritually

poor

this verse

is so

powerful

it comes

upon

a midnight

clear

like the

angels

to the

shepherds

in Luke

2

the

bleak

reality

of

ourselves

from

verses

1-3

are dark

and cold

like the

night

but all

of a

sudden

the

angels

appeared

to the

shepherds

and the

glory

of the

Lord

shone

around

them

they

haven't

even

relayed

what

the

good

news

is

yet

but

it

invoked

a

deep

response

from

within

the

shepherds

verse

4

is

the

burst

of

light

emanating

from

the

glory

of

God

that

stirs

a

deep

expectant

heart

response

within

us

it's

the

great

turning

point

in

our

salvation

story

as it

was

in

human

history

because

it

speaks

of

a

great

power

we

offer

nothing

but

God

offers

rich

mercy

because

of

his

great

love

but

God

has

loved

us

with

his

agape

love

now

the

ears

of

our

heart

are

fully

engaged

as we

continue

to

read

we

can't

help

but

continue

to know

how

God

has

loved

us

and

what

the

conclusion

of

that

love

might

be

the

conclusion

given

in

5

through

10

which

is

our

third

and

final

point

being

loved

in

Christ

will

overwhelmingly

resolve

all the

problems

presented

in

verses

1

through

3

so

hark

the

herald

Paul

here

from

verse

5

even

when

we

were

dead

in

our

trespasses

God

made

us

alive

together

with

Christ

by

grace

you

have

been

saved

and

raised

us

up

with

him

and

seated

us

with

him

in

the

heavenly

places

in

Christ

Jesus

so

that

in

the

coming

ages

he

might

show

the

immeasurable

riches

of his

grace

and

kindness

toward

us

in

Christ

Jesus

for

by

grace

you

have

been

saved

through

faith

and

this

is

not

your

own

doing

it

is

the

gift

of

God

not

a

result

of

works

that

no

one

may

boast

for

we

are

his

workmanship

created

in

Christ

Jesus

for

good

works

which

God

prepared

beforehand

that

we

should

walk

in

them

oh

tidings

of

comfort

and

joy

by

grace

alone

through

faith

alone

in

Christ

alone

in

glory

to

God

in

the

highest

alone

this

sweet

news

is not

explicit

about

what

Christ

did

to

save

us

but

the

rest

of

Ephesians

is a

little

more

descriptive

chapter

1

verse

says

that

we

have

redemption

through

his

blood

and

then

in

chapter

2

verse

13

we

have

been

brought

near

by

the

blood

of

Christ

and

again

chapter

5

verse

2

Christ

loved

us

and

gave

himself

up

for

us

a

fragrant

offering

and

sacrifice

to

God

and

then

verse

!

25

chapter

5

Christ

loved

God

removes

our

sin

from

our

identity

as far

as the

east

is

from

the

west

it

is

immeasurable

his

agape

love

is

bestowed

on

us

in

Christ

this

illuminates

how

the

love

of

God

spans

that

eternal

gulf

in

between

our

natural

standing

and

our

current

standing

we

see

more

clearly

that

this

grace

is

immeasurable

the

ultimate

gift

paid

at

the

ultimate

cost

purchased

by

him

who

had

the

least

obligation

to

pay

it

Christ

Jesus

humbly

born

as a

baby

in

a

manger

so

that

he

might

give

his

life

as

a

ransom

for

many

God

the

father

sacrificed

this

only

begotten

son

Christ

that

we

would

be

reconciled

to

him

he

poured

!

his

mercy

so

that

is

how

Christ

procured

the

gifts

we

see

in

5

through

10

and

interwoven

throughout

the

description

of

the

gifts

which

meet

the

eternal

needs

we

have

presented

in

1

through

3

is a

theme

of

grace

and

humility

this

humility

is the

natural

and

right

response

we

ought

to

have

because

our

greatest

need

being

saved

from

eternity

in

hell

and

to

a

right

standing

with

God

has

been

met

it

is

the

greatest

gift

we

could

ever

wish

for

and

has

been

granted

and

what

did

we

do

to

deserve

this

nothing

we

were

dead

in

our

trespasses

and

sins

meaning

we

could

not

merit

any

gift

from

God

but

God

made

us

alive

it

was

a

complete

and

gracious

act

of

God

verse

five

answers

verse

one

you

are

dead

but

because

of

God's

love

we're

made

alive

remember

that

it

requires

someone

outside

of

ourselves

to

resuscitate

or revive

our

souls

Christ

is

the

AED

that

shocks

us

into

life

we

were

the

ones

being

saved

we

did

not

and

could

not

save

ourselves

some

of

you

have

heard

preachers

speak

of

God's

plea

for

the

sinner

to

come

answer

the

door

of

salvation

that

God

is

knocking

on

if

only

we

would

let

him

in

we

could

be

saved

it

depends

on

you

there

ain't

nobody

coming

to

the

door

there's

a

dead

man

inside

God

needs

to

kick

down

the

door

and

perform

a

spiritual

!

miracle

God

is

not

so

weak

in

power

that

he

depends

on

our

permission

we

were

dead

there's

no

permission

to

give

to

him

there's

no

heartbeat

no

blood

pumping

no

lungs

breathing

we

needed

a

miracle

and

that

is

exactly

what

God

has

done

the

great

physician

has

risen

the

dead

to

life

through

faith

in

Christ

he

surgically

!

removed

the

heart

of

stone

and

gave

us

a

heart

of

flesh

!

grace

you

have

been

saved

through

faith

and

this

is

not

your

own

doing

not

as

a

result

of

anything

we

did

or

didn't

do

we

aren't

so

lovely

and

honorable

that

God

ought

to

do

this

there

was

nothing

about

us

that

God

thought

you

know

they

have

been

so

good

I'll

give

them

a

second

chance

no

we

were

dead

by

grace

you

have

been

saved

Paul

repeats

that

twice

here

no

one

may

boast

because

it

was

a

complete

act

of

God

when

we

try

to

claim

credit

for

our

salvation