Remember How Dead You Were

What a blessing to be under the Word of God together in this letter to the church in Ephesus and through Ephesus to all the churches in Asia Minor and the churches over the centuries that will get to hear these glorious gospel truths preached over them and that God the Spirit will do the same among us.

Our sermon passage today is very short and I'm going to read it twice back to back for you so you can receive God's Word and let it wash over you and pull you in.

Our verses are simply Ephesians chapter 2, 1, 2 and 3.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

Hear those verses first and as you hear it, know that you're hearing God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient, powerful Word for you and me, His people.

Ephesians 2, 1, 2 and 3.

And you, He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 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,

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.

Now hear these verses one more time, but with a few other verses around them and hear how Christ exalted is what envelops this reminder to the church.

Look back at chapter 1.

I'll start reading at verse 19 and I'll continue to chapter 2, verse 7.

Paul is praying that the church will know, in verse 19,

what is the exceeding greatness of God's power toward us who believe,

according to the working of His mighty power,

which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead,

and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

far above all principality and power and might and dominion,

and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.

And He put all things under His feet and gave Him to behead over all things to the church,

which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

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,

among whom we also 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.

But God, who is rich in mercy,

because of His great love with which He loved us,

even when we were dead in trespasses,

made us alive together with Christ.

By grace, you have been saved,

and raised us up together,

and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

that in the age to come,

He might show the exceeding riches of His grace

in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The word of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Please be seated.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of the Lord stands forever.

Let's pray.

Father, we praise you that you are the God of mercy.

You are the God who is love.

And we look at Jesus Christ,

who is now exalted,

and He's exalted

as the God-man,

the only mediator

for the redemption

of His people,

we who were dead,

lost,

imprisoned,

and in bondage to the devil.

We praise you

for this great redemption

that we have in Jesus Christ.

We pray, Lord,

that your Holy Spirit

will shine your light

on these words

and apply them to your people,

Father.

Please do this for your glory,

and for Christ's sake,

we pray.

Amen.

G.K. Chesterton

wrote these words.

Thanks are the highest form of thought,

and gratitude is happiness

doubled by wonder.

Thanks are the highest form of thought,

and gratitude is happiness

doubled by wonder.

I recently had a stressful experience,

but I look back on it,

and it was a gift.

I got to go into

an actual courtroom

where a judge,

on behalf of the state of Colorado,

was presiding

and making a judgment,

ruling over several court cases.

It was a humbling gift

and a reminder to me,

because every single case

that they had to open up

and talk about in detail,

and it included everything

from domestic abuse

to alcoholism

to breaking the law

to doing something

to someone else

at the grocery store.

I mean,

I just heard case after case,

and as I walked out of there,

I was almost to choke up

a little bit,

and what came to mind

were two quotes.

One was what John Bradford,

the 1500s English reformer,

said,

as he looked at men

being carried off for execution,

he said,

but for the grace of God,

there go I.

And the second is

Robert Murray Machine.

The seed of every sin

knows to man,

known to man,

is in my heart.

God reminded me

of what I am

outside of Christ,

and it's not pretty.

God often does this,

doesn't he?

He reminds his people

of all that he saved us from.

Think back of the Old Testament,

prophet after prophet,

think of the Psalms

time and time again.

Remember.

Don't you see

the wondrous works of God?

He redeemed you.

Remember what you were like.

And this is the pattern

that Paul continues here.

And it's wonderful

how this deep,

dark,

intense reminder,

it's enveloped

around the exalted Christ.

Did you catch that

in the context?

He's just put our gaze

on Christ,

exalted

with all things

put under his feet,

and he takes the church

down to this low place.

Remember what you were

in order to remember

again now

that same exalted Christ.

You're with him.

And this is what Paul

is doing,

following that same pattern

of God,

reminding his people

throughout all of the scriptures,

Old Covenant,

New Covenant alike.

Remember

how bad you were.

Remember what you deserve.

And he shifted his focus now

from Christ,

even at the end of chapter one.

Look at chapter one,

verse 22.

God put all things

under Christ's feet

and gave him

to be head.

Now here's where the focus

on Christ shifts

a little bit to earth.

Gave Christ to be head

over all things

to the church.

Look at yourselves

a little bit now,

church,

he says.

Church is Christ's body,

the fullness of him

who fills all in all.

And our eyes got

to rest on Christ.

But now Paul says,

bring those eyes

to yourself

and to those around you.

Shift your eyes

to the body of Christ

on earth.

And who were these people

that God so loved?

Whatever is true

of the church in Ephesus.

Remember,

this is a letter

to go out to all the churches

preserved by the spirit

for all centuries.

So what is true

when he says you,

church,

in Ephesus?

This is true

of all people

in every generation,

everywhere.

So that's the sermon

title today

for us as well.

Church,

Christian,

remember

how dead

you were.

It's good for us.

Remember

how dead

you were

outside of Christ.

echoing Chesterton's words

as we remember,

may God

let our happiness

in Christ

be doubled

by the wonder

at all

from which God

has saved

you and me.

Let's remember

with thankfulness

in doing this.

It's the highest thought.

It's an act of worship.

It's an act of praise

to God

as we do this.

Remember

how dead

you were.

I'll walk us through

about five ways

in which

we need to reflect

on this.

Number one,

you were born

dead

to God.

You were born

dead

to God.

That's how dead

you and I were.

Look at chapter 2,

verse 1.

And you

who were dead

in trespasses

and sins.

Now,

in many of your

Bibles,

there might be

some extra words

in here.

In some cases,

they're italicized

or put in brackets.

In mine,

it says,

you

were dead

and he made alive.

But those words

made alive

are not there

in the original Greek.

They don't come

until later.

And I think

it's best

that we

approach these verses

in that same way.

Hold off

on that great news

until verse 4.

Focus on

you were dead

in trespasses

and sins.

Trespass

is to

actively

cross a line.

It's to commit

a sin,

breaking God's law.

Then the other word

there,

sins,

is to miss

the mark.

Like an arrow

that's shot at a target

but it misses.

It falls short

or goes

the wrong direction.

And some have

taken,

what are these two words

put together?

What are they

communicating?

It can be

sins of commission

and sins of omission.

Think of your life

the moment

you were born.

You were born

dead

to God.

You were born

breaking God's laws.

And we've

piled on

trespasses,

transgressions,

crossing his

boundaries

over and over

and over.

But let's say

hypothetically

it's possible

to go through

your life

without ever

committing a sin.

That's still

not enough.

Your life

fails to be

as holy

as God

requires.

We don't have

a righteousness

that's sufficient

to make us

be able to stand

in the presence

of the Holy God.

Our lives

fall short

of his glory

as well.

Adam was guilty

of both sin

of commission

and sin of omission

as well.

Think about

how Adam

neglected

to guard

and to keep

what God

had entrusted

to him.

And on top

of that

Adam also

transgressed.

He also

broke the law.

He crossed

that line

God gave him.

In Genesis

2 17

God said

for in the

day that you

eat of this

forbidden fruit

you shall

die.

And in

Adam's death

so died

all of

Adam's seed.

That's how

dead we were.

We have

been dead

in Adam

spiritually

dead to

God

since Adam's

fall.

There's not

a century

not a

generation

on earth

that wasn't

born already

dead to

God.

Outside of

Christ

you and I

are dead

to God.

This type

of deadness

that we have

though is

an active

deadness.

We are

dead in

trespasses.

We are

dead in

sins.

We keep

doing these

things.

Outside

of Christ.

And so

this forces

us to

wrestle with

why is

that?

What's

going on?

What type

of death

did Adam

die as

God told

him?

Because

that's the

death we

are born

into.

Jonathan

Edwards had

wonderful

insights as

he pondered

this.

To paraphrase

his insights

he wrote

the problem

is our

nature.

Even more

than our

will.

He said

the will

simply

does

what the

person

believes

is best.

The will

is free

to choose

and does

choose

whatever

the will

deems

most

desirable.

You see

so the

problem

is that

we will

always

choose

to send.

We will

always

choose

to

trespass.

That's

the end

of Edwards

insight.

So our

problem

is that

outside of

Christ

our nature

is to

not

trust

God.

Our

nature

is to

hate

God's

law.

Outside

of

Christ

we are

dead

to

God

and

so

we

trespass

his

good

boundaries.

We

never

hit

the

target.

Outside

of

Christ

our

nature

will

never

want

to

fulfill

the

chief

end

of

man.

Outside

of

Christ

our

nature

will

never

want

to

enjoy

God.

Outside

of

Christ

our

nature

will

never

want

to

give

God

glory.

outside

of

Christ

we

are

dead

and

unable

to

fulfill

the

reason

that

God

created

us

for.

You

see

how

dead

you

and

I

were?

We

were

born

dead

to

God.

Number

two

you

and

I

were

walking

with

the

world

to

hell.

That's

how

dead

we

were.

We

were

walking

along

with

the

world

to

hell.

church

remember

how

dead

you

were.

You

were

this

dead

also.

Look

at

verse

two.

These

are

the

trespasses

and

sins

in

which

you

and

I

once

walked

according

to

the

course

of

this

world.

So

you're

dead

but

you're

walking

like

this.

That

word

walked

can

be

translated

you

lived

this

way.

You

conducted

yourselves

this

way.

You

followed

this

path.

You

practiced

these

things.

We

were

dead

to

God

and

we

were

actively

dead

to

God

by

walking

in

these

ways

that

are

offensive

to

the

holy

God.

Psalm

one

says

the

ungodly

one

walks

in the

counsel

of the

wicked

and

this

is

the

way

that

shall

perish.

Jesus

came

and

echoed

that

same

message

in

Matthew

7.

He

said

wide

is

that

gate

at

the

end

of

this

path

you're

on

and

broad

is

the

way

that

leads

to

destruction

and

there

are

many

who

go

in

by

it.

This

is

the

way

of

the

world

outside

of

Christ

our

nature

believes

that

the

pattern

of

this

world

is

good.

We

choose

the

gate

that's

broad

but

then

we

get

there

and

it

opens

up

to

eternal

judgment.

We

choose

the

way

that's

easy

but

the

end

of

this

road

is

hell

itself.

This

is

how

we

were

walking

outside

of

Christ

you

and

I

are

drifting

along

following

the

course

or the

pattern

of

this

world.

Maybe

you've

been to

a place

that has

a lazy

river

like

at a

wreck

center

where you

just drop

something in

and it gets

carried along

following this

winding path

and if you

picture

dropping

a dead

fish

into a

lazy

river

and

where

is

that

taking

it

slowly

you

just

watch

it

do

it

can't

do

anything

to

stop

that

that's

where

it's

drifting

and

picture

that

turning

into

an

actual

river

and

that

actual

river

comes

to

the

edge

of

a

cliff

like

this

you

can't

see

over

but

there

goes

that

dead

fish

right

over

the

edge

of

the

cliff

and

it's

a

hundred

mile

deep

chasm

it's

in

a

bottomless

abyss

you

can't

even

see

that's

how

you

and

I

were

walking

outside

of

Christ

following

the

course

of

this

world

and

the

end

of

that

path

that

we're

on

is

hell

itself

for

all

eternity

you

and

I

were

walking

with

the

world

to

hell

remember

how

dead

you

were

church

number

three

you

and

I

were

ruled

by

Satan

who

works

in

you

that's

how

dead

we

were

you

and

I

were

ruled

by

Satan

who

is

working

in

you

look

at

the

rest

of

verse

two

says

you

walked

following

the

course

of

this

world

according

to

the

prince

of

the

power

of

the

air

the

spirit

who

now

works

the

spirit

of

Satan

the

demons

that

word

there

who

now

works

who

now

operates

who

now

is

active

energizing

in

the

sons

of

disobedience

how

do

you

become

a

son

of

disobedience

you're

enslaved

you're

you belong

to

that

disobedience

is

your

whole

identity

this

is

who

you

are

and

who

is

it

that

is

your

master

who

is

it

that's

actively

energizing

and

operating

inside

of

you

it's

described

as

the

prince

of

the

power

of

the

air

a

spirit

working

in

you

as

you

disobey

that

word

prince

is

a

local

ruler

or

a

high

official

a

magistrate

you

can

picture

Ephesus

in

these

Greco

Roman

city

states

they

have

some

ruler

that's

appointed

that

that

dictates

how

it's

going

to

go

in

their

realm

why

is

he

called

the

prince

of

the

power

of

the

air

I

think

that

this

is

a

figure

of

speech

!

So it's

not

just

in

the

atmosphere

it's

on

planet

earth

this

realm

that

will

soon

be

recreated

when

Christ

returns

in

this

figurative

speech

it

was

addressing

the

wrong

teachings

at

Ephesus

this

idea

that

these

principalities

of

darkness

are

really

calling

the

shots

of

what

happens

among

humans

Paul

is

saying

Christ

is

put

way

above

those

I've

seen

his

glory

but

if

you

are

not

in

Christ

above

all

these

powers

you

are

in

bondage

to

Satan

on

this

fallen

realm

Satan

is

pictured

here

like

an

invisible

tyrant

who

exists

in

the

spiritual

realm

and

he's

using

that

works

that

operation

to

have

real

influence

real

dominion

over

this

fallen

world

in

this

present

evil

age

how

is it

that

Satan

came

to

this

position

of

power

because

God

had

put

Adam

as

the

one

a

little

bit

below

the

angels

to

rule

everything

that

was

creaturely

but

when

Adam

trespasses

and sins

against

God

he loses

that

place

and he

forfeits

that place

to

Satan

we all

died

in

Adam

Adam's

brought

under

the curse

and the

rule

and the

dominion

of Satan

by his

sin

and if

you're

born

in

Adam

outside

of

Christ

you

still

are

under

this

evil

tyrant

you're

in

his

his

influence

in

this

realm

outside

of

Christ

Satan

works

in

you

to

his

accord

you're

walking

according

to

the

prince

of

the

power

of

the

air

Satan

is

accusing

speaking

lies

about

God

and

he's

making

those

who

are

in

bondage

to

him

align

to

his

lies

outside

of

Christ

our

nature

is

to

swallow

whole

bait

with

the

hook

and

everything

all

of

the

devil's

lies

that

he's

spewing

at

us

you

picture

that

here

he

dangles

this

little

morsel

you

don't

know

what's

inside

that

but

it's

a

barbed

hook

and

outside

of

Christ

we

can't

help

it

we

go

and

we

swallow

that

up

and

we

get

hooked

in

the

deep

part

of

our

gut

outside

of

Christ

and

he

has

us

on

his

hooks

Satan

does

that's

how

dead

we

are

to

God

the

one

thing

that

will

characterize

you

while

you're

hooked

to

Satan

that

way

is

disobedience

to

God

you're

ruled

by

Satan

who

worked

in

you

that's

number

four

it

gets

worse

outside

of

Christ

church

you

were

slaves

to

your

own

lusts

remember

that

remember

how

it

is

to

be

a

slave

to

the

lust

of

your

flesh

look

at

verse

three

you're

in

the

middle

of

the

sons

of

disobedience

on

earth

among

whom

we

all

once

conducted

ourselves

in

the

lust

of

our

flesh

fulfilling

the

desires

of

the

flesh

and

of

the

mind

up

to

this

point

Paul

has

spoken

to

the

church

in

Ephesus

as

you

you

were

this

dead

you

were

being

worked

in

by

Satan

and

now

he

says

we

all

once

conducted

ourselves

this

way

what's

different

between

Paul

saying

we

and

including

himself

and

the

church

in

Ephesus

is

they

know

Paul

is

a

Jew

he's

a

man

who's

preaching

from

the

Old

Testament

showing

how

Christ

fulfilled

it

and

here

they

are

Gentiles

worshiping

these

pagan

demons

in

the

Greek

world

and

Paul

is

doing

here

in

just

a

few

verses

what

he

does

in

Romans

Romans 1 · chapter mention

chapters

1

2

and

3

he's

saying

before

the

holy

God

there

is

no

!

you

are

either

darkness

or

you

have

the

light

of

God

shining

on

you

through

Jesus

you

are

either

a

slave

to

sin

and

Satan

in

your

own

lust

or

you

are

a

slave

to

Christ

righteousness

who's

working

powerfully

in

you

as

Paul

is

reminding

them

he

can't

help

but

pulling

himself

into

this

and

leaving

no

one

without

any

excuse

outside

of

Christ

you

were

a

slave

to

your

lust

that

word

can

be

translated

your

own

desires

your

inclinations

your

impulses

the

shallow

pleasures

of

your

body

that

was

our

nature

outside

of

Christ

whatever

twisted

craving

that

our

minds

could

think

of

we

put

our

bodies

in

the

business

of

doing

it

until

that

craving

that

desire

that

impulse

is

fulfilled

that's

what

he

says

fulfilling

the

desires

of

the

flesh

and

of

the

mind

outside

of

Christ

our

nature

proves

over

and

over

that

we

live

as

though

we

are

our

own

little

gods

we

think

we

are

free

but

we're

slaves

to

our

own

sin

that's

how

dead

we

are

outside

of

Christ

and

everyone

in the

church

is to

be

reminded

this

is

how

dead

you

were

well

that

was

four

reminders

and

if

you

think

it's

not

possible

it

does

get

even

worse

here's