Ephesians 2:1-13 1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do…..
12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
If you are a Christian, you have been made alive with Christ.
Great love and rich mercy (verse 4) became the catalyst for you to go from spiritually dead to spiritually alive. As someone has said, Jesus didn’t die to make bad people good. He died to make dead people alive.
You were born alive physically but spiritually, you were born dead in your transgressions and sins. We were created in the image of God, but we were born with the nature of Adam and Eve. We need the nature of God in order to express the image of God and in order to fulfill the plan of God for our lives. The sinful nature was passed on to every person who has ever lived, because of Adam and Eve’s sin.
If you haven’t had a spiritual birth yet, you can be born again today. Because Jesus took our sin upon Himself on the cross, paying the penalty we should have had to pay, and because He rose from the dead to overcome the power of sin, His victory becomes our victory. What kept us from God was sin. Because Jesus overcame the power of sin on the cross, that which kept us separated from God is defeated in Jesus, and His resurrection from the dead enables us to have new life, to be made alive in Him.
If you are a Christian, God has seated you in the heavenly places with Christ. “Literally, you are here. Legally, you are in Heaven.” Spiritually speaking, what is Christ’s now is now yours. You have been united with Him. Think about how when two people get married, that when they are united, when they come together, what is theirs individually becomes each others legally, whether money or real estate. It belongs to the other person because of the union. You and I as the Bride of Christ are the recipients of all Christ has at His disposal. Because He is seated in the Heavenly Realms and is ruling above sin, above Satan, above the things of this world, because we are in Him, we are in the same position in a spiritual sense. We have spiritual authority. We have spiritual victory.
If you are a Christian, you are God’s workmanship, created to do good works.
Listen, people who have spiritual life, people how have spiritual authority, need to live their spiritual lives to the fullest and for the glory of God. Allow me to remind you of verse 10 of our text: For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
You and I are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works. The life of Christ is supposed to be expressed to the world through us by the things we say and do. You are to live as spiritual beings in this earthly life in the same way Jesus did. He exerted His spiritual authority to do good works which enabled him to fulfill the will of God.
Finally, If you are a Christian, you have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ.
Whether you are a brand-new Christian or you have walked with Jesus for years, when you think about the blood of Christ, allow it to help you remember how far you have come. Look again at verses 12-13: Ephesians 2:12-13 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
You used to be separate from Christ. You’ve come a long way. You used to be excluded from citizenship in Israel (which means you weren’t one of God’s chosen people). You’ve come a long way. You used to be a foreigner to the covenant of the promises of God. You’ve come a long way. You used to be without hope for eternity. You’ve come a long way. You used to be without God in the world. You’ve come a long way. BUT NOW, everybody say, “But now,” in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near through His blood. Look how far you have come!
I don’t know if you see the theme in this passage yet or not, but let me point it out to you. You were made alive IN CHRIST, you were raised and were seated IN CHRIST, you were created IN CHRIST to do good works and now IN CHRIST you have been brought near through His blood. These are the amazing opportunities and experiences we can have when we are IN CHRIST. WE don’t get to experience them outside of Christ. Before we met Christ we were in bad shape. Our condition was terminal. There was no way things could be any different, but when the blood of Jesus was applied to our hearts and lives, when all things became new, when the eyes of our hearts were enlightened, when the breath of the Holy Spirit entered our souls, when we began to hear the voice of God and understand the truth of His Word, we who were far off, far out, and in the far country, were brought near to God.
The blood of Christ has made us family. The blood of Christ has given us a home. We aren’t foreigners to the covenants, to the promises of God. We aren’t on the outside looking in. We are never without hope. Let’s be who we are. Let’s take God at His Word. Let’s look at the circumstances of life from our raised position. Let’s do the Good Works God has created us to do.
