Because in these verses our Lord is speaking to those who in their own minds believed they were saved, yet they were self deceived, I have felt the urgency to speak on the subject of SALVATION, the true salvation according to God's Word. The three points I will make concerning salvation are:
1. The Need for Salvation
2. The Purpose of Salvation
3. The Results of Salvation
Because of my love for you as family and friends, and my obligation and responsibility as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I present to you Ephesians 2: 1-10 as the text today.
The Apostle Paul chronicles the process of salvation here in this text. His focus in these verses is solely God's work in saving us, because there is no human work to be considered as a part of the saving process.
a. It is from sin.
b. It is by love.
c. It is unto life.
d. It is for God's glory.
e. It is through faith.
f. It is unto good works.
1. THE NEED FOR SALVATION:
a. Salvation is from sin: vss. 1-3
(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 lust of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
There is perhaps no more clear statement in scripture on the totally lost condition of sinful mankind. Because we were born to sin we were born to death as stated in Romans 6:23, "for the wages of sin is death."
People don't become spiritually dead because they sin, they are sinners "by nature" and therefore born without spiritual life. Because we were dead to God, we were dead to truth, righteousness, peace, happiness, and every other good thing. The truth is everyone deserves hell. God in His grace elects to save the lost.
The thing that keeps sinners from being reconciled to God is not a deficiency of mercy or grace on God's part. It is sin, and sin is a human problem. Rebellion and rejection are in the nature of every sinner. Ephesians 2:3 says that the unsaved are "by nature children of wrath." People are not "all God's children" as is so commonly stated. Those who have not received salvation through Jesus Christ are God's enemies according to Romans 5:10, "for while we were enemies we were reconciled to God..."
Paul's purpose in verses 1-3 is not to show how unsaved people live, but to remind believers how they previously lived. The realm of sin and death is a past tense experience for the true believer.
b. Salvation is by Love: vs. 4
(4) But God being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
God's mercy is "rich", measureless, overflowing, abundant, and unlimited. God is intrinsically kind, merciful, and loving. Love is so integral to who He is that the apostle John wrote "God is love" in John 4: 8.
In His love He reaches out to sinful, corrupt, spiritually dead human beings and blesses them with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.
Not only does God love enough to forgive, but also enough to give His Son to die for the very ones who had offended Him. "For God so loved the world that He gave His Son" John 3:16, and He also says "Greater love has on one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" John 15:13. God's love for those who do not deserve it makes salvation possible.
2. THE PURPOSE OF SALVATION:
c. Salvation is unto Life: vs. 5
(5) even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
The saving transaction begins the moment God gives spiritual life to a dead person. It is God who makes the first move. Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him" John 6:44.
Of course! The unsaved are dead, incapable of any spiritual activity. Until God quickens us, we have no capacity to respond to Him in faith.
When sinners are saved they become sensitive to God for the first time. Paul calls it in Romans 6:4, "Newness of Life." Now they understand spiritual truth and desire spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:10-16).
This new life is "In Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6), He is our life (Col. 3:4), our life is actually His life lived in us (Gal. 2:20).
d. Salvation is for God's glory: vss. 6-7
(6) and raised up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus.(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.
Salvation has a particular purpose: "that we might enjoy and display His glory, showing forth the riches of His grace" (Romans 9:23).
But no one dwells there who still walks according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, and under the control of the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience. We are no longer "children of wrath" but now "children of God" (John 1:12; John 3:1) and citizens of heaven (Eph. 2:19).
So our loving Father glorifies Himself even as He blesses us. His grace is the centerpiece of His glory. We never stop benefiting from His grace and goodness to us. At no point does grace stop and human effort take over.
3. THE RESULT OF SALVATION:
e. Salvation is through faith: vss. 8-9
(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.
Faith is our response, not the cause of salvation. Even faith is "not of ourselves" it is included in "the gifts of God."
Faith is God's gracious gift. Jesus explicitly affirms this truth. "No one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him form the Father" (John 6:65). Faith is also spoken of as a divine gift in Acts 3:16.
"Not by works" is not contrasting faith verses repentance, nor faith versus commitment, or faith versus surrender. The contrast is between divine grace and human merit. Human effort cannot bring salvation!
We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone!!!
Believing is therefore the first act of an awakened spiritual course; it is the new man drawing his first breath. Obviously, if salvation is entirely by God's grace, it cannot be as a result of works. Human effort has nothing to do with gaining or sustaining it. But we cannot stop here, for there is one more crucial point in Paul's line of reasoning. It is the principle thesis to which he has been building.
f. Salvation is unto good works: vs. 10
(10) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
It cannot be overemphasized that works play no role in gaining salvation. But good works have everything to do with living out salvation. Matthew 7:16 says "so then, you will know them by there fruits." What are these fruits? Colossians 1:10, tells us "so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work..."
No good works can earn salvation, but many good works result from genuine salvation. Good works are not necessary to become a disciple, but good works are the necessary marks of all true disciples. God has after all, ordained that we should walk in them.
Note, that before we can do any good work for the Lord, He does His good work in us. By God's grace we become "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works." The same grace that made us alive with Christ and raised us up with Him, enables us to do the good works unto which He has saved us.
Note also, that it is God who "prepared" these good works for you to fulfill, we get no credit for them. Even our good works are works of His grace. They are the corroborating evidence of true salvation.
Q. If you were on trial today for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
Good deeds and righteous attitudes are intrinsic to who we are as Christians. They proceed from the very nature of one who lives in the realm of the heavens.
Paul told the Corinthian believers that God's abundant grace provided an overflowing sufficiency that equipped them "for every good deed" (2 Cor. 9:8).
He told Titus that Christ "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from lawless deeds and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:14).
Where is your zealousness today? Remember that Paul's primary message here is not to the unbeliever. He is writing to believer, many of whom had come to Christ years earlier. His point was not to tell them how to be saved, but to remind them of how they were saved, so that they could see how grace is meant to operate in the lives of the redeemed. The phrase "we are His workmanship" I believe is the key to this whole passage.
God designed us to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:9). All of us are still imperfect, unfinished works of art, being carefully crafted by the master. He is not finished with us yet, and His work will not cease until He has made us into the perfect likeness of His Son (1John 3:2).
Sometimes the process is slow and difficult; sometimes it is immediate and triumphant. Either way, "I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:6).
Nothing about salvation is cheap. It cost God His Son. Its value is inestimable, its effects are eternal. But it is free "freely bestowed on us in the beloved" (Eph. 1:6), and "It abounds to many" (Romans 5:15), elevating us into that heavenly realm where God has ordained that we should walk.
In Closing;
I am not sitting here as one who judges, but as a messenger. The Word of God speaks for itself, God says to all of us who would call ourselves believers or followers of Christ to;
"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you - unless indeed you fail the test?" 2 Corinthians 13:5
Friends, let us not fail the test, let us not fall into the position of the deceived, but rather let us live a life worthy of the Lord, with a desire to please Jesus Christ our Savior.
God Bless and Press On
Larry
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