MUCH NEEDED GRACE

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Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked,

following the course[a] of this world,

following the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,

carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind,

and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.[b]

4 But[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, 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,

7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace

in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith.

And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:1-2 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked,

following the course[a] of this world,

following the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

Amazing grace

How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me.

I was a wretch.

Spiritually dead.

The prophet Ezekiel sees a vision.

Ezekiel 37:1-10 CSB

37 The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by his Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me all around them. There were a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very dry.

3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I replied, “LORD God, only you know.”

4 He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the LORD God says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. 6 I will put tendons on you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”

7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, [an earthquake] and the bones came together, bone to bone.

8 As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath,[spirit] prophesy, son of man. Say to it: This is what the LORD God says: Breath, come from the four winds and breathe into these slain so that they may live!” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me; the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army.

This is our spiritual condition

We. Are. Dead.

Ephesians 2:1-2 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked,

following the course[a] of this world,

following the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

We were dead in sin

Living in sin

Sin is rooted in unbelief & idolatry

Disbelief of God & His Word

Rebellion against His Word & His ways

Is there anyone innocent?

Is there anyone without sin?

Ephesians 2:1-2 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked,

following the course[a] of this world,

following the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

When we live in sin…

We are following the prince of the power of the air

This is the devil

The Satan

In Hebrew, his name means: ‘Adversary’ or ‘Accuser’

Book of Job…

Revelation 12 → “the accuser of the brethren”

His mission now…is to take us…Christians…off of our mission

Which is → The mission of Jesus

He came to steal, kill & destroy

He wants to:

Steal our peace…

Kill our joy…and

Destroy our effectiveness in God’s kingdom

He hates God!

Therefore, he hates the people of God.

Ephesians 2:1-2 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked,

following the course[a] of this world,

following the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

Who are the sons of disobedience?

Jesus told the Jews who refused to listen to His words:

John 8:44 ESV

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Lies.

Murder.

Is this not what we are witnessing in our days?

Is this not the fruit of a culture that has been growing in opposition to God?

Is this not the result of the spirit of the devil at work in this world?

When people disobey & disbelieve & oppose God…

They reveal themselves to be sons of disobedience.

The spirit of the devil has been at work.

John writes:

1 John 3:8 ESV

8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians…

2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV

4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Paul writes in Ephesians…

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Peter warns…

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

James instructs us…

James 4:7 ESV

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

I want to be Biblical.

Ephesians 2:1-2 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked,

following the course[a] of this world,

following the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

Ephesians 2:3 ESV

3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,

carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind,

and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.[b]

This must be our confession

This is the first step toward true repentance & faith in Jesus.

RC Sproul said →

“The gospel’s only good news when we understand the bad news.”

We were dead in our sin…

Ephesians 2:4 ESV

4 But[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—

by grace you have been saved—

But God.

NOT → But we…

NO!

But God.

God, being rich in mercy…made us alive!

God acted.

It is by the grace of God we have been saved

Why?

Because of the great love with which He loves us

God loves us

We must understand how God thinks & feels about us

When we are insecure about how God feels about us, it will prevent us from being close to Him (intimacy)

Insecurity inhibits intimacy

Where there is insecurity…there can be no intimacy.

But, when there is intimacy…insecurity fades away.

Insecurity vs. Intimacy

STORY → marriage

When insecurity is removed, intimacy can be restored.

You don’t need to be insecure about the way that God feels about you.

God loves us

We have been saved by the undeserved, unearned grace of God

“by grace you have been saved—”

Ephesians 2:6 ESV

6 and raised us up with him

and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

We have been made alive in Christ

We have ascended & been seated with Him in the heavenly places

We are citizens of heaven (Phil 3:20)

Our lives are “hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3)

Already. Not yet.

Christians reign because sin is no longer our master (Rom 6:14)

And because we will be raised from the dead when Jesus returns

1 Corinthians 15: 51-55 ESV

51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

55 “O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

He has made us alive in Christ

He has raised us up with Him

He has seated us with Him in the heavenly places

Ephesians 2:7 ESV

7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace

in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is about the universal, public display of God’s grace

God’s story is about God’s glory

When we’ve been there ten-thousand years

Bright shining as the sun

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise

Than when we’d first begun

Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith.

And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Why must it be grace?

We cannot save ourselves.

God will not share His glory with anyone else

Isaiah 42:8 ESV

8 I am the LORD; that is my name;

my glory I give to no other,

nor my praise to carved idols.

This is who God is & what God’s story has always been about

He has always desired to elevate certain attributes

Titus 3:4-5 ESV

4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

God loves to show off His mercy

Exodus 34:6-7 ESV

6 The LORD passed in front of him and proclaimed:

The LORD—the LORD is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, 7 maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.

Compassionate

Gracious

Slow to anger

Abounding in faithful love & truth

Forgiving

God’s story is about God’s glory

We are saved by grace alone…through faith alone

Nothing in my hand I bring,

simply to the cross I cling;

naked, come to thee for dress;

helpless, look to thee for grace;

Not the labors of my hands

can fulfill thy law's demands;

could my zeal no respite know,

could my tears forever flow,

all for sin could not atone;

thou must save, and thou alone.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

What are these good works?

Good works are not just the big things.

Good works begin with taking care of our responsibilities

Examples…

Once God knows that we can be trusted with our responsibilities, He will give us more to be responsible for.

1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Romans 16:19-20 ESV

19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.