Ephesians 2-1-3 Dead in sins!

Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV) — 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 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— 3 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.

Prayer for illumination:

Introduction:

On the television show “the biggest loser” whoever losses the most weight receives a cash prize of $250,000.

Recently, the show had the heaviest contestant ever. Michael Ventrella weighted 526 pounds.

Over the course of the show, Michael lost a record 264 pounds, which means he lost half of his body weight. This is a stupendous feat. Since he was the biggest loser, he won the cash prize.

Michael had a big problem. His weight was causing all kinds of health problems. His weight made him a walking time bomb. The trainers on the show rescued him from his massive problem. As a result, he was incredibly thankful.

Generally speaking, the bigger our problems, the more thankful we are for the solution.

All of us had massive problems before conversion to Christ. Unfortunately, most of us did not realize (and still don’t realize) the magnitude of our problems. As a result, we are not that amazed by God’s grace.

This brings us to Ephesians 2:1-3.

Paul uses these verses to describe the incredibly massive problems we faced before conversion to Christ.

What were our problems? Paul tells us very clearly. Before conversion…

We were dead. We were enslaved. We were condemned.

We will not be amazed by grace, until we embrace these sobering realities. Let’s look at each of these topics in detail.

First, we were dead!

Ephesians 2:1 (ESV) — 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

Who is Paul talking to? He is talking to everyone. He says, “and you were dead in the trespasses and sins….” This verse is specifically addressing the gentiles, but Paul broadens his audience in verse 3.

Ephesians 2:3 (ESV) — 3 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.

All of us were dead in sins… All of us once lived in the passions of our flesh…. All of us were children of wrath, like the rest of mankind….

We need to be very clear; Paul is describing everyone who has ever lived, in every culture, outside of Jesus Christ. This means that he is describing you and me before conversion.

Paul does not say, “you were in big trouble, or you were really sick, or you were hanging on to life by a thin thread, and you just needed a helping hand.” He says, “you were dead in trespasses and sins.”

This seems odd, when we consider that all of our non-Christian friends seem very much alive. Paul is clearly talking about spiritual death, not physical death.

He makes the same claim elsewhere.

Ephesians 2:5 (ESV) — 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses,….

Colossians 2:13 (ESV) — 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh,…

See also Rom. 3:10; 6:23; John 3:3,5; 2 Cor. 4:3-4

Because of sin (both our sins and the guilt and corruption we received from our first parents) all human beings are spiritually dead apart from Christ.

Ephesians 2:1 (ESV) — 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

Since non-Christians are spiritually dead, they cannot see the glory of Jesus Christ and they cannot hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Illustration:

Many years ago, my wife and I took a road trip through Pennsylvania, making stops in Gettysburg, Philadelphia, and Princeton. It was particularly excited about visiting Princeton university and seminary. Why? I had just spent a bunch of time in seminary studying church history and I had learned that many of my theological heroes were buried at the Princeton seminary (Charles Hodge, A.A. Hodge, and Jonathan Edwards). When we showed up to the graveyard, I asked one of the employees, “Can you direct me to the grave of Jonathan Edwards?” I think he said, “Who???” I was a little flabbergasted. Many consider Jonathan Edwards to be the greatest theologian that America has ever produced. Eventually we found the grave of Edwards. He died in 1758 from a smallpox inoculation. He had been dead for quite some time. I walked up to the tombstone and knelt down. Then I said, “Mr. Edwards, thanks so much for remaining tethered to God’s word. I have benefited tremendously from your sermons and your books. I have a question about one of your quotes in your book Religious Affections.”

Ok, I did not start talking to Edwards!!! Why??? He was dead. A dead person can’t respond when you talk to them.

Kent Hughes writes, “You can play reveille in the Arlington National Cemetery for a whole year, but you will get no response from the dead soldiers there.”

In a similar sense, before conversion, we were spiritually dead. Which means that we could not respond to Jesus Christ. We could not choose God. We could not choose anything. As a result, God had to choose us and then perform the miracle of regeneration. This is exactly what we read in Ephesians 1.

Application:

We are not that amazed by grace, because we don’t really understand how dead we were before conversion.

Many of us think that we were kind of dead, like in the princess bride. Do you remember when Wesley, the hero was mostly dead, but not all the way dead? We think that is what we used to be like spiritually.

We were not sick, or kind of dead, or partially dead, or in need of a little moral reformation. Our souls were as dead as Lazarus, in the tomb or all the skeletons in the valley of dry bones (Ezk. 37). When Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave it was a miracle. When Jesus regenerates our souls and give us spiritual life, it is just as much a miracle.

And when it happens, God gets all the glory!!!

If your heart is not stirred by grace, remember who you were. You were dead in sins.

Here is the scary thing…

You can be spiritually dead and be a very moral person. You can be spiritually dead and go to church every week. You can be spiritually dead and know all the right answers.

Because we were spiritually dead to the things of God, we were also enslaved by sin. This brings us to the second point.

First, we were dead!

Second, we were enslaved!

According to Paul, we used to be enslaved to three things; the world, the flesh, and the devil. Let’s look at each one.

We were enslaved to the world!

Ephesians 2:1–2 (ESV) — 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world,

Before conversion we walked in sin following the course of this world. Behind the English word “follow” in verse 2, is the Greek word “Kata.” In other parts of the NT it can be translated as “under the control of.”

Paul’s point is simple… before conversion we were controlled by the world’s way of thinking.

This raises an important question. What is the world’s way of thinking? The word world is used 186 times in the NT and it almost always has evil connotations.

The world describes everything in our culture that is opposed to God. The world’s way of thinking is expressed by the various non-Christian religions, ideologies, philosophies, values, and economic systems in our culture. It is also expressed by Hollywood, fashion, university elites, and many news outlets.

The world’s way of thinking leads to greed, selfishness, oppression, war, intolerance, sexual immorality, broken families, poverty, and racism.

All non-Christians are controlled by this way of thinking, which explains why there is so much group think in our culture.

Before conversion we were enslaved to the world. In addition…

We were enslaved to the devil!

Ephesians 2:1–2 (ESV) — 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 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—

Before conversion we followed the prince of the power of the air.

The phrase “the prince of the power of the air,” is a reference to Satan. According to the end of verse 2, before conversion, we did more than follow him, we were actually controlled by him.

Paul writes, “the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” The phrase “at work” is from the Greek word energeo. This is the same word Paul used to describe God raising Christ from the dead in Eph. 1:20. This implies that Satan supernaturally controls or energizes the lives of non-Christians.

Ultimately, who is behind all the evil and violence in the world? Satan. He is the one, who is currently stirring up all the racism and violence in America.

Don’t be deceived, the devil is very real and very active.

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.

We were enslaved to the world. We were enslaved to the devil.

We were enslaved to the flesh.

Ephesians 2:3 (ESV) — 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,…

Before conversion we all lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. What exactly is the flesh? It is not the skin and muscles that cover our bones. The flesh was an internal force that controlled us before conversion, driving us to sin. This is the fruit of inheriting guilt and corruption from Adam.

This internal principle, that controls all non-Christians, manifests itself in…

Pride Selfish ambition Greed Lust Covetousness/envy Revenge Jealousy Gluttony Sloth

Many of these sins are hard to see on the surface, but they lead to bondage, followed by more bondage, followed by pain and misery.

Paul wants all Christians to remember, that before conversion we were enslaved by the world, the flesh, and the devil.

There was nothing we could to do break free from this slavery!!!

Illustration:

In the spring of 2002, the San Francisco police could not catch the burglar known as spider man. They called him spider man because he robbed business by climbing down through the ceiling, like spider man, leaving no trace behind.

It took two months to finally catch him, but in those two months he had robbed 67 businesses. It was a record for the San Francisco DA’s office.

The burglar was raised in an LDS home. He had been a missionary, attended church on a regular basis, went to college, and held down a job.

But over time he became more and more addicted to gambling. He was going to the casinos almost every day, losing thousands of dollars. A week before he left for college, he gambled away his entire college savings fund.

In desperation he stole $200 from his employer to gamble. He had every intention of paying his boss back from his winnings but lost all the money the following night.

As this point, he was really desperate. He thought, I’m good at climbing, so he grabbed his climbing gear and did his first job, stealing $5500. He went back to the casino and lost it all, but now he knew how to get more.

This cycle went on for weeks. Pretty soon he had robbed 67 businesses and lost all of the money. He kept saying, this is the last time, but he could not stop gambling, which meant that he could not stop stealing. He was totally enslaved to gambling.

He finally got caught and thrown in jail. After serving time in prison he went right back to gambling and stealing. He got so desperate that he was stealing purses from little old ladies.

This is what it looks like to be enslaved.

All of us were enslaved before conversion. It may not have looked exactly like Peter Park…. But we were still enslaved.

Enslaved to pride, greed, lust, anxiety, or materialism.

Application:

If you are not a Christian, you are still enslaved! But here is the good news!!! Jesus Christ wants to set you free. Only Jesus Christ can set you free! You must turn to him, trust him, and do whatever he asks you to do. But I thought I was dead? You are, but if you turn to Christ, he has made you alive.

Maybe you are a Christian and you still feel enslaved! Jesus wants to set you free again. You need to walk in the light, repent of your sins, and maybe get some counseling from our skilled counselling team.

All those who refuse to look to Jesus for freedom will be condemned. This brings us to the last point…

We were dead We were enslaved

Third, we were condemned!

Ephesians 2:3 (ESV) — 3 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.

The second half of verse 3 is very sobering and very unpopular. The apostle Paul says that we were by nature children of wrath. This brings up the subject of God’s wrath.

The wrath of God is mentioned over 550 times in the Bible.

God’s wrath is his justice in action. Because God is just, he must punish sins. Furthermore, because we break God’s laws, he is angry. God is not a distant judge who has no relationship with us, he created us, he sustains us, and he blesses us, which is why God gets angry when we break his laws. His laws are for our good not our harm.

Objection-

People often say, “My God is a God of love.” By this they mean that their version of God is only a God of love. This is not the God of the Bible. Yes, God is a God of love. In fact, he is far more loving than we can imagine. Yet, God is also a God of justice. His wrath is his justice in action.

His wrath is sometimes the result of his love. What do I mean?

The victims of rape, violence, and murder are going to feel loved by God when he pours out wrath on their enemies on the day of judgment.

Furthermore, God’s intense love for creation stirs up his anger when he sees his creation being torn asunder by violence, war, racism, and oppression.

We all think it is just and right for God to pour out wrath on Hitler and Osama Ben Laden. But we don’t think that we deserve wrath. Yes, their sins were much more horrible than our sins, but we are all guilty of sin. The standard is not Bin Laden, Mao, Billy Graham, Mother Therese, or Hitler. The standard is Jesus Christ and since we all far short of this standard we deserve wrath.

Back to verse 3…

Ephesians 2:3 (ESV) — 3 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.

Paul says that we (all of us) were children of wrath by nature. The phrase “by nature” is a reference to our sin nature. We inherited a sin nature from Adam. This means that we are not only guilty because we sin, we are also guilty because we have a sin nature.

Who were we before conversion? We were children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Conclusion:

In summary, Paul’s description of unredeemed humanity is not pretty.

We were dead! We were enslaved! We were condemned!

Unfortunately, recent illustrations of unredeemed humanity abound.

We have all seen the terrible video of the white police officer digging his knee into the back and neck of George Floyd, an African American, causing his death. In the meantime, his fellow police officers calmly watched from a few feet away and did nothing.

We have seen videos of rioters throwing rocks, bricks, and boards through the windows of business in major metropolitan areas.

We have seen videos of looters walking out of Foot Locker, Target, and the Apple store with bags of stolen goods.

We have seen videos of rioters and looters kicking, punching, and shoving innocent shop owners trying to protect their stuff.

Right now, there is a six square block area of Seattle where anarchy reigns. They have kicked the police out and violent crimes have gone up threefold.

This is not new. The history of mankind is the history of war, bloodshed, starvation, and oppression. We happen to live in a small window of world history where we have experienced unprecedented freedom and prosperity. This is not normal…

Some people still think that mankind is basically good or slightly sick. According to this view, racism, rioting, poverty, war, and discrimination can be eliminated with the right government program, more education, and more training. I wish it were that simple.

The problem is much deeper. Outside of Christ humans are spiritually dead, enslaved to the world, the flesh, and the devil and objects of God’s wrath.

Humanity has a radical problem, that requires a radical solution.

Is there any hope for the human race?

Yes!!!

Ephesians 2:4–5 (ESV) — 4 But 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….

But God… But God…

These are arguably the two most important words in the whole book of Ephesians.

When God saw us in our despicable condition, his love and mercy motivated him to act decisively and supernaturally.

According to verse 5, God the father made us alive together with Jesus Christ. We will unpack these verses in detail next week. Here is what you need to know now.

If you are a Christian it is because God, the God of extravagant love mercy, saw you in your lost condition and decided to make you alive.

He performed a resurrection miracle.

He took out your heat of stone and gave you a heart of flesh and enabled you to believe the gospel. When this happened, He forgave all of your sins and redeemed you from the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Salvation is a profound resurrection miracle…

How should we respond? With extravagant gratitude and a determination to live for God’s glory.

We had a massive problem… we were dead, enslaved, and children of wrath. This massive problem required a supernatural solution.

Do you want to be amazed by Grace? Do you want to experience supernatural joy that is not based on circumstances?

These things will only happen when you embrace these realities. Let’s pray…