Ephesians 2:1-10
Ephesians 2:1-10
New King James Version (NKJV)
By Grace through Faith
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 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, 3 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.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
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My Thoughts:
I really like the topic today the only issue is that there are more things I would like to talk about than just three. So we will see if you see the others and talk about them.
1. Let’s start with (vv 1, 2 ) where Paul says “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”
a) We could spend the hole time just here but I will try to be brief. Paul is saying that “we as Humans suffer from a spiritual death,” not just a case of maladjustment, and this state is much worse than the physical death we experience. We see Jesus say the same thing in (John 6:53) “Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” when we have this death we have no hope. (1 John 3:14), (Rev 3:1).
b) But praise God for His love because we read “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins”. we where caught up in our sinful natures and He saved us through His Grace we are made anew. which leads us in to our next verses.
2. In (vv. 4, 5) we read; “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), .”
a) If you were with us for the other study, in day 38 we talked about this “Agape Love” this Love that God has for each and every one of us. and that is what I read here. even though we are “dead in trespasses and sin” He Loved us with this Agape Love to which there is no match.
b) but then we see not only does He love us that much He “made us alive together with Christ.” we who are the worst of sinners not only have His Love, we have His gift of grace. My bible commentary says; “the greatest challenge and privilege of the Christian life is to lay clam to this alternate identity, graciously offered to us through Christ.” Paul’s most complete statement for the “Plan of Salvation to me.” just think about it contains all the parts
1) People are naturally dead in sin (Rom. 3:23), (Rom. 6:23).
2) God bring them to life through Christ (Eph. 2:5), (John 3:3).
3) They are saved through God’s free gift of grace(Gal 3:10), (Rom. 3:20). (It can never be earned)
4) In Christ they have a place in Heaven (Rom 3:21-26), (Eph. 2:6).
3. So let’s move to the obvious verse (v. 7) “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
a.“For by grace you have been saved through faith” All I am going to say about this one is: it is “Grace” on God’s part and “faith” on mans part. it is faith that accepts the gifts from God (Romans 3:24), (Romans 4:3).
I would like to leave you with an Ellen White quote today, it is from {Christ object lessons, P402} it is not the length of time we labor but our willingness and fidelity in the work that makes it acceptable to God. In all our service a full surrender of self is demanded.
Personal Reflection and Discussion
1. What do see in verse 2 where Paul addresses “ the prince of the power of the air”?
2. What role do you think Grace and faith play in our salivation?
3. Are there any other things you see in the Text?
Prayer Activities
1. Call your Partner and discuss this devotional.
2. Pray with them and ask for the following;
a. For God to bring understanding to your life.
b. For God to strengthen your role within the church.
c. For the individuals on your pray list.
3. For today use the following Bible verse in your prayer (Luke 2:40)
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To me, verse 2 is talking about satan. He would be the prince of the power of air and certainly a son of disobedience would do the workof satan. Since we are all sinners, we would all be sons of disobedience but for the grace of God. Without the grace God freely gives us, and the faith we show as we accept this gift, we would not have a chance for freedom from sin. Unfortunately, we see too often people trying to work there way to heaven as well. I grant you we have to our part which is to accept Jesus into our heart and then let Him work through us. We alone could never do enough good works. I praise God for His richness in mercy, for through His mercy I can come to Him any time here on this earth and one day will be able sit at His feet in heaven. Happy Sabbath!!!
.Yes verse two is talking about Satan and I agree with the rest. I find it truly amazing that all we need is faith and He does the rest but too many people have trouble with the faith part and will never see His kingdom. I like the Ellen White quote, because it goes along with (Matthew 20:1-16) it’s not how long we work, it’s the work we do must come from our heart, and that’s what’s counts
As I was reading vrs 5-7 specially speaks to me words of joy. Not only are we waiting for the promise of the resurrection, but we are already quickened in the spirit. I enjoy seeing God, does and say, things usually in muti-tense; He is the God of the Future and the present, not to mention the past where he ordained such things to happen. God’s and his Word are deep.
Jesus made it clear…He came to offer us life and not just life, but a life more abuntantly; John 10-10. Life is not worth living (therefore dead in more than one sense) unless it’s truely living in Christ through His Spirit. We just don’t live in the hopes of a better life, but we taste it even now. Is. 41, “Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings of eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint” Is. 58, “Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the lord hath spoken it.”
After all this joy we experience (riding on the high places spiritually) while even here; there’s a….and wait that’s not all… Vrs. 10 He plans to show us his exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness to us through Jesus; we get admission to real heavenly places through His and Jesus’ works in our place. It reminds us we are created, and in a sense recreated, in Jesus unto good works, which God has ordained (predestined) that we should do. This brings our feet back on the ground to do work. Beautiful promises and mission. What a motivational speech to help get us focus to do the work with grateful hearts.
I like your thoughts, I think the NIV translation is the best one for this verse;
“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”
When I read 5 -7 I see the promise of our resurrection, not just the second coming but our spiritual one when we except Christ and His gift of life through Him.
I used (John 10:10) in my sermon this week and I agree with your thoughts here, many people see what they are given up when they except Christ as their savior but what we let go of is nothing compared to what we receive. Living without Christ in your life is living a life without hope and the promise of anything after this life. Living with Christ in your life is heaven on earth.
And for the rest of your comments I like, I thing we still have some gap on the word “predestined” but that is ok, very good post Amalia.
Very interesting points. Thanks!