Our Life Through God's Eyes

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-3

C.I.: Day of the Dead

Today we begin a new series of lessons from Ephesians 2. Each generation sees itself a certain way.
Today we will see ourselves through God's eyes as He sees our past & present. Title, “Day of the Dead.”

I. Our Past & Our Present, (Ephesians 2:1-5)

INTRO.:
A. Ephesus was the second most cosmopolitan city (after Rome) in the first century.
1. In Ephesus the church was made up of two groups; Jews, and Gentiles.
a. After thousands of years of segregation it was now difficult for them to become unified under
Christ, ( Jn. 17:21 ), “I pray that they may all be one, even as You Father are in Me and I in You,
that they may also be in Us.”
b. The Jewish Christians believed themselves superior as they had always been God's people.
1) ( Jn. 8:31-33 ). “Jesus was saying to the Jews who believed in Him, ‘If you abide in My
words, then you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.'' They answered and
said to Him, ‘We are Abraham's offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone, how
is it that you say, “You shall become free?''””
2) Actually, they had been enslaved numerous times; Egypt, Babylon, and now Rome!
3) Some, like thee Jews, who have been “raised up in the church,” may come to feel themselves
superior to new converts.
c. The Gentiles saw themselves as superior since they skipped Judaism and came right to Jesus.
1) ( Rom. 14:1-2 ), “Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing
judgment on his opinions. One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak
eats vegetables alone.”
2) The weak Jew kept “kosher” in spite of what Jesus said, ( Mk. 7:19 ), “Thus He declared all
foods clean.” Thus, the Gentile believe might “look down his nose” at his Jewish brother.

2. Then as now, some of the people in the church tended towards one of two extremes…
a. Jews: Their focus was totally on God's laws! Yet God says… ( Jms. 2:10 ), “For whoever keeps
the whole law and stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all”
b. Gentiles: Their focus was on God's grace!” Yet God says…, ( Rom. 6:1-2 ), “What shall we
say, shall we continue in sin that grace might abound? God forbid! How shall we who died to
sin still live in it?”
c. So, Paul begins this chapter by helping both groups see their past & present through God's eyes!

A. The Life of Gentile Christians Before Their Conversion, (vs. 1-2)

1. ( v. 1 ), “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked.”
a. “You” refers to the Gentile believer. ( v. 11 ), “Therefore remember, that formerly you , the
Gentiles in the flesh....”
1) “Dead” = Spiritual death (i.e., separated from God). ( Isa. 59:2 ), “Your iniquities have
made a separation between you and your God.”

b. “Trespasses” (sometimes translated transgressions ) has several meanings which all relate to the
same idea…
1) A blunder, ( Matt. 6:14 ), “For if you forgive men their trespasses , your heavenly Father will
also forgive you.” We have blundered against God many times.
2) A deviation from truth, ( Gal. 6:1 ), “Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass , you
who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.”

c. “Sin” = to miss the mark (as in shooting an arrow at a target). It is used two ways in our New
Testament…
1) The specific action that violates God's word, ( I Jn. 3:4 ), “Whoever practices sin practices
lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”
2) The mental principle that precedes the action, ( Rom. 8:5 ), “Those who are according to the
flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.”

2. ( v. 2a ), “…in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world….”
a. A “worldly lifestyle”: Is one that has its own goals, desires, values, and standards…!
1) ( Matt. 16:26 ), “For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world & forfeits his
soul?”
2) ( Jms. 4:4 ), “Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility towards God?
Whoever makes himself a friend of the world has made himself an enemy of God.”
3) Saying, “Everybody else is doing it!” Doesn't necessarily bring us where we want to go,
( Matt. 7:13-14 ), “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is broad that
leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small and the way
is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.”

3. ( v. 2b ), “…formerly walked … according to the prince of the power of the air…,”
a. There are several title given to Satan…
1) ( II Cor. 4:4 ), “…the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving….”
2) ( II Cor. 11:14 ), “…for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”
3) ( Rev. 12:9 ), “The great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil
and Satan.”

b. A “Satanic lifestyle” ( “walk” ) is one in which people follow after the will of the devil!
1) ( Jn. 8:44 ), “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.”
2) Walking after Satan is not only doing what he desires, but also, NOT doing what God desires
3) ( I Jn. 3:10 ), “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone
who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother

4. ( v. 2c ), “…formerly walked … according to the spirit now dwelling in the sons of disobedience.”
a. A person's “spirit” is their attitude, their mind-set.
1) ( Eph. 4:22-23 ), “…that in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self,
which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in
the spirit of your mind.”
2) Clearly this is something over which we do have control, ( Phil. 2:5 ), “Have this spirit in you
which was also in Christ Jesus.”
3) All of us at sometime in our lives gave ourselves over to the world, the flesh, and the devil!!!

B. The Life of Jewish Christians Before Their Conversion, (v. 3)

•  ( v. 3 ), “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
a. No superiority of attitude. No “I'm-better-than-you” speech. “We too all…” & “even as the
rest.”
1) Therefore, everything Paul said about the Gentiles before their conversion was also true of
himself and all of the Jews.
2) If Jews were going to honestly see themselves through God's eyes, they would see no
difference between themselves and the Gentiles.
3) ( Rom. 3:9 ), “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged
that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin!!!”

C. The Greatest Interruption… Ever! (vs. 4-5)

•  ( v. 4a ), “But God….” In spite of everything we have done; all the horrible evil things said or done, Paul writes the 2 best words in the Bible, “But God” !

•  ( v. 4b-5 ), “…being rich in mercy with the great love with which He has loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”
a. We just read in verses 1-3 about our nature. “But God's” nature is not like that of a man…
1) We were sinners but God is merciful !
2) We walked in lusts but God walks in love !
3) We chose death God chooses life !

b. God interrupted our journey to hell to show us a better way by a gift we clearly don't deserve.
1) ( Rom. 5:6, 8, 10 ), “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the
ungodly . . . But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us . . . For while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son .”
2) It was because of all the bad that we did that we were “dead.” Yet it was because of the
good that God did for us that we are now alive!!!

CONCLUSIONS:

1. Review (if we are going to be honest with ourselves we know we have nothing about which to brag)!

2. Guests: When does God “make us alive together with Christ” ? At our conversion, ( Rom. 6:3-4 )