Scripture Reading: Eph. 2:1-10
Before I expound this portion of the Scripture, I would like you to pay attention to Ephesians 1. Chapter one can be separated into two large sections. The first section speaks of what one receives by the riches of God's grace — the apostle told the believers the measure they had received, that God in Christ had blessed them with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies (vv. 1-14). The second section is the apostle Paul's prayer. Though they had obtained, he prayed for them lest they not know what they had obtained. In this way they might come to know the might of His strength that raised the Lord Jesus from the dead (vv. 15-23).
Chapter two is an explanation of the mighty power of resurrection in the previous chapter. It fully explains the question concerning salvation. Verses 1-10 first speak of our condition before we believed in the Lord. Second, these verses tell what Christ has accomplished; third, they explain how we can obtain what Christ has accomplished; and fourth, they speak of what we should do after we have obtained what Christ has accomplished. We will now look at this portion verse by verse.
Verse 1 says, "And you, though dead in your offenses and sins." The last chapter calls to our attention the surpassing greatness of His power and the might of His strength. Chapter two starts off by letting us know what kind of persons we were before we were saved. If we want to see what salvation is, and if we want to grow spiritually, it is most important for every one of us to know what kind of persons we were originally. The Bible not only says that we were sinners who committed sin and did evil; it also says that we were dead! We always think that we are just sinners and that all we need is improvement. However, we do not realize that we are dead persons who cannot be improved.
What is a dead person lacking? Life. We were dead in our offenses and sins. It was not just that we were so evil, committing sins; we were also short of life. Death includes two things: first, it has no life; and second, it cannot produce life. Thus, because of what we were, we could never be like God. Only with life is there the possibility of growth, power, and organic unity. Because we did not have the life of God, we were dead to the holiness, power, and glory of God; we could not be holy, powerful, and glorious as He is. Only a living one can live; no dead one can live. Originally, we were dead. Unless we received life, it would be impossible for us to have a holy living.
God said we were dead. Let me ask, is our death like wood or rock? No, dead wood or rock stays the same all the time. The death of our being, however, decays and corrupts. We become more and more rotten. God does not want us to improve, because we are dead. We should not try to improve a corpse. We do not have the strength to do good. We cannot overcome the world. We cannot resist temptations, because we are dead.
What kind of death is this? This is not physical death; it is not ordinary death. It is a death that dies in offenses and sins. Offense in the original language means a slight overstep. For example, in running a race, alongside the track there are straight lines to set the boundaries. Overstepping these lines a little will constitute a violation of game rules, and one will be disqualified from the race. This slight overstepping is called an offense. Sins are filthy and dirty things. Offenses are not as serious as sins. All through our lives we live between these two — offenses or sins. Not committing sins, not loving the world, and not being moved by temptation were beyond our power to control because we were dead in offenses and sins.
The Lord Jesus also said that man is dead. "Truly, truly, I say to you, He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say to you, An hour is coming, and it is now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live" (John 5:24-25). The Lord said that when a sinner is saved, not only will he have eternal life and escape condemnation, but he will also pass from death into life. The Lord also told us that a sinner is not merely a sinner; he is a dead person. This is why He said that the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God.
Because one is dead, he has absolutely no hope for God's holiness, righteousness, power, and glory. There is no possibility for him to attain these things. Since we know that man is dead, the first thing to overcome is death. We are not afraid of sin, but we are afraid of death. Medical doctors all know that there are poisons in many kinds of food. But a man with an active life is not afraid of the poisons. His concern is not how to get rid of the poison, but how to have a strong life that fights off the poison. Sin will not die, but a vigorous life can overcome sin.
When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, He never committed a sin. Was it because He had an especially good family? Or was it because He had an especially good environment? Was the society at the time especially good? Or was it because the world did not tempt Him or Satan did not test Him? We know that none of these was the case. It was not because the Lord did not meet any difficulties. Rather, the Lord had the life of God, and sin and evil could not touch Him. This is why we are not afraid of sin but are afraid of death. Sin will not die, but we can overcome it with life.
Ephesians 2:2 says, "In which you once walked according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, of the spirit which is now operating in the sons of disobedience." Verse 1 speaks of death, and verse 2 of our walk. Verse 1 speaks of the original condition of man — death, verse 2 of what is worked out by man.
In which denotes the offenses and sins in verse 1. Originally, man took offenses and sins as a way to walk. We have to be clear. We were dead in offenses and sins and had no power and life; therefore, we walked in offenses and sins. The world advises us to cultivate and improve ourselves. So we thought that if we prayed more and read the Bible more, we would overcome sin. But because we were dead, we had no way but to walk in offenses and sins.
The Bible says we have three enemies: (1) the world, (2) Satan, (3) and the flesh. In this verse, two enemies are mentioned — the world and Satan. The next verse mentions the flesh.
According to the age of this world can be translated "according to the fashion of this world." This shows us that man is driven around by the world. Is it not true that we like to follow fashion? Sins differ from age to age. Every generation has its own sins; likewise, every period has its own sins. When we were dead in our offenses and sins, we were fond of fashions.
"The ruler of the authority of the air" is the devil. The earth is for man, and the air is for the devil. The Lord once compared the devil to the birds in the air. "The ruler" is "the spirit which is now operating in the sons of disobedience." "The sons of disobedience" are the people of the world. The Bible mentions the sons of light and the sons of the kingdom of God. The sons are especially qualified by these adjectives. They are "the sons of light" because they do things in the light and "the sons of the kingdom of God" because they are going to inherit the kingdom. Thus, to say "the sons of disobedience" means that the wills of these people are against God.
It is very easy to commit a sin. One does not have to fast for three days and three nights in order to sin. He does not have to try hard or exercise his will. Because there is an evil spirit moving in the heart of man, it becomes very easy to commit a sin.
This verse helps us to realize what we were originally: "according to the age of this world," we loved the world; and "according to the ruler of the authority of the air," we obeyed the devil.
Ephesians 2:3 says, "Among whom we also all conducted ourselves once in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest." Verse 1 says, "you," and verse 2 also says, "you." But when we come to verse 3, it says "we." Paul included himself. He did not want to mislead the Ephesians into thinking that only the Gentiles and the Ephesians were portrayed in verses 2 and 3 and that Paul, being an apostle, Jew, and Pharisee, was thus different. Paul wanted others to see that even an apostle and a Jew was by nature the same as the Gentiles, dead in his offenses and sins.
What were we doing among the sons of disobedience? Not only did we love the world and obey the devil, but we also "conducted ourselves once in the lusts of our flesh." Conducted ourselves in the original language implies activity. Originally, man's moving to and fro from morning until evening was just the activity of the flesh.
Doing in the original means "satisfying." Doing the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts means satisfying the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts. The desires of the flesh are on the outward things, and the desires of the thoughts are in the mind. When we were doing the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts, we were trying to satisfy ourselves both outwardly and inwardly.
Brothers and sisters! We have to see clearly that our destination was determined: We "were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest." According to our nature, we were the same as the rest. Hence, our destination was also the same as the rest — children of wrath, waiting for the judgment and wrath of God! If this is all we have, how miserable we are! But thanks be to God that there are two words after this that turn the tide: "but God."
Ephesians 2:4 says, "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us." Oh! I was dead in my offenses and sins and could not overcome the temptation of the world, the enticing of Satan, and the corruption of the flesh. But God has a way, brothers and sisters. Please remember, it does not say, "But I." This would mean me setting my will, rejecting sin, and trusting in the Lord in this or that way. Rather, it says, "But God." Praise the Lord! We have, "But God!" God is rich in mercy! Because of His great love with which He loved us, He came to save us.
Verse 5 says, "Even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." This is the great love with which He loved us. Christ died and rose again after three days. It was the life of God in Christ that quickened Christ. The stripes on Christ's back, the thorns on His head, and the nail wounds on His hands and feet were all healed; only scars were left. What doctor is there who can heal such a severe wound and heal it so quickly? No one. Christ was made alive this way because He has the life of God. When we were dead in our offenses and sins, God gave us life, in the same manner that the life of God was given to Christ to make Him alive from the dead. So to be saved is to have the life of God enter into a dead person and make him alive.
Brothers and sisters, do you think it is difficult to be free from sins and evil? Do you think it is difficult to deny the world? Do you think it is difficult to withstand Satan? There are examples of people being taken over by the devil. When the Lord told the disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders, chief priests, and scribes and be killed, Peter said, "God be merciful to You, Lord! This shall by no means happen to You!" (Matt. 16:22). The Lord turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!" (v. 23). Peter, after being taken over by Satan, began to demonstrate a fear of suffering. Judas betrayed the Lord because Satan got into his heart (Luke 22:3). Ananias and Sapphira kept back part of the money because Satan had filled their heart — they loved the good name of consecration, yet they were unwilling to have a complete consecration themselves (Acts 5:3). We consider many things to be very, very difficult for only one reason: we are dead in our offenses and sins.
Even when we were like this, God made us alive together with Christ! In the same way that God put life into Christ and made Christ alive, He is also putting life into us and making us alive. When the temptation comes, there is no need for us to struggle. We have to realize that death is reigning and that only life can overcome it. For instance, if we are going to lose our temper, we should not tell ourselves how we should strive to control it; rather, we should tell the Lord, "Lord, may Your life fill me." Brothers and sisters, to overcome sin requires the law of the Spirit of life, not our own righteousness. We put righteousness against sin and life against death. But God overcomes death with life; He also overcomes sin with life. "For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death." There is a difference between sin and death; however, to overcome both sin and death, we only need life.
Ephesians 2:6 says, "And raised us up together with Him and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus." Brothers and sisters, Christ has redeemed us not only that we may receive a new life, but also that we may be raised up. What is the difference between being made alive in verse 5 and being raised up in verse 6? Do we know the difference? Being made alive and being raised up have no difference in what we gain practically; however, being made alive and being raised up are very different in their meaning. Verse 5 says God made us alive together with Christ. We were dead in our offenses and sins, and God gave us life which made us alive. Verse 6 says He raised us up with Christ. God made us to die with Christ so that we would be dead to sin. Therefore, God raised us up with Christ so that we would live to Him. The Bible speaks of our two relationships to sin: we were dead in sins (Eph. 2:1), and we have died to sin (Rom. 6:2). Dead in sins means that even though we are alive, we are dead to everything but sin, only loving what is sinful and evil. It is like a person who enjoys smoking opium; he smokes opium all day long. His every thought is filled with opium. We say that this kind of person is dead in opium. Dead to sin means that we have broken off the relationship with sin. Sin can no longer tempt us because we are dead. If the man who used to enjoy opium does not enjoy it anymore, he is like a dead person to opium; the opium can tempt him no longer. Those who are dead in sins need to be made alive together with Christ; those who are dead to sin need to be raised up together with Christ.
Thanks and praise be to God! We have obtained all of these things. We have been made alive together with Christ, and we have been raised up together with Christ. God has made us alive together and raised us up together with Christ. Not only so, He has also seated us together with Christ in the heavenlies.
Ephesians 2:1-3 tells us we were in three kinds of conditions when we were dead in offenses and sins: (1) according to the age of this world, (2) according to the ruler of the authority of the air, and (3) in the lusts of our flesh. God has redeemed us and has overcome Satan in Christ Jesus. He has given us resurrection life to conquer the flesh, and He has seated us in the heavenlies to overcome the world. God's salvation enables us to overcome these three enemies: the flesh, Satan, and the world. If we are seated in the heavenlies, then we are in complete victory.
We have been made alive together, raised up together, and seated together with Christ in the heavenlies. I would like for you to pay attention to the most important point: you have been made alive together with Christ, you have been raised up together with Christ, and you have been seated together with Christ in the heavenlies. Someone might say to you that you should be raised up together with Christ. But let me tell you: you have already been raised up together with Christ. Someone might encourage you to seek after an ascended life, but let me tell you: you are already seated in the heavenlies. When Christ was made alive, we were made alive together with Him. When Christ was raised up, we were also raised up together with Him. When Christ was seated in the heavenlies, we were seated with Him in the heavenlies. We thank God that together we have obtained all these things!
If you are tempted this afternoon to lose your temper, you may think that victory over temptation is not by struggling but by life, and in so thinking you may pray to God, "O God, please make me alive, raise me up, and seat me in the heavenlies." Are you right in doing so? If you do this, I tell you, you do not yet understand God's salvation at all.
What is salvation? Salvation is God's accomplishment for us. God has already made me alive together with Christ, raised me up together, and seated me together with Him in the heavenlies. I do not have to ask God to make me alive, to raise me up, or to seat me in the heavenlies. He has already done this. This is faith. Faith is to believe that what God has done is true. Unbelief is to think that you ought to do something. Psychological illusion is to imagine things that are not as though they were; but faith is to see the unseen things. Just because we cannot see them does not mean that they do not exist.
Therefore, in Christ we have been made alive, have been raised up, and have been seated in the heavenlies. When temptation comes, we should speak boldly, "You cannot touch me, for I have been raised up." When the world comes, we should speak boldly, "I have ascended to the heavenlies." This is salvation. This is not struggle. Lest the Ephesians would misunderstand, after the words, "Even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ," Paul immediately followed with an explanation: "By grace you have been saved." In verse 8 he purposely mentioned again, "By grace you have been saved." What is the meaning of this? For what reason did he say this? There was a good reason. Paul was afraid that we would think that to live is very difficult. We might not know how we can live and how we can get this life. He said that this matter is God's doing. It is by grace — not that I want to be made alive, but God has made me alive; not that I want to be raised up, but God has raised me up; not that I want to sit in the heavenlies, but God has seated me in the heavenlies. What God has prepared for us is all by grace. The first half is God's doing; the second half only needs our believing. Believing is not by feeling; if it is by feeling, it is bound to fail. Today we have to remember this well: salvation involves at least these three parts: (1) to be made alive together with Christ, (2) to be raised up together with Christ, and (3) to be seated together with Christ in the heavenlies.
Verse 7 says, "That He might display in the ages to come the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." This verse unfolds the goal of His salvation. What is the kindness of God toward us? It was mentioned before: that when we were dead in sins, God made us alive together with Christ, raised us up together, and seated us together in the heavenlies. "The ages to come" are the countless generations in the future; this is for a demonstration to the angels. When has there been a person who has died and come back alive? But the kindness God has toward us through Christ has made dead persons alive.
Verse 8 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Being saved is the experience of Ephesians 2:5-6. By what means does salvation come? By grace. Romans 11:6 says, "But if by grace, it is no longer out of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace." What does this tell us about grace? There is no need for you to do anything. Otherwise, grace is no longer grace.
Grace can save us from the temptations of the world, the enticing of Satan, and the lusts of the flesh. This is all God's work. The foundation of God's work is the grace of God, but it is through faith. The channel of this grace is faith. For example, electrical wire is for the transmission of electricity. Grace is like electricity, and faith is like the electrical wire. "By grace" indicates that it is God's work. "Through faith" indicates that faith is the channel through which grace flows.
What are we to have faith in? Thank and praise God! He has made us alive together with Christ, He has raised us up together with Christ, and He has seated us together with Christ in the heavenlies. This is not a psychological illusion. It is not just something we say with our mouth. It is a speaking by faith of what God has accomplished in Christ. Do not for a single moment let Satan say to you that you have not been made alive. You should say, "I have been made alive." Do not let the world say to you that you have not ascended to the heavenlies. You should say, "I am seated in the heavenlies." Brothers and sisters, in the same way that you were saved, even so today, you who are so weak and incapable, God's Word assures you that you have been crucified, raised up, and seated in the heavenlies. If you believe in what God has done, everything will be accomplished.
However, there is one problem, that is, the question of faith. For instance, I would ask you whether you believe that you have been made alive, raised up, and ascended? You may say that you believe. But by the afternoon, when a temptation comes, if you only say with your mouth, "I have been made alive, I have been raised up, I have ascended," it will not work at all. You will become helpless. It seems as if all the faith is gone. What should you do? Thanks be to God! Although you cannot believe, His grace can work to such an extent that you can believe — "this not of yourselves"; it is "the gift of God." Not only is salvation not of ourselves, even this faith is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. There is a basis in the Bible for saying that God gives us faith. Second Corinthians 4:13 says, "And having the same spirit of faith." According to the original language, this phrase may be translated, "We, having received the same spirit of faith." Philippians 1:29 says, "Because to you it has been graciously granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe into Him." This shows us that we can believe because grace grants us to believe.
Does this mean that God is believing for us? No. How can we then believe? It is God who loves us and works in us until we can believe. God is changing our nature, and God is giving us a clear revelation so that we can believe. At least we should have a faith that asks God to make us believe.
Ephesians 2:9 says, "Not of works that no one should boast." We cannot even do a little bit of good. It is all by grace. We can boast of nothing. Brothers and sisters, our worst trouble is that we all want to try. We all hope that we can do well. We must believe in what Christ has accomplished, that we are separated from the world and that we have a separated life. Salvation is not of works. If one depends on works even a little, he will surely fail because the position he stands on is wrong. Please remember that you were dead, and that there is no ability in you to accomplish the righteousness and holiness of God. You must have faith in what God has accomplished. You should also know that even this "faith" is given to you by God.
Verse 10 says, "For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we would walk in them." In our natural state we make a big mistake, a hateful mistake. Formerly we thought that salvation was of works; now we think that since salvation is by grace and we are saved, we do not have to care for anything anymore. It is as if we do not even have to pray. All we have to do is just go to sleep and let Christ win the victory for us. As a result, we simply become lazy persons. The previous mistake is to consider justification and sanctification as something of works; the latter mistake is to think that once we are saved we do not have to do anything. But Paul says that God has saved us for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
The word masterpiece, according to the original language, is used twice in the New Testament. It means the best in a lifetime. For example, among the paintings of a painter, the best one in his life is his masterpiece. The phrase "we are His masterpiece" indicates that we are His best; there cannot be any better. God has made us alive together, raised us up together, and seated us together with Christ.
Where did God create this masterpiece? In Christ Jesus. This shows us that when the Lord was made alive, God put us in Him. When the Lord resurrected and ascended, God also put us in Him. The creation here is the same as the new creation in 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Man says, "If I do good, I will obtain salvation." But God says, "Since you have obtained salvation, you should do good." Doing good works comes after having been raised up and ascended to the heavenlies; you do good works because you are already God's masterpiece. You must do good works, pray, read the Scriptures, and witness to others. However, if you think you will make your life better by doing these, you are wrong. Rather, by confessing that you already have a good life, you go about doing good. One should first believe that he is sanctified, then he goes about doing good. Some people fall into the danger of saying, "Christ has done everything. Hence, I do not have to do anything." This is wrong. Rather, we should say, "Since Christ has done it, therefore I should do it." Paul said, "For which also I labor, struggling according to His operation which operates in me in power" (Col. 1:29). Paul was striving because of the operation which operated in him in power. The more there is the inward operation, the more there will be the outward striving. God's thought is higher than our thought. We should not lean toward any one side. We should not depend on works for salvation, and neither should we do nothing just because we are saved by grace.
Ephesians 2:10 says, "Which God prepared beforehand in order that we would walk in them." "Walk" here is in contrast to "in which you once walked" in verse 2. Because we were dead, we walked according to the dead; because we are alive, we walk according to the living. First, we die, then we commit sins; first, we are made alive, then we walk. You should say boldly, "I am able now because I have been made alive." Have you believed in Jesus as your Savior? If you have, you have already passed from death into life. Now you can walk.
Brothers and sisters, we have to believe that we have obtained salvation and that we can go about doing good works. May God bless us and His word, so that we may walk in what God prepared beforehand. We should pray more diligently, read the Scriptures more diligently, and offer up ourselves more diligently. May God bless us that we may be willing and walking for the accomplishment of His good will.
