Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Eph. 2:1-10       January 7, 2024

Message: “Dead or Alive!” by Pastor George Gnade

Intro.: 1. Today we are continuing our series on the Book of Ephesians that we began in November. 

a. In Eph. 1, we were reminded of all the things we should be thankful for. In Eph. 2, Paul talks about our lost condition and our need for Christ to save us.

b. At the scene of a bad accident, it would be very common to check for the pulse of someone who was badly injured. It is one of the easiest ways to check if the person is dead or hopefully alive. In this world, the diagnosis may require a few minutes to determine, but you can’t be both dead and alive at the same time.

2. In the spiritual world, it is more complicated. In the Garden of Eden, God warned our first parents, that if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die.

a. But the devil planted doubt in their minds, and they ate of the tree anyway. Guess what! Physically they were still alive!  Adam still had a pulse rate. In fact Adam lived over 900 years before he died. 

b. Does that mean the devil was right in doubting God and God was wrong?

3. Not at all! For something inside of Adam did die that day in the garden. We were created with a body, a soul, and a spirit. And the spiritual part of Adam died that day, even though his heart was still beating. Our passage explains this in more detail. 

A. Consider what it means to be dead spiritually.

1. In Eph. 2: 1-2 says: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of the world…”  

a. The ways of the world includes all the things that God disapproves of.  It is the difference between what we call worldly and godly. Our country is turning away from God and becoming more and more worldly.

b. Not only that, but just as Adam and Eve obeyed Satan instead of God, so those who are dead in their sins are also guilty of this. They are guilty of following “the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit that is now at work in those who are disobedient” (vs. 2).

2. In fact, in vs. 3, it goes on to say: “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature, and following its desires and thoughts.”

a. In Eph. 1: 1-14, we learned that “all of us” includes all Christians, even the apostles. Like Adam and Eve, we all sin; and all of us have this sinful nature that wants to follow the ways of the world and this evil spirit, that we cannot see, but is at work in everybody that is disobedient to God.

b. He is called “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” because we can’t see him. But that does not mean he is not present. He uses the worldly desires of our sinful natures and the cravings that take over our minds to enslave us.

3. As a result, like the rest of mankind, we were all by nature “objects of God’s wrath” (vs. 3). God does not show partiality. Spiritually we were all dead, and spiritually that means we were all under the judgment of God. 

a. So even though our hearts may keep on beating, meaning we are still physically alive, at the same time we were all born with this sinful nature under the sentence of the judgment of God. He considered us to be spiritually dead.

b. But praise God, “because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ” (vs. 4-5).

B. What does that mean? 

1. Through Adam and Eve, we inherited our sinful natures. The Bible says: “As in Adam, we all died…”  That may not sound fair but it is true. No one except Jesus has ever been born who does not sin. In contrast, because Jesus was born of a virgin, the Holy Spirit created Jesus sinless body in her womb. Like Adam before he sinned, Jesus was born sinless. But unlike Adam, Jesus never chose to sin.

2. Being sinless, He was not and still is not under the judgment of God. That also means He was qualified to pay the penalty for our sins for us, which He did when He died upon the cross. So while it is true that “in Adam we all died,” now it is equally true that through the one Man Jesus Christ, we can all “be made alive!” 

a. If in Adam, we received a sinful nature, in Christ we are given a new nature. In II Peter 1: 4, it says “Through His (precious promises), you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by sinful desires.”

b. In Gal. 2:20, it says: “I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who love me and gave Himself for me.”

c. “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that is not of your own doing, it is a gift from God, not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph. 2: 9-10).

C.  Think of the Ark when the world was flooded.

1. Enoch warned the people it was coming, and so did Noah. It took a very long time to build the ark and everybody could see it. They just refused to believe the judgment of God was coming. They were having too much fun sinning and disobeying God.

2. But the flood came. Only Noah and his three sons and their wives entered the ark. Only eight people were saved because they believed God’s Word.  The rest died in the flood. But those in the ark were perfectly safe and lived to tell their story.

a. Jesus said: “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of man.” That means toward the end of history, just before Jesus returns, many people will hear the Gospel; but the closer we get to the end, less and less will believe or receive it. When the last one who is going to be saved is saved, the end will come.

b. But everyone who is in Christ because they have asked Jesus into their hearts, will be safe in Him.  I like to call it the great escape! 

In Conclusion: 1. Consider the awesome mercy of God. Consider the price Jesus paid for us, the suffering He endured and the death He died in our place. 

2. We will never be able to comprehend this wonderful gift of God’s love for those who will believe in Him and trust Him. All our sufferings in this world can never compare to what He suffered for us. And all our sufferings down here can’t be compared to the glory He is going to share with us. 

3. We can blame Adam for our problems but we have all sinned over and over again. We all deserve God’s judgment against sin. But we will never earn or deserve the gift of God’s love poured out for us in Jesus Christ. It is truly by grace through faith alone, a free gift from Jesus Himself.

4. Yes, Jesus has done His part. Now we are asked to do our part.  

a. Confess your sins and ask Jesus to forgive you.

b. Ask Jesus to come into your heart and help you.

c. With His help, begin to follow and obey Him.

d. With His help, stop deliberately disobeying Him. 

e. Jesus will make a difference in your life.  Amen!