God Made Us Alive in Christ Ephesians 2:1-7 Paul focuses on God’s specific work of salvation in the individual. God Made Us Alive in Christ

God made us alive Just as God raised Christ from death to life physically in the resurrection (Ephesians 1:19-20), God raises believers from death to life spiritually. Paul teaches us about God’s work in three stages in Ephesians 2:1-10 that all center around the main point 1) Spiritually dead apart from Christ (2:1-3) 2) Made alive spiritually with Christ (2:4-7) 3) God’s workmanship (project) in Christ (2:8-10) Paul, of necessity, must discuss the spiritual deadness of all people prior to their being made alive by God, because there is no need for resurrection if there is no death. This same principle is true of the gospel: there is no good news of salvation without the bad news of judgment for sin.

We were Spiritually dead! Who were we before we became Christians? How are we described by Paul? “dead in the trespasses and sins 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” “lived in the passions or our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind” “by nature children of wrath” Have the kids do the handout in groups of two, discussing these different phrases and the implications of each. Also, note the significance of past tense verbs and the word ”once.”

But god! Given our spiritual deadness, our disobedience, and our future condemnation, we were in need of outside help! These are two of the most beautiful words in the Bible. Despite all of our sinfulness, spiritual deadness, and the fact that we deserved wrath, GOD stepped in and did something for us that we could never do on our own!

Why did god act for us? “being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses…” Did God save us when/because we started living right? NO!! “When we were dead in our trespasses” God saved us because of his mercy and love And what amazing love it is! Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS Christ died for us.” “by grace you have been saved” (undeserved!) Think of the prodigal son here. Dead people act like dead people and must be brought to life before they can start living. In order to earn our salvation, we would have to live before being made alive. It doesn’t work logically!

What did god do? “made us alive together with Christ . . . and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Made us alive with Christ “Christianity is not about becoming a nicer person, nor is it about starting a new religious routine. It is about becoming a new person.” –Tony Merida 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” John 3:3 “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Raised us up with him We were raised with Christ in his resurrection. Spiritually we are raised to new life now because of our resurrection with Christ Physically we will be raised one day as well: Romans 6:5 “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Seated us with him Like Christ was seated in heavenlies at the right of God above all other spiritual forces and powers of darkness, ”we are seated with Him and have the power to overcome. We do not have to succumb to the dark world and Satan’s schemes.” –Tony Merida We have access to the power of God necessary to overcome the spiritual forces of darkness in this world because we are seated (spiritually speaking) in the heavenlies with Christ.

What is the goal? “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” For all of eternity, we will experience the incredible kindness of God. We will experience the tangible love of God forever! We will stand as trophies of God’s grace. In effect, we will be eternal examples of the power of God to make awful sinners into glorious saints.

What can I take away? Because of our helplessness to save ourselves, we should never think of ourselves as being better than others because we are Christians and they are not. We are not Christians because we are smarter or better than others; we are Christians only because of God’s kindness. Because of God’s kindness in saving us, we should be always have a mindset governed by gratitude and praise. Think of a great doctor If you were sick and in need of an emergency surgery to save your life, and a doctor performed that surgery and saved your life, how do you think you would respond? Would you walk out of the hospital without saying thank you? Would you go on about your life and forget all about the doctor who is responsible for you even being alive? No! We would thank that doctor and show our appreciation in every way possible. We would never forget his/her name, and I am sure we would tell many people about him.

What Can I take away? Because we are assured that we will enjoy the riches of God’s kindness for all eternity, we should look forward to the return of Jesus and spending eternity in heaven with him. Eternal life with Jesus will be greater than anything we can imagine. Don’t allow your limited ideas of heaven quench your desire to be with Christ Sometimes we think of heaven as an eternal church service in which we do nothing but sing. Certainly we will spend much time worshipping God, for he is worthy of our worship. But the Bible also talks about us reigning with Christ forever. It talks about the tree of life and other images that help us understand it is a restored creation, which means that we will function as humans perfectly as God created us to function. We will find perfect satisfaction and joy in his presence forever. And we willl enjoy the riches of his kindness toward us for all of eternity!