Made Alive Together With Christ
Thinking about Ephesians 2:1-10.
We Were Dead in Sin.
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, 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. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
Being dead in trespasses (includes willful and unintentional) and sins (Romans 3:23; 6:23) meant we walked (a habitual lifestyle) according to the course of this world. We followed the path the world laid before us, and we did whatever the world said was right and acceptable. We were molded to the shape of this world (Romans 12:2).
The course of this world which we followed was the path according to “the prince of the power of the air…” This is a likely reference to the devil himself – “the prince of this world” (John 12:31). He is the “spirit” who is at work in “the sons of disobedience” – and we used to be numbered among them when we were dead in our sins.
As an interesting side note, Scripture teaches:
Those who are dead in sin = the spirit of the devil is at work in them.
Those who are alive in Christ = the Spirit of the Lord is at work in them (2 Corinthians 3:18).
When we followed the same path as the sons of disobedience, we conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh. We were fulfilling the desires of both flesh and mind. We followed our desires wherever they led us (James 1:14-15).
The result was that we “were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” The word Paul uses for “nature” means “growth” and refers to the natural production – like planting an apple seed that naturally produces an apple tree which produces its fruit.
The “natural production” of the life of sin, the life following the path of this world, the life fulfilling the lusts of the flesh – is wrath. The wrath here is not our wrath – but God’s wrath upon sin (Romans 1:18, 32).
We were all once dead in sin because of the path we had chosen to follow, and the result of that was we rightfully deserved and had earned God’s justice and wrath.
But God Made Us Alive Together with Christ.
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), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10)
Who is He?
He is rich (abounding) in mercy (compassion with a desire to help). Writing to the Christians in Rome, Paul asked, “What if God didn’t just want you to know His wrath – but also the riches of His glory and mercy?” (Romans 9:22-24)
What did He do?
First, He made us alive together with Christ – saving us by His grace. The new life we are given together with Christ Jesus (Romans 6:3-7) is according to God’s grace – we do not deserve it or earn it in any way.
Second, Paul wrote He raised us up together with Christ. Just as God raised Christ up from the dead, so we have been resurrected from being dead in sin to alive in Christ (Romans 8:11; Colossians 2:12-13).
Finally, He made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ. It is here in Christ that we are blessed with “every spiritual blessing” in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). It is here that God’s exceedingly great power is demonstrated in us, just as it was demonstrated in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:19-21).
Why did He do this?
First, because of His great love for us. God gave His own Son because of His love for us (John 3:16). The sacrifice of His Son in our place for our sins is God’s ultimate demonstration of His love for us (Romans 5:8).
But also, so that in the ages to come He could show the exceeding riches of His grace and kindness toward us in Christ. So long as time continues, God’s exceedingly rich grace and kindness offered in Christ continue to be shown in Christians. Even when time ends and we enter eternity – Christians will continue to be shown the immense riches of God’s kindness and grace in Christ.
How should we think of our salvation “by grace through faith?”
It’s not of ourselves – it’s God’s gift to us. The salvation that God offers through His Son is a gift to us, not anything that we have devised.
It’s not of works – so no one can boast in themselves. If it were possible to boast in ourselves concerning the works we had done connected to salvation – then it would be possible to earn or merit our salvation. While there is a response of obedient faith on our part to God’s gracious gift, there is no earning or meriting our salvation.
How should we live now that we are saved in Christ?
We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. It was always God’s plan for His people to walk in good works.
Those who have been made alive in Christ Jesus by grace through faith have been given a new life with a purpose – we have been created for good works (Galatians 6:8-10).
We are called to live this life because we have been saved in Christ - we who were once dead in sins have been made alive and given a new life in the Son of God!
Amen