August 12 - Ephesians 2:1

August 12
Ephesians 2:1-5

The Apostle Paul is in the midst of teaching believers of the blessings that we have in Christ, through Christ, and because of Christ. We now enter into chapter 2 coming to the 9th blessings that believers have on how the power of Jesus' resurrection is utilized in our lives. 

1. And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins...even when we were dead in tresspasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).

What does it mean that we were dead in our tresspasses and sins? And then, what is the differences between trespasses and sins?

They are actually two different kinds of sins.

• Trespasses are sins committed out of rebelliousness toward God, challenging His boundaries.  In other words, trespasses are when we deliberately sin against God as an act of disobedience to Him and His Word.
• Sins, on the other hand, are when we miss the mark of God's perfect standard, often being unaware that we have missed that mark.  While one is deliberate and one may be unintentional, either way, before coming to Christ, our trespasses and sins take us down a road of destruction and eternal death.  We are blind to our sins, living in a world of iniquity, a slave to sin - lost on a road to destruction without God.

2. 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, ³ 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.

Before we came to Christ, we were living under the control of Satan in this world's system as we surrendered to our natural man, the world, and unbeknownst - the devil.  Satan, who is called the god of this world is also called the prince of the power of the air - meaning his area of authority extends to this earth and its atmosphere, known as the heavenlies.  Ephesians 6:12 tells us that the earth's atmosphere is the home of Satan's demonic hosts consisting of principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual forces of wickedness.  Here in these heavenlies, these evil forces rule over this world's system as well as do battle with God's angels who fight on our behalf. 

• Here is where we, as God's people, pray using our authority against Satan and his hosts, as God uses His angels to work on our behalf to fight the evil forces of Satan. 
• For unbelievers - sons of disobedience - they respond to Satan's guidance in their lives, living in the lusts of their own flesh and in rebellion against the things of God.   They are, just as we once were by our sinful nature, children of wrath.

But God...

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 

Paul now explains God's reasoning behind reconciling man back to Himself.  It takes us back to how much God loves His beautiful creation of man.  Mankind, however, keeps going back to his sinful nature. But God, in His rich mercy, loves us so much to where He keeps trying to reconcile man back to Himself.  His love is relentless! What a merciful God we serve.

5. even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive to gether with Christ (by grace you have been saved).

But now we are alive together with Christ, meaning we have life and we can have it in abundance. As God's child, we will never face the 2nd death that all unbelievers must face to where they will be cast into the Eternal Lake of Fire forever with the God whom they served - Satan. Our life is promised that we will have eternal life in Christ Jesus to spend eternity with Him forever. That is life in its most abundance blessing. That is God's grace upon us who believe and trust in Jesus. For that we are grateful! All because of Christ.