From Death to Life
Ephesians 2:1-8 “And you were 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— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,”
I have been living in what is called the South for over thirty years. I have been pastoring here in the South for over twenty years. God, family, and country are woven into our very culture. I rarely meet people who don’t, at the very least, believe that God exists. That would make them Deists at best. Because of the culture, Christianity is often the default position. But sadly, simply identifying with cultural Christianity does not make one a born-again Christian. When I speak with people, most of them would say they are pretty good people, not perfect, but they try to do good things. When measured by the standard of what our society deems good or bad, most of them, by that measurement, are good folks.
The major flaw in this way of thinking lies in the fact that God does not measure us against our culture: He measures us against his standard of righteousness, which is total perfection, perfect holiness. We all fail when measured by God’s standard of righteousness. Sadly, hell is full of culturally titled good ole boys. We don’t want anyone to go to hell. We want for people, many of whom we know, to be saved from this fate. This is why we need to live and share the gospel with others so that they may come to know Christ and be saved. I’m sure that many of the people in Ephesus would have considered themselves good people prior to hearing the gospel. I’m sure many of them worked hard, provided for their families, were thought well of by those in their community, but Paul reminds them of the truth of their former way of life and position before God.
Ephesians 2:1-3 “ And you were 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— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
Before these people had come to know Christ and be saved by his gospel by faith, they were dead in the trespasses and sins in which they had once walked. When Paul speaks of their walk, he is referring to their conduct, their way of life. This is true not only of those in Ephesus but is true of all people for all time. This is the natural way of our fallen nature inherited from Adam. We should not be shocked by the world's depravity. This is normal for spiritually dead people, but this is not the way that children of God live. When Paul was writing to the church at Corinth, he wrote the following in 1 Corinthians chapter six.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
The conduct of these in Corinth was not in line with the conduct of those who have been born again. Some of them were still living like unbelievers, like the lost people of Corinth. In
fact, the phrase “act like a Corinthian” meant to indulge in gross sexual immorality. Sexual
misconduct should have no place in the lives of men who are born again in Christ. So, Paul asks this rhetorical question, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? This is a sobering truth. Paul continues, " Don’t be deceived. The Greek word for deceived is planaó, meaning to be led astray, to deviate from the truth. There
are both active and passive types of deception. Active deception involves one’s own willingness and participation in the deception. Let me give you an example.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but, having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."
We are living in a time when people have no stomach for sound doctrine. Many have no interest in the reproof, correction, and instruction that sound bible teaching brings. They have itching ears, meaning they only want to hear certain things. Things that entertain and make them feel good in their sin. They are like the old Toby Keith song, “I want to hear about me, I want to hear about I, I want to hear about number one oh me oh my”. These people accumulate and seek out teachers to suit their own passions. This is active deception. Western Christianity is full of people who are self-deceived. They will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
The second type of deception is passive deception. This happens when people have a “tell me what I need to know” mindset. They are lazy. They are not willing to search the scriptures for themselves to test every teacher’s work against the word of God. Scripture, not man, is the source of truth. Jesus told us deception would rule the day in these last days. Christian, do not be deceived, “neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Paul doesn’t stop here; he continues, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
This is how every follower of Christ once lived, because it was who we were by nature. “Dead in the sin and trespasses 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— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” I am so grateful that God did not leave us there. Paul continues, “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”.
First, Paul says they have been washed. The Greek word for washed is apoloo’o, referring to an entire washing, the complete removal of sin and its debt.
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Hebrews 9:22 “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”
Titus 3:5–7 “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he
poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace
we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
In bringing us from death to life, God in Christ has cleansed us from all sin, through the blood of Christ. We have been set free from the power and the penalty of sin, which is death, and have been given eternal life
Revelation 1:5–6 “…To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and
made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Secondly, the believers in Corinth had been sanctified. The Greek word for sanctified is Hageodzo, meaning to purify and make holy. To set apart as holy to God as sacred. We are to be distinct and different from those who are still dead in their sin, for they have not yet been brought from death to life. We have been cleansed from sin and set apart by God as his own possession.
1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Colossians 2:13–14 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”
Thirdly, Paul says that they have been justified. The Greek word for justified is dikahyo’o, meaning acquitted, cleared of all charges, and the penalty of death, which we earned and deserved. To declare righteous. It means just as if I never sinned. The penalty for sin still had to be atoned for, so Jesus offered himself, the righteous, for the unrighteous, to make the required payment so that we could be set free. He took our sins and died the death we merited. We received his righteousness. We did the crime, Jesus did the time.
Romans 5:1-2“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this
grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Ephesians 4:17–24 “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
I hope these scriptures encourage you today to live as one who, by God’s grace, has been brought from death to life through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In Christ,
Pastor John
I have been living in what is called the South for over thirty years. I have been pastoring here in the South for over twenty years. God, family, and country are woven into our very culture. I rarely meet people who don’t, at the very least, believe that God exists. That would make them Deists at best. Because of the culture, Christianity is often the default position. But sadly, simply identifying with cultural Christianity does not make one a born-again Christian. When I speak with people, most of them would say they are pretty good people, not perfect, but they try to do good things. When measured by the standard of what our society deems good or bad, most of them, by that measurement, are good folks.
The major flaw in this way of thinking lies in the fact that God does not measure us against our culture: He measures us against his standard of righteousness, which is total perfection, perfect holiness. We all fail when measured by God’s standard of righteousness. Sadly, hell is full of culturally titled good ole boys. We don’t want anyone to go to hell. We want for people, many of whom we know, to be saved from this fate. This is why we need to live and share the gospel with others so that they may come to know Christ and be saved. I’m sure that many of the people in Ephesus would have considered themselves good people prior to hearing the gospel. I’m sure many of them worked hard, provided for their families, were thought well of by those in their community, but Paul reminds them of the truth of their former way of life and position before God.
Ephesians 2:1-3 “ And you were 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— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
Before these people had come to know Christ and be saved by his gospel by faith, they were dead in the trespasses and sins in which they had once walked. When Paul speaks of their walk, he is referring to their conduct, their way of life. This is true not only of those in Ephesus but is true of all people for all time. This is the natural way of our fallen nature inherited from Adam. We should not be shocked by the world's depravity. This is normal for spiritually dead people, but this is not the way that children of God live. When Paul was writing to the church at Corinth, he wrote the following in 1 Corinthians chapter six.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
The conduct of these in Corinth was not in line with the conduct of those who have been born again. Some of them were still living like unbelievers, like the lost people of Corinth. In
fact, the phrase “act like a Corinthian” meant to indulge in gross sexual immorality. Sexual
misconduct should have no place in the lives of men who are born again in Christ. So, Paul asks this rhetorical question, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? This is a sobering truth. Paul continues, " Don’t be deceived. The Greek word for deceived is planaó, meaning to be led astray, to deviate from the truth. There
are both active and passive types of deception. Active deception involves one’s own willingness and participation in the deception. Let me give you an example.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but, having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."
We are living in a time when people have no stomach for sound doctrine. Many have no interest in the reproof, correction, and instruction that sound bible teaching brings. They have itching ears, meaning they only want to hear certain things. Things that entertain and make them feel good in their sin. They are like the old Toby Keith song, “I want to hear about me, I want to hear about I, I want to hear about number one oh me oh my”. These people accumulate and seek out teachers to suit their own passions. This is active deception. Western Christianity is full of people who are self-deceived. They will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
The second type of deception is passive deception. This happens when people have a “tell me what I need to know” mindset. They are lazy. They are not willing to search the scriptures for themselves to test every teacher’s work against the word of God. Scripture, not man, is the source of truth. Jesus told us deception would rule the day in these last days. Christian, do not be deceived, “neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Paul doesn’t stop here; he continues, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
This is how every follower of Christ once lived, because it was who we were by nature. “Dead in the sin and trespasses 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— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” I am so grateful that God did not leave us there. Paul continues, “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”.
First, Paul says they have been washed. The Greek word for washed is apoloo’o, referring to an entire washing, the complete removal of sin and its debt.
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Hebrews 9:22 “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”
Titus 3:5–7 “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he
poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace
we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
In bringing us from death to life, God in Christ has cleansed us from all sin, through the blood of Christ. We have been set free from the power and the penalty of sin, which is death, and have been given eternal life
Revelation 1:5–6 “…To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and
made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Secondly, the believers in Corinth had been sanctified. The Greek word for sanctified is Hageodzo, meaning to purify and make holy. To set apart as holy to God as sacred. We are to be distinct and different from those who are still dead in their sin, for they have not yet been brought from death to life. We have been cleansed from sin and set apart by God as his own possession.
1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Colossians 2:13–14 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”
Thirdly, Paul says that they have been justified. The Greek word for justified is dikahyo’o, meaning acquitted, cleared of all charges, and the penalty of death, which we earned and deserved. To declare righteous. It means just as if I never sinned. The penalty for sin still had to be atoned for, so Jesus offered himself, the righteous, for the unrighteous, to make the required payment so that we could be set free. He took our sins and died the death we merited. We received his righteousness. We did the crime, Jesus did the time.
Romans 5:1-2“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this
grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Ephesians 4:17–24 “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
I hope these scriptures encourage you today to live as one who, by God’s grace, has been brought from death to life through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In Christ,
Pastor John
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