Ephesians 2:1-3
Everyone Has a Past
Introduction:
“As for you…” – indicates transition from previous statements. Paul was speaking of the unequaled authority of Jesus Christ over all things. He then turns his attention to the Christians in Ephesus. If you were to go back and read chapter 1 and notice everything that Paul says about them, he speaks of who they are NOW in Christ (blessed, v3; adopted, v4; redeemed and forgiven, v7; insiders, v9-10; saved and sealed with the Holy Spirit, v13).
He also spoke of their future (holy and blameless before God, v4; final redemption, v14).
Now, while Paul has said many things to them so far about who they now are in Christ, and who they will be in the future, he has not talked to them about what they once were without Christ. He has not talked about their past.
What is in your past? Everyone has a past. Some people run away from their past. Some try to forget. Some live in the past. Some hide their past. Some people aren’t bothered by theirs.
Paul makes much of the believer’s pasts. Not that he praises them for their pagan pasts, but, he often refers to it while he is teaching and instructing. This is something Paul does often with the churches he ministered to. Paul spends considerable time in his writings reminding them of what they used to be before they came to Christ. For example, in 1 Corinthians 6:11 Paul says, “And that is what some of you were…” And then in Titus 3:3 he says again, “At one time, we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.” And then in Colossians 3:7 Paul says, “You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.”
I think he does this for 2 reasons. First, I think he did it because of his acquaintance with many of the Christians he was writing to. Paul knew many of the believers before they were Christians so he knows the lifestyle many of them came out of. It would be very personal for someone in Ephesus who was known by Paul to hear Paul say, “look, I know where you came from. I know what you were before you became a Christian.” I think someone like that is going to pay attention.
But also I think Paul does it for reasons of accountability. He reminds them of what they were because often he is reminding them of what is ungodly and what they should be turning away from in their lives.
I would make an application point here: Compare your life now in Christ to your life before you knew Him. Do it often. At least as often as we do Communion.
You might say, “Well, I was saved at an early age, I don’t really have much “old life” where I caused lots of trouble.” I would say this: You still sin. That sin is the quality of the old life showing up in your new life in Christ. Look at your “old life” then not as the life before you came to Christ, but, as the sinful things of the “old life” that you may do now that you are a Christian.
In other words, don’t look at the ‘old life’ as all the things you did before Christ, but, as the things you may do now that are part of the old life and not part of the new life in Christ. The old life is the life in sin, the life of sin. Is there sin in your life? Examine yourself today as a believer to see if there is old life “qualities”. These don’t come from the new life in Christ, they come from the old, sinful, Adamic, corrupt life you once had.
I would also say this as another application: if you are in a position where you are coming lovingly and prayerfully to correct another believer who may be sinning, part of that conversation should be to remind them that their sin is part of their old life and not a part of their new life in Christ. I think Paul sets the example for us here. He held the believers accountable by reminding them of themselves. He pointed them back to the days when they did not know Christ and the things they did and the condition they were in so that they could see what they should not be doing anymore. It was very practical. It wasn’t high-minded philosophical stuff, it was personal, practical, and very pointed. “You know what you used to do was sin so stop doing it.” Realizing what is not part of the new life in Christ and is part of the old life of sin can be powerful in motivating a believer to correct sinful behavior.
They were Dead (v1)
First we learn here that PaSome people mistake their dead condition for being “sick”. We hear a lot of talk today about people not being healthy. There is a lot of talk of people being ill, or sick, or broken. Well, the Bible doesn’t talk like that. The Bible doesn’t treat us like we were ill. It treats us like we’re worse off than that. It treats us like we’re dead. You can’t get treatment for death. You can’t get rehabilitation for death. You can’t get medicine to cure death. When you’re dead what you need is life.
Now, when the Paul says here that we were dead he obviously isn’t talking about physically being dead. He uses the word “nekros”, which means a “dead body”, or, a body without life. Paul, however uses the word here to talk of the spiritual deadness of someone who is unsaved. Someone may be alive physically walking around and talking and going on with life, but, spiritually they are dead.
They are dead the way Adam and Eve were dead after they sinned. In Genesis 2 God commanded Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned him that if he did eat he would die. But, Adam and Eve did eat from the tree and in doing so they died. They didn’t die physically immediately after they sinned, but, immediately they were spiritually severed from God. They lost spiritual life and became spiritually dead. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” Sin was not over after that first act of sin. While Adam and Eve did not physically die immediately, from the moment of their sin they did begin the process of physical degradation that would ultimately end in physical death. That’s where sin ultimately leads to: death. Death is the outcome of sin. Death, actually, is the completion of sin. James 1:15 says, “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” And there the Bible answers one of humanity’s greatest questions: Why do we die?
Important also to this discussion is that the principle, or, the nature of sin actually entered into the human race with those first 2 human beings. And because of that, the sin nature is passed on to every human being born to them – which would be the whole human race. In other words, every human being born is born with sin. He or she has all the capability of committing every kind of sin. And there is also the propensity to commit sins. Reese, as cute as she is at 9 months old, is infected with sin as much as anyone else.
In Sin (v1)
The reason we were dead is because of our transgressions and sins. Paul says “you were dead IN your transgressions and sins”.
Transgressions is a Greek word meaning: “to fall aside”. It literally means to step beyond a boundary line. We talk in this way today when we say, “Hey you’re out of line!” What we mean is someone isn’t doing what is right. They are doing what they know is wrong. One day when Evan was a little younger, just learning to walk I told him not to go by the lamp. He would cry when I led him away. Then he would look at me, and while facing me and making eye contact with me he would start walking sideways towards the lamp. He to
That’s what transgression means here: someone has crossed a line that God has set and they are challenging God’s authority.
“Sins” is a different Greek word that means “to miss the mark”, or, “to fall short of a goal or a standard. Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. In other words, while men try and try to be good enough and they wish and hope that they are someday, they cannot attain the standard of glory that God demands for eternal life.
It is different from trespass in that sins focuses on the failure to live up to a standard of right whereas trespass emphasizes crossing over and leaving the path of what is right.
An important point here is that Paul says they were dead IN their trespasses and sins. Paul is talking about their spiritual position before God. They were in the sphere of sin and death. They lived in its territory. They were under its authority. And when they in sin and death they lived like they were in it.
This contrasts with being in Christ. Someone cannot be in sin and in Christ. Every person is either in sin or in Christ. And those who are in Christ are those who have believed on Him for forgiveness of sins and have received eternal life from Him.
Notice it is trespassES and not trespass. It is sinS and not sin. Plural. It wasn’t an occasional, once-in-awhile sin against God. It was a regular occurrence of sinning in thought and deed and word. That is the nature of sin. Nobody who sins sins once. Sin is not satisfied with just one time.
Conclusion
I would finish today with a question: Is your past, in your past? Can you say today that you were once in sin, but, no longer? Can you say that once you were separated from God in death, but, no longer? Can you say today that your Christ-less and sinful past is in fact, in your past?
If not, then today I want you to hear this: Jesus Christ came down from heaven to a dead world to bring life. He can take you out of death and give you life, if you believe in Him. He will do it. He can take all your sins and all your transgressions and forgive you for them, if you believe in Him. He will do it. Let Jesus Christ put your old life behind you and start you in new life today. He will do it, if you believe in Him.
Everyone Has a Past
Introduction:
“As for you…” – indicates transition from previous statements. Paul was speaking of the unequaled authority of Jesus Christ over all things. He then turns his attention to the Christians in Ephesus. If you were to go back and read chapter 1 and notice everything that Paul says about them, he speaks of who they are NOW in Christ (blessed, v3; adopted, v4; redeemed and forgiven, v7; insiders, v9-10; saved and sealed with the Holy Spirit, v13).
He also spoke of their future (holy and blameless before God, v4; final redemption, v14).
Now, while Paul has said many things to them so far about who they now are in Christ, and who they will be in the future, he has not talked to them about what they once were without Christ. He has not talked about their past.
What is in your past? Everyone has a past. Some people run away from their past. Some try to forget. Some live in the past. Some hide their past. Some people aren’t bothered by theirs.
Paul makes much of the believer’s pasts. Not that he praises them for their pagan pasts, but, he often refers to it while he is teaching and instructing. This is something Paul does often with the churches he ministered to. Paul spends considerable time in his writings reminding them of what they used to be before they came to Christ. For example, in 1 Corinthians 6:11 Paul says, “And that is what some of you were…” And then in Titus 3:3 he says again, “At one time, we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.” And then in Colossians 3:7 Paul says, “You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.”
I think he does this for 2 reasons. First, I think he did it because of his acquaintance with many of the Christians he was writing to. Paul knew many of the believers before they were Christians so he knows the lifestyle many of them came out of. It would be very personal for someone in Ephesus who was known by Paul to hear Paul say, “look, I know where you came from. I know what you were before you became a Christian.” I think someone like that is going to pay attention.
But also I think Paul does it for reasons of accountability. He reminds them of what they were because often he is reminding them of what is ungodly and what they should be turning away from in their lives.
I would make an application point here: Compare your life now in Christ to your life before you knew Him. Do it often. At least as often as we do Communion.
You might say, “Well, I was saved at an early age, I don’t really have much “old life” where I caused lots of trouble.” I would say this: You still sin. That sin is the quality of the old life showing up in your new life in Christ. Look at your “old life” then not as the life before you came to Christ, but, as the sinful things of the “old life” that you may do now that you are a Christian.
In other words, don’t look at the ‘old life’ as all the things you did before Christ, but, as the things you may do now that are part of the old life and not part of the new life in Christ. The old life is the life in sin, the life of sin. Is there sin in your life? Examine yourself today as a believer to see if there is old life “qualities”. These don’t come from the new life in Christ, they come from the old, sinful, Adamic, corrupt life you once had.
I would also say this as another application: if you are in a position where you are coming lovingly and prayerfully to correct another believer who may be sinning, part of that conversation should be to remind them that their sin is part of their old life and not a part of their new life in Christ. I think Paul sets the example for us here. He held the believers accountable by reminding them of themselves. He pointed them back to the days when they did not know Christ and the things they did and the condition they were in so that they could see what they should not be doing anymore. It was very practical. It wasn’t high-minded philosophical stuff, it was personal, practical, and very pointed. “You know what you used to do was sin so stop doing it.” Realizing what is not part of the new life in Christ and is part of the old life of sin can be powerful in motivating a believer to correct sinful behavior.
They were Dead (v1)
First we learn here that PaSome people mistake their dead condition for being “sick”. We hear a lot of talk today about people not being healthy. There is a lot of talk of people being ill, or sick, or broken. Well, the Bible doesn’t talk like that. The Bible doesn’t treat us like we were ill. It treats us like we’re worse off than that. It treats us like we’re dead. You can’t get treatment for death. You can’t get rehabilitation for death. You can’t get medicine to cure death. When you’re dead what you need is life.
Now, when the Paul says here that we were dead he obviously isn’t talking about physically being dead. He uses the word “nekros”, which means a “dead body”, or, a body without life. Paul, however uses the word here to talk of the spiritual deadness of someone who is unsaved. Someone may be alive physically walking around and talking and going on with life, but, spiritually they are dead.
They are dead the way Adam and Eve were dead after they sinned. In Genesis 2 God commanded Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned him that if he did eat he would die. But, Adam and Eve did eat from the tree and in doing so they died. They didn’t die physically immediately after they sinned, but, immediately they were spiritually severed from God. They lost spiritual life and became spiritually dead. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” Sin was not over after that first act of sin. While Adam and Eve did not physically die immediately, from the moment of their sin they did begin the process of physical degradation that would ultimately end in physical death. That’s where sin ultimately leads to: death. Death is the outcome of sin. Death, actually, is the completion of sin. James 1:15 says, “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” And there the Bible answers one of humanity’s greatest questions: Why do we die?
Important also to this discussion is that the principle, or, the nature of sin actually entered into the human race with those first 2 human beings. And because of that, the sin nature is passed on to every human being born to them – which would be the whole human race. In other words, every human being born is born with sin. He or she has all the capability of committing every kind of sin. And there is also the propensity to commit sins. Reese, as cute as she is at 9 months old, is infected with sin as much as anyone else.
In Sin (v1)
The reason we were dead is because of our transgressions and sins. Paul says “you were dead IN your transgressions and sins”.
Transgressions is a Greek word meaning: “to fall aside”. It literally means to step beyond a boundary line. We talk in this way today when we say, “Hey you’re out of line!” What we mean is someone isn’t doing what is right. They are doing what they know is wrong. One day when Evan was a little younger, just learning to walk I told him not to go by the lamp. He would cry when I led him away. Then he would look at me, and while facing me and making eye contact with me he would start walking sideways towards the lamp. He to
That’s what transgression means here: someone has crossed a line that God has set and they are challenging God’s authority.
“Sins” is a different Greek word that means “to miss the mark”, or, “to fall short of a goal or a standard. Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. In other words, while men try and try to be good enough and they wish and hope that they are someday, they cannot attain the standard of glory that God demands for eternal life.
It is different from trespass in that sins focuses on the failure to live up to a standard of right whereas trespass emphasizes crossing over and leaving the path of what is right.
An important point here is that Paul says they were dead IN their trespasses and sins. Paul is talking about their spiritual position before God. They were in the sphere of sin and death. They lived in its territory. They were under its authority. And when they in sin and death they lived like they were in it.
This contrasts with being in Christ. Someone cannot be in sin and in Christ. Every person is either in sin or in Christ. And those who are in Christ are those who have believed on Him for forgiveness of sins and have received eternal life from Him.
Notice it is trespassES and not trespass. It is sinS and not sin. Plural. It wasn’t an occasional, once-in-awhile sin against God. It was a regular occurrence of sinning in thought and deed and word. That is the nature of sin. Nobody who sins sins once. Sin is not satisfied with just one time.
Conclusion
I would finish today with a question: Is your past, in your past? Can you say today that you were once in sin, but, no longer? Can you say that once you were separated from God in death, but, no longer? Can you say today that your Christ-less and sinful past is in fact, in your past?
If not, then today I want you to hear this: Jesus Christ came down from heaven to a dead world to bring life. He can take you out of death and give you life, if you believe in Him. He will do it. He can take all your sins and all your transgressions and forgive you for them, if you believe in Him. He will do it. Let Jesus Christ put your old life behind you and start you in new life today. He will do it, if you believe in Him.
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