Ephesians 2:1
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins”
When I was a child, my family lived in a house located at the bottom of one hill, and the top of another. Whenever one of the neighbors up the street would wash his car, a flowing river would form in the gutter outside the house. I can vividly remember using the debris to create obstacles, rapids, and even dams. I would run up the street with small plastic boats filled with passengers and drop them into the river. As they traveled downstream, they would be tossed about by the currents heading towards the rudimentary dam designed to stop them. Often, the flow would become so strong the dam would burst, sending the toy boat and its occupants rushing toward a large drain that went deep underground to the sewers. Frantically, I would run after the small boat, hoping to rescue it from impending doom. Whenever I read Paul’s description of the world, found in Ephesians 2, I am reminded of those toys heading toward destruction, and my frantic attempts to rescue them. Paul describes every person who has not yet received Jesus Christ, as being like a dead body floating downstream, and heading for eternal loss. He also describes God as the great Savior, who reached down to rescue all who will cry out to Him.
Ephesians 2:4-5
“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). . . ”
Every person alienated from Christ is dead in sin, and destined to live eternally separated from God. Although it is impossible for us to understand the true danger we are in, we can get a glimpse of our horrible condition by observing God’s actions to rescue us. Paul describes God’s great love producing rich mercy, and stirring Him to come to the aid of man, by sending His only Son. The cross is nothing short of a rescue mission. God does not want anyone to suffer the horror of spending eternity apart from Him. He has done all, to make a way for each and every one of us to be saved. All that is required of us is to believe and receive.
Ephesians 2:8
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. .”
Unlike the plastic passengers in the gutter river, we have all been given free will, and the ability to choose for ourselves. Many, realizing their hopeless state apart from Christ, cry out to Him, and are delivered from spiritual death and eternal loss. Others, seem to be enjoying the thrill of the ride so much they are unwilling to cry out for deliverance. They may see the dam breaking, yet think they can ride it out just a little longer, failing to realize how short life is and how suddenly death appears. Still others refuse to believe they are in any danger. They make up their own reality, removing God, sin, and judgment from their thinking. They carry on in life as though they will never answer for the sins they have committed. Acting like Jonah, and going to sleep in the storm, does not remove the reality of where the boat is heading. It is high time we all wake up and cry out to our loving Savior to rescue us from wrath.
If you want your sins forgiven join me in prayer. “Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and recognize that You are the Savior. I ask that you would forgive my sins, enter into my life, and help me to follow after You.”
If you prayed that prayer contact me at jg@ccvb.net
Questions for Ephesians 2
Paul starts by saying that we are “made alive” and that we were “once dead”, what is he talking about?
We were not made alive by anything we did, what is the word that Paul uses to explain the way in which we were saved?
Verse 14 says “Jesus has broken down the middle wall of separation.” What is the wall of separation that blocks us from Jesus?
Verse 20 talks about Christ being the “Chief cornerstone.” Is Christ the Chief Cornerstone of your life?
Pastor Jim
Old Testament:
Song of Songs 6- Favorite One
Jim Gallagher 