Dead Men and Women Walking.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1ESV)

And you were dead in your sins; people like to complicate this idea. It is not the walking dead. Is it a terminal illness, is it our drowning in a pool of water, or is it our problem family? What Paul means is that we are physically alive but spiritually unable to respond to God. This passage continues, and Paul is so explicit about our nature that it is almost impossible to misunderstand him. Paul also makes it clear we are unable to correct this ourselves.

“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 body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God...”

But God… Many of us say this all the time, but God. But God had other plans for us. This leads us to Ephesians 2:8-9 where Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” It is by God’s grace that we are saved, not by our own works. Despite our inherent sin and our constant disobedience, Christ died for us. Think about that: He sacrificed Himself while we were still sinful. That, my brothers and sisters, is the depth of the love of Christ for you. The explanation Paul gives us is so strong and clear that I could stop right here and just tell you to read it, but I cannot.

I would like to give a few tools to help you grasp Paul’s meaning. First, this epistle is divided in half. The first half contains orthodoxy, our acceptance of the apostolic creeds and doctrines, and the second half, orthopraxy, meaning our correct ethical, liturgical conduct. Paul uses doxology and “therefore clauses” to illustrate our necessary acceptance of God’s laws and what we must do in response to our accepting these laws. Simply put, Paul uses indicatives and imperatives to illustrate for us the desired Christian response to salvation in Christ.

For me, the first three chapters of Ephesians appear to have three main indicatives that provide explanations of what has been done for us. At the end of chapter one, we find Paul writes, "And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." This describes Christ’s headship over not only His church but His headship over all things. This has far-reaching implications as the imperatives also direct us to God’s intentions for marriage, that it is designed to be consecrated between a man and a woman. This imperative is rooted in Christ’s headship over the church. It is here we also find the unity of the church body with Christ. Paul writes, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.” Paul makes it clear Christ is the rejected cornerstone who is the foundation of the church and joins all things. All things come from Him; all things are joined through Him, and all things belong to Him. Our second indicative is the unity we find in Christ. Our unity with the Trinity and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is Christ who makes us a suitable dwelling for the Holy Spirit. Those in Him on earth are His saints and brothers and sisters in the family of Christ, where we are heirs.

In these first two indicatives, we have identified the headship and unity we find in Christ. We understand how Christ affects all things. The indicative that drives our actions and pursuit of a life of devotion. We can apply these today. We have a clear understanding of who Christ is and how He has joined us under Him in the body of Christ. We understand that it is Christ who compels us, not Satan, who attempts to manipulate us by exploiting our weaknesses.

Tomorrow, we will look at the third indicative in our work to overcome the world, our flesh, and Satan.

Peace and Grace!