City Life Starter

Written by Chris Pate

The Word

[1] And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2] 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—[3] 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. [4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—[6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:1-10 (NKJV)

Application/Analysis

Ephesians 2 is really looking at what it means to be a Christian from the inside, not the outside, from our point of view, not God’s point of view. Paul starts this portion of his letter to the Ephesians and surrounding churches by reminding us of our origins in this story. “You were dead…” he begins by reminding us of our perilous state before God found and saved us. 

I remember growing up and loving the movie Speed that came out in the theaters in 1994.  In this movie, there was a bomb on a bus and once the bus went 50 mph it would activate and if the bus slowed down under 50 mph it would explode. The protagonist found this information out from the antagonist and was racing to help the people on the bus who were in peril and had no idea. 

This is a good illustration of us all. We were born in peril, on a bus set for destruction and we had no idea, like so many today. We were just going about our lives without fully realizing the destructive force in us. In fact, in the first scene that our protagonist in this movie gets to the bus, they wouldn’t even let him on thinking he was a mad man. If you don’t know you need rescuing, it’s very hard to be rescued if you don’t realize you are in peril.

The fact is, the Bible teaches that you can’t be saved unless you know you need to be saved. You can’t be rescued unless you know you need to be rescued. Therefore, it’s extremely important for us to understand sin.

Most people still think of sin in the wrong way. They think you can break it down into, “That person was mistreated. That person is a victim of racism. That person is a victim of oppression. That person is in ignorance. That person hasn’t had a decent education.” We think we can break down evil into something more basic than evil.

Paul differs from our cultural teaching and understanding of sin and evil. He helps us understand this predicament we are all in. We are dead and need a Savior to make us alive. We are like zombies walking around earth and need someone to give us the cure that reverses the whole way and reason we live. Until we see ourselves as totally helpless and in need of life the “but God, being rich in mercy…” part doesn’t make sense to us. It certainly doesn’t bring about the revelation and enjoyment of God’s rich mercy as a result of His work on a cross for us. We will still just roam around looking to be more educated about our mental, social and physical health instead of basking in the love of a God who brings true holistic salvation.

We will definitely never see ourselves created for good works that God has prepared in advance for us to walk in. Those good works come with a relationship and a revelation of Jesus our protagonist, rescuing us the antagonist, in the story. Not just getting us off the “bus” of destruction, but also allowing us to join Him in His work of pulling others and all creation out of peril as well. 

Prayer

Father, open my eyes to remember my origin story. I was lost and now I’m found; I was blind but now I see. Thanks to You I am saved and no longer in peril. Forgive me when I so easily forget Your rich mercy freely given to me that cost You greatly. Strengthen and fill me with Your Spirit to join You in Your work of reconciling all creation back to You and Your good will. In Jesus name, amen!