Ephesians 2:1-10 We Are God’s Workmanship Paul’s prayer for the saints: To know God and • the HOPE to which he has called you • the GLORY of his inheritance in the saints • the immeasurable greatness of his POWER toward us

Why do we struggle to keep a passion for Christ? Why don’t we share our faith with our friends, classmates, coworkers? We forget how great is our Savior.

Ephesians 2:1-3 In a state of sin and death (v. 1) • We were dead in our trespasses and sins, not sick, spiritually dead. • In bondage to evil • In an evil (world) environment (v. 2b) o We were Influenced by wickedness around us • An evil enemy (prince of the power of the air, spirit of disobedience (v. 2) o We lived in the realm of the enemy, the devil, in his kingdom, under his influence • An evil nature (our flesh) (vv. 2a, 3a) o We followed the wickedness of the world By nature children of wrath (v. 3) • We are wicked by nature, corrupted by sin. • Deserving God’s wrath because He is good and just

Two points of application: 1. Unbelievers around you are caught in the realm of sin. They are dead. They need rescue. They need to hear of the hope of Jesus Christ in your life.

1. We were hopeless, helpless on our own. We were dead. We needed a savior. We didn’t new start, we needed new life under a new ruler. When we see how lost and hopeless we were, Jesus Christ becomes more precious to us. The greatest quenching of our passion for Jesus is that we didn’t need his salvation that much. We need a greater passion for Jesus Christ and we need the ministry of reminding to stoke the fire of passion in our hearts. A passion that says, “I am a great sinner, but Christ is a greater Savior.” Ephesians 2:4-9 Because of His Mercy and Love God Made Us Alive with Christ

“But God” acted on our behalf. He came from heaven to reverse our hopeless condition. V4. God’s saving initiative is found in his mercy (v.4), his great love (v.4), his rich grace (vv. 5, 7, and 8), and his kindness to us in Christ Jesus (v.7).

V5. we were dead, but God made us alive in Christ -when Jesus you believed in Jesus Christ, his resurrection became your spiritual resurrection. His new life became your new life.

V6. In vv 2-3 we saw that we were in bondage to sin by an evil enemy, an evil world, and our own evil nature. No longer under the power of the prince of the power of the air. God raised us up with Christ. We are now above all that spiritually with Christ in the heavenly places.

Life With Christ • From death to life • From bondage to evil to exaltation • From wrath to grace

V7. God’s purpose in our salvation is that the glory of his kindness may be known in us.

Ephesians 2:8-10 V8. Grace is a key theme in Ephesians, it means God saved acted to rescue us from our sin and death as a gift, free and unearned. We did nothing to deserve it. He just acted on our behalf because he is kind and loving.

V9. Not by our own works, not by our own effort, but by the gift of the grace of God.

V10. Tim Thiessen: God is crafting us, refining us, hammering out a shape, removing impurities, grinding away at our rough edges. To make us into a tool in his hand to do His work. At home, at work, at school.

We are passionate about those things in our lives that have big impacts. You were dead, in bondage to wickedness and sin, under God’s wrath. But God made you alive, exalted you, and lavished his grace on you. We have a great mission, to work to show God’s glory, to tell of his goodness, to give our families and our church godly direction, to live our new lives with a passion for our Savior.