1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Commentary
Vs. 1-2 1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
The Apostle Paul in stating that God the Father raised to life our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from dead by His mighty Power, now also declares that because of Jesus' having suffered Crucifixion death for us all to atone for our sins, has also brought us to life with Christ Himself the moment we believed in Him (Eph. 1:13-14), that is He has made us alive, Spiritually alive, and Spiritually united with Christ Himself. And so from once being dead in trespasses and sins, which is state of every human being from their birth until they come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to now being Spiritual alive and having everlasting life with and through Christ. God the Father by His mighty Power has now made us alive with Himself (vs. 1). Now when we were dead in our trespasses and sins we walked (that is we lived) according to the course of this world, that is the ungodly pursuits and morals of this world that are always rooted in self, self gratification and glorification and all the evil works that are done in pursuit of these, we once also pursued and justified in our own lives and the lives of others as well, because we had no connection with God, and thus no inherent desire for God's Word and the truth it reveals to us all about righteousness, sin, judgment, and of course salvation. And so being Spiritually dead in ones trespasses and sins, and thus separated from the life of God, we all once walked according to the course of this world, which is being directed by the prince of power of the air (i.e. Satan), the spirit which now works in the sons (i.e. people) of disobedience. Disobedient because they do not believe, nor obey the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and so God gives them over to Satan who works his own will through their own persons and lives. In a nutshell then you have what is wrong with this world, sinful humanity dead in their sins and transgressions, though retaining a sense of moral sanity, (since we were all created in the image of God, and thus have some moral sensibilities about us, yet these can be lost if one rejects God's Revelation and light given them, (read Rom 1:18-32; John 1:5; 12:35-36; 2 Thess 2:7-12) and so the unregenerate people of this world are both individually and collectively moved by the prince of power of the air, who slowly and methodically always directs people away from God's Word and Will, to do his own will, which always stands juxtaposed to God's (2 Tim 2:24-26).
Vs. 3 "among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."
Now in exposing the sinful condition and degenerating state which was once us all when we were dead in our sins and transgressions and thus separated from God. The Apostle Paul now also fights off any and all notions, or attitudes of self-righteousness, or inherent goodness, that any believer may have about themselves, the Apostle Paul, or any of the Apostles, or anyone else. Now to do this the Apostle Paul identifies himself, and those with him (whether apostles or not), as not only once being dead in their own sins and trespasses, but also as people also once conducted themselves, just as all unregenerate people do, "in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind", and thus they were by nature children of wrath, just as all others are apart from Christ. And so unlike the Pharisee background that the Apostle Paul came out of, he is not now parading himself around on the high horse of self righteousness while he looks down on the sinful and alienated masses beneath him. Instead Paul is saying that he too was once one of the sinful and disobedient; who though very religious before he came to Christ; also once fulfilled the desires of the flesh and mind, (just like those who were with him), and so they too all were by nature, (that is in their natural sinful and unregenerate state), children of wrath, just as all others are until they are reconciled to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because by nature that is what people dead in their sins and trespasses do, they serve the desires of the flesh and of the mind; though the manifestation of this maybe different and to differing degrees for different people; yet all people (even people) who want to live godly and righteous lives ultimately are directed or better misdirected by their own sinful lusts and desires (consider King David and King Solomon), because apart from Christ and having His new life within us no one escapes the clutches of sin, Satan, or death by their own resolve and power, there must first be redemption by Christ's blood shed at Calvary, and then regeneration (that is bringing us to Spirit life) and thus sanctification by God's Spirit indwelling us the moment we repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead, and thus there must be a new Master in our house (i.e. body or temple) who then transforms our persons and lives. Some of which is immediate and some of which will carry on until we are finially out of this mortal body and life and at home with Christ forever.
Vs. 4-6 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Having openly and honestly declared what he once was, the Apostle Paul now gives all honor, glory, praise and power to God who in knowing us all individually, as well as humanity collectively, in our sinful and separated state from Himself did not turn against us, rather He brought His salvation to us, through the Life, Crucifixion death, Resurrection from the dead, and then the Ascension of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ back to heaven with Himself. Now this God did while were still dead in our sins and tress passes (see Rom 5:6-8). Thus God's salvation and mercies and love did not come to us because we were somehow deserving of His salvation, or His mercies, or even His love, rather it is God who is rich in mercy towards all, did for us all, what we could never done for ourselves. That is God not only atoned for all our sins and transgressions through the Death and Resurrection and Ascension of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, but He has in accord with the same brought us to life with Christ, and raised us up together, and made us to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, meaning both individually, as well as collectively, God has brought each and every one of us who believe into the most intimate and personal relationship with Himself through His own Son. And so by God's Spirit we are not just born again, that is brought to Spirit life by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we are also baptized into Christ Jesus, into His death, burial, Resurrection, and ascension back to heaven, and so where Christ is there we are, and will always be. And so God has given us not only salvation from sin and eternal condemnation, but He has bestowed upon us who believe the highest and most prestige's place and honor which He first bestowed on His own Son, and so God has made us to be partakers of Christ's royal life and place simply because we believe in His Son!
Vs. 7 "that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."
Having openly and honestly declared what he once was, the Apostle Paul now gives all honor, glory, praise and power to God who in knowing us all individually, as well as humanity collectively, in our sinful and separated state from Himself did not turn against us, rather He brought His salvation to us, through the Life, Crucifixion death, Resurrection from the dead, and then the Ascension of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ back to heaven with Himself. Now this God did while were still dead in our sins and tress passes (see Rom 5:6-8). Thus God's salvation and mercies and love did not come to us because we were somehow deserving of His salvation, or His mercies, or even His love, rather it is God who is rich in mercy towards all, did for us all, what we could never done for ourselves. That is God not only atoned for all our sins and transgressions through the Death and Resurrection and Ascension of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, but He has in accord with the same brought us to life with Christ, and raised us up together, and made us to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, meaning both individually, as well as collectively, God has brought each and every one of us who believe into the most intimate and personal relationship with Himself through His own Son. And so by God's Spirit we are not just born again, that is brought to Spirit life by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we are also baptized into Christ Jesus, into His death, burial, Resurrection, and ascension back to heaven, and so where Christ is there we are, and will always be. And so God has given us not only salvation from sin and eternal condemnation, but He has bestowed upon us who believe the highest and most prestige's place and honor which He first bestowed on His own Son, and so God has made us to be partakers of Christ's royal life and place simply because we believe in His Son!
Vs. 7 "that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."
And so we who believe are not not only recipients of God's lavish grace, but we are His chosen vessels by which He now demonstrates (and will demonstrate through all eternity) the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (vs. 7). And so that is why God saves us, to make manifest His loving kindness and mercies and salvation in Christ Jesus here and now, but also to make His Name and Fame and Righteous Works to be praised throughout all eternity.
Vs. 8-10 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
If there is anything that distinguishes Christianity from all other faiths it is that God's salvation does not come through the works and efforts and striving of man. Nor does it come to those who feel that they are "deserving" or "worthy" of it. God's salvation, and thus His eternal redemption only comes to be enacted in our own persons and lives by His grace, that is by God's unmerited, undeserved and absolutely unearned favor, which we individually must receive for ourselves through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 3:19-28; 4:4-5; Gal 2:16, 19-21, 3:19-29; 4:21-5:6 etc.). It is then by the grace of God that we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are saved; saved from sin, Satan, and death; and thus saved from wrath and the judgment to come (John 3:35-36; Rom 5:9; 1 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 20:11-15 etc.). For it is only through the grace of God that the Apostle Paul (and us all) find eternal redemption and reconciliation with God (and thus peace with God). Which the Apostle Paul found for himself when he realized that he could in no way redeem himself. Which is why the Apostle Paul would later say of his own works, righteousness, circumcision, Jewish pedigree, Pharisee zeal, blameless obedience according to strictest code of the Law, and anything else that he once thought would commend him to God, were now counted by him as rubbish (Phil 3:4-10, vs. 8), in the in light of God's Glorious Work (Isaiah 29:14) and Righteousness (Psalm 22:30-31) and Zeal (Isaiah 9:6-7) and Salvation (Isaiah 12:2-3; Isaiah 59:16) which He accomplished for us all at Calvary (Isaiah 53:1-12). And so that is where not only the Apostle Paul's hope now rests (Phil 3:10) but also where everyone of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ must also eternally rest our hope there as well. For God's salvation from start to finish is by God's own Work and Righteousness which He accomplished for us all on the Cross, so that no one could ever boast of earning it, or deserving it (vs. 9). And so in saving us, we are God's workmanship, created (see 2 Cor 5:17) in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. No Christian then is ever devoid of having a purpose to fulfill in this life, because it is for the expressed purpose of our doing good works, which God has prepared before hand for us to do, that He saved us. Therefore let us all be about doing the good works that God has prepared (and Spirit equipped) us to do. And so whether this is teaching, preaching or evangelism as the mainstay of our good works and ministry, or it is through gifts of helps and service, or giving, or exhortation and encouragement, or showing mercy and compassion, or serving as administrators, deacons and elders in Christ's church and for His people. let it be done through all grace, love and kindness with all diligence. Because we are the Body of Christ and our mission field is the world. For where there is a need, there is a ministry.
Now if you have never come into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ now is the perfect time to do just that, because before one can fully enter into Christ's service, one must first enter into His salvation, which is only by the grace of God, and which goes out to every lost and hurting and alienated and broken and sinful and utterly undeserving and unworthy man, woman, and child who simply believes in the Lord Jesus Christ through the Gospel. God's Salvation is for you!
Therefore receive God's Son the Lord Jesus Christ so that God might also receive you and heal you and bring new and everlasting life to you. Now this you can only do by faith, which you can express to God in a prayer inviting the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart and life. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has a great and concise prayer which I love to use in leading people to Christ, which you can use as well, or you can pray something that is uniquely you. For it's not the pray that saves you, it's your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that saves you, and opens the door to God's salvation for you, when you open your heart to Him (Rom. 10:9-10, 13; Rev 3:20). Therefore if you believe and pray something like this: Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask your Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I now choose to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior, In your name Lord Jesus, amen.
Now if you believe and have prayed that prayer if faith you have begun a whole new life. You may not feel different, but believe me you are different, because the Spirit of God is now residing in you, and you will begin to see things and people differently. Now if your coming out of a difficult past you may have to go through some times of deep felt emotions and feelings and even pain as you begin to process that past. Don't be afraid to either feel them, or let them go, for the Lord is working in you so that He can release you from them, and make you more capable of experiencing Him and His life and life in all of the fruits and joy and love and fullness of the Spirit of God. Therefore as you feel enabled embrace what He is doing in you, whether it is healing of the heart or some other transformation of your person, and you will soon see that He not only works in you, but soon you will see Him working through you as you begin to find those areas that He is guiding you to serve Him in. It's often been described as a great and journey journey, yet every journey must begin with a first step, and in receiving Christ you have taken that first step, therefore may God Almighty now guide you and be with you throughout your new life and journey with Christ, as you now bear the Name above every Name that is named, Jesus Christ Lord of Lord's and King of Kings, and may He Himself make you a proclaimer of His Glorious Name and Fame and cause you all to excel and be abundantly fruitful in whatever areas of life God Himself has called you to serve and excel for Him in, amen.
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
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