TEACHING NOTES Introduction Paul wrote Ephesians with two main sections that have two main purposes: (1) Explain God’s plan of salvation (Eph. 1-3), and (2) explain how that changes the way we live (Eph. 4-6). In chapter one, Paul explained how God chose the Jewish apostles to bring the Gospel to everyone else. God chose and predestined the apostles so we could be included in God’s family. Now Paul is going to focus on us Gentiles and how God saves us and changes us to be like Jesus. ​ Ephesians 2:1–2 ESV 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— Dead = Grk. nekros - Paul gives us an idea of what this means in Eph. 4:18 when he states that the Gentiles were “alienated from the life of God.” This tells us that we are not literally dead in the physical sense, but spiritually dead. We’re alive on the outside, but dead on the inside. Because of sin, we are not able to commune with God on our own. Without God, we go looking for things to follow. In trespasses and sins = Since Paul is a former Pharisee, he thinks in Hebrew even though he is writing in Greek. In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), there are three different words for wrongdoing: sin (hatah), transgression (pesha), and iniquity (avon). Sin is described as missing the target. It refers to everyday failures that can even be unintentional. Transgressions are an intentional crossing of moral lines. Iniquity is premeditated manipulation to do evil. Paul, in mentioning “trespasses and sins” is covering the entire spectrum of our wrongdoing. In which you once walked = Notice that Paul is speaking in past tense terms. The condition of being dead in sin is in the past for believers. We ONCE walked in sin and death, but not any longer. Course of this world = Grk. aion houtos ho kosmos - Literally, “the age of this wordly system”. Paul is referring to the mindset and practices of the fallen world in which we live. Under the power of sin, all people follow the mindset and practices of the sinful world around them. Paul also uses this same idea in Rom. 12:2 where he tells us not to be “conformed to this world”. Believers should no longer follow the mindset, patterns, and practices of the fallen world. The prince of the power of the air = This is one of Paul’s descriptions for the devil. Ancient writers believed that the “air” was the space between heaven and earth. Therefore, spiritual beings created by God inhabit the air. Since Gen. 3, the devil has thrown the world into sin. As a result, creation has been corrupted by the power of the evil one. This is why Paul also refers to the devil as “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). Jesus even called the devil “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30). But Jesus also declared, “now will the ruler of this world be cast out” (John 12:31). The cross stripped the devil of his authority over the world. Those who trust in Christ can be released from Satan’s power forever. The spirit that is now at work = Satan is a spiritual being. Those who reject Jesus remain under the power and authority of the spirit that is now at work in the world. The only way to be under the power and authority of God’s Spirit is to trust in Christ and follow Him. ​ Ephesians 2:3 ESV 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. Among whom we all once lived = Without Christ we remain under the power and authority of the evil one. What does this mean? It means that we will live as people who follow the plans and behaviors of the evil one. In the passions of our flesh = The Greek word for passions is epithymia and refers to lust or intense desire. The Greek word for flesh is sarx, which refers to our sinful nature or our tendency to do what is wrong. It is also the Greek word for our physical body. Paul is saying here that believers should no longer live out the desires of sin. Following the lust of sin should be in our past. Not that these passions cease to exist in us, but that we no longer live them out. The desires of the body and mind = The Greek word for desires is thelema and refers to the purpose of our will. Paul is talking about the will or purposes of our sarx (flesh, body) and our dianoia (mind or mindset). Sin not only affects our body, in that it wants the wrong things, it also affects the way we think. Notice that Paul is not saying that sin no longer affects our body and mind, but that we are no longer “carrying out (following the path) the desires of the body and the mind”. How can we overcome our sinful desires? "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." - Galatians 5:16 ESV By nature children of wrath = Those who have not placed their faith in Jesus are choosing to stay in their life of sin, and thus bring wrath on themselves. Those who trust in Jesus have been saved from wrath because they are no longer guilty. ​ Ephesians 2:4–5 ESV 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— But God = In Greek this could also be translated, “But now God...” Since Paul has been using past tense terms, he now switches to present tense is reference to God. He writes, “But God, being rich in mercy...” meaning that God has always been and is now currently rich in mercy. Rich in mercy = The Greek word for mercy is eleos, which refers to showing kindness and compassion toward another. God is abundantly overflowing with mercy. Where did Paul get this idea? In Exodus 34:6-7 God tells Moses that He is a merciful and gracious God. Therefore, this is not Paul’s original idea of God. God said this about Himself and wants us to know that He is overflowing with mercy. Great love with which he loved us = Grk. polys agape - many, much, great love. Notice that Paul uses agape as a noun and a verb. God has great love (noun) with which He loved (verb) us. God does not merely have love that He tells us about. God proves His love for us by acting out His love toward us. In Rom. 5:8 Paul says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ died for murderers while He was being murdered by them. That’s a perfect picture of agape. Made us alive together with Christ = Since we were dead, we needed to be made alive. In Greek this phrase is one word (synezoopoiesen) that literally means “raised to life with” or to be resurrected with someone. Resurrection assumes that life once existed before death occurred. We are not born dead, but spiritual death occurs when we begin to sin. When sin begins death comes with it. That is why we need to be spiritually resurrected. At some point we will also physically die, and Jesus will raise us up with Him in the end. By grace you have been saved = We’ll come back to this in the next verses. Also, notice that Paul uses past tense language in this passage. The work of salvation has been finished. If you are in Christ, you have been saved. In Greek, Paul is using the perfect tense, which refers to an action in the past that produces a state of being in the present. Because we “have been saved” we are now saved. ​ Ephesians 2:6–7 ESV 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. Seated us with him = Back in Eph. 1:20-21 Paul told us that after Jesus was raised to life, He was seated at the right hand of God in heaven. This place of honor and authority is far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion. At the right hand of God, Jesus now has all His enemies under His feet (Eph. 1:22). Here in Eph. 2:6 we find that someone is sitting with Jesus. It’s us! We have been seated with Christ in heavenly places. Notice that Paul is using past tense terms. What does that mean? It means that our status has changed from being God’s enemies to God’s children. We have been taken from being under His feet to sitting in His lap. Jesus’ authority over spiritual evil is being shared with us. What is Jesus doing in heaven? Rule & Authority: all enemies are under His feet. Interceding: He is our High Priest. If we are seated with Christ, we are called and empowered to do what Jesus is doing. All of His enemies are under our feet. We have the power and authority of Christ over evil. If Jesus is going to God on our behalf as our High Priest, then we are called and empowered to be priests for others. What Jesus is doing is what we should be doing. In the coming ages = In the ancient Israelite mind, time is divided into two ages: (1) this age, and (2) the age to come. Paul mentions both ages in Eph. 1:21. This age refers to the time in which God is slowly putting His enemies under His feet. This age is also called “the times of the Gentiles” in which God is allowing ample time for more people to trust in Christ before the end. The age to come refers to a time when all evil will be totally defeated and the new creation begins. For Paul, the coming ages also refers to our time when God is showing off His grace. Show the riches of his grace in kindness toward us = What is God up to nowadays? He’s showing off the riches of His grace. How is He doing that? By being kind toward us. What does His kindness accomplish? Paul wrote that “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” (Rom. 2:4). God is showing off His grace by leading us to repent and trust in Christ. The problem that Paul was addressing in Romans 2:4 was that people were taking God’s grace and kindness for granted by doing whatever they wanted. Instead of repentance, faith, and obedience, they were disobedient and continuing a life of sin. This kind of mindset separates us from God’s kindness, which leaves us with only God’s wrath. God wants to show off His grace and kindness in you. He wants you to repent and have abundant life. ​ Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV 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. By grace you have been saved through faith = This phrase is vital to understand our salvation. Grace is what saves us. The Greek word for “grace” Paul uses here is chariti, which is a gift of kindness, favor, and goodwill. The Greek word for “saved” Paul uses here is sesosmenoi from the root sozo. This refers to being delivered from something dangerous or deadly and brought to a place of safety and rest. The Exodus story is the foundation of what it means to be saved. Therefore, Paul is saying that God’s gift of favor, kindness, and goodwill is what delivers us from sin and brings us safety from wrath. How are we saved? Through faith. If we believe the Gospel and remain faithful to Jesus alone, we will receive grace and salvation. This concept is not original to the New Testament. Even in the Old Testament Abraham was considered righteous because of his faith (Gen. 15:6). Israel was saved from Egypt because they believed God and did what He said. Israel remained in God’s grace as long as they were faithful to the covenant. God didn’t change between the testaments. In the old covenant, faithfulness was expressed to God by keeping the sacrificial system. In the new covenant, faithfulness is expressed to God by trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice. God has always provided a way to be saved by grace through faith. It is the gift of God = This process of salvation “is not your own doing” which means that this is God’s doing. God provided the way of salvation that we could not provide for ourselves. It is the gift of God. A gift, by definition, is not and cannot be earned. What is earned is called a payment. Grace and faith that leads to salvation is God’s gift to humanity. However, we need to understand that our idea of gift-giving is different from the biblical concept. When we give a gift, we expect nothing in return. In the ancient world of the Bible, a gift came with the expectation of reciprocation. If you gave someone a gift, they would be expected or obligated to do something in return to show gratitude. In the same way, God gives us the gift of salvation and expects us to devote our lives to Him in return. Not a result of works = As already stated, a gift cannot be earned. Salvation is not attained through works but through faith. The works are what we give in return. In other words, we don’t do good works TO BE saved. We do good works because we ARE saved. This is further proven by what Paul says next. ​ Ephesians 2:10 ESV 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. His workmanship = Here, Paul uses the Greek word poiema, which refers to something created through work or effort. In the Greek version of the Old Testament (the Septuagint), this is the same word used in Gen. 1:1 where God created (poieo) the heavens and the earth. Therefore, we could translate “we are his workmanship” as “we are his creation”. In making a dead sinner alive in Christ, God has created a new person. God’s plan for you is to “be conformed into the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). To the Corinthians Paul wrote, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17). God saved you to recreate you. He wants to make you like Jesus. Through Christ, God worked to create a new humanity. Created in Christ Jesus for good works = Why did God work to create this new humanity? So the new humanity could work for and with Him. In Genesis, God created Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply” and “to work and keep” the garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15). They were God’s partners. Humans were created with an assignment to rule and protect the earth, which we might label as good works. In the same way, God is creating a new humanity through Christ for good works. Like the first humans, we too have an assignment to work and keep the mission moving forward. These “good works” are important for several reasons: (1) good works are worship to God, (2) good works are beneficial to others, and (3) good works are evidence of our faith. We were made for good works. We are called to live like a tree of life producing the fruit of the Spirit (Psalm 1; Gal. 5:22-23). This is God’s plan for you. Prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them = This plan that God has for you was “prepared beforehand.” God saved us because He had a divine purpose for us. God planned beforehand what spiritual gifting He would give us to do His will in the world. Paul emphasizes that “we should walk in them” which is a metaphor for living a life of good works. As we do good works as a way of life, we are living out our divine purpose to display the image of God to the world. How can we ensure that we “walk” in good works and avoid the works of our flesh? Paul would say, “I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16) and “ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” (Gal. 5:25). In Christ, dead sinners are brought back to life. In Christ, enemies are made family. In Christ, we have a divine purpose. Conclusion As we end our time together today with worship and taking Communion, let’s ask God to make us more like Jesus and help us to stay in step with His Spirit.