Ephesians 2, our focus will be on verses 8 to 10, but I do want to read the entirety of the chapter. So Ephesians 2, beginning in verse 1. And you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 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. but God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Therefore, remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh, were called uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision made in the flesh by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace. and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off, and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Amen.
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for this beautiful day. We thank you that the heavens declare your glory, the firmament shows forth your handiwork. We give praise to you that the effect of creation leads us back to the cause, even the Most High God.
We thank you as well for what we have in special revelation. We thank you for what Paul communicates here concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. We thank you for your blessedness. We thank you for your holiness.
We thank you for your graciousness and your loving kindness and that you sent your only begotten son to save us from our sins. We pray that you would help us now to think through this passage to bring glory and praise to you in our thoughts, in our in our words and with our worship, we ask that you would be pleased to reach out and convict those dead in their trespasses and sins and draw them effectually unto that Lord Jesus Christ who alone brings salvation. Forgive us for all sin and unrighteousness, cleanse us in his precious blood, and we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Just need to turn this here.
Twenty-five years ago I would have wanted it pointing on me. I'm getting a little chilly now as the blood thins.
Introduction
Well, before we look specifically at chapter 2, verses 8 to 10, I want to show the context in terms of chapter 2 relationship to chapter 1.
Context: Chapters 1 and 2
I would suggest first it's covenantal. The apostle Paul rehearses God's blessing. upon people in Jesus Christ in chapter 1, verses 3 to 14. He starts with the reality that God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. So when we get to chapter 2, we move from covenant of redemption in eternity past to the covenant of grace, its application in the present.
So after chapter 1 verses 3 to 14, Paul then moves to prayer in verses 15 to 23. And then he moves to the doctrine of or the application of salvation. So with reference to covenant, covenant of redemption to covenant of grace. As well, with reference to salvation, he moves from God having chosen us in Him to how that's effectually applied through the gospel of our salvation.
And I would suggest as well, there's a Trinitarian connection. So in chapter 1, Paul praises the Father through the Son in the Spirit. And when God saves us, we, by the Spirit, come through the Son back to the Father in chapter 2 and verses 18 and 22. So there's a whole host of connections between chapters 1 and 2, and I would suggest as well, in chapter 2, what we find is something of an application of chapter 1, verse 19.
Notice, and what is in verse 19, what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of His mighty power. He shows that in chapter 2, verses 1 to 10, the salvation of believers or individual persons. And then in verses 11 to 22, how He breaks down or obliterates the distinction that had been between the Jew and the Gentile. But as well, chapter two expands on what we see in chapter one at verse seven.
Notice in him, chapter one, verse seven, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. And so Paul now demonstrates, manifests, expands on, amplifies, and shows forth that riches of his grace in chapter 2, verses 1 to 10.
Man's State Before Grace
But what we have specifically in chapter 2, notice in verse 1, man in a state before grace. Chapter 2, verse 1, and you who were dead in trespasses and sins. It's crucial that we get this. It's crucial that we understand what man's problem is.
It's not that he's a little hindered. It's not that he's a little injured. It's not that he's lamed or crippled, but rather he is dead in his trespasses and sins. Paul then shows the depravity of man in verses 2 and 3 apart from grace.
So he makes that overarching statement in verse 1, you were dead in trespasses and sins, and then shows what that looks like in terms of personal conduct in verses 2 and 3, 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, 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." In other words, they were lifeless and helpless and hopeless. It's a miserable condition. It's a horrifying condition. It is the condition of all men in Adam.
And so it necessitates God's grace in order for salvation. The man described in verses 1 to 3 can't simply decide for Jesus. He can't just raise his hand at a tent meeting. He can't just come in response to an altar call and get saved.
He must be saved by God's grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the direction the apostle then moves to. So notice in verses four to seven, it is something of a high level treatment. In verse four, Paul tells us that in the gospel, God demonstrates his perfections. Notice in verse four, but God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, Notice the emphasis on perfections.
He's rich in mercy. He is filled with love toward us. And then in verse five, he speaks of the execution of God's sovereign power in the salvation of sinners. Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.
We didn't make ourselves alive. We didn't resurrect ourselves. We in our wisdom didn't say, hey, I'm going to just turn from my wicked ways and start following the Lord Jesus Christ. No, it's the execution of God's power.
And then in verses six and seven, the purposes of God realized notice in verse six and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." So I hope you appreciate the argument. God, according to chapter 1, verse 4, chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. God, through the Beloved in chapter 1, verses 6 and 7, made us accepted. God, by the Spirit, chapter 1, verses 13 and 14, affected this change in our hearts.
Paul then praises and celebrates God's power in 119 and then comes to show its display in chapter 2 verses 1 to 10. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. Our course was marked by subjection to the devil. Our lawlessness was evident, it was manifested, it was on full display.
But God, who is rich in mercy, not miserly, not stingy, not just a little bit, but he meets rich sinners, and I don't mean rich in terms of money, but sinners abundant rather, with the riches of his mercy and his great love. He gives this overview in verses 5 to 7, and now he hones in on the reality of what it looks like for a sinner to be saved by God's grace in verses 8 to 10.
Grace Applied: Saved From and Saved To
Two thoughts here. First, the application of God's grace in verses 8 and 9, and then secondly, the confirmation of Paul's argument in verse 10. But as I've already explained, the state of man before God's grace, verses 1 to 3, the salvation of man by God's grace in verses 4 to 10, to demonstrate his perfections, to execute his power, and to realize his particular purpose. Notice then at verse 8, it's explanatory.
Starts off with that word for he's going to explain what he has said up to this point so that we can appreciate his exceeding power and so that we can admire his infinite riches of grace. Notice in verse eight, for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. So basically what we have here is God's execution, in time, of what He promised to do in eternity past.
He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. In time, in space, in history, we, by the grace of God, heard the gospel. We, by the grace of God, were effectually called out of darkness into marvelous light. We, by the grace of God, were brought savingly to our Lord Jesus Christ.
We by the grace of God have been, as it were, resurrected. We are presently reigning with Christ by virtue of our union with Him. So the apostle is underscoring all that he has said up to this point to show again the riches of God's grace, the power of His love, the infinite mercy that He has to very unworthy recipients.
What We Are Saved From
Notice the salvation is ultimately from certain things. So back to verse 8, for by grace you have been saved. What does he mean? It doesn't mean physically.
You were spared from a car wreck. You were spared from a drowning accident. You were spared from starvation. You were spared from deprivation.
That's not what he's talking about. It's similar to the psalmist in Psalm 130. Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice.
What are those depths? Are they David's fights against the Philistines? Are they David's fights against the reigning Saul? Are they David's fights with reference to Absalom's usurpation of his kingdom?
No, it's not that that evokes the cry of David, out of the depths I cry to thee, O Lord, hear my voice. It's sin. Because David goes on in Psalm 133 to say, If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who can stand? That's the distress.
That's the sorrow. That's the woe. That's what evokes from him that cry to God. Hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive to the voice, attentive to the voice of my supplications. And then he rehearses with joy, but there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. Paul's doing thus here. Paul is highlighting for by grace you have been saved, not physically, again, not from starving, but spiritually.
You were dead in your trespasses and sins. You were subject to the devil himself. You were, in fact, a child of wrath. You were, like every other person on the face of the earth, liable to God's wrath and curse, both in this life and that which is to come.
But, verse 8, by grace you have been saved through faith. We're saved from our deadness and sin, verse 1. We're saved from our worldly course, in verse 2a. We're saved from our subjection to Satan, verse 2b.
Remember, Jesus upbraids the religious leaders in John 8, 44. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer and a liar from the beginning, and there is no truth in him whatsoever. Jesus doesn't say to the religious leaders of his time, you know, you're trying your best, You're making a valiant effort.
I think you're on the right path. No, you are of your father, the devil and the desires of your father you want to do. Well, how can you prove that, Jesus? Because Jesus is standing right there before them and they want to murder him and they will use false charges in order to murder him.
They're exactly like their father, the devil. And this salvation is from that. It's salvation as well from our liability to God's wrath. We were children of wrath, even as the others.
What a blessed thought. What a glorious hope. What a reality that the believer has today. That whatever this world brings, whatever trials and afflictions, whatever hardships and difficulties, whatever things that press on us, that cause us sorrows and melancholy, will nevertheless give way to an eternal weight of glory.
Paul makes that comparison in 2 Corinthians. We have momentary light afflictions. Now, you may be going through something right now and you say, well, it doesn't seem very light. Doctor's diagnosis wasn't great.
But comparatively to that eternal weight of glory, whatever we undergo in this present world is a momentary light affliction. It gives way to an eternal weight of glory. We have been saved from these things, deadness and sin, a worldly course, subjection to Satan. We have been saved from the liability to God's wrath and judgment, both in this life and that which is to come.
What We Are Saved To
But we're not only saved from some things, we're saved onto other things, and that's the beauty of our context here. Notice we are saved onto a newness of life. Notice in verse 5, even when we were dead in trespasses, He made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved.
We have a newness of life in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been saved to resurrection with Christ, notice in 6a, and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. I take that as a present reality. And if you're sitting there right now saying, but I'm not at the right hand of God with the Lord Jesus, you are by virtue of union.
He's the head, we're the body. That is our present possession, this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. That is our present possession, to know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. It is our present possession to be enthroned with Christ at the right hand of the Father, because the body is connected to the head.
Again, it's not yet been fully realized. We've not entered into glory. We have not died and passed that threshold. Christ has not returned and consummated the age.
But nevertheless, it is a reality based on Paul's words. Notice we have been saved to reigning with Christ. Again, verse 6, made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. What's Christ doing presently at the right hand of the Father?
Concession, rule, reign, dominion. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Matthew 28, 18. Ephesians 1, look back there for just a moment, verses 22 to 23. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to behead over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Notice in verse 21, far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. So we've been saved from this deadness and sin, worldly core, subjection to Satan, and liability to God's wrath, and we've been saved to newness of life, resurrection with Christ, reigning with Christ, and as well, you know another function that we have as God's people? We get to demonstrate God's glory. We get to demonstrate God's mercy.
Let's say you're working with somebody and they know nothing of the gospel, and you start to witness to them, you start to share with them, you start to testify to them, and you tell them, God is rich in mercy. Well, how can I know that to be sure? Because you're looking at a recipient of that great mercy. You think I'm heaven-bound because I'm a great guy?
You think I'm heaven-bound because I've got a winning personality? Think I'm heaven bound because I'm able to jump over tall buildings in a single leap? You think any of us are heaven bound apart from the riches of grace and mercy? Do you think that that picture described in verses one to three in chapter two of dead sinners, Do you think that those dead sinners have anywhere with all whatsoever to manage to end up in heaven apart from two, four?
But God. Do you think for a moment we go from one to three to six and seven or five to seven apart from grace? The best proof of God's mercy is our salvation. It happens like that sometimes, doesn't it?
You meet somebody from your past and you find out that they are saved and you probably think, wow, God even saved him. They're probably thinking the same thing about you. We're gonna be surprised in heaven. Well, I don't know if we're gonna be consciously aware, hey, there's that guy I saw that ripped me off or whatever.
We're going to be basking in the glory of the Lamb. The best proof of God's mercy, the best proof of God's power, the best proof of God's grace is the very meat and potatoes we're looking at here in chapter 2, verses 8 to 10. How do we get from He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to a church in Ephesus that the Apostle Paul is writing about? because of Christ, because of his work, because of his life of perfect obedience to the law. His death is a substitute and a sacrifice on the cross.
His resurrection again on the third day. His current session now at the right hand of the Father. How is it? It's because of what Jesus has accomplished.
Why is Jane getting baptized today? I mean, talk about a pleasant person. Talk about a smiley young woman. She's about the only one that if she's not smiling at me, I, oh, is she upset?
Because I'm just so used, I'm not serious there, but I'm so used to a smile. A delightful human being. Is that why she's getting baptized? Winning smile, delightful human being, no.
God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ, because of Christ, His life of obedience, His death on the cross, His resurrection again the third day. The beauty of the Christian gospel is simply this, believe on Him and you shall be saved. And that salvation looks very specific. You're forgiven of your sins, which is most blessed, My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. You believe on Jesus, sinner, and you receive forgiveness. But it's not just forgiveness. It's one of those, yeah, it does even get better than that.
You get His righteousness. God the Father made Him, Christ the Son, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. In Adam all die, in Christ all shall be made alive. How do we get that garment fitting us for the wedding feast?
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Sins forgiven, a righteousness imputed, and that received by faith alone.
Faith as Instrument and Gift
Now notice what Paul goes on to say. He shows this application of the grace of God in what we're saved from and what we're saved to in verse eight. For by grace you have been saved, notice, through faith. That's the instrument.
And when we come to this through faith, there's a couple of things we ought to observe. First of all, the text does not permit us to translate it because of faith. Okay? It's not like the dead sinner described in chapter 2 verses 1 to 3 suddenly wakes up on a Sunday morning and says, you know what?
This gospel stuff has started to make sense. I'm going to work up the faith to believe on the Lord and I trust he will then grant me all of those benefits. The grammar doesn't permit it. It's not a because of faith.
It's not something that you bring to the table. All right, Lord, let's sit down and let's talk through this. I've got 18 units of faith that I bring to this equation. No, it's not a because of faith.
It's an instrument. It's the empty hand that receives the promised blessings. And as the text goes on to tell us, that empty hand is supplied by God himself. We need an empty hand to receive the promised blessings of God.
We don't have empty hands. God gives us the empty hand. That's Paul's emphasis in the passage. Notice again, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.
Now, there's some question. Is he talking about just the faith? Some argue, no, he's not talking about the faith. I think he's talking about the entire enchilada, as we might say if we were in Mexico.
It is the salvation by grace through faith. That's what that points to. Notice again in verse eight, for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourself. So it's not just the faith.
It's not except the faith, but it's everything in this grand thing called salvation. It's God's grace. It's God's mercy. Now, it could be here that persons say, well, you know, Jim, you're making it sound rather hopeless.
I mean, after all, shouldn't we be out there telling people there's some seed, there's some spark in their hearts, there's something there that they can sort of fan into flame and then respond to the gospel call. You're stripping men of hope. See, I think that strips man of hope. I think that if you emphasize to somebody that they have the wherewithal to initiate God word, that strips faith, because according to 2, 1 to 3, or that strips a response, because according to chapter 2, verses 1 to 3, they'll never do it.
They're dead in their trespasses and sins. How does a dead sinner make an overture in the direction of a gracious God? But if you put it in its proper context, salvation by grace, through faith, coming from a God who is rich in mercy, who loves to show his power in the salvation of sinners, I suggest that's foundational for hope, such that I can tell every sinner in here, come to the Lord Jesus, believe on the Lord Jesus, look onto Jesus and you will live. Jesus stood up on that great day of the feast and said, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me.
God, through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 55 says, ho, everyone who thirsts, let him come. This is not a stripping away of hope. To ground it in the power and the glory and the riches and the mercy of God is the very sum and substance of hope, such that if you're an unsaved sinner here this morning, you ought not to be reflecting on one floor. How do I know if I've been chosen in him before the foundation of the world?
Listen to my words and listen very clearly. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. I say that on the authority of God's holy word. And I realize that that may be a bit of a, I don't get it.
That's okay. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Get that. understand that, wrap your mind around that. You want to be forgiven of your sins?
I mean I along with you know a whole host of other people here can probably testify this day it's not a whole lot better than the forgiveness of sin. Well you know I got a great car, I got a great house, to have your sins forgiven, to be cleansed in the precious blood, to know something of the prophet Zechariah, there is a fountain open for sin and uncleanness, to know something of that blessed hymn, sinners plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains, to know something experientially of Romans 5.1, therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. And a Romans 8 one, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There ain't nothing better.
There ain't nothing better than to have your sins washed in the precious blood. To say with the hymn writer, nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. Or to be able to say, foul I to the fountain fly. That is Christian theology.
Every other type of religion is out there. I got to wash myself. I got to purify myself. I got to get good.
I got to be faithful in good works. And then I come to God to present those things. Now, fowl I to the fountain fly. Wash me, Savior, or I die.
You see, hope is founded in who God is. Not in who you are. You're an Ephesians 2, 1 to 3 kind of guy or girl, just like everybody here was. When you see believers around you, when you see Christians in your lives, you're not to applaud them.
I mean, it's great to be encouraged by them and with them. And while I'm on that subject, remember, we don't applaud when people go into the baptistry. They're obeying Christ. consequent on their salvation by grace through faith in Jesus. We're praising God through doxology when we sing.
Whatever we have, it's by grace. Whatever we've received, it's by grace. Whatever present peace, whatever hope of future glory, it's by grace. Do you get Paul's point?
He wants you to be reminded, he wants you to know you don't move from one to three, to four to seven, But God. And now he's amplifying what that but God looks like in verses 8 to 10. So for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. Notice he says it is the gift of God.
Again, is he talking about the faith? He's talking about the salvation by grace through faith package. And faith is a gift. As I said, we need an empty hand to receive the promised blessings.
We look down and we have stumps, spiritually speaking. How am I gonna receive this gift? Well, God's in the business of giving hands to receive the blessed provision. Faith is a gift.
It must be so because according to 2.1, you were dead in your trespasses and sins. He doesn't say you were dead in your trespasses and sins except for a square inch of your soul wherein that autonomous free will exists such that you can wander into God's presence at any time based on your own decision. No. Should this transaction occur, it occurs according to the grace of God.
But again, he's not a miser. He's not stingy. You're not just doling out a little bit or offering it and then taking it back. He's infinite.
According to the riches of his grace. Please hear that. There's riches of grace to be had in our blessed God. There are infinite resources to be had in our God.
You might conclude this morning, you know, I've been pretty bad. Join the club. I'm still pretty bad. Join the club.
I don't anticipate, you know, a great future. Join the club. It's about Jesus. It's about his blood and righteousness.
It's about the grace of God. I'm not suggesting that once saved, you live like you always used to, no. The particular text moves in a different direction. The rest of the book moves in a different direction for those new creatures in Christ Jesus.
How then are they supposed to live? But in terms of us coming to Jesus, bring your filth, bring your sin, bring your issues. Isn't it like us to say, well, I got to fix myself a bit before I come back. I got to sort myself out.
You know who thought that? Was the prodigal. Remember that boy, young man, told his father, you're better off to me dead than alive. I want my share of the loot, I want my share of the inheritance, because I want to go out and party.
It's essentially what he says, because that's exactly what he does. He goes out and he wastes it, prodigal living. He goes out and he spends it. He goes out and he blows it.
He comes to himself and he says, I know what I'll do. Well, actually he first goes and asks somebody else for help. Isn't that the trajectory of a sinner? I'm convicted of my sin.
I need help, but I'm not going to go to the helper. I know what I can do. I can go to this guy and he'll fix my problem. I'll go to this religion and it'll fix my problem.
I'll stop doing those bad things and it'll fix my problem. There's always something to try and fix our problem except the great problem fixer himself. That's what the prodigal does. And it gets to the point where he's looking at what the pigs are eating and he says, man, that looks good.
But you gotta be in a desperate state to want to eat pig slop. I mean, the thought of pig slop, I mentioned last week, vomit is a word you can't say without any pleasantness. Pig slop doesn't flow either. How can you say pig slop in an appetizingly sounding way?
You can't. I know what I'll do. Still on him, isn't it? I will go back to my father and I will make him a deal. take me on like a hired servant so I can get three hots and a cot.
He's not saved. He's looking to barter. He's looking to trade. He's looking to an arrangement.
What's grace? When the young man was a great way off, the father ran to him. The father fell on him. The father kissed him.
The father took his pig-smelling self back into the house, put a robe on him, called for the slaying of the fatted calf. See, these half measures where we try to fix our problems, it's not grace. So the faith that we have is a gift given by God. Philippians 1, the apostle says the same thing.
And there he says it, dare I say it incidentally? You would think this emphasis on faith as a gift would be the central point in any chapter it ever arose in. But in Philippians 1.29, it's just sort of a sideline thought because the emphasis there is it's a gift to you to suffer. It's a gift to you to have pain.
It's a gift to you to have affliction. It's a gift to you to go through trials. Philippians 1, 29, for to you, it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him. What does that mean?
It means you were dead in your trespasses and sins. God gave you the graces of faith and repentance. But again, the main point in 1, 29, but also to suffer for his sake. That's the primary emphasis in that particular context, and we know that in Acts chapter 5.
What happens after the apostles are beaten for the cause of Jesus? The disciples are beaten. They left from that place rejoicing. Why?
Because they had been counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. Truly amazing, isn't it? So Paul's emphasis in Ephesians 2, 8 to 10 has not shifted a corner and now gotten Arminian or Pelagian and saying, well, you know, it was because of your free will, because of that, you know, inch of your soul that wasn't affected by sin, you weren't mostly dead, mostly dead, not all the way dead, but mostly dead. But in that not dead part, you rightfully and wisely chose That would be so foreign and so contrary to two chapters wherein we see God who inhabits eternity choosing sinners in Christ from before the foundation of the world.
That God is somehow contingent upon, dependent upon, owing to sinners somewhere down there raising their hand at a tent meeting Your theology proper is in bad repair if you don't interpret Paul the way Paul intends to be interpreted. It's by grace, through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.
Notice again in verse eight, it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast. Wouldn't faith, me exercising it from that corner recess of my heart, be a work? Wouldn't that be an overture on my part to initiate some sort of a transaction in order to garner favor from? Of course it would.
But so far is Paul intent on displaying the riches of God's mercy and grace, God's great love with which he loved us. He is going now to take the nails and the hammer and bang them thoroughly to show that you're not where you're at because of you. You're at where you're at in spite of you and owing ultimately to the grace of God and the mercy and the riches of His kindness. So verse eight, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.
And then in verse nine, not of works, lest anyone should boast. It's always been this way in God's redemptive plan. This shouldn't surprise us that Paul is banging nails on this particular piece of wood. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness, Genesis 15, 6.
Habakkuk 2, 4, the just shall live by faith. It was always that way. was never based on Abraham's obedience. Paul says in Romans 4, 1-4, if it was, if it was connected to his works, then Abraham has an occasion to boast before God. And he shuts that down.
He has a reason to boast, but he shuts it down by saying, but not before God. There's not a one who will stand on that day of judgment and hear, well done, good and faithful servant that has any right whatsoever to pat themselves on the back. No, praise Jesus, praise our whole and soul righteousness, praise the spotless Lamb of God, praise the one in whom there is redemption through His blood according to the riches of God's grace. The day of judgment will surely set forth very clearly for those perhaps who have missed it, that salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb who sits upon the throne.
Verse 10: Good Works Confirm Grace
Notice then, the second part was a lot of parts, sorry, but now we come to verse 10. This is where I think Paul just confirms what he said in verses 8 and 9. I think the typical reading in verses 8 to 10 is simply this. Verses 8 and 9 emphasize salvation by God's grace through faith. we typically associate with the doctrine of justification by faith.
We believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we're forgiven of our sins, and we're counted as righteous in His sight. And then verse 10 just shows the progression. Once we're justified by God's grace through faith in our Lord Jesus, then we live godly lives. Then we do those things that are pleasing to Him.
That's certainly taught, but I don't think that's the focus in verse 10. It's not just the theological connection between justification and sanctification. I think he's further confirming what he has said in verses eight to nine. Because let's just read verses eight and nine again.
For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast. Yeah, but Paul, I've been pretty good. I did the right things, most times. You say, well, I would never say that.
Did you ever read about the rich young ruler? Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? What does Jesus say? You know the commandments, go do them.
Honor your parents, don't commit murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal. What's the young man say? All these I've kept from my youth. So before you get all upset, well, I would never say that.
You might say that. Never say never when it comes to sin. Never say never when it comes to pride. Never, ever, ever say never when it comes to arrogance, hubris.
Don't ever assume that posture. So let's just suppose for a moment that somebody says, you know, I haven't been that bad. I've got these things prior to my conversion and look at what a sterling character I am as a Christian convert. So Paul shows the relationship here of good works or what we might call under a broader term sanctification to justification. to make the case that our justification isn't helped by, isn't contributed to, isn't furthered along by the good works that we've done or do.
Notice in verse 10, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So the end of verse nine, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Why might somebody have the potential to boast? Because as far as they're concerned, they had some good works.
How is Paul effectively shutting down that particular counter argument? By verse 10. Anything that you have ever done good, anything that you will ever do good is not from your own strength. It's not from your own resources.
It's not from that other part of the soul that's not dead, that's mostly dead, wherein you can do good things that are proved, no, no, no, no, no. Verse 10 explains, amplifies, and shows us why this absolute and utter exclusion of our good works from any contribution to the saving grace of God. Again, He will develop sanctification. He will deal with good works.
He will tell us as the blood-bought children of God in 417 to no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk. He will tell us in 5.2 to walk in love. He will tell us in 5.8 to walk in the light. He will tell us in 5.15 to walk in wisdom.
Paul's not against sanctification, Paul's not against good works, but in this particular context, Paul is making the case exclusively that you're where you are because of God's riches in mercy, God's riches in grace, God's riches in love, God's riches in the provision of his only begotten son who lived for us, who died for us, and who was raised again for us. In fact, any good works that you ever do were prepared beforehand by God, that we should walk in them. And this is a counterbalance to where Paul starts his argument in chapter two at verses one to three. Notice in verse 10, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
The man who was formerly dead in trespasses and sins, verses one to three, made alive by God's power in Christ Jesus, verses 4 to 7, saved by grace through faith in Christ, verses 8 to 9, is that man who is now able to walk in the good works that God himself prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. You see, there's this transposition. I don't know if that's the word, but it seems to make sense in my mind. Maybe juxtaposition, maybe contrast is the best.
Contrast 1 to 3, verse 10. Your course, your orientation, your walk, 1 to 3, was only ever wicked. Verse 10, you're now walking in good works, which God determined beforehand that we should walk in. Doesn't verses 4 to 9 explain that movement?
Doesn't verses 4 to 9 show us the money? Doesn't verses 4 to 9 show us the how? How'd we get from 1 to 3 to 10? Oh God, rich mercy, great love. a gift giving God vis-a-vis the faith that we need, the resurrection spiritually that we need, the provision of His only begotten Son that we need.
See, verses four to nine celebrate God's grace. Verse 10 confirms it. You can't add to this. You can't better it.
You can't improve upon it. Rather, stand in awe at the goodness of our God who has saved you by His grace and for His glory. That's Paul's argument.
The Riches of God's Grace
I just want to conclude with a couple of quick thoughts. First, in terms of the exceeding riches of God's grace, again, playing off of 1, 7 and 2, 4, where we see God's perfections at the forefront. I think we see the exceeding riches of God's grace first in the objects of salvation. I think there's good news in verses 1 to 3.
Weird good news, but good news nevertheless. When it comes to who does God save, well, he saves those that were brought up in Christian homes. He does. He saves those that wear suits on Sunday and go to church.
He does. He saves wretches. He saves sinners. He saves the foul, the polluted, the vile, the vicious, the degenerated, such were some of you Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter six, verses six to nine.
This is beautiful. You don't have to go home and clean up today to make yourself fit to be saved. God is infinite. Right here, right now, you can believe on him.
I remember as a child being brought up Roman Catholic, I sort of had this idea of God as the old school, this is going to blow a lot of the kids' minds, the old school operators You know, the PBX operators, you know, you got a headphone in and somebody calls, you pull the thing out and you stick it over here and you're kind of connecting people. And hold on just one moment. Again, kids are going, what's he talking about? You know, kids, there used to be cords on phones.
I know it's hard to believe. You used to have to put your finger on it and do, you know, do like that. There was a time when there wasn't cell phones. Again, I don't want to shock you to your inner core, but have that view.
God's this sort of busy, you know, operator upstairs that, you know, that's why we got to come through Mary. And that's why we got this whole host of saints. And, you know, he's put us on hold while he's dealing with something over here in the Sudan. That's not God.
The God who's got infinite grace, the God who's got infinite mercy, God who has infinite wisdom and knowledge. Scripture tells us he's immense. Scripture tells us that he's omnipresent. There's no, hang on just a moment.
When I free up my schedule, I will get to you. There's no creaturely limits imposed on God. In all of our jobs and all of our lives and all of our challenges, there's always pressure. There's always creaturely limits.
There's always a need to use a calendar or to use the phone. Not with God. The beauty of God is that right now, right here, you can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. The objects of God's salvation display the infinite grace and mercy of that God. the perfections of God revealed in that salvation, as I've said, mercy, love, grace, and kindness, and then the application through our Lord Jesus and the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The blessings come from the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit, 1, 3 to 14. He saves us, 2, 8 to 10. And then what's the traverse pattern? We come through the spirit.
Or in the spirit, through the son to the father, there's Trinitarian movement in chapters one and two, again, to display God's power, God's glory, God's majesty, God's excellence, God's grace and God's mercy. Notice that the angels are even amazed by this. Look at 3.9. And to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery.
Mystery here is Jew-Gentile inclusion in the one covenant of God in terms of salvation of his people through Christ the Lord. So to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places by the church. I always like to imagine not always because I don't always think of this text. I have limitations to be sure.
But when I think of this text, I think of angels looking down upon us now. They do according to 1 Corinthians 11. What are they looking down upon with reference to 1 Corinthians 11? To make sure men are leading in the church.
Why are they looking down according to Ephesians chapter 3? To see a display of God's manifold wisdom in the salvation of sinners. In other words, when the angels look upon a worship service, they don't say, you know, I knew that guy had it in him. I knew that girl was solid.
I knew that he was faithful. No, no, no, no, no, no. All praise, all glory, all honor, all worship is given to God.
The Meaning of Believers' Baptism
And then I want to end with this. The demonstration of Christian baptism, what are we doing here in just a couple of minutes? For those keeping track, yes, just a couple of minutes. Told you before, the preacher said, finally, the boy asks his father, what does finally mean?
And the father says, nothing, son. First, the water demonstrates outwardly what God has done inwardly. That water will not change Jane. God's grace changed Jane.
This is an outward testimony, a display as it were, of the inner work of God vis-a-vis regeneration, justification. So we don't look to the water as magic, we don't look to it as powerful, we don't look to it as somehow promoting or producing blessing. No, it testifies. I would suggest secondly, the water demonstrates identification with our triune God.
Go therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name singular of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So thinking through this, I thought about our sermon last Sunday morning from Psalm 20 and verse 5. We will rejoice in your salvation and in the name of our God, we will set up our banners. I think there's a theological analogy.
This is something of a banner. When Jane goes into that water, she is, as it were, raising her banner, testifying it was God who saved her, testifying she's identifying with God's name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I would suggest thirdly, the water demonstrates Christ's church building being accomplished. In other words, in Matthew 16, Jesus says, I will build my church, the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Drop down with me for just a moment to Ephesians 2 at verse 19. Now, therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." Jane joins the ranks of the stones in the temple. She flies her banner, She participates in Christ's building project. She's a part of the church of our blessed savior, that church he promised to build and promises that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
So I would say wave those banners, identify with our blessed God, and join happily with the ranks of God's people in what we call the church. With all of her imperfections, with all of her blemishes, with all of her warts, with all of her spots, with all of her issues, with all of her difficulties, she is nevertheless the bride of our blessed Savior King. And finally, for Jane specifically, the water demonstrates the definitive breach with sin and newness of life in Christ Jesus. Chapter 29 in our confession, baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament ordained by Jesus Christ to be unto the party baptized, a sign of his fellowship with him in his death and resurrection of his being engrafted into him of remission of sins and of giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life.
Always take it that way, my dear sister, and walk according to his blessed will.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the beauty of Christian salvation. We know it's not of us, it's not by our works, it's not by anything wrought in us or by us, but it's because of what you have done savingly in the gospel of our blessed Savior.
We pray for your grace to be upon us. We pray for help to grow in that grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, that we would give all glory and praise and honor unto you. And please open hearts to dead sinners, cause them to see their sin and to see that Christ alone is the remedy desperately needed. And we ask this in Jesus name.
Amen.