The objective of this lesson: to emphasize the connection between God's grace and His call to holiness.
What a contrast! No more sacrifices at the pagan temples! No more participation in drunkenness or sexual abandonment! Practicing honesty in words said and deeds done! No longer being controlled by anger in stressful situations! Surely there was much "room for improvement," but obvious changes were remarkable.
Among Christians in the first century, many gentile Christians could regard the changes in their lives as dramatic.
However, an enormous problem basically remained unchanged: the relationship problem between Jewish Christians and gentile Christians. Gentile Christians looked at Jewish Christians suspiciously because many Jewish Christians seemed dedicated to "controlling them." Jewish Christians looked on gentile Christians suspiciously because "they are entirely too materialistic, too governed by physical desires." Jewish Christians saw minimal change in gentile converts, and gentile converts saw lots of arrogance in Jewish Christians. Many in each group did not like Christians in the "other group."
However, if the gentile convert turned to Christ from paganism rather than from Jewish proselytism (Judaism), unimpressed Jewish Christians thought these gentile Christians had not changed nearly enough. Too state it mildly, often there was significant hostility between Jewish Christians and gentile Christians (for an example, see Acts 15:5).
The letter of Ephesians came from Paul and was addressed to Christians who primarily were gentile converts. Because they took note of "a lot of changes" since conversion to Christ, because they disliked many Jewish converts, they had two basic problems [in this text]. (1) They exaggerated their own worth by forgetting who they were prior to conversion. (2) They failed to realize that God reconciled ALL Christians to Himself through Christ as one body of believers.
Today's text addresses the arrogance generated when a Christian thinks he/she is more significant than another group of Christians. Such arrogance can generate blindness to one's own dead spiritual past. In such blindness one can deceive himself/herself by thinking he/she is to receive the credit for his/her salvation.
For God's purpose to occur and prevail, it was essential that these converts not exaggerate their significance. The fact that God saved them in Christ was not proof they were of "special worth and significance." Paul made it plain that it was not a matter of "what you have done for God" but "what God has done for you."
These Christians urgently needed to see themselves for who they were and understand what their spiritual condition was prior to knowing and coming to Jesus Christ. The incredible thing was God's actions in making their salvation possible, not their responding to the opportunity God presented them.
In 2:1, 2 Paul urged them to remember who and what they were before they entered Jesus Christ. Note Paul's words and phrases used to describe their pre-Christ spiritual condition: "dead," "trespasses," "sins," "the prince of the power of the air," and the evil "spirit" who determined the behavior of "the sons of disobedience." Because of their own evil behaviors proceeding from their ungodly minds which were ruled and controlled by evil powers, they were spiritually dead. At that point in their lives, neither way nor means existed that could allow these people to enter God's presence.
The words and phrases Paul used to describe these Christians prior to conversion left no doubt about their horrible spiritual condition. They were spiritually dead because of (1) their own horrible choices and (2) their own ungodly behavior.
Paul did not want these gentile converts to look at him as just another arrogant Jewish Christian who held gentile converts in contempt. His observations about their pre-Christian spiritual condition did not arise from his "superior knowledge and background." Paul acknowledged on behalf of Jewish Christians that "we" also were in pitiful spiritual condition: controlled by physical desires, indulging desires in both mind and body, and were also "children of wrath" because of the way they lived. God was deeply unhappy with both pre-Christian groups!
These gentile Christians were not alone! Paul was not merely confronting them! Jewish Christians, including himself, were in an equally horrible condition. Jewish Christians were not more deserving of God's grace then were gentile Christians!
Paul made it quite clear that the salvation of both groups depended on God's achievements, not human merit. It was God Who was rich in mercy. It was God's great love for all of them that made their salvation possible. Even when they were rightfully dead spiritually because of their own evil behavior, it was God Who permitted them to become alive in Christ. Their salvation existed because of God's grace, not because of their human merit.
None of them were saved because they as humans were so good! All of them were saved because God is so good! Regardless of how they yielded to God through obedience, 100% of their salvation was made possible through God's mercy and kindness. In no way were they deserving of God's kindness. In no consideration was God indebted to them.
What God did for them in their salvation was incredible! Even though they were dead, He resurrected them [just as He did with the crucified Jesus]. He raised them to be seated with the resurrected Jesus [Jesus Christ sits at God's right hand to intercede for them]. What God did for them in resurrecting them from spiritual death was only a down payment on what God's grace would do for them in judgment! Only when they lived in God's presence after judgment would they comprehend the incredible wealth found in God's grace and kindness!
In their least desirable condition, God loved them! He loved them so much that He paid a price exceeding their comprehension in order to make them alive. God literally resurrected them from a dead state so they could be alive to God. Everything they had in and through Jesus was provided to them by God when they were dead to Him.
All their faith in God did was to permit God's grace to work. Surely, they were obedient! However, the "bottom line" was this: God's grace saved them, not human merit. Their salvation was God's gift to them, not their compensation for obedience. Human deeds did not produce their salvation. They had nothing to brag about, no reason to place confidence in human efforts.
They gave God permission to be at work through grace in their lives. They trusted what God did for them in Jesus Christ. Salvation was God's gift to them. For them to take credit for their salvation was to insult God!
Astoundingly, this was not an "anti-obedience" statement. It should not be heard as a discouragement against obedience. They were God's creation in Christ [see Ephesians 4:20-24 and Colossians 3:8-11]. God created them in Christ for a reason: to do good works. These good works have their origin in God Himself. He determined the nature of these good works before Christ came. He also determined that all who entered Christ would be dedicated to these good works. Doing God's good works is not an attempt to "earn" salvation. Obedience is an expression of appreciation to God for the grace that placed them in Jesus Christ.
Paul did not discourage obedience in this text. He called their attention to the motive for obedience. Obedience's motive must not be attached to "what I did (or am)." It must be attached to "what God did." With the permission they gave God by trusting Jesus, they permitted God to remake them, to create them again. This new creation in Jesus enabled them to come into God's presence. God recreated them for a reason! God's reason was centered in their behavior, attitudes, and motives! God remade them for the purpose of doing good works! These good works were declared and defined by God, not by them. Before salvation existed, God determined that those who trusted what He did through Jesus would be committed to doing His good works.
Those good works included gentile converts accepting Jewish converts, and Jewish converts accepting gentile converts. A primary reason God sent Christ was to end the separation between Jews and gentiles. In Christ, God accepts both without hesitation! Christ creates peace between the two groups! Christ destroyed the barrier that separated the two groups! Christ used the cross to reconcile the two groups by destroying their spiritual separation!
One of God's good works was ending the hostility between Jews and gentiles. God willed to join the believers in both groups into one body in Christ. As one body, they would bless each other, not discourage each other. Peace between the two groups would not be their creation--it would be God's creation through Christ. Christ, not they, destroyed the barrier that separated the groups from each other.
A refusal by either group to seek reconciliation in Christ was an active resistance to God's purposes in Christ! Human arrogance, even among the saved, did not and cannot promote God's purposes in Christ! Our failure as Christians to realize we all are 100% dependent on God's grace is human arrogance! Such human arrogance rejects God's holiness!
The Holy God wanted a holy people who belonged exclusively to Him--regardless of their past or background! Refusing to recognize what God did for ALL in Jesus Christ was a devastating expression of human arrogance! There is no place for human arrogance in God's grace!
Thought Questions:
The relationship problem between most Jewish Christians and most gentile Christians remained basically unchanged.
(1) Gentile Christians exaggerated their worth because they forgot who they were prior to conversion. (2) A failure to realize God reconciled ALL Christians to Himself through Christ into one body of believers.
They were dead in their trespasses and sins. They were ruled by powers that opposed God. Their behaviors were determined by an evil spirit that worked in the sons of disobedience.
God made their salvation possible. He loved them when they were "unlovable." In His incredible love He extended mercy.
Their faith in God expressed by trusting Jesus Christ permitted God's grace to save them.
God created them in Jesus Christ to do good works.
God created them in Christ by grace to be obedient. God made the decision the believers in Christ would do good works before He sent Jesus Christ to be Savior.
One of the good works was a uniting of Jews who believed and gentiles who believed in Christ into one body.
It was an expression of human arrogance because they allowed human feelings of superiority to resist God's purposes in Christ. Dependence on "my virtues" rather than God's grace is an expression of human arrogance that leads people away from God's holiness.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 12