Sunday, August 22, 2010

Death, Salvation, Destiny

Ephesians 2:1-10

We are about to embark on my favorite passage in Scripture.  Now, I am not saying it is the best, because all Scripture is God-breathed and share the same status.  I am just saying it is my favorite, so bear with me as we begin to study this passage.

Verses 1-10 can broken into three main points: 1) our dead condition (1-3); 2) our salvation (4-6); 3) our destiny (7-10).

Death

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— 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.     ESV

1 και υμας οντας νεκρους τοις παραπτωμασιν και ταις αμαρτιαις υμων 2 εν αις ποτε περιεπατησατε κατα τον αιωνα του κοσμου τουτου κατα τον αρχοντα της εξουσιας του αερος του πνευματος του νυν ενεργουντος εν τοις υιοις της απειθειας 3 εν οις και ημεις παντες ανεστραφημεν ποτε εν ταις επιθυμιαις της σαρκος ημων ποιουντες τα θεληματα της σαρκος και των διανοιων και ημεθα τεκνα φυσει οργης ως και οι λοιποι

He/she/it is dead.  We use that phrase to describe the condition of a lot of things: the radio is dead; the battery is dead; the car is dead; the computer is dead.  What do we mean?  It means those objects are not responding to our stimulation.  They need to be restored to their original responsiveness and capabilities.  This requires intervention; they cannot resuscitate themselves, nor restore life to themselves.

Moving on to animated things: the bug is dead; the bird is dead; the dog is dead.  What do we mean?  These creatures have no life in them any longer.  Life is absent from their beings.  It cannot be brought back.  I held my first border collie in my arms as the vet tearfully injected the "pink juice" to put him down, as he was suffering from an aggressive lymphoma sarcoma strain.  We were weeping as well, and had been for days as we knew this moment was approaching.  Dillon (Faithful and True) fell against my chest as the barbiturates did their deed.  Oh, such a beautiful, intelligent, and loving creature!  Even now it pains me.  The vet listened for a heartbeat.  He heard nothing.  There was one last test, a test of the involuntary nervous system activity: the cornea test.  The cornea test is simple.  Touch the cornea.  If there is any nervous system response remaining, there would be a reaction to touch.  There was none.  Dillon was dead.  Life had left him.  Dead. Incapable of response to anything.

Paul could have used a variety of words to describe the former spiritual condition of the Ephesians: θανατος, which means killed or destroyed; πτωμα, which means corpse; νεκρος, which means lifeless.  He chose to use the word  νεκρος to emphasize the exhaustion of any presence of life:  "You, being dead/lifeless in your trespasses and sins..."  The Ephesians (and us by later assimilation) had no spiritual life within them, and was incapable of any auto-response of the same.  The ESV speaks of "trespasses and sins", and indeed, they represent two different words in the Greek: τοις παραπτωμασιν (locative form) means "the acts of falling along corruption", deliberate misdeeds; while ταις αμαρτιαις means "the acts of you falling short as a part of your nature".  So while some may claim it is unfair that those who have not heard the Gospel should die and spend eternity in Hell, it is just since, as Paul points out, our sinning is deliberate.  Both "types" of sins have them same force: they condemn and take life away.

As there was no life so far as heaven was concerned, Paul reminds the Ephesians of their previous life, "...walking after the age of this world, according to the prince of authority of the air..."  Paul cites that they did whatever this world offered them, but that it was not merely them acting, they were also subjected to Satan.  Sometimes I hear well-meaning people say, "...cast your vote, are you going to got with Jesus or the devil?"  There is no vote!  Until one is redeemed, that one already belongs to the Enemy.  Moreover, until one is redeemed, they are lifeless to do anything to help themselves...

Continuing, "...the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience..."  Paul points the Ephesians to "the world and age not seen with human eye" as he speaks of their former condition.  He is bringing forth a reality perhaps they had not considered: their sins were also the result of a condition in the spiritual realm from which they had to be delivered.  Paul does not point the finger at them for judgement, instead, he then includes himself and his band with them: "...we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind...like the rest..."  There are no exceptions to this condition of lifelessness toward God.  Nothing in our innate affections, our mind, our blood, our heritage that creates an exception.  Everyone is incapable of any auto-response to God, the same being true of the Body, the Elect, the Possession before God...

Grace et la paix,

Mark

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