Ephesians Chapter 2

Ephesians 2 – From Flesh to Spirit

In Chapter 2, Paul goes into more detail about Christ trans-formative work. We go from being people of the flesh to people of the spirit. The church is the body of Christ. Our firm foundation – our cornerstone – is Christ. Last week we looked at the rich grace of God that He lavished on us. This week we continue to look at His rich grace as we explore what it means to be people who walk in the spirit and not the flesh.

Vs 1-3 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 

All of us are sinners. That’s not a very popular statement, but it’s true nonetheless and we have to come to terms with that fact. We were born in the flesh and, until something changes, we live in the flesh. Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus, who knew all to well what it meant to live in the flesh. The city was known for it’s Artemis temple and the pagan worship that comes with that. Many in the church had come from that background. In these verses, Paul says they had previously lived in the way of the flesh and were under wrath. But, the church, who previously lived in sin, now does not. John 3 gives us the good news. Jesus is speaking with Nicodemus and says, “Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He goes on to explain this; “Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” All of us have been born of water – in the flesh. In that state, we will sin. It is inevitable. As Paul says, we are by nature children under wrath. But, when we are born in the spirit, we take on a new nature.

Vs 4-10 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.

Here it is – God’s rich mercy and great love. Continuing in John 3 we find perhaps the most well known Bible verse of all times, “For God so loved the world He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have life everlasting.” We, who were dead in our sin, were made alive through the Messiah. We have been saved by grace through faith. Again, John 3:16 says, whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have life everlasting. One must have faith in order to receive the grace that is extended. And that’s it – grace is extended to us – it is a gift. Jesus continues His explanation to Nicodemus by saying, “This, then, is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.” Our works are accomplished by God. He is the one who has done the work. Nothing we can do will justify us. It is when we except the gift of grace that God offers us that we can then do the work God has prepared for us. It is through His power we are able to accomplish this.

Vs 11-16 So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands. At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh, He made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. He did this so that He might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross and put the hostility to death by it. 

Once again, Paul reminds us that the good news is for all nations. The church at Ephesus was most likely made up of mostly Gentile believers. Paul reminds them that at one time, they were excluded. But, as we again learned last week, God has always had the nations in mind when it came to salvation. He made a plan for all of creation to come to know Him wanting none to perish. His plan was always to see both Jew and Gentile be a part of the family. The plan was for the Jewish nation to be the light to the nations. And, through the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ, they are. Jesus is the light of the world – a light to both Jew and Gentile. He has torn down the dividing wall between us. All can come to His light and find salvation there. We are one body in Christ. That is the exciting news!!

Vs 17-22 When the Messiah came, He proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. The whole building, being put together by Him, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord. You also are being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

Jesus proclaimed the good news to all, both Jew and Gentile, men and women, poor and rich, kings and peasants. All have sinned and come short of God’s glory, but through His rich grace, an invitation has been extended for us to walk with Him. From the beginning of time, God’s plan has been for all to come to know Him. He built his house – choosing Abraham, Issac and Jacob to be the line from which the nation of Israel would come. From the line of Judah, we would see a young man by the name of David be chosen as king. From David’s line comes the Messiah who is the light of the world. The prophets foretold Him and the apostles preached Him. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. He is the cornerstone upon which the whole building is set. Interestingly, the cornerstone is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. The first stone. By describing Jesus as the cornerstone, Paul is saying He came first – before Abraham, David, the prophets. John 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.” Jesus was there in the beginning and thus, the cornerstone. In a building all other stones will be set in reference to the cornerstone. It determines the position of the entire structure. This is why Paul says the whole building was put together by Him. As we come to Jesus through His rich grace in faith, we become a part of the holy sanctuary – the body of Christ – where the Spirit of God dwells and moves and works.

Right now, we need to be a people who walk according to the spirit and not the flesh. It is so easy to look around today and see the chaos, division and strife and become discouraged and disillusioned. We wonder what God is up to. We become disappointed in the churches response. But the body of Christ is more than just a building. It is more than just a congregation. The church is the body of Christ. It is made up of people who walk in the spirit, doing the work that God has called them to do. So what is the body of Christ suppose to be doing? We are to love our neighbor. We are to lift up the brokenhearted. We are to be the first to cry out for justice for those who cannot cry out. We have been given a lavish, rich grace by a holy and awesome God. Let us, in turn, give grace to those who need it most. As we move from walking in the flesh to walking in the spirit, may God’s rich and lavish grace transform us to be a people who walk according to His purpose.