1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,880 Father in Heaven, we thank you so much for all that you've 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:06,400 given us this day. We thank you for Your holy Word. 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:09,680 And now, as it is read and preached, we pray that it would 4 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:14,040 fall upon good soil for those who are already in Christ to go 5 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:18,280 deeper, to understand more fully who we are in you. 6 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:23,240 For those this day who are here, not yet in the fold, not yet 7 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:27,040 aware of what it means to be a believer in Jesus. 8 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,240 Oh God, would you open those hearts even this day. 9 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:34,680 Thank you, Father, for the Holy Spirit, the one who illuminates 10 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,600 these truths, who brings us this resurrection life and 11 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,840 resurrection power. Do this all for your glory and 12 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:45,160 the good of your people. We pray in the name of Jesus, 13 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,160 Amen. This morning we'll be hearing 14 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:51,160 from the book of Ephesians, chapter 2, beginning at verse 4. 15 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:54,120 Best pray there. And Will Steinbrook are here to 16 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:56,080 read the passage for us. So come on over. 17 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:02,080 Ephesians 2. Four through 10 But God, being 18 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:05,400 rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved 19 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:09,520 us even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive 20 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:13,600 together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and 21 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,960 raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly 22 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:21,880 places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show 23 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:26,280 us the immeasurable riches of His grace and kindness toward us 24 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:33,120 in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved 25 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:35,600 through faith, and this is not your own doing. 26 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:39,200 It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one 27 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:41,400 may boast. For we are his workmanship, 28 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,760 created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared 29 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:46,720 beforehand, that we should walk in them. 30 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,800 This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God you may be 31 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:52,480 seated. Thank you, Best. 32 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:58,160 Thank you Will. So grateful this morning as we 33 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:00,360 move into this portion of Ephesians. 34 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:05,280 We'll be in the same exact text next week, so we will get as far 35 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:09,560 as we can today and then pick up where we left off. 36 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,640 If you were not here last Sunday, you missed a powerful 37 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:17,280 sermon on the 1st 3 verses of chapter 2 preached by Rob 38 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,920 Rucker. He set this up encouraging you 39 00:02:20,920 --> 00:02:23,840 to return. You have to come back and why? 40 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:29,920 Because of the 1st 2 words of Ephesians chapter 2 verse 4. 41 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:36,040 But God, these are two very significant words in the gospel. 42 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,600 In fact, Martin Luther or not Martin Luther Martyn Lloyd Jones 43 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,400 says these things about these two words. 44 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:47,640 These two words in and of themselves in a sense contain 45 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:51,720 the whole of the gospel. Why would he say that? 46 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:57,120 Doctor James Montgomery Boyce commenting on this passage, 47 00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:59,680 these two words specifically said this may. 48 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:04,760 I put it simply, if you understand those two words, but 49 00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:11,320 God, they will save your soul. If you recall them daily and 50 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:16,520 live by them, they will transform your life completely. 51 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:28,400 But God, we are in a community that is often referred to as the 52 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,160 Bible Belt. And in this community there are 53 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:37,960 things that become so normal. Ways of doing discipleship, ways 54 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:42,240 of participating in the church that can often take us to a 55 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:47,680 place is not central to what God's Word teaches us. 56 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:52,520 As we look over the next two weeks at this incredible section 57 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:57,080 of Ephesians, you're going to hear things that those to whom 58 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,320 this letter was written heard for the first time. 59 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:06,280 Truth about who God is and who they are saved by God in Christ. 60 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,600 Maybe one helpful way to think of it is going to be this way 61 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:17,040 every person's life, every person since the fall, every 62 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:21,240 person's life begins as A1 volume biography. 63 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:28,080 Or if you prefer, the stage of one act play, there isn't a 64 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:32,760 second act, not originally From birth to death. 65 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:38,680 The details of this first volume, this one volume life, 66 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:43,960 this one volume biography from birth to death, operates 67 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:49,200 according to what Paul labored to write in Ephesians 2, one to 68 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:53,000 three. This is true of every person 69 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:55,880 ever born except for the Messiah. 70 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,480 Listen to what Paul says. And you were dead in the 71 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:05,840 trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the 72 00:05:05,840 --> 00:05:09,120 course of this world, following the Prince of the power of the 73 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:12,920 air, the Spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience 74 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:19,320 among whom we all once lived, in the passions of our flesh, 75 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,560 carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. 76 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:26,920 And we're by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 77 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:32,280 Every person that's born, has ever born, born, will ever be 78 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:35,200 born. From the fall of Adam, to the 79 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:40,840 250 babies that were just born in the last minute, to the 80 00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:44,040 15,000 babies that will be born worldwide. 81 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:48,200 During this one hour of worship, everyone is born. 82 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,440 And this is the one volume biography. 83 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:56,680 This is who we are. We are not born sick. 84 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:02,560 We are not born just immoral. We are not born a little bit 85 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:05,640 dirty. The temptation for us is to 86 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:09,760 minimize what Paul is saying, to think of ourselves a little 87 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:15,280 better than we are. But something happens to those 88 00:06:15,280 --> 00:06:20,040 who come to saving faith in Christ, and that something is 89 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:25,520 but God. And when that but God takes 90 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:30,360 place, those who once like everyone else in the world, only 91 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:34,920 have a one volume biography, they now have a second volume. 92 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:40,160 And so great is that but God that the first volume, 93 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:46,440 completely past tense, it is finished, is no longer being 94 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:50,280 written. But God being rich in mercy 95 00:06:50,280 --> 00:06:54,120 because of the great love with which he loved us even when we 96 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:58,240 were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with 97 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:01,560 Christ. And what happens is that's the 98 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,880 beginning of the second volume that is written. 99 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:10,160 And your life in Christ has been marked by a union with Jesus 100 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:15,200 that is far greater than what most of us have been disciple 101 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:19,000 with, far greater in understanding than what most 102 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:23,760 Bible studies and ministries are like around us here in the Bible 103 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:25,960 Belt. Here's what I mean. 104 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,920 I was called to serve as the youth pastor of this church in 105 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,160 2003. I had Will Washington's job. 106 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:38,520 I remember scanning the the the land of where the students went 107 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:40,600 to school. Lots of students went to 108 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:42,760 Highland Park High School, but there were many schools 109 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:46,280 represented, private Christian schools, other private schools, 110 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,720 public schools. I remember coming from Saint 111 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:53,600 Louis, which is not the Bible Belt, to Dallas, which is 112 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:55,280 probably the buckle of the Bible Belt. 113 00:07:55,560 --> 00:08:00,480 And I remember learning about how many Christian workers were 114 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,560 pursuing these schools. And I made this statement that I 115 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:08,080 don't know of any other city where more Christian workers are 116 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:10,720 pursuing more high school students than anywhere in the 117 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:14,680 world. We alone as a church had 14 full 118 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,160 time staff people for our youth ministry alone. 119 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:20,840 And then you take all the other churches and all the other para 120 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:24,280 churches. And I remember saying frequently 121 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:28,400 to our elders, I've never seen a place where Christianity looks 122 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:32,960 more screwed up. And the reason it looks screwed 123 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:37,760 up was because what the focus was, the focus of Bible studies, 124 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:41,120 the focus of disciple making was on behavior. 125 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:45,280 Students centered their accountability around did you do 126 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:46,840 this? Did you do this? 127 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,200 Did you do this? Or did you not do this? 128 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,160 Did you not do this? Did you not do this? 129 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:56,080 Behavior matters. It's a sign of fruit. 130 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:02,240 But what's most important is to focus on the identity of the 131 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:06,000 person in Christ and understanding more fully the 132 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:09,120 connection we have with Christ in our union with him. 133 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:13,480 That then not only motivates us to follow the perfect example of 134 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:18,240 Christ, but gives us the power, because of our union with Him, 135 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:22,280 to be the obedient children He's called us to be. 136 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:27,640 So often our Bible studies are centered on behavior. 137 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:32,200 Yes, that needs to be talked about, but not first, and not 138 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,600 most frequently. It's our identity. 139 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:41,200 Paul is writing to a young church that he planted. 140 00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:47,680 Most of us when we came to saving faith, we're rightly told 141 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:51,120 to get a Bible, or we might have even been given a Bible and we 142 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:54,720 were told told to read the Gospel of John or maybe the 143 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,440 gospel of Mark. And that's really good and 144 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:01,320 important advice. But I want to tell you, we get 145 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:07,520 to these letters like Ephesians too late, and we don't stay in 146 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:10,120 these letters long enough. Here's what I mean. 147 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:13,680 When Paul was writing to this church, they had the oral 148 00:10:13,680 --> 00:10:16,120 tradition. They had the ability to tell the 149 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,760 stories of what Christ had done. But as individuals in Ephesus 150 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:23,400 were coming to faith in Christ, they didn't have New Testaments, 151 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:27,000 they didn't have gospel, the Gospel of John to hold in their 152 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:29,240 hand. They had the instruction that 153 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:33,360 Paul was given them, and the instruction which is so mind 154 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:40,200 blowing in Ephesians, saturates the understanding that we need 155 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:45,280 to have about who we are in Christ and what has happened. 156 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:49,920 When we only focus on behavior, there's not much power. 157 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:53,720 When we only focus on disciplines, there's not much 158 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:57,480 power. But when we understand who God 159 00:10:57,480 --> 00:11:02,920 is telling us He is and who we are in Him, then the power to be 160 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:05,800 the people we're called to be is present. 161 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:10,440 This is not something that we're just spiritualizing or something 162 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:14,320 that we're actually even ignoring, which would be easy to 163 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:19,240 do in this text because the things that Paul is saying are 164 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:24,240 true of you who are in Christ, true of those who are living the 165 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:28,680 second volume of their biography or living in the second act of 166 00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:31,560 their play. They're unbelievable. 167 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,160 They are remarkable. They're not something that is 168 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,280 far off one day, a long ways away. 169 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:43,800 They're the real presence and power of God-given to us now. 170 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:50,600 John Stott, Speaking of the Christian, says this. 171 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:54,200 Our biography is written in two volumes. 172 00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:56,640 Remember, this is true of the Christian. 173 00:11:57,560 --> 00:12:02,160 The non Christian only has one volume and that will remain true 174 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:05,160 as long as they continue to reject Christ. 175 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:11,080 They will only have one volume, one God, and it's not the Lord 176 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:14,760 Jesus. They will be bound to sin and 177 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:18,280 Satan for all eternity. That's their volume. 178 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:24,200 But God, when one comes to saving faith, they now have a 179 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:27,200 second volume, a second act, and listen to how Scott describes 180 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:29,520 it. Our biography is written in two 181 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:33,480 volumes for Christians. Volume 1 is the story of the old 182 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:38,040 man, the old self of me before my conversion. 183 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:43,680 Volume 2 is the story of the new man, the new self of me after I 184 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:45,800 was made a new creation in Christ. 185 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:50,440 Volume one of my biography ended with the judicial death of the 186 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:52,960 old self. I was a Sinner. 187 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:56,800 I deserved to die. I did die. 188 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:01,440 I received what I deserved in my substitute, Jesus, with whom I 189 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,520 have become one. That's union. 190 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:06,440 We're going to hear a lot about that. 191 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:11,160 Volume 2 of my biography opened with my resurrection. 192 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:19,280 My old life having finished a new life to God has begun to 193 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:22,240 today. Are you living in the first 194 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:25,880 volume? Has the but God become a reality 195 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:29,040 in your life. If not, listen to what I'm about 196 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:33,120 to say and if it has already. If you know you're living in 197 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:38,120 volume to that whole story is also written by a sovereign God. 198 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:42,440 But we have the privilege of living out that one volume seen 199 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:45,920 by scene. But Paul is going to tell us 200 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:49,560 three things that are true of ourselves right now. 201 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:54,520 These three things are in parallel to what he said at the 202 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,760 beginning of chapter 2. At the beginning of chapter 2, 203 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:00,040 what did he say? You were dead. 204 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:04,600 But God, for those who are in Christ, you've been made alive. 205 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:10,640 He's going to speak about how we are slaves to sin, carried along 206 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:12,400 by the Prince of the power of the air. 207 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:17,200 He's going to talk about what it means to ascend with Christ. 208 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,960 Then he's going to talk about what it means for us to be bound 209 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:25,080 and deserving wrath. And he's going to say we have 210 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:29,760 been seated with Christ on his throne. 211 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:32,600 These three things are significant. 212 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:35,840 Here's why. In order for Paul to convey 213 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:42,080 these truths found in these few verses, he had to coin 3 brand 214 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:48,360 new words, taking the Greek prefix sun and adding it to 215 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,440 these verbs. Which is the first one? 216 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:54,480 Well, let's go back to Ephesians 2, verse 4. 217 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:59,440 But God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with 218 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:04,520 which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trans passes, 219 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:07,640 made us alive together in Christ. 220 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:12,360 What does Paul mean when he says God being rich in mercy? 221 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:21,200 This is the most beautiful news. You and I could never count, 222 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:27,320 even on a given day, how many times we have sinned against the 223 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:30,680 holy God. The Holy Spirit will bring 224 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,240 things to mind. We can make a list. 225 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:37,120 I was lustful, I was pride prideful. 226 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:41,880 I had a quick temper. I did not love as I should have 227 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,480 loved. We can actually keep a score 228 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:46,440 part card, but it would never be perfect. 229 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:52,600 But when it comes to God's account of mercy, when it comes 230 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:58,040 to his statement of mercy, there is no end. 231 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:04,640 God's mercy will always outnumber your sins. 232 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:09,960 But God being rich in mercy because of the great love with 233 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:12,840 which he loved us. We love to talk about God's 234 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:17,600 love, but most of us, in fact all of us, can only get a 235 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:22,400 glimpse of how great is love is. Years ago, in our very first 236 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:26,320 silent retreats, I took our elders, many of them that wanted 237 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:30,520 to go for four days of silence up to Colorado. 238 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:35,200 At the end of the time together, the overwhelming theme that 239 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:40,040 would be presented by each elder was over the four days of being 240 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:44,200 in the Word of God and nothing else, just the Word in the 241 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:50,160 Spirit illuminating the text. Every man to a man said I never 242 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:57,520 knew how much God loved me. And that became the theme that 243 00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:01,280 would be true of almost everyone who participated in those 244 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:04,920 retreats. God's love for us is perfect. 245 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,280 If He could love you more, He would. 246 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:15,560 So Paul's telling us that motivated by a desire for mercy, 247 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:20,920 motivated by this love, these three things happen. 248 00:17:21,599 --> 00:17:30,000 First, he says He made us alive together with Christ. 249 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:32,960 Look with me at verse 4. But God being rich in mercy 250 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:36,000 because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we 251 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:40,080 were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with 252 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:43,080 Christ. That's the first word Paul 253 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:45,000 coined. What does it mean? 254 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:49,280 Well, it means what Paul said it means. 255 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:53,160 At the beginning of chapter he said, chapter 2, he said, and 256 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:56,160 you were dead in the trespasses and sins. 257 00:17:56,640 --> 00:18:00,880 Now he says it again in verse 5, even when we were dead in our 258 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:03,920 trespasses. And I'm telling you, most of you 259 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:08,520 don't believe him. You don't think you were dead. 260 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:14,400 You think you were spiritually sick, a little bit immoral, a 261 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:17,040 little dirty. But when you begin to compare 262 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:20,520 yourself to other people who are really sick, who are really 263 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:22,720 dirty, you might say, well, those are the ones who are dead. 264 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,840 That is not what the Bible teaches. 265 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:30,000 It's not what Paul teaches. And this really matters because 266 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,680 if we don't understand the depth of what Paul is saying, the but 267 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:43,040 God doesn't really matter. Tim Tinsley, one of our pastors 268 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:46,320 for many years here, in fact the very first youth pastor ever 269 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:49,440 hired. He's now in the presence of the 270 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:53,120 Lord. He loved the movie The Princess 271 00:18:53,120 --> 00:19:01,760 Bride 1987, that great story. Do you remember this scene where 272 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:07,040 Miracle Max played by Billy Crystal is down deep in the 273 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:13,000 dungeon and Wesley, the love interest has been brought in and 274 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,280 Billy Crystal as Miracle Max says? 275 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:19,720 It just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead. 276 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:24,440 There is a big difference between mostly dead and all 277 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:28,440 dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. 278 00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:34,000 We are not slightly alive spiritually. 279 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:41,360 Our one volume biography tells us that spiritually we were 280 00:19:41,360 --> 00:19:46,080 fully dead. You and I had no desire for God. 281 00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:50,520 We were God haters. We had no desire for His Word. 282 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:55,400 We had no desire to pray to Him except maybe when there was an 283 00:19:55,400 --> 00:20:03,320 emergency. The only way we could ever have 284 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:10,040 spiritual life is if Christ. Breathed life into US. 285 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:14,560 Commenting on this verse, John Calvin says there is no other 286 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:20,760 life than that which is breathed into us by Christ, so that we 287 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:25,320 begin to live only when we are engrafted into him. 288 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:30,480 That's the language of union, and enjoy the same life with 289 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:34,640 him. So what Paul is teaching the 290 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,640 Christians, the Saints of emphasis, is this, that your 291 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:45,880 life in Christ means that like Christ who has been raised, 292 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:53,240 resurrected, you also have you who were once dead, you have 293 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,840 been made alive. Maybe the the the easiest 294 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:01,040 picture for us to understand this is Lazarus, John 11. 295 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:05,880 Lazarus is dead. Not mostly dead. 296 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:09,480 He's been in the tomb for many days. 297 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:15,000 The decaying of his body, the lady say, will create a great 298 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:19,320 odor. The only way that Lazarus can 299 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:24,960 live again is if God speaks life into him and he does. 300 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:33,120 Jesus was not waiting outside Lazarus's tomb, waiting for 301 00:21:33,120 --> 00:21:38,240 Lazarus to do something. There's nothing that Lazarus 302 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:44,400 could do in Christ with a loud voice, says Rise. 303 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:50,520 Some of you, including me, wish I could have seen that. 304 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:54,720 I mean, it would have been as made as amazing as if today. 305 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:58,440 Later in the afternoon, you saw on the news that over on 306 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:02,400 Northwest Highway at Sparkman Hillcrest, during a graveside 307 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:06,440 service where an individual who had been in a coffin many days 308 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:10,080 as being lowered into the ground, suddenly the coffin 309 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:13,680 opened. They stood up and began to walk. 310 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:20,000 That's what happened. Some of you find it hard to 311 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,720 believe. It's what our Bible teaches. 312 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:28,560 It's not just true of Lazarus spiritually, It's true of 313 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:32,000 everyone who has came to say come to saving faith. 314 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:39,560 But God hear this, If you're in Christ, you were Lazarus. 315 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:45,520 You have been brought from death to life, made alive in Christ. 316 00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:50,840 And when that happens, everything changes. 317 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:54,560 We sing about it. This is the 5th Sunday of 318 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:57,200 Easter. On Resurrection Sunday we lifted 319 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:01,040 our voices with these words. So are we now where Christ has 320 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:08,840 LED, following our exalted head. Made like him, made like Him, 321 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:16,120 made like him, like him, We rise, ours, the cross, the 322 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:23,520 grave, the skies. Paul moves in to that ascension 323 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:28,520 language is he brings the second term he coined. 324 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:33,160 You see the pattern here of the resurrection of Christ, the 325 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,720 ascension of Christ and then we'll see the reign of Christ 326 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:41,000 verse 5 again. Even when we were dead in our 327 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:45,120 trespasses made us alive together with Christ. 328 00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:48,280 By grace you have been saved. We'll spend more time there next 329 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:50,080 week. Then verse 6. 330 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:54,360 And raised us up with him. And seated us with him in the 331 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:59,520 heavenly places in Christ Jesus. What does this mean? 332 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:05,960 3 words He coined. One, made us live with Christ. 2 333 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:13,120 And raised us up with him. The ascension of our Lord Jesus 334 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:16,080 does not get the attention it deserves. 335 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:19,840 We need to do a better job of focusing on that more often. 336 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,840 Before Christ died, I preached this on Easter in the Gospel of 337 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:25,960 Matthew. He says all authority on heaven 338 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:30,520 and earth has been given to me. And then he says, behold, I will 339 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:33,600 be with you always. What a promise. 340 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:39,760 This promise was a real promise. It wasn't something that we just 341 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:43,840 spiritualize. We who are in Christ, who are 342 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:47,240 now living that second volume, who are now living in that 343 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:52,800 second act, we have been made alive and we have been raised 344 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,960 with Him. We've been seated with him. 345 00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:58,480 By the way, and this is really important. 346 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:03,760 Each of those words, though, they speak of our present life 347 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:08,160 in the second volume, in the second act, all three of them 348 00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:11,360 are in the past tense. They're in the heiress. 349 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,040 That means that these things have already happened. 350 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:20,760 So if you're in Christ, these are not things that are only out 351 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:24,440 there for someday. These are the real promises that 352 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:32,200 God has given us. Now Calvin says the ascension 353 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:37,000 and sitting in heaven are not yet seen by mortal lies. 354 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:40,240 And he's right. We don't see it yet. 355 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:44,440 He writes as if those blessings were presently in our 356 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:48,600 possession. He states that we have received 357 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:53,680 them. This is who we are, and this is 358 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:58,640 what most of us are not focusing on in our Bible studies and in 359 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:03,000 our devotions in the way we're seeking to make disciples. 360 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,160 Instead, we're running to the behavior. 361 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:13,120 The behavior must be discussed, but not first, and not most 362 00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:17,240 frequently, because if the behavior isn't there, it has to 363 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:24,280 do with a misunderstanding of who we are already in Christ. 364 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:30,640 You and I, living in the second volume, were dead. 365 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:38,600 That curtain closed the second act open, the first page of the 366 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:41,960 second volume, the title of that scene. 367 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:51,280 But God, it's amazing. But what does it mean to be 368 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:57,000 raised up with him? I'm going to close with this 369 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:00,560 one. We'll pick up being seated with 370 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,760 him next week. But hang tight. 371 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:08,680 I didn't say it was done. I want you to hear this. 372 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:17,360 It's easier to understand. But I've already said we have a 373 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:20,800 difficult time believing that we were really dead. 374 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:26,840 We could not breathe one ounce of air spiritually apart from 375 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:30,400 Christ breathing into us. We did not have one heartbeat 376 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:33,160 for the Lord. But God changed all that. 377 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:37,880 He made us alive, fully alive in Him. 378 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:43,400 But what does he mean if we've been raised up with him and 379 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,200 seated with him, was focused on the Ascension part? 380 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:52,440 James Montgomery voices it this way, that we have been given as 381 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,760 Christians, as those now living the second volume, the second 382 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:57,960 act. We have been given a new 383 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:01,480 environment. We are no longer creatures only 384 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:05,120 of this world, bound by what we can see, touch and smell and 385 00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:08,120 cure and taste. We are now creatures of the 386 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:12,280 greater heavenly realm who now because of our union with 387 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:17,720 Christ, it's a real union. We think and work and speak in 388 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:23,320 spiritual categories. As Christ ascended into His 389 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:29,520 rightful place of the realm of glory, we who are sinners saved 390 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:36,760 by His grace presently share in the ascended glory of God's 391 00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:44,520 Incarnate Son. Where He is, there we are. 392 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:50,480 How much of that language is making its way into your daily 393 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:53,520 devotions? How much of that language is 394 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:56,440 present in your small group Bible studies? 395 00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:02,640 This is the rich stuff for us to talk about because this is who 396 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:06,440 we are. What has happened is a change in 397 00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:11,840 citizenship. My home is not on Post Drive in 398 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:17,320 Midway Hollow. Your home is not in Dallas. 399 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:21,880 Your home is not in Texas. It's not in America. 400 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:27,560 Your home as a believer living in the second volume, in the 401 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:30,600 second act of your life is heaven. 402 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:35,040 And that is a reality that is not only going to be true one 403 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:38,960 day, it's true now. If you were to give someone like 404 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:42,400 we used to a business card and the business card had your home 405 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:47,320 address and your work address. Richard Phillips says your home 406 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:53,800 address as a St. is heaven earth here. 407 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:58,720 This this is where you work. That's why we're so often 408 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:03,760 homesick. We're homesick because we were 409 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:07,840 created for what is ours in Christ. 410 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:14,800 Now, yes, we don't know it fully, but already these things 411 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:17,120 that Paul is saying are true of us. 412 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:23,160 We have been made alive. We have been raised up with him. 413 00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:32,880 We have been seated with him. If we just spiritualize this or 414 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:35,840 what most often happens, just ignore it. 415 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:43,560 We are not living in the power of who Paul tells us we are in 416 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:47,760 Christ. And that is why Paul prayed at 417 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:52,920 the end of chapter one that the people in Ephesus and wherever 418 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:57,440 this letter would circulate all the way to even this Sunday, he 419 00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:00,160 was praying that the eyes of your hearts would be 420 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:04,360 enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has 421 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:09,720 called you, What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in 422 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:12,920 the Saints? Why did he pray for the eyes to 423 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,400 be opened? Because if he doesn't open our 424 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:21,320 eyes, we will never see, but he does. 425 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:31,240 And if you are in faith in Christ, he did, but God began 426 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:35,640 the second volume of your life. There won't be another volume 427 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:39,560 language in that volume. It is finished. 428 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:48,200 But a word that we will never say in that volume is the end 429 00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:54,680 for all eternity. What is true that Paul is 430 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:58,600 preaching? It's true of us now. 431 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:02,600 Lord Jesus, these are your words. 432 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:07,000 Your Spirit carried the apostle Paul along to write them. 433 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:10,800 That even thousands of years later, your church, in which you 434 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:15,960 are the head, which we are, the body united to you, would be fed 435 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:22,440 and encouraged to think rightly about who You say you are, what 436 00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:28,640 you say you have done, and what you say about who we are in you. 437 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:36,000 Father, as we sing now, closing the service, let us think deeply 438 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,760 of the mercies, even this day, that You've given us. 439 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,840 We could count with no great effectiveness our own sins, 440 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:46,240 though you could know them by exact number. 441 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:51,240 But we come to a God whose account of mercy is abundant, 442 00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:57,480 overflowing, never withdrawn, all because of your great love 443 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,160 for us. Thank you, Jesus, we pray in 444 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,160 your name, Amen. Please stand.