Growing Out of the Past

Ephesians 2:1-3

Growing Out of the Past

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Ephesians 2:1-2a  (Holman) And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world,. . .

 

You "were" dead. This verse tells us what we were, before we became Christ-followers. We brought baggage, old ways, into the Christian life with us.

We need to ponder what we were; former inclinations will still tempt us. By being reminded of what we were we can better stay true to what we are.

            Before our conversion, we were "dead" in trespasses and sins. In spiritual matters, death never means annihilation. Every human being who has ever lived will exist forever. Death is not ex­termination. It is rather separation.

Physical death separates us from a body. Mental death divides us from intellectual faculties. Eter­nal death is everlasting separation from the presence of God. Our text refers to spiritual death, the separation of one's spirit from God.

            We lived "according to the ways of this world". "This world" is human society organized for its own pleasure and prof­it with­­out any thoughts of God as He truly is. Never forget; we once governed our lives by following the world's standards, and conforming to its values. We will be tempted to revert to this.

For the lost, the spirit of the times determines what is significant. "Every­one is doing it" is their motto. Before conversion, we believers felt perfectly at home in this envi­ron­ment. If careless, we are in danger of being influenced by this world's temptations. We must fight against returning to thought patterns of our past.

The world lives in a nebulous fog, led along by shifting standards of right and wrong. Believers live by God's reliable, never changing dictates given in the Bible.

Unbelievers leave God out; believers seek to please Him in every detail of life. The world sets self and its desires at the center. For believers, everything revolves around God. Don't go back to the old way. Let the believer beware!

 

Ephesians 2:2b   ". . .according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient."

 

"The ways of this world" are universally wrong, not by chance, but because they come under one "ruler".  Even as the Church has one Head, so does "this world".  To belong to the world is to belong to the kingdom of Satan.

"Lower heavens" is the atmosphere that surrounds us, the region of stimuli to our senses. Evil forces have ready access to us, and can at any moment suggest thoughts and kindle desires in our minds. They are universally distributed, ever nearby to tempt us, and to try to do much spiritual damage throughout the world.

"The lower heavens" draws a poignant, positional picture. Evil forces are an impediment, an obstruc­tion between God and people. God is in Heaven, we are on Earth; evil spirits are between, in "the lower heavens", trying to keep the two apart.

During the great "war in heaven" (Revelation 12:7-9), Michael and his angels fought the dragon and his angels. Satan "was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." At God's decree, Lucifer fell from the higher levels of the stratosphere, resulting in "the lower heavens" becoming the seat of his kingdom.

God's grace has removed believers from Satan's tyrannical rule, but he still harasses us. We forget this to our peril. Satan hates us. Remember, we are fighting against one who had the brazen audacity to confront God Himself in Heaven.

We cannot escape Luci­fer's attacks, but have found a place where the power of his advances can shat­tered. Within the family of God, Satan's domination is broken. He can at worst harass and tempt all who dwell in "heavenly places."

Never underestimate the devil. At the same time, never overestimate him.  Some believers spend too much time dwelling on him.  He is a foe we cannot defeat, but he is a foe God's power in us can crush. With Him we are invincible.

"Working" is present tense. Satan is yet among us. "I believe in the devil because I have to. I have to, not merely because it is here--that is enough for me--but I believe it because I cannot explain life without it" (Lloyd-Jones). To ignore Satan is to fail to understand our world. Never try to argue him out of existence.

Why has evil always been omnipresent in our world? One central perva­sive presence is the only logical explanation. He has ever been at work, making evil a continuous, unbroken mass. Human history is impossible to understand without realizing Satan dom­inates "the spirit" that has always been at work within society.

Study history. It has uniformity and repetition. We have changed very little. Human ways re­main consistent. A subtle, sinister "spirit" has always been at work.

It is futile to ponder history without reckoning with the devil. Lloyd-Jones tells of a Dr. Joad, who before World War II was an athe­ist, an unbeliever. After the war he became a believer in God, and explained why. He said the second war convinced him the Bible was right in at least one thing--there is a principle of evil at work. He said he could not explain World War II any other way. It was not an accident.  Dev­ilish powers were working in concert at various corners of the globe.

Evil in the world has never been isolated or accidental. Sin has always been everywhere. It is highly organized under a central command center, and caused by a timeless, inter­na­tional "spirit" ruled by Satan. Divine regeneration placed in us a nature strong enough to resist and overcome our native bent to yield to this evil.

 

Ephesians 2:3  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.

 

"Fleshly desires" refers to the sensual part of our being, our animal appetites. Wanting food, water, sleep, happiness, pleasure, sex, to be attractive--these are essential parts of our bodily, animal nature. They are God-given longings, but our sinful human nature tries to distort them into obsessions. "Fleshly desires" make demands and assert themselves. They become a drive, a compelling force.

Nothing is wrong with wanting food and drink, but if we are glutton­ous, if we live to eat and drink, we are wrong. We all need to sleep, but lazi­ness ruins us.

It is okay to seek happiness and pleasure, but when a hobby or pastime takes away from spiritual things, it must be curbed. The sex urge is normal, but must be satisfied only in marriage. Desires must not be "inordi­nate" (CL 3:5), not ordered, uncontrolled. They must be "subordinate", under order, under the Spirit's control.

"Thoughts" can also trip us. Anything that keeps our mind totally absorbed, keeping it from dwelling on God, is wrong. Many of the un­regener­ate do not curse, murder, steal, etc. They thus think they are not bound by "fleshly desires".

Desires of thought are less visible than desires of the flesh, but equally bad. Our thoughts can be as troublesome as our deeds. Our nature manifests itself in ways mental as well as physical. There are inner, intellectual lusts--pride, envy, bitterness, sinful ambition, anger, hatred, jealousy, resisting God's revealed truth.

The mind's desire for learning causes many to make an icon of know­ledge.  An insatiable thirst to intake data can crowd out time for prayer, meditation, and Bible study. This quest for knowledge can become a substitute for more impor­tant matters. I am not degrading educa­tion and learning. I am merely saying keep these things in their proper place.

Another desire of the mind is the urge to be independent of God. Some sophis­ti­cates see themselves above adultery, murder, and stealing, but not above making their own mind a substitute for God. They do not wallow in crime, but do not hesitate to follow the lead of their own unregenerate ego, wherever it directs.  Being self-sat­is­fied and self-sufficient is the height of sin. Nothing is more brazen than to feel no need for God's grace.  No sin of the flesh com­pares to declaring one's self indepen­dent of God, or believing Christ did not need to die on Calvary.

We are driven by another desire of the mind; craving some­thing new.  Casting aside con­tent­ment found in God, people are often swept along by an ungodly boredom, a restless mind that causes them to be ever seeking a new thrill.

Never underestimate the damage that can be done by desires of our mind. Ultimately, the war between evil and good begins in the mind. To win the "moral" war, guard inner thoughts. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Psalm 119:11). "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speak­s.  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things" (Matthew 12:34b-35).

Thus, keep the heart clean. What we read, hear, and see on TV does make a difference. Keep out the filth! Whatso­ev­er things are honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report; if there be any virtue and praise, think on these things (Phil. 4:8).

We believers were at one time like unbelievers, bound by lusts of the flesh, but now we are granted victory. The flesh still harasses us, but has been dethroned in our hearts, and should no longer be the center of our lives. Only one thing can accomplish this dethronement: God's regenerating power in Jesus. Believers now possess this. Don't be tempted to look back. Let's keep growing out of the past.

 

Our Spiritual Bank Account (2)

Ephesians 1:8-14

Growing Our Spiritual Bank Account (Part 2)

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Ephesians 1:8a (Holman)  . . .that He lavished on us. . .

 

          "Lavished" pictures a liquid overflowing its container and streaming in every direction. We do not have to pry God's abundant mercies loose. His grace flows freely of its own accord. God cannot give grudgingly. Being love, He can act in only one way toward us. His ocean of love flows toward us in wave upon wave.

          His generous "legal" forgiveness pictures how generous He wants to be in ongoing "personal" forgiveness. The flow of God's provision toward us is thwarted only by our refusal to receive what is ours. Never forget; grace was God's idea.

          There is as much joy in His heart when He for­gives, as in our hearts when we are forgiven. God loves to give forgiveness as much as we love to receive it.

 

Ephesians 1:8b   . . .with all wisdom and understanding.

 

          God gives not only redemption and forgiveness, but also wisdom and understanding of what to do with them. Wisdom and understanding help us to put into action what we know, to apply to our daily lives the cosmic matters of right and wrong, time and eternity, Heaven and Hell. We re­ceive wisdom and understanding not to be academic, but to respond and act aright. God lets us see the ultimate truths of eternity, and then helps us solve the problems of each moment of time (Barclay).

 

Ephesians 1:9-10  He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that He planned in Him for the administration of the days of fulfilment—to bring everything together in the Messiah, both things in heaven and things on earth in Him.

 

          "Mystery" refers to a truth that God hid until He chose to reveal it to us. Let me illustrate the New Testament meaning of "mys­tery." Before this service, I stepped in a room and did something. Unless I tell you, you can't know what I did. The deed is a "mystery," impossible to be known un­less told. In the room, I took my pen out of my pock­et, and put it back in. Now you know what I did. The "mystery" is revealed.

          The Gospel is a "mystery"; we could never figure it out on our own. Without a revelation, we would know nothing certain about God's salvation; all speculation of His ways would be unreliable. Fortunately, the mystery of God's will has been made known to all. The Gospel is not a closely-guarded secret, a cryptic mes­sage revealed to few select initiates. The Bible hides nothing. All we need has been re­vealed to all.

          Since believers know the mystery, we are obligated to tell it to others. We are "stewards of the myster­ies of God" (1 C 4:1). God did not keep it a secret, nor should we. We must go everywhere telling everyone about this wondrous Gospel we heard.

          The Gospel, conceived in eternity past in God's heart, has been revealed to us in time not because we deserve it, but because it pleased God to do so. In salvation, every­thing can be traced to God's "good pleasure." Stop trying to buy off God. En­joy grace. Do not try to earn God's favor, before or after sal­va­tion. Come always as a suppliant, never as an achiev­er. Do come, but always come as one undeserving.

          We never deserve to come. Our attitude must ever be like the one expressed by my friend Dave Eggers. He said at the Judgment he will say in defense of his life lived on earth, "No excuses, Sir." Always display this spirit. We have no merit to stand on. We come because His blood was shed for us, and He invites us to come.

          Our message to sinners is; Someone cares and wants to forgive. "At the heart of the Universe there is a heart" (Maclaren). God forgives. What else would we expect from One who decided to endure the penalty for sin instead of in­flict­ing it?

 

Ephesians 1:11-12 We have also received an inheritance in Him, predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will, so that we who had already put our hope in the Messiah might bring praise to His glory.

         

          We "received an inheritance." An in­her­i­tance is not earned, but received due to a parent/child link. God treats us as if we truly are His chil­dren, and we are. As full-fledged family members, our honor is not one whit inferior to that possessed by angels who never rebelled. Grace totally reverses the disgrace the Fall affixed to us.

          Predestination assures us God not only had a plan, but also included us in it. Without it, none would ever be saved. None on their own decides to receive Christ. Only God can call us to Him, and He does so because He decided ages ago to do so.

           "Decision" denotes deliberation. God moves logically to secure ends worthy of Him­self. He is Sovereign, but never arbitrary. He does not work at random or blindly. God has legitimate, coherent rea­sons for what He does. We cannot see or understand all now, but "by and by" we shall see how logical every­thing was.

 

Ephesians 1:13  When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

 

          Being "sealed with the promised Holy Spirit" is the essence of our security. We must begin by believing in Jesus. Faith has to come first. Once we make this choice, our loving God wants all of us to be absolutely certain of our salvation.

          This can happen only in the context of grace. Any who believe in salvation by works cannot enjoy assur­ance. They may be true and loyal for a life­time, and work hard for the Master, yet never be sure of Hea­ven. This is sad, but explainable.

          Where works are advocated for salvation, assurance is impossible to pos­sess. We can never know if "enough" works have been done. Assurance is meant for every believer, but is found only in the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith.

          Seals officially identi­fied posses­sions, letters, contracts, bills of sale, and other im­portant doc­uments. A seal consisted of hot wax or soft clay which, af­ter being placed on an object, was stamped with one's own unique sig­net ring. Seals performed at least three significant functions.

          One, seals authenticated a completed transaction. Once the agreeing parties affixed their seals to a document, there was no turning back. The transaction was finished, com­plete, impos­sible to nullify or reverse. The indwelling Holy Spirit proves a great transaction has been completed in a believer's life.

          God the Father planned the salvation of all believers, Jesus pur­chased our sal­va­tion at Calvary, the Holy Spirit is the seal within us, proving sal­vation has been applied to a particular person. Sealing person­alizes God's great cosmic plan, and applies it to lone, solitary in­dividuals, one heart at a time.

          Two, seals marked ownership. Unique, personalized seals settled ownership dis­putes. The Holy Spirit's presence in believers proves we be­long to God.

          By sealing us, God says loud and clear, "Mine!" The Spirit in us is God's public assertion before Heaven, Earth, and Hell we are His. Since seals were applied only to things highly valued, we believers celebrate the fact we are pre­cious to God.

          Three, seals provided security. They assured a package ar­rived intact, guaranteed a message arrived untampered with, or pro­tected property. Pilate sealed the stone on Je­sus' tomb (MT 27:66). Any person who dared break or disturb a seal bearing authority of Rome would quickly for­feit their life. The seal was a safeguard.

          The Holy Spirit in us is God's seal of everlasting secu­r­ity. The bond between God and a believer cannot be broken. God's royal seal is inviolable.

          Worry not, dear believer. We are sealed, and the very pur­pose of a seal is to remove doubt and provide security. We will reach our ultimate destination.

 

Ephesians 1:14  He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory.

 

          God's seal in believers is "the down payment", proof He owns us, but His purchased people on Earth are strangers in a pilgrim land, a world whose god is Satan. Redemption began in us when Jesus freed us from sin's everlasting penalty (1:7), but will not be completed until we are removed from sin's annoying presence.

          Our everlasting destinies are secure in Je­sus, but our bodies are subject to temptation. We are harassed by the world, ham­pered by the flesh, and harangued by a roaring lion. The di­vine seed sown in us is good, but many competitors viciously vie for our allegi­ance here. Mo­tives other than love for God constantly bombard us.

          I look forward to bringing God unmin­gled bliss. Love's deepest wound is to hurt the Beloved. In Heaven we will do this no more.

          The result of it all will be "the praise of His glory". We can undervalue Paul's emphasis on praise if we do not love Jesus as much as he did. A lover enjoys talking about the beloved more than the am­biv­a­lent want to hear. When my cousin Rod fell in love with his wife-to-be, he talked of her incessantly. He drove me to dis­trac­tion. The final blow came when I laid down on the bed and saw, glued to the ceiling above me in huge, red letters, "G-a-i-l G-a-m-b-i-l-l."  Love loves to speak of the beloved.

          In this life, we cannot find language ade­quate to ex­press praise. Even our best words, and most prolific speeches, fall far below the vastness of the subject, but someday we will bring Him adequate praise and glo­ry. We will voice aloud His praise, and show forth His glory. For this moment we were created and re-created.

          God will receive all praise and glory. When we sinners are made beautiful and clean, all creation will be agog, amazed at God's redeeming ability. When God decks us in white robes, we will be awed. Even angels will gasp in astonishment when they see how well we redeemed sinners "clean up."  The Universe will be enthralled, spellbound. For sure, no one will give us sinners credit for such a wonder­ful transformation. "The praise of His glory" shall en­com­pass all in all.