You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient.  All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else.  But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.  

Ephesians 2:1-10

I recently heard Jordan Peterson describe a visit he made to a maximum-security prison with his psychology professor at the time.  He described meeting several prisoners, including one particular man who he described as innocuous.  They talked and walked in the yard and had a normal conversation.  Later he met two other men who were pleasant and similarly unassuming – just regular-seeming men.  They gave no indications that they possessed any peculiar evil, but he later learned the horrific, cold-blooded, brutal things each man had done, and he wondered about a suspected link between innocuousness and danger, and whether he might be capable of similar atrocities.  Following considerable reflection and self-analysis, he concluded that, given the right set of circumstances, he could do the same horrific acts that they had done, and his worldview radically changed.  When he realized that he was not as good as he previously considered himself to be, the line between good and evil suddenly blurred.  He started treating his actions with greater respect because he realized that he was capable of evil, and since evil might flow from him, he needed to be on guard to ensure he did not allow that to happen.

God created us in His holy image, so we have elements of good within us.  To some extent, we know right and wrong, we have an inherent sense of fairness and trust that allows our society to function, we understand a moral code exists.  We also each have the capacity to cause harm and we are each influenced by the darkness of the world around us.  So, we each have elements of good and evil rolling around within us, and we constantly have choices to make.

I recall seeing a video of Ravi Zacharias answering questions in a large lecture hall.  A young woman asked him about good and evil, and whether he believes some people are inherently good and others inherently evil.  Ravi talked for a while about Buddhism and the Dali Lama, and then he said something along the lines of “But Jesus did not come to make bad people good.  He came to give dead people life.”  

Thoughts of good and evil, life and death fill my mind as I turn to Paul’s epistle to the church in Ephesus.  Paul writes to believers, followers of Christ Jesus, and he begins the passage above writing, “You were dead….”  He declares it to be so for each reader, presenting a universal truth.  You were dead through sin following the world’s path, following devilish powers, following “the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient.”  So a spirit exists that breeds disobedience and death through sin, and we each once followed that spirit and pursued our personal desires, passions and lusts, but God made us alive through Christ Jesus.  But God gave us new life through Christ Jesus.  But God saved us through Christ Jesus, through His loving mercy, through His grace, by bestowing faith upon us.  We were dead and we deserve His wrath, but God did all this for us.  We were dead, but God…. 

“You were dead….”  What does this mean?  When was I dead?  When did I gain life?  Jesus says,

 Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes.  John 5:21;

Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.  John 5:24; and 

Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.  John 5:25

Each person is born into this fallen world spiritually dead, separated from God, but God raises the dead and gives them life the moment they hear Jesus’ voice and believe.  God the Father raises the dead and gives them life.  Jesus gives life.  You were dead, but through Christ Jesus, God gave you new life, spiritual life, abundant life, eternal life.

Paul continues describing our former selves, ourselves before meeting Jesus, as “children of wrath.”  We deserve God’s wrath, but purely as a matter of His holy grace God made us alive through Christ Jesus and saved us from His wrath.  We followed the ways of the world, we were blind to the truth, we followed Satanic ways in pursuit of our personal passions, desires and lusts.  We had no desire for God and His ways made no sense to our depraved minds (see 1 Corinthians 2:14), but God made us alive in Christ Jesus, transformed us into children of God and saved us from wrath.

What is this wrath that we deserve?  Scripture reveals many examples of God pouring out His wrath on people.  In response to Adam and Eve’s horrific choice in the garden, God cast them away from His presence, and by so doing introduced humankind to death.  They suffered spiritual death in that instant and their bodies suffered the physical decay that we all know too well, conditions we inherited from them (see Genesis 3).  A mere three chapters later in Scripture we see God’s patience with humanity wearing thin, and after repeatedly warning people about the wrath to come, He brought a flood destroying all the creatures on earth, saving but a remnant (see Genesis 6-9).  Ten chapters later God grew weary of witnessing the depravity of Sodom and Gomorrah, and He sent angels to destroy the region by raining sulfur and fire down upon it (see Genesis 19).  God revealed His wrath when He struck down the priest Uzzah for touching the Ark of God (see 2 Samuel 6:7).  Jesus revealed His righteous anger when He cleared the temple (see John 2:13-16, Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, and Luke 19:45-48), and God revealed the ultimate expression of His wrath when He sacrificed His Son Jesus Christ on the cross, offering Him as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

The psalmist tells us that God is angry all the time saying, “God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day” (Psalm 7:11), but He is also patient, merciful, loving and kind.  We cannot begin to understand His holiness. He hates sin in ways we cannot comprehend, but He also loves and is patient in ways we cannot comprehend.

As a result, we each have this window of opportunity that has an unknown duration.  We were each a child of wrath, deserving God’s wrath, but in His patience, love and grace, He gave us life.  We are what He has made us, created anew in Christ Jesus “for good works prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”  And everyone out in the world who does not yet know Christ Jesus is a child of wrath, following the spirit of this world spreading lies, deception and falsehood, spreading seeds of death, spreading sinful desires and blindness.  

God saved each of us for good works.  He is calling you to do good works, not in a general sense, but in a specific sense.  We are all on the same team, moving in the same direction, but we each have unique jobs to do.  Please pray to hear God’s call for your life today.  Ask God to open your eyes and ears and heart so that you see the opportunities before you today to do His good works which, in a myriad of ways, will help others hear the good news so they too might become children of God.  

You were dead, but God.  You were a child of wrath, but God.  People around you are still in that condition, but God wants to use you to help them.  Go in peace.  Amen.