THE GREATEST RESCUE STORY EVER

Rescue stories often serve as powerful reminders of the potential for compassion, courage, and cooperation that we humans share in times of crisis. They highlight the inherent value of every human life. However, the greatest and most exciting rescue story ever is when God rescued us.

In this series, we are studying the Book of Ephesians. Paul wrote Ephesians as a letter to the churches in Ephesus. At the time he wrote the letter, he was in prison in Rome. He wrote the letter to encourage the Christians not to lose hope despite their opposition and his imprisonment.

This week we look at Ephesians 2:1-10 in which Paul tells us about the biggest, most exciting story of all time.

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Let Us Invite God’s Presence:  

Holy Father, thank you for your amazing rescue. May we reach out and grab your hand of mercy and be saved by your amazing grace!  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Paul in Ephesians 2:1-10 tells us about the greatest and most exciting story of all time. It is the story of how God saves us humans. What is exciting about this is that we are not just watching someone else get saved; we are seeing God save us. Notice what Paul says about our amazing rescue in Ephesians 2:4-5

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Through Christ, we are brought back to life. What an Amazing Rescue!

Here is what it says in the book Lift Him Up about what happens when we reach out our hands to accept the hand of Christ, the one who is rescuing us.

When we accept Christ as our personal Savior, we are brought into the same close relation to God as Christ, and we enjoy God’s special favor as does His own dear Son, Jesus Christ. We are therefore honored, glorified, and intimately associated with God. Thus, our life is hidden in Christ as we stand before the Father. (Lift Him Up, p. 297, adapted for clarity)

Why do we need to be rescued? Good question! Read Ephesians 2:1-10, then View Part 2 of this video: Once Dead and Deceived by Satan.

Ephesians

(Lesson 4)

How God Rescues Us

Part 2: Once Dead and Deceived by Satan

Before we grabbed the hand of Christ so he could rescue us, we were living deep in Sin and deceived by Satan. All who have not accepted the hand of Christ and refuse to be rescued are living deep in sin and are under Satan’s cunning deceptions.

This is what Paul in Ephesians 2:1-10 explains. He wants us to understand that Jesus is the one who rescues us from sin.

Paul already talked about the gift of mercy that God gives sinners in Ephesians 1:3–14 and 15–23. He has also told us, in short, the story about the Christians in Ephesus.

Now in Ephesians 2:1–10, Paul tells us in more detail about their story and how God changed their lives after they accepted Jesus, the one who rescued them and us from sin and Satan.

Paul compares their old lives with their new lives in Christ. He, in Ephesians 2:1–3, talks about their past experiences as sinners, a part from Christ.

Then in Ephesians 2:4–7, Paul talks about the spiritual blessings the Ephesians have in their new life, in which he portrays them as participating in the resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Christ. He, in Ephesians 2:8–10, indicates why they are blessed, telling them that their blessing of being saved from sin and eternal death is a gift from God through their faith in Jesus. He makes the point that Jesus is the One who created them, and He is the One who saves them. So, their grace and mercy received from God are the result of what Jesus has done for them.

This message to the Ephesians is also to us. Notice that Ephesians 2:5 has three parts: (1) we were sinners “dead in our trespasses”; (2) God gave us new life in Jesus, He “made us alive together with Christ”; and (3) God saves us by His mercy, “by grace you have been saved.”

Now what is interesting is that in Ephesians 2:1, 2, Paul tells the Ephesians they were the same as dead; they were spiritually dead before Jesus rescued them.

1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, (Ephesians 2:1-2)

In Ephesians 2:1, he says: They lived as sinners; sin was a regular practice in their lives. Then in Ephesians 2:2, he tells them that they were under the spell of Satan. He controlled their lives.

Now we know that Paul is writing this letter to people who are living. What did he mean when he used the word dead? Paul is using the word “dead” as a metaphor. It is a word picture to help the Ephesians understand their state when they were under the control of Satan.

He makes this same point in Ephesians 5:14 to appeal to those who are still under the control of Satan.

14 Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” (Ephesians 5:14)

You see, the danger of our lives from sin and Satan are very real. Like the Ephesians, when we were separated from God in the past, we were in danger. Our eternal lives were at stake.  Then God saved us and gave us a new life. Paul makes this point in the following scriptures:

Colossians 2:13

13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, (Colossians 2:13)

Romans 5:17

17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)

Romans 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Paul talks about the two external forces that controlled our lives in the past. As Paul expressed in Ephesians 2:2, We were controlled by (1) the false ideas and teachings: “the course of this world” and (2) the bad behavior of the people around us: the customs and behavior of our society. These things have misshaped us and have led us into rebellion against God.

 The second external force that Paul talks about in Ephesians 2:2 that has dominated our lives is Satan. Satan is “the ruler of the evil powers that are above the earth” (Ephesians 2:2, ERV). He is “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2, NKJV).

In a previous lesson, we established that the words “the air,” “above the earth,” or “the heavenly places” are a word picture or image representing heaven.

The Bible writers viewed heaven as the place where all spiritual powers or angels live, including the evil ones.  This can be seen in the following scriptures: Ephesians 1:3

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (Ephesians 1:3) 

Ephesians 3:10

10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, (Ephesians 3:10)

Ephesians 6:12

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

So, we can see that Satan is busy on Earth, as well. He works in the lives of the people who disobey God. He is “the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).

The controversy or battle between good and evil is still going on. Notice what it says in the Book the Great Controversy:

The same spirit that prompted rebellion in heaven still inspires rebellion on earth. Satan has continued with men the same policy which he pursued with the angels. His spirit now reigns in the children of disobedience. Like him, they seek to break down the restraints of the law of God and promise men liberty through transgression of its precepts. The Great Controversy, p. 500. 

We are, by nature, caught in a pattern of self-destructive, sinful behavior, following the dictates of Satan. How do we escape our internal desires and not be controlled by the sins of our past? Keep watching this video, View Part 3: Once Deluded by Our Own Desires.

Ephesians

(Lesson 4)

How God Rescues Us

Part 3: Once Deluded by Our Own Desires

Excluding God’s rescue on our behalf, we are governed not only by the external forces talked about in Ephesians 2:2, but we are also governed by internal ones according to Ephesians 2:3. It says:

All of us also lived among them [the disobedient] at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3, NIV).

This becomes even more evident when we look at the following scriptures:

James 1:14-15

14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:14-15)

I Peter 1:14

14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; (I Peter 1:14)

Paul in Ephesians 2:3 wants us to understand that by nature, we are sinners. He reemphasizes this in Ephesians 5:6 when he says:

6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (Ephesians 5:6)

In using the phrase “by nature children of wrath,” Paul is saying that although we bear the image of God, there is something wrong with us.

When we become Christians, however, our lives are transformed. We don’t just put aside a few bad habits. We don’t just say no to whatever trespasses and sins that happen to come our way. We don’t just have to fight against a few major sins. We must instead fight with sin itself.

You see, as sinners, we are bent toward evil. It is natural for us to rebel against God and toward destroying ourselves.

In other words, as humans born into sins, we, by default, are trapped in a pattern of self-destructive, sinful behavior. And without God’s help, we have no way of escape.

Without God’s intervention, we are slaves to Satan, and we do whatever he commands. Our only hope is to extend our hand to Christ so that we can be rescued from the bondage of Satan.

This is why Paul in Ephesians 2:3 indicates that Believers once were “by nature the children of wrath.”

Interestingly, however, Paul uses the word “were,” which is the past tense, two times in this verse, rather than “are,” which is the present tense.

Paul uses “were” to remind us that we will be in the same danger again if we reject Christ and go back to our old way of life.

His use of the past tense does not mean that we no longer have the tendency to do evil. The battle against evil is something we must fight daily, but we are not alone in this battle.

When we accept Christ, we have the entire heavenly host fighting with us. 

So, Paul spends considerable time in Ephesians 4:17–5:21 warning against sin and evil behavior and its continual threat to Christians.

But in Ephesians 4:22-24, Paul offers hope. He makes it clear that the “old self” no longer needs to control the believer anymore.

 With the help and power of Jesus, we can reject, “put off the old self” and “put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” Ephesians 4:22-24 says:

22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,

23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

The point is: we are sinners, but we are saved by grace. This does not mean that because we are sinners, we must yield to sin.

No, no. After we give ourselves to Jesus, we must continue in His power and strength to fight against sin.

We know too well from our own experience that without help from Jesus, we will continue to do evil.  

But when we accept Jesus as our rescuer, we have hope. Listen to what it says in the book In Heavenly Places about our power to overcome sin.

The gift of His Holy Spirit, rich, full, and abundant, is for His church as an encompassing wall of fire, which the powers of hell shall not prevail against. —In Heavenly Places, p. 282. 

Therefore, we do not have to give in to the flesh, nor do we have to fight this battle alone. Understand why in Part 4: Now Resurrected, Ascended, and Exalted With Christ

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