Title: The Hindsight of Being Born Again
When I look back on the first trip I ever took as a Youth Pastor, I wonder why the parents ever trusted me
with their kids.
I was a part-time youth pastor in Lugoff, South Carolina, while attending seminary.
I had the great idea of taking the students to a music festival in Atlanta, GA.
It would be an overnight trip in a major metropolitan city, 4.5 hours away.
If it tells you anything, when we were pulling out of the parking, the parents had to stop me and ask if I
had a phone number for the hotel we’d be staying at (before cell phones).
I had several moments that should’ve made me rethink whether I should be trusted with the care of kids.
One of these moments came when we were driving through Atlanta's ghetto, and the van stopped.
I let it run out of gas.
At this point, the church secretary, who was the adult chaperone, looked at me in disbelief.
There we were in the turn lane of what is much like 10 th Street in Indy.
I decide that we’re going to push the van in the turn lane down the road to a gas station.
With the church secretary steering, I and some of the teens got out and started pushing.
When the van started down a hill, some of the girls stopped pushing and walked the rest of the way to the
sidewalk.
I didn’t feel like I could let them walk alone, so I broke off and walked with them.
At the same time, I watched the 15-passenger van coast down a hill in inner-city Atlanta, the poor church
secretary at the wheel.
Did I mention that it had no power steering since it wasn’t running?
My most vivid memory of that moment was seeing a few of the boys who had been pushing the van.
They had climbed up onto the top of it from the back and were roof surfing as the van picked up speed and
eventually rolled into the gas station at the bottom of the hill.
In hindsight, I would’ve done a lot of things differently.
There are times when I’m grateful for hindsight.
And there are times when we might wish we had no hindsight on a situation.
This morning, we’re talking about a different kind of hindsight, and it’s the “The Hindsight of Being Born
Again.”
This morning’s passage gives us spiritual hindsight of how Christians went from death to life.
We’re entering chapter 2 of Ephesians
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this
world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of
disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the
body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead
in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up
with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he
might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
The basic argument that Ephesians 2:1-7 explains how Christians are sinners who deserved nothing but
God’s wrath, but became trophies of His amazing grace.
With that said, this is a message for those who are born again, encouraging us to think of how Jesus
changed us.
If you have not experienced salvation, I hope that you hear this message as a gospel call to salvation.
It’s not intended to be one of condemnation, but hopefully you’ll see why it’s vital that you be born again.
So, the first way I want to challenge us, as born-again believers, is to -
1. ACCEPT THAT WE WERE 3-LEVEL-DEEP DEAD. (1-3)
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this
world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of
disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the
body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like
the rest of mankind.
We’re moving toward understanding the grace of God.
But that comes after our desperate need for God’s grace is made inescapably clear.
The first level of our lostness has to do with how -
1a. WE WERE SPIRITUALLY LIFELESS DUE TO OUR SINFULNESS.
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
Verses 1-2 are addressing the Gentile readers with “And you…”
Soon, Paul will include himself and all other Jewish believers when he writes of “we” in v. 3, showing that
the sinful human nature is common to all men and women.
When we’re told that we were dead, this is referring to our lack of spiritual life.
Man’s spiritual deadness means being separated from God with no inclination or responsiveness toward Him
or ability to please Him.
Like a ship being dead in the water and drifting with the current, we were dead in our trespasses and sins.
The term “Trespasses” refers to violations or transgressions beyond God’s boundaries.
The term “Sins” points to general offenses against God’s holiness in thought, word, or deed.
RC Sproul says, “Obviously, when we come into this world, we are biologically alive: we have minds that
function, hearts that beat, wills that choose; we have affections, emotions, and all the rest. The problem is
that even though we have the power to choose, we are dead to the things of God, and as a result have no
desire for the things of God. Rather, we follow a different course. We follow it willfully; we follow it freely, in
the sense of doing what we want to do. But with respect to spiritual things, we are dead.”
It wasn’t enough that we were unresponsive to God; we see that we were very responsive to the devil -
1b. WE WERE WILLING PARTICIPANTS IN THE DEVIL’S REBELLION.
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience
We’re described as having walked in sinfulness as a lifestyle of evil with one step after another.
And we walked engulfed in sin in three ways.
We were following the same path as the rest of the world, or the “course of this world”
As John Stott states, the “course of this world” expresses, “a whole social value-system which is alien to
God. It permeates, indeed dominates, non-Christian society and holds people in captivity.”
Our guide through the course of this world was the worst Pied Piper of all time - the devil, or called here,
“the prince of the power of the air”
And we were members of the devil’s minions, which are called here the “sons of disobedience.”
He’s actually described as presently at work in unsaved people - the sons of disobedience.
There’s a TV show that I’d never watch about a motorcycle gang called “Sons of Anarchy.”
And I think their title sums up what this title means for who we were as unbelievers from God’s perspective.
Young people, you should have great compassion and pray for those who do NOT know Christ.
But don’t date them or fall in love with them.
You do NOT want to tie yourself to someone who is following the destructive path of sinfulness, as directed
by the devil, which is at work in their very heart as a recipient of God’s wrath.
And, if these differences don’t mean anything to you, you should ask yourself if you know Christ.
OK, don’t assume that Paul is on a self-righteous high-horse, thinking that we’re better than those who
don’t know Christ.
Notice who is included in this trifecta of total unresponsiveness - All of us!
1c. WE WERE ENSLAVED TO OUR FLESHLY DESIRES.
3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the
mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
As I mentioned before, Paul adds himself and his Jewish Christian brothers to this list.
Jews and Gentiles are totally lost in sin before salvation.
And he goes on to add to the mix how lost we all were, including our personal conditions.
Before knowing Christ, we lived according to our fleshly impulses of our selfish desires.
As the Expositors Bible Commentary puts it, “The natural human being is altogether at the mercy of the
tyrant self and its rash impulses.”
Now, understand that these desires can be expressed in socially acceptable ways.
But they are no less natural and self-serving.
The end result of this description is a peculiar but telling phrase.
We were “children of wrath” - even as unbelievers currently are.
This title points to a relationship with God as reflected in the term for “child.”
But it’s NOT a close relationship with God that’s desirable.
It’s a relationship between a Judge and a condemned criminal.
In a sense, all people are indeed God’s children.
But, due to our sinful nature that we’re born with, without salvation through Christ, we’re all children of
God’s wrath until we become children of His loving grace.
These verses describe what is often described as the Total Depravity of the human race
What’s meant by Total Depravity does NOT mean that men and women are as wicked as they can possibly
be.
As awful as we are, we could still be and do worse.
Instead, man’s Total Depravity describes how sin is infecting and pervading the whole of the unbeliever’s
nature.
When Erwin Luzer was teaching a preaching class, he took his students out to a graveyard.
They stopped at a headstone, and Dr. Lutzer gave a hypothetical description of the man’s life.
After doing so, he asked a volunteer to give a gospel presentation tailored to the person the professor had
described.
Once the student was finished, Dr. Lutzer stood there staring at the grave.
After a short while, he looked at the student and said, “It didn’t work. You'd better do it again.”
I’m not sure how many times the student was asked to give a gospel call in this futile situation.
But I know what Dr. Lutzer’s point was.
We can craft the perfect gospel presentation for a person.
But they’re dead, and without the reviving work of God, they will stay dead.
The point that is being made here is that without God’s help, all of us were dead, dead, dead.
We should face the truth of our hopeless condition without Christ
We weren’t just struggling—we were spiritually lifeless.
We didn’t just wander—we willingly followed the devil’s lead.
We didn’t just slip sometimes—we lived for self, deserving wrath.
?- If you have not been born again, aren’t you concerned about how this passage describes you?
?- If you have been born again, even if you don’t feel like you experienced being 3-level-deep dead, do you trust what
God says about what your condition was?
?- Do you see how necessary it was for God to sovereignly initiate your salvation and see it through?
?- Do you see the wisdom of God’s Word when it tells you not to be “bound” with an unbeliever in 1 Corinthians 6:14?
[Pivot -]
Thankfully, the wrath of God is not where our story ends.
Just when our prospects were the most grim and desolate, the greatest short phrase in human history was
uttered: “But God.”
So, the second way I want to challenge you is that, as a born-again believer,
2. BE GRATEFUL GOD UNITED US WITH THE WORK OF CHRIST. (4-7)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead
in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up
with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he
might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Let me get into some grammar for you.
This morning’s passage is one long sentence.
And so far, we’ve only come across the object of the sentence - the recipient of the action of the subject.
Now, we finally come to the subject.
And it’s God that’s doing the action in our passage.
?- What are the actions that God is taking on behalf of those who were dead in sin?
He has made us alive.
He has raised us up.
And He has seated in the heavenly places.
So, let's first drill into what is said about God in this situation.
2a. GOD OVERCAME OUR SINFULNESS WITH HIS LOVING MERCY.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead
in our trespasses,
We learn what motivated God to redeem helpless, dead sinners like us.
First, we’re told that His actions came from His being rich in mercy or “undeserved kindness”.
And the reason why He’s rich in mercy is because of the great love with which he loved us.
By the way, this love is “agape” love, which means “seeking our highest good.”
Further, we’re told why the kindness is undeserved, and it’s because it was while we were dead in sin.
This points back to how we were rebelliously 3-level-deep-dead in sin, as verse 1-3 describes.
I think this is one of the most amazing statements in the New Testament that God saved us because of His
love for us, even when we were dead in sin.
Let me just say, before we move on, that I believe the love God has for the person before He saves them is
tied to His intimate foreknowledge, knowing them before the world was formed.
When God looks at a sinner whom He has foreknown with His intimate knowledge, He loves them.
Because of the love with which He loves them, even though they’re hopelessly sinful, He brings them life.
So, this brings us to what God did that saved us?
2b. GOD RE-CREATED US, SAVING US FROM OUR SIN.
5b made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
The $5 theological term for God’s action of salvation, regeneration.
It’s the experience of being brought to life or born again as a new creation.
It’s what’s pointed to in -
* 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away;
behold, the new has come.
And it’s mentioned explicitly in -
* Titus 3:4-5 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not
because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
Regeneration is the experience that makes someone saved.
?- Why do I say this?
Because it’s what we read here in Paul’s summary statement.
Going from dead in sin to made alive by God causes him to exclaim, “by grace you have been saved”
This outburst is pointing back to our being made alive.
In other words, it’s equating the idea of being “saved” with being “made alive.”
And the verb "you have been saved" is in the perfect tense.
This means it’s a completed action that is continuous and permanent.
Next week, Pastor Josh will elaborate further on the principles of being saved by grace rather than works.
For now, just understand that Paul blurts out this summary statement to encapsulate our being brought to
life rather than being helplessly, rebelliously dead.
So, coming back to what God has done for the believer, we look at the three actions outlined here.
2c. GOD JOINED US TO THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF CHRIST.
God… made us alive together with Christ… raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly
places in Christ Jesus,
We’re described as going through a regeneration, resurrection, and ascension experience all by God’s grace.
Of course, this isn’t talking about a physical experience but our positional righteousness before God.
If anyone tells you that they’ve sat physically in heaven and describes what it’s like, don’t listen to them.
Our being raised and seated with Christ concerns our secure place and citizenship in heaven, as well as our
new identity in Christ.
As we’re also told in -
* Colossians 3:1-3 1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ
is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on
earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
It’s also important to note who makes these truths possible - by whose performance/power we ride on.
God carries out these actions.
But notice God made us alive together with Christ
God raised us up with [Christ]
God seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus
The work of Christ in His life, death, and resurrection paved the way for us to participate and benefit from
His saving work.
At this point in the book of Ephesians, we’re LEARNING the TRUTH about WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST.
And these statements are key.
We’ve been resurrected with Him to a new life
We’ve ascended and are seated with Him in the heavenly places.
According to God, our identity is set in our being in Christ, and we are guaranteed to be with Him physically
for all eternity.
Soon, we’ll turn the corner to look at how we are to LIVE from what we’ve LEARN.
And this idea of our being IN CHRIST is very key.
Coming back to the general idea here, we should - Be Grateful God United Us with the Work of Christ.
There’s been a tradition with little boys that goes back since the dawn of time.
Two little boys on the playground were arguing about whose dad was better. One said, “My dad can run
faster than a car!” The other said, “Well, my dad once wrestled a bear and the bear apologized!” It kept
escalating until one of them claimed, “My dad flew to the moon… by accident!”
Why do kids do that? Because if their dad is amazing, they feel amazing.
But here’s the difference: in Ephesians 2:4-6, we’re not making playground exaggerations.
We don’t say, “Jesus defeated death,” and then just hope that somehow makes us impressive.
Scripture says that because we’re in Christ, His victory is credited to us.
He was made alive → we were made alive.
He was raised → we were raised.
He’s seated in heaven → we are seated with Him.
Not exaggeration.
Not imagination.
Union with Christ.
We do our best to make much of Jesus around here.
And no matter how much glory we give Him, He’s worthy of so much more.
?- Are you grateful that God united you with the work of Christ?
?- Do you regularly remind yourself of what being IN CHRIST means?
Remember Who You Were
- Dead in sin
- Driven by the devil
- Dominated by our desires
Rejoice in What God Has Done
- Moved toward us in mercy
- Made us alive in Christ
- Marked us with a heavenly identity
But why did God do that?
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in
Christ Jesus.
Verse 7 gives us the reason:
“so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in
Christ Jesus.”
In other words, God saved you not just to rescue you, but to put the greatness of His grace on display
forever.
You are not the trophy of your own accomplishments—
You are the trophy of His kindness.
Your life, your salvation, your hope—
All of it is meant to be a living, eternal testimony that God is richer in grace than we are in sin.
And in the “coming ages” — meaning eternity — God will never run out of kindness to show you. He will
never get tired of being gracious to you. You will never reach the end of His love and hear Him say, “That’s
all I had.”
No — every day of eternity is another revelation of just how good He is.
We don’t boast like those kids on the playground—
We don’t say, “Look how impressive I am.”
We say,
“Look how gracious Christ is — and look what He has made me in Him.”
That’s the Gospel.
That’s our identity.
And that is our future — forever.
