God loves us and made us alive in Jesus
God loves us and made us alive in Jesus
Text: Ephesians 2:1-10
Preached in Southbridge on __?__
Introduction:
Ephesians 2:1-10 And He has made you alive, who were once dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience; among whom we also had our way of life in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us (even when we were dead in sins) has made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved), and has raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.
Genesis 2 God created man and gave man everything needed for life and has a relationship with man. In scripture we read that man was created to have a relationship with God.
Stop and think about that for a moment. The creator of all things created man to have a relationship with him. The plain and simple fact is that God wants to be in a relationship with each one of us. And In the beginning God had a personal relationship with man. He walked with Adam and eve in the garden. Scripture says:
Gen 3:8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day,
God walked with man and had a relationship with man. Genesis 3 Man rebels against God and wants to be his own god. Sin enters and death with sin.
1. Sin the problem
a. When we read the scriptures we find out that man moves away from God. We move away from the creator. How did that happen? Well, God gives one command “don’t eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. Why? Because it will hurt you and God didn’t want that. God waned and still wants what is good for us.
i. Man Moves away: When I was a younger I listened to everything my mother said but as I got older I think my brain shrunk because I started to do things that my mother told me not to do. Or didn’t want me to do. Not because She wanted to keep me down or under her control but because these things were bad for me or harmful. She loved me so she wanted what was good for me. I decided she didn’t know what she was talking about so I moved away. I ended up moving out of her house and going off on my own. What resulted from me disobeying my mother was that our relationship broke down and not only that but I found out the hard way that she was right.
b. When Adam and Eve disobey God and ate of the tree. Sin was introduced and man moved away from God. Just like the relationship between my mother and I was broken. When man moved away the relationship between man and God was broken.
2. God Pursues man
a. Genesis 3:15 God tells the Gospel of Jesus. And all throughout the Old Testament God continues to pursue man in a relationship with him. Until the Birth of Jesus. God comes to us in the flesh and shows just how far he will go to get back that lost relationship.
b. God Rescues man through Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-5 God shows us his love by making us alive in Christ. (Christ died for the ungodly Romans?? Look it up) **********************
c. God doesn’t leave things the way they are. He doesn't say well man will have to find away to fix our relationship. God pursues man.
d. People don’t think like this. If someone does something wrong to us we, most likely, are going to push them away. Have nothing to do with them or at least wait until they come to us and say they were sorry or fix things however they can. The likely hood of us pursuing our enemies for a relationship is even more ridicules to the way man thinks. So why should God help us fix a relationship that we broke? Well when we look in scripture we find the answer.
i. 1 John 4:16 God is love
e. Now we really don’t have a full understanding of what Love is. God Loves us and wants to have a relationship with us. But sin needs to be dealt with. God is loving but also just and righteous so he needs to deal with this or there is no possibility for a relationship. God knows that we cannot do what needs to be done.
3. Jesus the precious gift of redemption
a. John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
b. God sent his son to be born on earth as a human live a sinless life teaches us how to live. And to die for us on a cross. You see the price for sin is death. I think most of us know that. We have all sinned. We deserve to die but because God loved us he sent Jesus Christ to die for us. To be our payment.
i. John 3:16-19"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
ii. Rom 5:6-8You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
c. God has given us another chance to have a relationship with him threw the Blood of Christ. God’s love is just poured out on us when we are baptized into Jesus. We receive the forgiveness of sins which in that gives us a relationship with God and we have Eternal life and even more than this.
4. God gives us a job to do
a. Ephesians 2:10 we are no longer our own. We are God’s workmanship in Christ for good works. Our job is to spread the good news of Christ and to do good works. Which telling other about Jesus is a good work to me. Telling people about how to escape sin and death in Christ is a very good work.
b. Warning: We do not earn anything by telling other about Christ or by doing any other good works. Ephesians 2:8-9
Conclusion:
God truly loves us and has made us alive in Christ. Rejoice in your relationship with God threw the body and blood of Christ. Rom 5:1-3 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, We have peace with God. Christians that broken relationship is fix thought Jesus.2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Jesus Christ came to this earth that we might choose to have a relationship with God threw Him, threw Jesus. God has given us a gift. A way back into a relationship with him.