Ephesians 1:15-2:10 | The incomparable riches of God's grace | Shaun McGregor

God must be incomparably rich! I wonder how he shows his riches

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For us who believe. Father, we ask that you'd be with us now, that you'd speak to us in your word by your spirit, that you would show us ourselves and show us the Lord Jesus. And that you would indeed change us. And we would go out of here and go to morning tea and to the week ahead. Changed by knowing you better. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, it really matters, doesn't it? How you see yourself and how you see God. And the two things are related. How you see yourself and how worthy you are, how important you are, how strong you are, and how great you think God is. They are very closely related. And this morning, like I prayed, we need to see, we need to know God better. Firstly, like everyone, we were dead in our sins. We're on page 1173 of those blue Bibles. Please have it open. Verse 1, it says of chapter 2, as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. In these first couple of verses, it's as if Paul holds up a mirror to each one of us. And not the ordinary sort of mirror where you get to see how bleary-eyed you are this morning, whether your hair looks okay, how many more wrinkles you have this year than last year. No, a special sort of mirror that it shows you not just the present, but actually your past. You were. And not just what was happening in the past or what you looked like in the past, how much younger you looked, perhaps, but what was going on in your heart. And frankly, it is not a pretty picture, is it? What do we see in this mirror? As for you, you were dead. You look in the mirror and you see yourself a corpse. How was it that we were dead? Physically alive, but spiritually dead, dead in your transgressions and sins, transgressions breaking God's law, stepping across it. Our sins falling short of what we are supposed to be, whether it be with murder or just anger in our hearts, whether it be with committing adultery or just lust in our hearts, whether it be with hating God or just ignoring Him. In our sins and transgressions we were dead. How did this come about? In which he used to live, you used to walk when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the Spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. Paul now explains to us how it was that we came to be dead by walking in sins and transgressions, three influences. Firstly, the ways of this world, this age. We might talk about our society, our culture, the media, social media, our friends and family. It's the water we swim in, the air that we breathe. It's the aspects of your culture that you only realize when you encounter a different culture. Except that it's not really about culture. No, in John he says the world is people opposed to God. That's what Paul's talking about. We walked in the ways of this world. And not just this world, but secondly, the ruler of the kingdom of the air. There's the earth, there's heaven, and metaphorically the air, and this is the ruler of the air, that is the devil and his evil spirits. Now, those of us like me who've grown up under Western materialism, we think the devil is a bit of a joke. A medieval idea that we have grown out of. Those of us who thankfully have grown up with different ideas, perhaps from more Eastern cultures, we realize that the devil is real. That evil spirits are real and we live in fear of them. Interesting, Paul says, whether you think it's a joke or whether you live in fear of the devil, either way, it doesn't matter, he is now at work in those who are disobedient. Not by demon possession, but by walking according to his ways. Two influences, the world and the devil, they are external to us. But there is a third, verse three. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh, and following its desires and thoughts. Not our physical flesh or our hormones, no our desires, our thoughts that are opposed to God, whether for evil things our desires, or desires our overdesire for good things. We are influenced by the ways of this world, by the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the devil, and by our own flesh. The French philosopher said, Rousseau, man is born free, but everywhere is in chains. He bemoaned the influence of civilization, with its rules and its threats, its religions and its stereotypes. He pitches the noble savage, savage, free from civilization, who is truly free. But the Bible is not so naive and foolish. We are not born free. These three great influences, the world, the devil, our own evil desires. They control us. And yet we are not innocent victims, subjected to these influences with no choice at all. No, we walk according to these things. We do the walking. Can you see yourself in this mirror? It is a complex understanding of human nature, isn't it? But oh, so accurate. We are dead. We cannot get out of this. Perhaps if you're a Christian, you trust in Jesus, you can see what you were before Christ changed everything. Perhaps if you do not yet trust in Jesus, you can see yourself now. And you see why, if this is true, dead in your sins and transgressions, you are deserving of God's wrath. His wrath, his anger. Not an irrational, fly off the handle, impetuous wrath, but a settled, determined, just anger and desire to punish. That's how God feels. You were dead in your sins, deserving of wrath. And as Paul is talking to some people, is he handing a mirror to some people? Like that Australian man who went to Thailand for sex and walked out with a young girl chopped up in his suitcase, allegedly. Or the tribesmen that I heard about and I met their descendants who used to headhunt, kill your enemy and chop off their heads and preserve their skulls. I saw some of the skulls because it gives you power. Is Paul just holding up a mirror to those sorts of people? Paul could have done that to the Ephesians. They are Gentiles, not Jewish people like him. You, he says, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. But that's not what he's saying. Verse 3. All of us also lived among them at one time. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. Paul is not holding up individual mirrors to some people. Imagine the screen behind me is not a screen but a mirror. And everyone is seeing themselves in it. You, the person next to you, everyone in the building. Imagine the mirror is so big up in the sky, perhaps looking down that everyone in Linfield is looking up, seeing themselves dead in their transgressions and sins. Your neighbors, your family, my children, my grandchildren? Dead. This helps us to see things clearly, doesn't it? We see the world, you ever ask yourself, why can't people just get along? What is wrong with those people in the Middle East? Why are they always fighting? Why can't they be more like me? Here is the answer: they are more like you than you realize, because you are more like them. Just with different pressures and opportunities. This is the world. We see our powerlessness. I drove past a church this week, a Seventh-day Adventist church. On the sign, the message to their community was do your best. God will do the rest. My heart sank. Do your best. If you are dead, you will do nothing. You are powerless. No surprise that Jesus says in John 6, we saw this a few weeks ago, you cannot come to God unless God draws you. If you are dead. We are powerless. And we see here our desperate need. Without Jesus, people are dead. Without Jesus, my children, my grandchildren are dead. Without Jesus, my mum is dead and deserving of wrath. Without Jesus, our neighbors are deserving of God's wrath and without hope. It is a startling mirror, isn't it? Where we see ourselves. But how does it get help you to know God better? That was Paul's prayer in chapter one. Thankfully, these first three verses, as Paul writes a long sentence again, is just the introduction. We were dead in our sins, deserving of God's wrath, comma. But God raised and seated us with Christ. Verse 5. He made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. Verse 6. God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Back in chapter 1, Paul prayed that we would know the incomparably great power of God for us who believe. That power, he said, is the same as the power that raised Jesus from the dead. He doesn't mean it's just as much power, and that if you can harness that power somehow, you'll be healthy, wealthy, and wise. No, he means it's the same power. When God worked that power to raise Jesus from the dead, he worked that power to raise you from the dead. The same power worked for him and worked for us. How? Have a look at the verse again. Verse five. Sorry, verse five. He made us alive with Christ. Verse six. God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. When I was in holidays in Borneo, I really wanted to go to the Mulu National Park. Why? There are some of the most extraordinary caves in the world, and I wanted to stay inside the rainforest and visit these caves. But how to get there? You could hike there, but it would take like four weeks through the jungle. The only way to get there is to fly. Without flying, it's as if I was dead to Mulu. But with the great power of a plane, I could get there. So I went to the airport, found a plane. Well, I'd booked it. My first trip on a propeller plane. But they spin around fast, and somehow that great power flies in the air and gets you to Mulu. How was I going to relate to the plane? Would it work if I held onto the plane? I noticed on the plane that on the wing, I don't know if you've ever noticed this, and when you look out the window, it says, do not walk outside this area. There's a bit that's marked, do not walk outside this area. Now, I don't know about you, but I hadn't actually thought of walking on the wing. That didn't seem like a great idea, whether it was in this area or outside this area. You can't attach yourself or walk on or hold onto a plane. Where do you need to be on the plane? In the plane. And once you're in the plane, you don't need to pedal, you don't need to wave your arms like a propeller, you simply are in it, and it will take you. The incomparably great power of the plane will get you to where you want to go. So it is with Christ. For us to be raised from the dead and seated with Christ, it is as simple as this. We need to be in Christ. And that is exactly what God has done. We were dead in our sins, deserving of his wrath, and God has placed us in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated us with him in the heavenly realms. This is a life-changing truth. It sets us free from uncertainty. At my last church, there was a man who'd been away from church for a long time. Craig came back to church and didn't really have assurance. He didn't know that he would go to heaven when he died. In fact, he was quite sure that you could not be sure, do you see? I was concerned about this and I wanted to read the Bible with him. I asked him, Would you like to read the Bible? We read the Bible week by week, and I tried gradually to explain to him that the gospel said that when you trust in Jesus, it's all about Jesus and not you, and you're connected to Jesus and he will get you there. And I can't remember when this happened. I can't remember us reading this passage, but it was this passage that showed him it was true. In fact, it was verse six. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. How could I be sure that when I die I will be with Jesus? He asked. And his answer from verse six was, I am already there. When I got to Mulu, I wasn't thinking, I wonder whether I'll get to Mulu, was it? In Christ, he'd already got there. And so his lack of assurance, his uncertainty was gone. He was set free, Craig, from that uncertainty, given confidence and assurance. Secondly, it sets you free from fear. If you're afraid of the devil and evil spirits, and you think you need to worship your ancestors like so many people do. Or if you're afraid of our society changing, or your friends and family opposing you, or sickness destroying your life. Christ has been raised from the dead. Seated at God's right hand, and we are seated with Him. What could you possibly be afraid of? As the children's song says, be strong and courageous. For Jesus has conquered them all. Free from uncertainty, free from fear, set free to change. If you are dead in sin and transgression, do you have no power to change? That's what it's like to be a non-Christian. Do you try and have a New Year's revolution every year? It does not work. But when you are set free from your sin, when God has raised you from the dead spiritually, then there is power to change. My impatience, my selfishness. Is there any hope for me? Yes. Be optimistic about your opportunities to change. Set free from uncertainty, from fear, and set free to change. And of course, this means it's not just for us who trust in the Lord Jesus. If you're sitting here this morning and thinking, I'd love that. I'd love that certainty. I'd love to be set free from fear. I'd love to be set free to change. You can. You're dead in your sins and transgressions, but God can raise the dead. And if we think, why would I bother telling my friends and family about Jesus? I've told them before. Can God change people? Yes, he raised Jesus from the dead. He can raise your friends and family from the dead as well, just as he did for you. Like everyone else, we were dead in our sins, but God raised us and seated us with Christ. It must lead you to ask why. Why would God do that? For people who are dead, for those who are his enemies. Thirdly, because of his incomparable grace. I skipped over something, didn't I? It's really important, verse four. But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy. The incomparable riches of his grace, verse seven, expressed in his kindness to us in Jesus. Have you ever noticed that we like to simplify things about God? That we think anger and love are opposites, and you cannot be both at once. As a parent, you can do both, can't you? You're angry with your child and you love them. So it is with God. We are deserving of his wrath, verse 3. And in the very next phrase, God who is rich in love for us. Why did He make us alive, seated with Christ? It's not about us, but about Him. His great love, His mercy, His grace, His kindness. And it is in abundance. Did you notice that? We are obsessed with abundance, aren't we, with riches? President Trump constantly speaks of the riches of the United States' incomparable power and how he will use it. Elon Musk has incomparable wealth. I read that his one trillion dollars far exceeds the next three richest persons combined. But the article I read forgot someone. Left someone out of the analysis. There's someone richer than Musk. It's God. He owns the whole universe. And in just a few years, Musk will be worth precisely nothing financially. But what is God's riches? What does he value the most? It is his power or his wealth? Is it even the amazing things in his creation, some of which I saw on my holiday? No. What does it say here? He is rich in mercy. The incomparable riches of his grace, his generosity. A few years ago, Philip Yancey, a Christian author, wrote a A wonderful book. What's so amazing about grace? Full of story after story of generosity to people who don't deserve it, of God's generosity to people who don't deserve it. But he could have just copied out Ephesians 2, couldn't he? What's so amazing about grace? We were dead in our sins and transgressions, and God in his great love and grace raised us from the dead. I wonder this week whether you could take that mirror that Paul gives here and each day read through chapter 2, verses 1 to 10, and see yourself dead, and see yourself raised up, and see again the reason why. God's incomparable grace. And just take a minute to praise him for that. Will you do that? Like everyone, we were dead in our sins, but God raised and seated us with Christ because of his incomparable grace. But for what purpose? Finally, to show that grace through us. Verse 6. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Tomorrow morning, one team will lift the trophy. The competition has been going on, you might not realize, for the last three years, the World Cup of Football. And then for a whole month it's been going on on our TV screens. One team will be shown to have incomparably great power at football. And they will lift the trophy. God, you see, longed to show the incomparable great riches of his grace. And when he asked himself, how will I do this? How will I show the world, the universe, the devil, the evil spirits, mankind? How will I show them my incomparable riches of grace? He had one solution. I will love my dead enemies. I will raise them from the dead and sit them in glory with my Son. Did you see? I am a trophy of God's grace. You are a trophy of God's grace. The church is a trophy of God's grace. And when is it that God shows that trophy? It says it here, doesn't it, in verse 7. In order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace. I'd always thought that was the future when Jesus returns. But it's the coming ages. Plural GC. If you look back for a moment to chapter 1, verse 19, there is the present age and the one to come. God is showing the incomparable riches of his grace through us now. Have you ever wondered whether you really matter? Whether if you only matter because you do things, succeed in things, serve in some way? What if you can't do those things anymore? What if you fail? What if we as a church are not succeeding? What if we are not growing in some way? Just by being, we are a trophy of God's grace. We were dead, raised to life, now seated with Christ in heaven. Just by being, we show God's grace. And Paul says in verse 10 that as we walk, walk in the way that God intended, having been created in Christ Jesus to do good works, as we live out those good works, walking in those that God has prepared for us to walk in, so we are trophies of God's grace, we show his grace. I think especially when we show grace to one another. And of course, by telling, when we tell others that I was lost but now am found, but I was dead that now am alive. Surely then we are a trophy of God's grace, showing his grace to others. But the best is yet to come. Why was I so excited to go to Mulu National Park? Because they have one of the biggest cave systems in the world. Have you ever been inside a cave? Darkness and then lit up. Usually caves, when you go to visit them, they have spotlights showing you the stallic tites and the stalic mites, showing you the glory and highlighting it for you. But my favorite cave was the last one we went to. A cave where there were no lights. The only lights were the flashlights, the torches that we walked in with. It was as this everything was darkness. And we were discovering it for the first time. I picture it like this. God has been working on the glory of his caves for millions of years. Do you realize that? It was hidden. And then an explorer one day saw it for the first time. I imagine God going, I'm working on this. It's taking a long time. And I'm longing for people to see it and to see my glory, but I will patiently wait until it is finally displayed. But that is nothing. For God's riches are not his creative power, it is his grace. And Kossians 3 says that we've been raised and seated with Christ, but that is now hidden. You can't see it. But when Christ appears, he will open the doors of his trophy room. And his trophies, the millions of people who were dead, but whom he made alive and transformed into the image of his son. They will be revealed. And so his glory, his grace, will be revealed. Philip Yancey was the author of that book I mentioned, What's So Amazing About Grace? But sadly, for a long period, he somehow lost sight of grace. He lost sight of the freedom that he had because of God's grace. He returned to following the ways of this world, the devil, and the flesh. What did he do? To my great shame, he says, I confess that for eight years I willfully engaged in a sinful affair with a married woman. Personally, I hate the word affair. It sounds like some of you go to have a good afternoon with your children on a merry-go-round. Adultery is not an affair, it is a crime. And Philip Yancey committed that crime in secret, in deception, for eight years. How would you respond if you were one of Philip's friends and you found this out? How would you respond if you're a member of Philip's church and you discovered this? How would you respond if you were his wife? How would you respond if you were him? What hope would you possibly have? Here's how he responded. I have failed morally and spiritually, and I grieve over the devastation I have caused. I am filled with remorse and repentance, and I have nothing to stand on except God's mercy and grace. I pray for God's grace and forgiveness as well as yours, and for healing in the lives of those I've wounded. I'm not making any excuses for Philip's behavior. It is abhorrent. But what he says here is true. He has nothing to stand on except God's mercy and grace. And that is true for me. And if you are a Christian, it is true for you just as much as it is for Philip. How did his wife respond? I'm speaking from a place of trauma and devastation that only people who have lived through betrayal can understand. And no doubt there are people here this morning who can understand. I accept and understand that God through Jesus has paid for and forgiven the sins of the world, including Phillips. God grant me the grace to forgive also, despite my unfathomable trauma. Please pray for us. Sometimes when someone has done something unfathomable to someone else, a Christian will be very quick to announce that they forgive them, even if they haven't repented. I think that's foolish, actually. Forgiveness takes time and work and pain, and it's essential that the other person repents for forgiveness to take place. Janet here is honest about her pain. And honest that she wants God's help to forgive. But she knows this. That God through Jesus has paid for and forgiven the sins of the world, including Philip's, and including hers. Is Philip still a trophy of God's grace? Certainly, when he wrote the book, he was. I think he is more so now. I take it he understands God's grace more. And I take it he shows God's grace more. And of course he is still raised and seated with Christ in heaven. Paul prayed that we would know God better. The route to knowing God better, he says here, is to know yourself. We were dead in sin. The mirror that Paul shows us shows our true selves. Do you believe it? Can you see yourself? And does it lead you to know God better, to see his incomparably great grace towards you? Do you see that you are a trophy of God's grace? Do you see what a delight that is? Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father. We are filled, no doubt, with a whole mix of emotions.