But God: From Death to New Life in Christ

Apr 04, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Reality of Our Spiritual Death Before God

We often view our lives as being fully alive, yet Scripture presents a different, more sobering reality. Our natural state, apart from Christ, is one of spiritual death. This death is not merely a future event but a present condition, characterized by separation from God and a life that falls tragically short of His good and perfect design. It is a state of being utterly lost and without hope in ourselves, walking in disobedience and under just condemnation. [39:45]

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 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—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.
— Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV)

Reflection: In what specific ways do you see the "passions of our flesh" or the "desires of the body and the mind" manifesting in your own life, revealing a spiritual need that only Christ can address?

Day 2: The World’s Path Leads to Devastation

The course of this world offers a path that seems right but ultimately leads to pain and destruction. This path is marked by division, deception, and a self-centered pursuit of power and control. It stands in stark contrast to the peace, community, and abundance God intended for humanity in creation. Following this worldly way brings not life, but a foreshadowing of death into our relationships, communities, and personal souls. [47:30]

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
— 1 John 2:15-16 (ESV)

Reflection: Where have you recently observed the "pride of life" or a self-centered pursuit of control—either in your own heart or in the world around you—causing pain or division?

Day 3: The Sinister Voice of Our Spiritual Enemy

Our struggle is not only against our own flesh or the world's influence; there is a real, spiritual enemy at work. This adversary operates not through obvious caricatures but through subtle, sinister whispers that seek to erode our identity, value, and faith. These lies encourage us to find our worth in anything other than God, to turn away from Him, and to distrust His good and loving character. [50:43]

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
— 1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)

Reflection: What specific lie have you been tempted to believe recently about your identity, your purpose, or God’s character, and how can you counter it with the truth of Scripture?

Day 4: Our Inability to Save Ourselves

Our natural attempts to find life and satisfaction apart from God are ultimately futile. We pour ourselves into careers, relationships, and possessions, hoping they will fill the void, yet they always disappoint. This cycle of striving, succeeding, and finding it lacking—or failing and becoming disillusioned—reveals our profound inability to save ourselves or create the life we were made for. We are utterly dependent on a rescue from outside of ourselves. [53:34]

I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
— Ecclesiastes 3:10-11 (ESV)

Reflection: What is one thing you have been striving for or relying on to give you a sense of purpose or satisfaction that, upon reflection, has ultimately fallen short?

Day 5: The Hope Found in God’s “But God” Moment

In the midst of our hopeless condition, the narrative of Scripture takes a glorious turn. God, motivated by His rich mercy and great love, intervened. He did not leave us dead in our sins but sent His Son to conquer death and give us life. The cross is the ultimate demonstration of this love, where Jesus took our punishment upon Himself, offering forgiveness and the hope of a restored relationship with God. [56:48]

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
— Ephesians 2:4-5 (ESV)

Reflection: As you consider the phrase “But God,” what area of your life—past, present, or future—feels most in need of His merciful intervention and life-giving grace today?

Sermon Summary

Ephesians 2 declares a stark reality: human beings live as though dead because sin has broken the life God intended. The narrative contrasts the original garden—abundant, relational, purposeful—with a world scarred by war, famine, deception, and division. The brokenness shows up in everyday life: hollow achievements, fractured relationships, and the relentless chase after things that never satisfy. That pursuing of self-defined meaning produces a familiar despair that looks like death even while the body breathes.

The text identifies three arenas of devastation. First, culture steers people along a course that rewards power, control, and self-preservation, leaving ruin in its wake. Second, a spiritual adversary operates subtly, whispering comparisons, resentment, and worthlessness to lure people away from worship and toward isolation. Third, fleshly desire continually promises fullness through consumption, success, or status and consistently fails to deliver. Together they explain why earnest effort so often ends in exhaustion or resignation.

Hope arrives in a sudden, decisive word: but God. Mercy and great love interrupt the trajectory of death. Christ enters the world’s ruin, takes on death, and by his death defeats the power of death itself—purchasing freedom from sin’s dominion and opening a path to resurrection life. The cross does not merely cover sin; it confronts the devastation, brings forgiveness, and restores the possibility of genuine life with God. Communion becomes the communal remembrance of that exchange—the body broken, the blood poured out—an invitation to mourn what was lost and to accept the new life offered.

Repentance remains necessary: turning from the old path and walking anew in faith. The call asks for honest admission of failure, a refusal to keep trusting lesser idols, and a surrender to the mercy that raises the dead. When faith places trust in the crucified and risen Christ, life moves toward restoration, purpose, and hope even amid present suffering.

Key Takeaways

1. Humanity lies dead in sin Paul’s language exposes spiritual death as present reality, not merely a future event or abstract idea. This death infects cultures and hearts, rendering moral effort insufficient to restore communion with God. Recognition of that deadness becomes the honest starting point for true repentance and dependence on grace. [37:47]
2. The world’s course kills life The surrounding systems prize power, control, and self-gain, and those incentives shape choices that produce communal and personal ruin. When society codifies self-preservation as virtue, relationships and souls pay the price. Refusing that trajectory requires deliberate reorientation toward sacrificial love and stewardship. [43:58]
3. A subtle spiritual enemy tempts The enemy does not thunder; the enemy whispers—comparison, entitlement, invisibility—nudging hearts away from worship and toward isolation or pride. Recognizing the voice matters because it exposes the real battleground: attention and desire. Vigilance and scripture-shaped discernment break the cycle of deception. [48:20]
4. The cross kills the power of death Christ’s death is presented as the decisive act that destroys death’s dominion and buys resurrection life for those who trust him. The cross addresses guilt, cancels condemnation, and inaugurates healing that no moral achievement can command. Embracing that exchange transforms mourning into hope and powerlessness into new life. [58:28]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[37:47] - Reading: “You were dead”
[39:45] - What death feels like
[40:42] - A personal memory of loss
[42:05] - The garden: God’s design
[43:58] - The world’s course and ruin
[48:20] - The subtle spiritual enemy
[52:01] - The desires of the flesh
[56:31] - “But God”: mercy arrives
[58:28] - The cross: death of death
[1:00:22] - Communion: remembrance and hope
[1:03:23] - Prayer and reflection
[1:06:04] - Sending blessing

Bible Study Guide

Based on the sermon summary and transcript provided, here is a Bible study discussion guide.

Bible Reading
Ephesians 2:1-5 (ESV)
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—

Isaiah 53:6 (ESV)
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Observation questions

According to Ephesians 2:1-3, what three specific forces are identified as shaping the path that leads to spiritual death?
The text says we were "by nature children of wrath." What does this phrase reveal about the human condition apart from God's intervention?
What is the immediate and powerful contrast presented in Ephesians 2:4 that changes the entire trajectory of the passage?
What does the imagery of sheep going astray in Isaiah 53:6 communicate about our natural inclination and its consequences?

Interpretation questions

The "course of this world" is described as a path that leads to ruin [43:58]. What does this "course" typically look like in our modern culture, and what kind of "ruin" does it leave in its wake for individuals and communities?
The "prince of the power of the air" is said to operate through whispers of comparison, resentment, and worthlessness [48:20]. Why is this method of whispering lies more effective and dangerous than a more obvious, direct attack?
The "desires of the flesh" continually promise fulfillment but fail to deliver [52:01]. Why do we continue to believe these desires will satisfy us, even after repeated disappointment?
The phrase "But God" signifies a decisive, merciful interruption [56:31]. How does God's action in this passage differ from a mere suggestion or moral improvement plan for humanity?

Application questions

Spiritual death can feel like a hollow pursuit of success, fractured relationships, and a relentless chase after things that never satisfy [37:47]. Where in your own life have you experienced this "hollowness" or "chase," and what did you hope it would provide that it could not?
The enemy often whispers lies of comparison ("Did you see what they got?") or worthlessness ("Does anybody see you?") [48:20]. Which of these specific whispers do you find yourself most susceptible to, and what is the underlying fear or desire that gives that whisper its power?
Our flesh tells us that a certain possession, achievement, or status will finally make us happy and content [52:01]. What is one thing your flesh is currently convincing you will bring satisfaction, and how can you actively turn from trusting in that thing and instead trust in Christ's finished work?
The cross is where Christ took upon himself the punishment for our sin, bringing forgiveness and the hope of new life [58:28]. What does it look like this week to truly accept that forgiveness for a specific failure, rather than just feeling general guilt?
Repentance is a turning from the old path of self-reliance and a walking anew in faith [01:02:19]. What is one practical, tangible "step" on this new path you can take this week that reflects a reliance on God's mercy rather than your own effort?
Communion is a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice, an invitation to mourn what was lost and accept the new life offered [01:00:22]. How can reflecting on the broken body and shed blood of Jesus reshape your perspective on your current struggles or feelings of hopelessness?

Sermon Clips

67s

#InnerVoice

“And it's not a red dude with horns and a pitchfork, and it's not a nice red suit with slicked back hair. It is a sinister small voice in our ears. Did you see what she was wearing today? Or did you see what she was wearing today? Did you see what they did last weekend? Must be nice. Does anybody recognize how important I am to this place, how much work I do around here? Does anybody ever see you? Could they imagine what life would be like if you didn't work here? Does anybody ever see you? Would anybody notice if you were gone? A sinister voice that keeps speaking in our ears to turn away from any sense of meaning, any sense of purpose, any sense of value as people being created in the image of god.”

69s

#ChooseYourOwnWay

“It's been the the burden and the weight that people have carried since the fall, since they turned away from God and began to seek life and define it as they could on their own terms. I mean, that's really what sin is. It's saying, God, you made me, but I'll take it from here. And really, for most of us, it's not even acknowledging that he made us. It's just saying I'm in control. I can chart my own course and walk my own path and make my own destiny, and I'll define what's gonna satisfy me. I'll define my purpose. I'll define my meaning. I'll define exactly what it looks like to be alive. And what Paul is reminding us is that course, that path, the way in which you once walked leads to death in every sense of the word.”

60s

#FillingTheVoid

“It's the desires of our flesh that we keep thinking that's what's gonna make me happy. That's what's gonna satisfy me. That's what's gonna bring me healing. That's what's gonna overcome my past. That's the thing. And it's never God. It's something, some person, someone, some job, some trip, something else, anything else, everything else, and just continuing to try to consume and use and fill the void that just can't be filled. And it's disappointment after disappointment because we either succeed and it's not enough, or we fail and we have to dust ourselves off and try again. It's devastating. It's heartbreaking, and it feels like death, hopelessness, pointlessness, purposeless, meaningless.”

81s

#SeekPowerNotPeace

“War is not a picture of the garden. Famine is not a picture of the garden. Deception is not a picture of the garden. Hatred, pride, self centeredness is not a picture of the garden. That is not what God intends for our lives, and yet the example that the world is setting around us is seek power, seek control, seek everything you can for yourself. Do what you can to protect for you and yours, and don't worry about anybody else to the point of devastation of individuals and families, of businesses and communities, of nations. It's terrible. It's harmful and it's painful. And that's how the Ephesians were living. That's the calling, the temptation, the struggle in the lives that we live.”

57s

#DeepSoulPeace

“And not just peace like, hey, kids, quiet down over there so we can have some peace in this house, but peace like our souls long for, the purpose and the meaning and the satisfaction of having relationships rooted in love, deep relationships that encourage and equip and empower one another, relationships with God whom we worship and whom we know loves us like a father on a creation that has an abundance of things for us to enjoy and to live and to work and to play. That's the life that God intended, and so if we reflect on the lives that we live today, even with breath in our lungs and hearts beating in our chests, life is not as God intended. That's the reality of sin.”

54s

#CreatedForTheGarden

“And I guess if we think about it, there's a lot of things in our lives and in our world that reflect death even though it's not quite death because it is life as we know it. Life as we know it seems like it falls short of what God intended. I mean, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He created the stars in the sky and the sun to shine bright, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea and people in his image. People to be in communion with him and community with one another, people that could dwell on his creation and and have power over it to create things and make new things, and he placed them in this garden. A picture of beauty and provision and peace.”

71s

#RepentAndBelieve

“But we have to repent. We have to turn away from the path that we've been on. Paul writes, you were dead. They turned away from that and put their faith in Jesus and began to walk a new path. And so I'm gonna pray and then give you a moment to reflect on the passage, reflect on the forgiveness of Christ, and to repent. For some of you, you've repented a lot. You've put your faith in Jesus long ago, and this is a a practice that you're familiar with, and it is an opportunity for us who've been following Jesus for a while to continue to remind ourselves of his forgiveness. But for others, this is the very first time you've ever done this. And I wanna encourage you to do it, to turn to God. And even if you're not sure if you believe any of this, tell him that. To reveal it to you, to to hear you, to respond to you, and just acknowledge that the life you're living doesn't really feel like life at all.”

55s

#WorldOnOurScreens

“Living according to the course of the world, the path that the world has before us. Look around us. Our news feeds are filled with wars and threats of war, with political division and jockeying for power, with poverty and famine and storms creating devastation and havoc. This is what's on our feeds all day long when and our phones and our TVs and our computer screens just buzzing, reminding us that there is pain, there is suffering, there is hurting. The critical hot takes throughout our our social media platforms that put neighbor against neighbor and coworker against coworker and brother against brother. The reminder of the division deception and the violence and the pain and the suffering and the hurting.”

43s

#FacingSpiritualDeath

“It seems like pretty strong language, doesn't it? I mean, Paul can be emphatic in his letters, and that's what he is doing here for the church in Ephesus. You were dead. Really? In our sin and trespasses? I mean, death is not something that our culture really highlights or talks about much. I mean, for most of us, death is something that's out there. And if we're thinking about it in the terms of our own life, it's something that happens far and away. Something at the end of a long life lived. Something that happens because of sickness and and medicine just can't quite overcome for one reason or another. It's not something that we often meditate on or think about.”

59s

#FacingLovedOnesDeath

“I mean, I remember the final days of my grandmother's life. The final days when we were sitting as a family in her room and just sharing stories, even laughing at times, and other times just silently, solemnly waiting. Every time she'd take a certain kind of breath, just wondering if it was the last. I'll never forget the morning I got the call from my grandfather early before the sun was up, and and all he could really utter out was, she's gone. That's death. Of course, the final years of her life weren't exactly life either. With her mind being riddled with dementia and eventually her body following the challenges of her mind, she was in care because my grandfather could no longer care for her. That's kind of like death too.”

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