The first three verses are full of really bad news. In fact, the scripture reveals to us that outside of Christ, we are far worse than we ever wanted to admit, and far worse than we could ever imagine. And what we find is that God and the good news of the gospel, that God has loved us and sent his son to die for us, is far greater news than we ever thought possible. [00:29:09] (31 seconds)  #GospelIsGreater

You were dead, he says, in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. And I love the past tense reality of this because Paul is speaking to believers in Ephesus, to the church who were who is in Ephesus. He's saying, this is who you believers used to be. You're not that anymore. Praise God. By the grace of God, you're no longer spiritually dead. But you used to be outside of Christ, outside of faith in Jesus, outside of being born again by the Holy Spirit, you were spiritually dead. [00:32:30] (36 seconds)  #OnceDeadNowAlive

And so Isaiah tells us that our best day looks like filthy rags apart from Christ. Because of sin, because of the reality of what it means to inherit a sinful nature, which is what Ephesians two is clearly teaching us. What Paul picks up very clearly in Romans five. Because we've inherited a sinful nature. Our will is in bondage to our sin nature. We are spiritually dead. We desire sinful things. We don't desire godly things. This is the state of the soul before Christ. [00:40:12] (44 seconds)  #BondageToSinNature

And before we go and look around our families or or this room or our our workplace and begin to say, wow, I'm better than you. This scripture removes any opportunity to boast. Because it says we were all once there. And by the way, the fact that you're no longer there has nothing to do with you and everything to do with God. Amen. That's where we're headed next. [00:40:57] (27 seconds)  #AllGraceAllGod

We have a heart problem, the scripture says. Our hearts don't desire or beat for God apart from Christ. Our hearts are not sick or wounded. Our hearts are not sick needing medicine. They're not wounded, needed needing mending. Scripture says that they're dead and they need a resurrection, which is why in Ephesians one, Paul writes these words at the starting in verse 20, talking about resurrection. This power the power to believe for for us who believe, verse 19, according to the work of his great might, verse 20, that he worked in Christ when he did what? Raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. [00:41:32] (55 seconds)  #HeartsNeedResurrection

And so Ephesians one ends with the resurrection power of God because in Ephesians two, we're still talking about the resurrection power of God. We're talking about the resurrection power of God that brings the dead to life. And that's exactly what Paul's talking about here is that, friends, we don't need medicine to make us well spiritually. We don't need someone to come and bind up our wounds. We need Jesus to make us alive Amen. Because we were dead. [00:43:06] (29 seconds)  #JesusGivesLife

``but god. With the reality that we were dead, with the reality that we could not come to God on our own, with the reality that we weren't drowning with our hand in the air, and Jesus pulled us out. No. With the reality that we were dead, sunk at the bottom of the ocean, and could not move. Jesus dove in, grabbed us dead, brought us out, and gave us life. With that reality, we press into the grace of God. [00:47:38] (32 seconds)  #ButGodDoveIn

Because God who is just and holy and who has been offended, and our sin is cosmic treason against the most holy God, but because he is merciful and loving, not just just and holy, but praise God, merciful and loving, he has made a way for you and for me to be forgiven of our sin, to be reconciled to him, to be seated with Christ in the heavenly places. Why? Because of who God is. He is merciful and he is loving. Not only just, but merciful. What a great god we have. That he would love us and send his son to die for us. [00:50:41] (53 seconds)  #MercyMadeTheWay