Why God Made Us Alive - Ephesians 2: 1-10

0:44And we're still in chapter 2, so we're not even halfway. But it's a wonderful book. It's my favorite book, which is why I picked it to go through. And so I hope you enjoy learning from God's Word this morning as we go through it. Now, I know it's been a few months since the last time that we were in this passage together. Some of you are new and maybe were not with us at that time. And so I want to take just a few moments at the beginning and give a brief summary of what we have covered so far in this passage. And we're going to be specifically looking at verses 1 through 10, or that's the passage that we've been walking through. And so let me give you just a brief summary.

1:30And these ten verses, you may remember, is really just one long sentence in the Greek text. Paul gives this whole explanation of ten verses, and it's just one long sentence. And he's describing for us the great and glorious salvation that God has brought about, the great plan of salvation in saving sinners like you and like me. And he develops this whole idea. He develops this whole plan in really three major parts. These first ten verses can be broken up in three major parts. The first part is found in verses one through three. Verses one through three, Paul reminds us of what we were before Christ. He reminds us of what we were and how we lived apart from Christ. You may remember and see there in the text that we were dead. We were dead, spiritually separated from the life of God because of our sin.

2:29We said that we were dead men walking, if you will. That is what characterized our life. That's what characterized who we were. And that deadness was made evident by how we lived, by how we lived. It affected every aspect of our life. Our thinking was corrupted by sin. Our actions were driven by the flesh, by our fleshly desires. And so all the things that were produced out of our life apart from Christ were. Fleshly and designed to exalt ourselves. And ultimately, our future in that condition was destined for God's eternal wrath. We were by nature children of wrath. And that's what Paul describes for us in verses 1 through 3. It was a tragic scene, a scene of no hope. But then in verses 4 through 6, we see Paul really transitioning to words of great hope. And you may remember, Paul records some of the most beautiful words that I find in Scripture, and that is at the beginning of verse 4, he says, but God. And you may remember as we had walked through that, that we were dead in our sins, but God. But God initiated a great plan for our salvation to make us alive. And in these verses, we looked at who God was or who God is, right? That God, being rich in mercy, and because of his great love with which he loved us, he did three things. He made us alive in Christ. He raised us up with Christ. And he seated us with Christ. And the last time we were together, we looked at all of those wonderful, glorious truths of what flows out of being connected to Christ.

4:21When a person is connected to Christ, they have the spiritual life flowing through them. And that's What Paul describes for us in verses 4 through 6. And then today we come to the third part of this great passage, the third part of God's great plan of salvation, and we see not only how we lived and who God was and what he did, but specifically we see why God did it. Why God did it. That's what we're going to look at today in our time together. Notice the two words at the beginning of verse 7. It says, so that, so that. That means in order that, or to this end, or for this purpose, for this purpose. It tells us why God did what He did. And this little phrase is actually repeated three different times in verses 7 through 10. And so I want to read these verses for us this morning. And as I read through them, maybe mark them in your Bible, the so thats. There's three of them because they provide an outline for my message this morning. So let me read our text.

5:37It says that God made us alive, verse 7, so that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not a result. Of works so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we would walk in them.

6:16So, again, there are three purposes that I want you to see here, three purposes of God, and I want you to see them so that you will know and understand why God has saved you. And that, friends, is extremely important. We must understand why God has saved us because it tells us why we're still here. If you join us in the Connect class, if you remember, that's one of the questions that I bring up, is why are we still here? And I think this passage gives us the answers. It tells us why we're here. It gives us purpose.

6:56Because really, a life lived without purpose is a life wasted. And my prayer for you this morning is that your life would not be wasted. Because I believe firmly that if you will find your purpose for living in His purposes for saving you, your life will not be in vain. It will not be empty. On the contrary, you will find complete and total satisfaction and purpose in your life, and it will be filled. With abundant joy.

7:33And so I hope you see that this morning as we walk through this text together. Again, why does God save sinners? Paul gives us three reasons or three purposes. Let's look at them. First, beginning in verse 7. Verse 7, it says, so that in the ages to come, he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. Now, I know there are quite a lot of thoughts in that one verse, but let me draw out the main idea for you, and it's found in the phrase that he might show, so that he might show. That's the purpose that we need to see. And the word show literally means to point out or to put forth, right, to show something. It speaks of a demonstration. God is putting something on display. And so, in other words, God has chosen to save us, sinners like you and me, because he intends to put something on display by doing it.

8:37Our salvation as a whole is part of a divine demonstration, and it's on a universal scale. It's on a global scale. Not only earth, but all of heaven will see this display. Now, there are several things that are in this one verse that I want to draw out for you and notice. About this great display. First, I want you to notice the timing of this display. When is God going to show what He's going to show? It says it's in the ages to come. In the ages to come. What does that mean? Well, an age simply means a period of time. That's what it's referring to. A period of time. And you remember that Paul has actually used this word a few times already. He used it in chapter 1, verse 21, to speak of Christ's exaltation, that Christ was exalted above all rule, all authority, all power, all dominion, every name that is named, not only in this age, not only in this period of time, but also in the age to come.

9:52He used it again in chapter 2, verse 2, just a few verses prior, to speak of the age of this world, the age in which we lived according to. And then here again, he uses it, and he uses it in the present tense. He's speaking of a present age, but also in the plural form. So what he's saying is that there are multiple ages. This display is going to take place over multiple periods of time, and it begins with the present one.

10:28So, again, what Paul is saying. Is that the show has already started, if you will. The display that God intends to show has already begun and it's going to keep being displayed in the ages to come. It's going to, literally, the ones coming and continuing to come. So, that's the timing of this display. It's now and it's in the ages to come. Next, I want you to notice the content of this display. What is God trying to display when he saves sinners? It says so that in the ages to come, he might show the surpassing riches of his grace. It's his grace that is on display. Our salvation puts God's grace on display for all to see. And that's what he wants you to see this morning. It's his grace. Now, a few months ago, we had the privilege of hearing Thomas, our pastor, preach through a six-part series on understanding exactly that.

11:37Hopefully, you were able to attend that. It was in Sunday evenings. It was a wonderful series. Obviously, we don't have time to unpack all of that. I encourage you to go online and listen to that if you are not here with us. But I do want to establish for us what grace is. What grace is. How do we define grace? Well, grace means simply favor, right? It's the favor of God. And specifically, Paul is talking about the undeserved favor of God. Perhaps you've heard it defined that way: the unmerited favor of God. And so when we speak of the grace of God, we are talking about God's character.

12:24It's an aspect of God's character that desires to show favor towards those who do not deserve such favor. That's what grace is. Wayne Grudem puts it this way: God's grace means God's goodness towards those who deserve only punishment. I like that definition. God's goodness towards those who deserve only punishment. And did you notice the end part of that? Not only are we undeserving of God's favor, we actually deserve the opposite of God's favor. And that's what makes grace grace. We deserve God's punishment. We deserve God's eternal wrath. But instead, God gives us His favor, He displays His grace.

13:18And if you stop and think about that, it really is mind-boggling to think about, but that is who God is. That's who He really is. It's His character to show grace. Let me read to you Exodus 34, 6. It's probably a familiar passage to you. It's when the Lord is passing in front of Moses and He displays himself to Moses. And how does the Lord describe himself? He says, The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and truth, who keeps loving kindness for thousands and he forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin.

14:05Did you hear all of those other related characteristics to grace? The Lord is gracious, and a gracious person is also compassionate. He's slow to anger. He's truthful, and he forgives. He forgives. He shows his loving kindness to the thousands and thousands. That's what it means when we say God is a gracious God. He's a forgiving God. He's a loving God. And he shows his favor to those who deserve the opposite. Now, maybe you're sitting here this morning and you're thinking to yourself, well, what if there's not enough? What if there's not enough grace to go around? What if it says for thousands? Maybe I'm the thousand and one.

14:52What if you don't know me? You don't know what I've done. Maybe there's not enough grace to cover for me. Well, let me assure you that there is no shortage of God's grace. There is absolutely no shortage. He cannot run out, and he will not run out of grace because he is infinitely gracious. And that's what Paul means here in Ephesians when he refers to the surpassing riches of his grace. You see that? The surpassing riches. It's an interesting word. But it means that he's abundantly rich. Abundantly rich in grace. There's an unending wealth of grace when it comes to God. And it surpasses all others. It's so abundant that you can't even calculate it. You can't even measure it. And friends, that is exactly what God wants you to see this morning. That's what he's putting on to display. It's his surpassing riches of his grace. Now, where might we see such limitless grace? Where do we find that displayed? Well, it says it's displayed in the kindness that was shown towards us in Christ Jesus. Do you see that there in the text? That is where God has put his full grace on display. If you want to see God's grace, you must look at the kindness that is extended to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen, God has been so incredibly. Kind to each and every one of us. And we can see that kindness. I mean, you look out these windows that we have, and you see the beautiful world that we live in.

16:40He didn't create a dump for us to live in. We have beautiful things to look at and enjoy. He causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall, regardless of if we are righteous or unrighteous. It's the goodness, the kindness of God. He gives us air to breathe, and he allows us to live even one day past our first sin. He's been kind. So I don't care who you are this morning or where you are from. You have experienced the kindness of God. He has been good to all of us. But let me tell you something else. God has never been more kind to you and to me than when he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to come dwell on the earth.

17:29In Titus, it says that when Jesus appeared, the kindness of God also appeared. Do you know that? Jesus Christ is the kindness of God. And his coming, again, is the greatest expression that God could possibly have extended towards us as sinners. And friends, this is true because of what Jesus came to do. If you may turn to John chapter 1, this also should be hopefully a familiar process. Passage to you. John chapter 1, verse 14 makes this point, or proves this point.

18:09John says, and the Word, that's Jesus, right, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus, who is God, who was with God from the beginning and is God, came and became flesh, became one of us, and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory. And what kind of glory did we see? The glory as of the only begotten from the Father, right? God's glory. And notice how John describes that glory. The glory that is full of grace and of truth. And so when Jesus came to the earth, he came and put God's grace on display because he's full of God's grace. And then notice in verse 18 of John 1, he says, no one has seen God at any time. So we haven't seen God. You haven't seen God. I haven't seen God. No one has. Only the one who is in the bosom of the Father. Only Jesus has seen God. And he has explained him. He has declared him to us. You see, if Jesus had not come to dwell among us, we would know nothing of the grace of God. Not in the fullest extent, anyway.

19:30We would never be able to understand God's grace if Jesus had not come. Do you remember Jesus' baptism? Do you remember as he came up out of the water? What happened? The Spirit came upon him as a dove, came down upon him. And what did the Father say about Jesus? He said, This one, you are my beloved Son. And in you I am well pleased. In you I have put my favor, I have put my grace on display.

20:10So again, this morning, if you want to see the grace of God, if you want to experience the grace of God, you must look to Christ. It is the greatest display that will ever be, both now, in this present age, and in the ages to come. He will continue to be the display of God's grace forever, for all eternity. Now, how does that apply to you and me? That's what God is displaying. He's displaying his grace through Christ. What does that mean for us? Well, when a sinner is led by the kindness of God to repent of their sin, and he's led by the kindness of God to look upon the grace of God in Christ alone.

21:00Guess what happens? A sinner becomes part of that great display. You see that? When we repent of our sins and when we trust in Christ, in grace, the grace that God has in Christ, we become part of God's display of grace in the world. And it's an incredible thing that takes place. That's exactly why he has saved you, so that he could display his grace in you and through you for all the world to see. And friends, I cannot think of a greater purpose for living our lives than to be a display of God's grace to those around us. If you want a purpose for living, look to Christ. Look to the grace that God has displayed through Christ. That is why he has saved you. Amen.

21:54Well, that's the first reason that God has chosen to save us, to save sinners, is to display his grace. Now, another question I have is: why would he do that? Why would God need to display his grace? I'm glad you asked. Paul gives us that answer in verses 8 through 9. Let me read them to you. It says, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that nobody is not. No one may boast.

22:33So that no one may boast. That is the second purpose or the second reason that God has saved us. So that no one may boast, so that he may eliminate any possibility of self-glory. That's what he is intending to do in our salvation, to remove self-glory. Do you know what perhaps one of the greatest problems with sinful man is? Do you know what it is? It's that apart from Christ, we are a bunch of glory thieves. We steal glory. We want the glory, right? We want it, and we're willing to sacrifice pretty much everything to have it.

23:21And it shows up in little ways and big ways, but we're constantly, apart from Christ, trying to exalt ourselves and put ourselves in the greatest light, right, that people would see us in our greatness. And really, that's been the testimony throughout history. If you are a history buff and you look throughout history and observe what has taken place in the history books, it's really just one string of examples of kings and kingdoms all seeking and striving to be the greatest, the greatest of all, the strongest, the most powerful, right, to To obtain the glory.

24:03And of course, even in Scripture throughout the history of Israel, you see that time and time again. Perhaps you remember the Tower of Babel. What was going on there? Why were they building a tower? It's because they wanted to make a name for themselves. They were trying to exalt themselves. They wanted the glory. Go all the way back to the garden, right? In the Garden of Eden, why did they take the fruit? It's because they believed a lie that they could be like God, they could share in His glory and be like Him. And so they took the fruit and they forsook paradise to have it. I wonder where they learned that from.

24:49You remember Isaiah 14, it speaks of Satan, and it says this about Him: How you have fallen from heaven. O star of the morning, Son of the dawn, you have been cut down to earth, you who have weakened the nations. But you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of the assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, and I will make myself like the Most High.

25:30Listen, God understands the depravity of the human heart, and he understands it better than we do. He knows the depths of our wickedness, and he knows that the thoughts and the intentions of our heart are to exalt self, to promote self-glory. And so he orchestrated this entire plan of salvation for the purpose of eliminating that self-glory in us, all of it. Every shred, every ounce of self-glory God wants to remove from us, and that is why he has saved us in this way. And this can be seen in how our salvation is described here in this text. This is perhaps one of the clearest descriptions of the gospel message, I think, anywhere in Scripture. And all of it points to the very fact that our salvation is completely and totally 100% a work of God from beginning to end. There is no room for human boasting in the gospel that is presented right here in this text. Let me point this out to you very quickly. First, notice that our salvation is entirely an act of God alone. There's no one else at work in our salvation. It says, For by grace you have been saved. Now, again, remember, this is one. One long sentence, and there's only one subject to this sentence, and the subject that is performing these actions is identified in verse 4. Who is it? It's God, but God. But God made us alive. But God raised us up. God is the one who seated us in the heavenly places. And it is God who has saved us. You have been saved by God, and it is an act of God alone. Secondly, not only is it an act of God alone, it is accomplished by grace alone. By grace alone. It says, for by grace you have been saved. Now, that preposition, by, see that there, by grace, indicates a cause. This is the cause of your salvation and my salvation. You could translate it, for because of grace you have been saved. Friends, that is what has initiated God's act on our behalf. It is His grace. Now, this is important to notice because there are some who would say that God saved us because we simply needed to be saved.

28:19He looked down from heaven and he saw our hopeless condition, the sinful, desperate situation that we were in, and that is what moved him to save us. In other words, the cause of our salvation is found in man, right, in the sinful condition that man was in. But that's not what it says here. That is a man-centered view of salvation. Rather, Paul gives us a God-centered view of salvation, and it affirms that it is by grace that you have been saved.

28:54Again, it is God's gracious character that we spoke earlier. That is what initiated the entire act of salvation. It is God's disposition to, again, extend that favor to those of us who do not deserve his favor, but deserve only his wrath. It's fundamental to who God is, and it is what initiated or accomplished our salvation from beginning to end. It is the grace of God. Well, number three, our salvation is not only an act of God alone, by the grace of God alone, but it is through the faith. It is through faith alone. That is how it is obtained. It's through faith. Now, faith is the means through which we experience the grace of God. It's the instrument that God uses so that you and I can receive the grace of God. And I think there's a lot of people in churches today. That they claim to have faith, right? They claim to be saved through faith, but they merely possess the knowledge about God. That's how they would define their faith. They say, well, I know the answers. I know who God is, and I even believe that it is true.

30:20But it is not enough simply to understand the facts about God. It's not enough to understand who God is and even believe and be convinced that what God says about Himself and about you and me is true. That's the kind of faith that, quite frankly, demons have. The demons know they know what God has said, and they know it is true. They just don't want to believe it. They do not possess saving faith. And so the faith that saves goes a step further than simply assenting to the truthfulness of the facts of God's word. Saving faith involves a trust. It involves trust. It involves taking God at his word and completely relying upon the grace of God for the forgiveness of your sin. That's what saving faith is. It is a complete abandonment of your own self-righteousness, your own resources, your own abilities to earn your favor. With God. That's what saving faith is. It's a complete and total dependence upon God, upon the grace of God for salvation.

31:40Well, where do we get such a faith like that? Well, notice what Paul says in the next three phrases. He says first that this kind of faith does not originate from within you. It's not of yourselves. You don't get this faith from within you. You're not born with it. You don't somehow stir it up from within you. That's not where it comes from. It's not of yourselves. It doesn't originate there. It is also not of works. Faith isn't a result of something that you do.

32:16That's not how it comes. It doesn't come by our obedience to God. You can't obey your way into heaven. It doesn't work that way. It doesn't produce saving faith. Look, I don't care how many times you come to church. It doesn't matter how much you pray, how many times you've been baptized, or take the Lord's Supper, or give money, or are hospitable to your neighbor. None of that matters. It doesn't produce saving faith because even our best works, our best deeds are distasteful to God. They are not acceptable to Him, and no amount of human effort can produce. That kind of saving faith. It doesn't come from a result of works. Rather, it is a gift of God. You see that there? It's not of yourselves, it is a gift of God. Faith must be granted, it must be given. Philippians 1:29 affirms this when it says, It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but to suffer. You see, faith had to be granted. The ability to believe and to receive the grace of God is granted to you. It says again in 1 Timothy 1:14 that the grace of our Lord was poured out on Paul abundantly along with faith and love that are in Christ. See, not only is grace poured out, but faith and love that are in Christ must be poured out upon you. That's where it comes from. And again, in Hebrews, it affirms that Jesus is the author and the perfecter of our faith.

34:12So, again, our salvation comes through faith, and even that saving faith is by grace. It is a gift of God. So, lastly, notice the last phrase there. It reminds us that our salvation is not. Not only by grace alone, through faith alone, but it is indeed for the glory of God alone. When you understand the gospel that Paul has presented here, it will bring you to the very end of yourself. And you will be forced to recognize that there is absolutely nothing inside of you that makes you worth worthy to God.

34:59It removes all of self-glory. That is what God does in salvation as it's presented here. It removes every shred of it. And that is what God intends to do in you this morning. He wants you to decrease so that He might increase. And friends, that becomes, if you have been saved, that becomes the pattern of your life. That becomes the purpose of how you live. It's a new purpose for living for the glory of God. Not for your glory, but for His glory.

35:39Now, I may not have time to share this, but I'm going to share it anyway. I always like to look for ways to share biblical truths with young minds. I've got four kids, and oftentimes, you know, you read through Scripture, and some of these truths that we read are big truths. And hard to wrap your mind around, and so I always love finding great resources that help communicate these big truths to young people and even those of us who are not so young but need God to come down to our level. And this book is called Full Moon Rising. I don't know if any of you guys have read it, some of the kids in the room, but Fool, F-O-O-L, Full Moon Rising. And I want to read it to you. It's just a minute or two long. But it's about a little boy who has recorded his prayer, and I think it relates exactly to what we have just been talking about. Let me read it. It says, Dear God, I heard a cosmic story, and I wondered if it's true. The moon was stealing glory, and this is what he would do. He bragged each night that his great might could make the darkness flee. And like a kite, he scaled the heights and he said, Hey, look at me. And the pompous moon would only croon the songs that praised his name. He hoped that soon the cosmic tunes would bring him greater fame. It's really strange, but he could change his shape throughout the year. His face would change and then rearrange, and sometimes it would disappear. And he loved the thought that astronauts had danced across his face and Cosmonauts and monkey knots would visit him in space. He bragged that he could cause the sea to rise and swell each day. And then all could see how mightily he'd pull the waves away. He'd boast away, and he loved to say, I am the greatest light, until one day a piercing ray showed him a shocking sight. He saw his pride, and then he cried for all that he had done, for he had lied when he denied that his light came from the sun. And so now each night a new delight is what he loves the most, reflecting light with all his might. The sun is now his boast. And so, God, I pray for grace each day to find the joy that's true in all my days and in all my ways, making much of you.

38:29It's a great story, and again, I think it illustrates the truth here. We are like the moon. We are designed to reflect the light and the grace of the sun that is found in Jesus Christ. That is the purpose for our living. That is why God has saved us, to remove our glory and to reflect His. Well, with the short time we have left together, let me give you this third reason, the third purpose. Purpose for our salvation. Not only has he displayed his grace and removed our self-glory, but he wants to do something else. And that answer is found in verse 10.

39:13It says, For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. So that we would walk in them. Now, this verse is really foundational to understanding essentially the entire letter of Ephesians. And in this one verse, Paul captures sort of a summary statement, if you will. He captures the theological truths of chapters 1 through 3, and he connects them to the practical truths of chapters 4 through 6.

39:51And so, if we're going to understand Ephesians, we need to understand what is being said here in this verse. Let me show you what I mean. First, notice the kind of the theological statement that Paul makes. He says, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus. Now, this thought really flows out of the last one. You see the word for there, that indicates it, and it connects it to the previous verses. And the reason why those of us who have been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, cannot boast, is because we didn't make our Ourselves.

40:32We did not make ourselves. God made us. That's why we can't boast. It's completely a work of God. And that's essentially what he's getting at here when he says that we are his workmanship. We are his workmanship. It literally means something that has been made. It's a work. It is a creation. And it's only used, that word is only used one other time in the New Testament, and it's in Romans 1. Romans 1, when it says, For since the creation of the world, God has put his invisible attributes, his eternal power, and his divine nature, and has made them to be clearly seen through that which has been made, through his workmanship.

41:17Well, the same concept is made here in Ephesians chapter 2, but it doesn't describe God's creative work in the physical sense. It describes God's creative work in the spiritual realm. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus. Literally, we have been called into being that which has not existed. He created. He created. And what did he create? He created a new creature. That's what 2 Corinthians reminds us of. It describes it this way. If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creature. A new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, new things have come.

42:07And friends, this is exactly what He does in our salvation. He makes us new. He takes those of us who were spiritually dead, dead in our sins, by nature, children of wrath, and he recreates them into something new, a new creature with a new nature, a new nature that is designed for what? What does it say? It's designed specifically for good works that God has prepared. God has prepared. And it's an amazing thing. If you have experienced that this morning and been made new, it's a wonderful thing. He's created an incredible art of work, if you will, a masterpiece on the grandest of scales.

43:00He has created us new in Christ Jesus. And really, this brings us to the crux of the matter. This brings us to the final purpose of God, the final reason that God saves us. Why did He create us into something new? It's so that we would walk in those good works that God has prepared. Again, it shifts from the theological statement to the very Practical. This gets down to how we live. That's what he means by walking. In the whole letter, he uses it several times to describe our lifestyle, the way that we live, the habits of our life. And so, if you are a Christian here this morning, God has made you into a new creature so that your lifestyle would be characterized by the works of God. That is why you have been created, and that's why you are still here living on this earth. Now, real quickly, let me tell you what those works look like.

44:12What does Paul mean practically when he says that we are to walk in them? We are to live out the good works. If you're taking notes, just jot these down. You can turn over to them if you'd like. But Ephesians 4, verse 1, really begins again the practical aspect of the letter to the Ephesians. And notice what he says. He says, Therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk or to live in a manner worthy of your calling. You see that your calling, the theological truths about your salvation, you are to live in accordance with those. And notice how he describes that life. In verse 2, it's with all humility and gentleness. And patience, showing tolerance for one another and love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.

45:12All of these things are attributes of this new life in Christ. Look down in verse 17 of chapter 4. It says that you are to no longer walk as the Gentiles walk. You're to put off your old way of living and put on a new way of living. And then he goes on to describe in the rest of chapter 4 what that looks like. Put away lying. Don't be angry. Don't steal from people. Don't let any unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only that which is words of grace. Let grace come out of your mouth.

45:52All bitterness, wrath, anger, let all of that be put away from you and put on kindness and tenderheartedness. All of these things. Again, in chapter 5, verse 2, walk in love. Live a life of love just as Christ loved you. That's what this new life looks like. It's loving like Christ loved. And in chapter 5, verse 8, you were formerly in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk, live as children of light. The fruit of the light consists of goodness. Goodness and righteousness and truth. All of these things should characterize our life. And then he concludes 5, verse 15. Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise. And he goes on to describe the one who walks wisely is the one who is controlled by the Spirit of God.

46:55So let me ask you this morning: does this describe your life? Are these the works that characterize the habits of your life? If you are here this morning and what I have described does not describe your life, it's because you are not a new creature. You do not have a new nature. You still have the old nature, the one that produces works of the flesh, works that are not acceptable to God, and you need the new nature. And so if that is you this morning, you must be saved. You must look to Christ. You must look to the grace that is displayed there in Christ, and you must turn to him in faith alone and trust and cast all of your reliance upon him. And you know what? He will save you. He will save you. Anyone who turns to Christ in faith, he will save. Instant, he will put in you, he will make you alive and give you a new way of living. He will transform your life.

48:10Perhaps you're here this morning and you have been made new a long time ago. You came to Christ maybe many years ago, and you've been serving the Lord for many years. And maybe you're here this morning and you just need to be encouraged. Well, be encouraged. Let these truths remind you of why God has saved you. He has saved you for a purpose. And let these purposes that we talked about this morning, that we saw in this text, let them become your purpose for living each and every day. And I promise you, if you do that, if you make that your purpose for living, you will indeed find great joy, great satisfaction. And the best part about it is that God will get all of the glory. Let's pray.

49:05Heavenly Father, we praise you for the great plan of salvation that you have orchestrated from before the foundation of the world. And we're so grateful that you have chosen to display your marvelous grace, grace upon grace, and you've put it in a way that we can see it, we can understand. It, we can comprehend it, and we can turn to it and trust in it. And I pray that every single person here this morning would not leave here without doing that. God, work in us, do a work of grace in us, and may you get glory from our lives. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.