Ephesians chapter 2, my text
is going to be from verse 1 down to verse 10. I know that we typically,
when we come to Ephesians 2, usually focus on one verse or
another in here, and sometimes when you do that, you miss the
context. And it's important for us to
always see verses of Scripture in their context. So I'm going
to read this entire portion here down to verse 10. Notice chapter
2 verse 1 starts with and, and so you have to see it in connection
with everything that is gone before, and I will be making
mention of that in the message, but and you hath he quickened
who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past ye
walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires, literally the wills of the flesh, and the will is
not free, it's bound, so there's the description there, and of
the mind. All linked, flesh, will, mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath even as others. I believe a better translation
there would be wrathful children. Wrathful children. There are
vessels of wrath and there are vessels of mercy, but none of
God's elect were ever vessels of wrath. God purposed to save them in
Christ, love them from eternity, and Christ bore that wrath in
his body on the tree. But nonetheless, we were by nature,
in our nature, wrathful children. In other words, not knowing God,
hating God, God-haters. And unless the Spirit of God
had taught us otherwise concerning Christ, we would continue to
be Christ-haters. but for that work of grace. And that's what verse 4 now brings
us to. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. Now, in the first hour I spoke
to you about what it is to be quickened by the Spirit And we
really didn't get too far in that. But in this message, I
want to speak with you on what it is to be quickened together
with Christ. Because this is the language
that's used here in verse 5. And then you can see, parenthetically,
it's put, by grace are ye saved. Now remember, the editors put
parentheses in here. There was no punctuation in the
original. And so if you remove those, it's
all one thing. He hath quickened us together
with Christ by that grace by which you are saved, and hath raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that
in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. It sounds
like a love letter, doesn't it? When you go back and read just
the description, it's not just his mercy, but God who is rich
in mercy. In other words, infinite. Infinite. And notice it doesn't just say,
for his love wherewith he hath loved us, but his great love
wherewith he hath loved us. And then here in verse 7, it's
not just the riches of His grace, it's like a crescendo in an anthem. It says the exceeding riches
of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through
faith. And don't get that backward.
It's not through faith you're saved. For by grace are ye saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his
workmanship, have been, he designed us in his purpose and grace like
the great architect sits down and puts that plan together before
he builds. We are his workmanship in the
execution of it when Christ came and died and rose again. We're his workmanship in the
revealing of it. It's like once you've finished
a project. I know we used to do this back
when I worked for the Arts Council, but the unveiling. You've now
shown it to the public. That's what the Spirit does when
it reveals that work of God in Christ that was there all along
and yet now is being manifest. We are his workmanship created
in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath ordained or before
ordained that we should walk in them. One of the greatest
comforts and blessings for us who are God's children is to
hear again And again, how the Lord Jesus Christ is all. How he's all to God, and how
he's been made all to us by the revelation of the Spirit of God
and through his word. How he's all in salvation, having
borne away our sin in his body on the tree. And to learn, that's
really what we're doing here. Every time we get together, an
open These, this precious book, learn again of all the exceeding
precious promises of God that are for his children through
Christ. When I told you to turn to Ephesians
2, I didn't hear any groans. Like, oh no, not Ephesians 2
again. Why? Because immediately we know
where we're headed here. We see, we've read this and we
never tire of it. Don't your kids love to go back
when they get a little older and open up that baby book and
look through the pictures that you took so much time to put
together? At least you did on your first one. If you're like
our family, the first one got all the pictures. The second
one's kind of spotty. And the third one says, hey,
what about me? Thankfully, none of God's children
are that way. It's all the same. God loves us all in Christ. And
what a blessing. But here my text is Ephesians
2, and one that I prayerfully bring to you today. I don't want
to assume anything. You know, many times I think
people think when you're preaching that you know all there is to
know. There's been times as I've been preaching that the Lord
has opened up verses to me that I've even stood in the hot shower
thinking about, trying to think, What is this about? We don't
have all knowledge. And so even as I preach, I learn,
and I read, and I compare my thoughts with this Word, and
even notes. These notes are in no way a dictation
of what I'm to say. And so I'm prayerful that the
Lord Jesus Christ Himself be exalted and give us peace, give
you peace, my brethren, Grant us all love and faith from God
the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Now traditionally, here
in chapter 2, this portion of scripture, when you read different
commentators or hear different preachers speak on it, they use
it as a proof text for regeneration. And the reason is because in
verse 1, it begins with, "...and you hath he quickened." who were
dead in trespasses and sins. But you'll notice that half he
quickened, if you have the King James Version, it is in italics. So that means if you were to
go back to the original text, it's not there. Now, the translators
sometimes supplied certain phrases in an effort to help you better
understand the portion of Scripture, but sometimes what they supplied
doesn't help. And that's why, now there's no
question this chapter talks about a quickening, but when you read
what verse 5 says about the quickening that is being described in comparison
to what the translators put in in verse 1, there's a difference. What does verse 5 say? And I
say this to make us all aware to be very careful when we quote
scripture. Quote it all. We ought to always,
that's why when I preach I like to have people turn to their
Bibles. Turn to the verse. We should
never get in a hurry in preaching to where we just, we're throwing
out scriptures. Have people turn and look and
read it for themselves, because every word is inspired. And notice
verse 5 says, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us together with Christ. That's not what verse 1 says,
where the translator supplied it, does it? It just says, hath
he quickened. So that automatically leads you
down another path in your thinking. Does the scripture talk about
quickening by the Spirit? Yes. That was the message of
the first hour, what it is to be quickened by the Spirit. When
the Spirit of God conceives in the soul of a dead sinner that
Word of Christ and causes it to grow, that's a quickening
by the Spirit. But I would have you to see that's
not the subject here in Ephesians 2. The reason being is this can't
be talking about regeneration because none of us were ever
regenerated together with Christ. The Spirit of God always does
his work individually at his time. The Spirit blows where
The wind blows where it lifteth, even so those that are born of
the Spirit of God, it's never all together. But here, in this
portion of Scripture, it's talking about a quickening of us together
with Christ. And it's interesting, it's even
more emphatic in the original because it's one word in the
original. A together quickening. And the
same thing is used in verse 6, and hath raised us up together,
notice three times, together, and made us sit together. Now, that can't be talking about
regeneration. So, what is it talking about?
That's what I want us to be able to consider together here. Alright? This quickening together
with Christ, also the tense in the original, is in a sense of
a one-time action. So it's done together at one
time. Done together at one time. Well,
that's what I want us to be able to look at here in this portion
of Scripture. If we kind of break this portion
down, there's three particular points that I'd like to bring
out. First of all, why is such a quickening necessary when it
talks about us being quickened together with Christ? And then secondly, what our quickening
together with him entails? How is this accomplished? I'm
wetting your appetite here. And then thirdly, What are the
effects of our quickening together with Him? Now, if we come back
to verse 1, the necessity of being quickened together with
Christ. Let me just tell you right up
front here what I believe that means, to be quickened together
with Christ. Since it is one time, and verse
5 is the key to understanding this portion of Scripture, when
you see the word even, when we were dead in sins hath quickened. It's a punctiliar thing. It's one time hath quickened
us together with Christ. Well, the verse tells us when
he was raised. When was Christ raised from the
dead? Well, he was raised upon completion
of his mission, his work there at the cross that God sent him
to accomplish. And so You say, well, I wasn't
even there. Well, that's the point. You were
there. You were there in his person.
You were there just as the high priest in the Old Testament bore
the names of the children of Israel on his breastplate and
went into that Holy of Holies and offered up that blood in
sacrifice. They weren't individually going
in and out of that that tabernacle or temple. They couldn't. They
weren't allowed. But they went in in their representative. And
when God accepted the sacrifice and they came out and raised
their hands and blessed the people, it was an evidence that God had
accepted them based upon the work of the mediator. And this
is really what Paul is describing here concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ and why he came. In other words, when he died,
Those who had their names written on his breastplate as their high
priest died with him. Judgment was rendered at that
time. All that they deserved as sinners,
God put upon his son. You see, he bore their sin away
in his body on that tree. Not theoretically, not potentially,
but actually. Actually. sin put away and the
reason that we know that is that God raised him from the from
the grave had Christ not accomplished all that he said he would do
Christ would not have raised from the grave and the fact that
he raised the scriptures say he was raised for or because
of our justification God satisfied And if God's satisfied, He's
satisfied with everyone that Christ represented. And so the
context here has to do with being raised together positionally
with Christ and seated together positionally. You see me here,
I'm not seated literally in the heavens, but I am. And if Christ
died for you, you are. That's right. You're there in
that representative that's seated. This is where I find comfort
whenever in this earthly pilgrimage I'm beaten, battered down, and
winds coming from every side. It doesn't feel like I'm seated.
Everything seems unsettled. But when the Lord, by His grace
and His Spirit, turns my thoughts to my true position in Christ,
I rest. I rest, because I know that nothing
can affect me but what comes through the hand of him who is
seated on the throne." So to be seated certainly means, doesn't
it, that the work of redemption is accomplished? That sin has
been put away. Oh, your mind will trouble you.
Your mind will bring up things in your past, recent and long
ago, that if you dwell on them, you begin to think, you know,
God will be just to send me to hell. And yet, if we're seated
with Him in the heavenlies, that's all been dealt with. There's
no reason to dwell on those things. Because we know that Christ bore
it in His body and put it away. and all for whom he is the high
priest." They enjoy this blessing of not only being acquitted of
all guilt because of his shed blood, but being glorified. For us to be seated together
with him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus means that we've
already been glorified with him. When God glorified him, Raised
him and ascended him on high and seated him on the right hand
of majesty on high We were glorified with him now. I wait a final
glorification. There's no question but in my
position as One of the Lord's and yours is one of the Lord.
We're already glorified We're seated together with him if you
look over in Romans chapter 8 and Just as a connecting, I'll get
back here to my first point, but Romans chapter 8, I believe this is the proper way
of reading this portion of scripture. We've all heard this preached
that all of these things are put in the past tense because
God purposed them from eternity and therefore they're as good
as done. But I would have you understand
that as we read particularly verse 30, it's not that these
things are as good as done. They are done. That's what this
whole portion is about. You notice when it says in verse
30, for moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called. With our congregation in Shreveport,
I've been over this portion a number of times to explain these words
because it's easy just to think one word means one thing, but
when it says here, those whom he did predestinate them, he
also called. There's two different words used
for called in this portion. This one, the word called means
to name. It's like you called your son.
Johnny, or you called your son, your daughter, Rachel. It's not
called in the sense of, come here, Rachel. Come here, Johnny. You use the same word, but it's
a different sense than, I called him Johnny, and I called her
Rachel. Here, it's in that sense. Those
that he did predestinate, them he also named. He named them
as his own. He named them with the name of
his Son. That's from eternity. Every one
that God has predestinated to glory, he has already named. Their names are written in the
Lamb's Book of Life. That's what that word means.
Now, with that in mind, read on. And whom he called them he
also justified. When did he justify them? In
the death of Christ. You see, that's the only way
that we can understand this portion of Scripture. Some of those that
will argue with you and say, well, see here, it puts your
justification after your calling. And they're thinking in terms
of the calling of the Spirit. And so they'll use this as a
pretext, out of context, to try to justify something that's not
even in Scripture. We were justified at the cross,
but we were named And that sense called even before we were ever
justified. And then it says whom he justified. Who he justified them, he also
noticed this glorified. Glorified not, you know, we've
all maybe said this at one point. Well, we know we're still not
glorified, but because God purposed it, it's as good as done. Now,
wait a minute. We've got to keep everything in its context. If
it says whom he justified, them he also glorified." It must mean
then that somehow we're glorified. Well, when was that accomplished?
When Christ rose again and when he ascended on high. He glorified
his Son, and for him to be seated in the heavens means that we're
seated with him. He's received of the Father that
glory because of his accomplished work, and we in him have been
glorified. Even though experientially I
still await my final glorification when I'll no longer have to be
in this flesh, yet even now it can be said of everyone that
God has chosen and Christ has redeemed and justified that they
are also glorified. If you look over in Acts chapter
3 in verse 13, you'll see how it's used there. Acts chapter
3 in verse 13. This was Peter's message. He
says, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God
of our fathers, hath glorified his son Jesus. How did he do
that? Raising him from the dead and
seating him at the right hand of majesty on high. So if he
hath glorified his son Jesus, that means that all that were
in him were glorified. And I believe that's what the
scriptures are saying, whom ye delivered up and denied him in
the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let him go.
So all whose names were written from eternity were written on
his high priestly breastplate, and they share the same blessing
of his finished work in him. That's really the message here.
All who were made alive in his resurrection from the dead shall
be made alive spiritually by the work of the Spirit, and ultimately
will be made alive in that physical resurrection from the dead at
the end of time when he comes again. But it's all as a result
of what Christ accomplished there at Calvary. That's, as I said,
the hub. If you go over to John chapter
5, and I realize I'm taking some time to give you some background
here, but I believe it will help us to move down more with more
understanding through this portion of Ephesians 2. But here in John
chapter 5 and verses 24 to 31, that's really what Christ is
saying here, what I've just told you. Look in verse 24. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth
on him that sent me," does it say, shall have everlasting life
in your Bible? It says half. Read that the way
it is then. That means that any who hear,
not just physically with the ear, but hear the call, there
it is, the summons of Christ, my sheep hear my voice, Christ
said, any that do and believe on him, they will, It says, half
everlasting life. They already have it. That's
why they believe. That's why they hear. And it
says, shall not come into condemnation. Now here it says, but is past,
and that's a good translation, but in the original, when you
study the tenses, it literally means is already past from death
unto life. You're not passing from death
to life when you believe or when you hear. You hear and you believe
because you have already passed from death unto life and because
you already have that everlasting life given to you in the Lord
Jesus Christ. When was that given to us? Not
when you believed. It was given to us As we're going
to see here in Ephesians chapter 2, when Christ rose from the
grave, he had to die. He had to satisfy law and justice
for God to be just, to acquit, to justify the sinners for whom
he died. But having accomplished that,
what remains but everlasting life? Now you didn't enter into
it until the Spirit of God came and showed you Concerning his
work and what he accomplished, but it was already yours It was
already yours. I Like to tell a story. We have
a couple of adopted children. I like to tell the story about
how this matter was settled In the courts of law even before
they knew anything about it We we dealt with the judge we dealt
with the courts we dealt with the law you can go and look at
the the birth certificate of our children every one of them
and has my name and has my wife's name on it. If someone were to
look at the birth certificate, there's no way you could ever
tell that any of them were adopted. They're all equal sons, right
along with my biological son, all the same, no difference.
That was done for them. Now in time, we were of the notion,
and I'm glad we did it that way, we never hid it from them. When
we did their baby books, We showed them the beginning of when we
got the babe in arms delivered to us from the adoption agency,
so they knew right up front they were adopted and proud of it.
Some have tried to hide it as if adoption is something that's
a little bit second class. We're all born in this world.
We're all given parents, and this is by choice. I tell my
adopted children now, you're ours by choice. We're not sure
where the biological came along, but you are ours by choice. That's a loving thing. And yet,
it wasn't when they learned about it that the adoption was settled. Or when they believed it, that
somehow that became legal. It was already done. It was already
done. That's the simplest way I know
to explain this matter of God's salvation. He chose to save a
people and gave them to his son. And Christ came and laid down
his life and paid the price, satisfied law and justice. And
when Christ rose again, we rose in him. Those names are already
written on that breastplate. He's ascended on high. He's seated
in the heavenlies. And that's where he He's been
glorified, and we in him. And the rest here in John 5,
you can see verse 25, Christ says, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear
the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.
It's not talking about physical resurrection here, it's talking
about spiritual resurrection based on the fact that they have
already passed from death unto life and shall not come into
condemnation because Christ is already born that condemnation,
then they shall hear. You see, that relates then to
the work of the Spirit, causing everyone for whom Christ died
to hear. For as the Father hath life in himself, verse 26, so
hath he given to the Son to have life in himself, and hath given
him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of
Man. So that's the context here. If you're one of the Lord's,
elected by His grace and redeemed and justified by His blood and
righteousness, then you've already passed. We all passed together
from death to life, positionally. And we've all been removed from
under a condemnation that was due us by God's law and justice. We've been removed together,
justified together. Not one at a time. I was talking
the other day to a man that said, well, I still believe it's when
you believe that God imputes that righteousness to you. And
I said, now wait a minute, show me one scripture where imputation
of righteousness occurs over and over and over again. Because
if it is when each of us is brought to believe that that righteousness
is imputed, then you'd have to read about many imputations. Millions, if that's how many
the Lord died for. And yet, what does Romans 5 say?
By one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. And also by
what? One man's obedience, shall many
be made righteous. One. One. There's one imputation. One time when that sin was laid
to cross-charge. One time when God, in justice
then, put to the account of those for whom he died, together, at
one time, that very righteousness that he established and worked
out and that God accepted. All right? So, Ephesians 2, coming
back here, why then is this work of Christ necessary, being quickened
or raised together with Christ in his resurrection? Well, verses
1 through 4 that I read for you tell us why. And there's two
reasons. One, because of the spiritual
condemnation of sin, of the elect. We fell in Adam just like anybody.
You notice when it says here, and this is how I want you to
read it. Take out the half he quickened in verse 1 now. Now
we're coming full circle. And you who were dead in trespasses
and sins. That's the way it ought to be
read. It's building up to where we were quickened together. But
for now, what were you? Even as God's elect, the you,
if you go back to Ephesians chapter 1, because this is just a continuation
of what Paul has just said, is addressing the elect, those who
according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world. That's who he's talking about here. So the elect
of God did really actually fall in Adam. There's some that purport that
they were justified from eternity, therefore they didn't actually
fall as others fell on Adam. That's just wrenching the scriptures.
Now, you who were dead in trespasses and sins, I just as really fell
when Adam fell, even though I wasn't there. as I just as really was
justified and glorified when Christ died and rose again, even
though I wasn't there. If you can understand that, you've
understood the simple gospel. Because I get people telling
me, you're just, you're muddying the waters, you're making this
complicated. No. If it's muddy, it's muddy in
your mind. And it's kind of like going back, you know, what part
of no don't you understand? What part of justification don't
you understand? Or imputation? That when Adam
fell, I fell. You understand that? And when
Christ obeyed, I obeyed. when God declared this is my
son in whom I am well pleased and raised him from the grave
I and all that he came to represent were raised together together
with him and were seated with him based upon that work that
he accomplished how difficult is that you know the problem
men want to try to put some little work in there that they did they
want to make it conditioned on their believing or they're obeying,
or something they do, and that's where it gets muddied. A little
leaven leavens the whole lump, you see. But Christ had, we had
to have been quickened. The necessity of being quickened
together with Him is due to the fact that we were dead in trespasses
and sin. We could do nothing for ourselves.
If God did not accept His work on our behalf, then we would
continue to be dead in our trespasses and sins. But if Christ removed
those trespasses and sins, what remains? But life. You see, that's the whole point
here. Now, again, when he describes
in verses 2 and 3, we would have to say that even born in this
world, Until the Spirit of God teaches us otherwise, we do walk
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, and the same spirit that works in
the children of disobedience, that spirit of unbelief, is ours
by nature. Being elect doesn't change that. As we read here, among whom also
we all had our conversation. I'm not saying that our standing
with God is not based upon how well we lived in the past or
how well we live now. We were by nature wrathful children. But here it is. But God, verse
4. Why is it that it was necessary
for us to be quickened together with Christ and his resurrection
from the dead because of God's great mercy? Not only because
of our sin, but because of that great mercy that was already
there, having loved us from eternity, even when we were dead in sin,
positionally. We still think, don't we, that
somehow the love of God is conditioned on how we behave. Oh, I didn't
pray today. I haven't read his scriptures
in a while, so he must be angry. You know, you stub your toe and
you think, okay, what am I doing wrong? Oh yeah, I've got to pray more.
You know, can't find that parking lot spot. You get in a wreck
and you think, oh man, I just haven't been living right. All
those are fleshly thoughts that have nothing to do at all with
God's love towards you. If we could just, by God's grace,
see ourselves positionally as we are, it's never changed. Now,
He does chase us. He does get our attention. It's
like the man that wanted to have his mule trained, and he got
a mule trainer, looked it up, and had him come over. And in
walks the mule trainer with his 2x4. And the first thing he does
is go out into the back pasture, and he takes that 2x4 and he
smacks the mule between the eyes. And it drops him to his knees.
And the owner comes running out of the house, what are you doing?
What are you doing? I asked you to train the mule. And he said,
well, I've got to get his attention first. The Lord uses things to
get our attention. There's no question. But all
these things are because he loves us. Whom he loves, he chastens. It's not that I love you less,
I want to smack you. Whom he loves, he chastens. Read there, but God who is rich
in mercy. That's why Christ died. That's
why he rose again. Not only because of my sin, but
primarily because of his great mercy. And this was the only
way that it could be done. What's the reality? Verses 5
and 6. I've got two other points I'll give you briefly. The reality
of being quickened together with Christ and his resurrection from
the dead. Even though we were born dead in our trespasses and
sins spiritually, The reality is that we were already made
alive together with Christ in his resurrection as our representative.
When he died, we died. When he rose again, he rose again.
When he ascended on high, we did. If you look over in Romans
chapter 5 and verses 6 through 11, I believe this is a good
commentary on this portion here in Ephesians where it says, For
when we were yet without strength, What is that? That means positionally. We had no position of strength
in Adam. What we received of our first
father was nothing but condemnation, but it says in due time Christ
died for the ungodly. for scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some may even
dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward
us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died." It can't
be talking about me being a sinner experientially, because I wasn't
even born yet when Christ died. And yet, the way the language
is here, you say, well, in what sense was I a sinner when He
died? In Adam. In Adam. A sinner, but look at
verse 9, much more than being now justified by his blood through
his death, we shall be saved from wrath through him when the
Spirit of God is pleased to draw us unto himself. For if when
we were enemies, you see how it builds? First, without strength,
verse 8, sinners. How bad was it? Well, enemies.
Enemies. We were reconciled to God When
we believed? Is that what it says? No. By
the death of his son. It's positional. And that's the reality. The definitiveness
of the work of Christ and our raising together with him is
evidence. that were the Lord's, and that Christ died for us.
When you come back here to Ephesians chapter 2, and I don't want to
wear you out with the original, and I don't want anybody to think
that unless you know the original, you can't understand the scriptures,
because it's pretty plain here. I'm just adding emphasis. Notice
the definitiveness of these words. He half-quickened us, and the
original is even stronger. It's a one-time-for-all act. He half raised us together and
half made us sit together with Christ. It's done. It's done. And that's the reality of Christ
having been raised for us. The final point in verses 7 through
10 that I'll leave you with here is what I call the vitality.
The vitality, the necessity of Christ rising again, the reality
of it, and here the vitality of being quickened together with
Christ. In verses 7 through 10, it's manifest through the conversion
of those for whom he died. There's none in hell for whom
Christ died. Every one he's going to bring to himself. And that's
what verse 7 says, that in the ages to come, he might show the
exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus. You know that word show? Brother Robert's a lawyer,
so he'll appreciate this word. But it means to demonstrate or
to prove with arguments and facts. As in a court of law, it's like
you stand before the jury and you tell a jury, I'm going to
show you that this man is innocent based upon the facts that I'm
going to be presenting in this case. And you got the jury's
attention. What are they listening for?
The facts. That's exactly the word that Paul used, that in
the ages to come, you don't have to show it. That he might show. proving himself to be just and
justifier in saving everyone, in calling everyone. The devil
is going to try to find reason for him to condemn you. Your
flesh is going to find reason. Your enemies are going to try
to find reason. Fear the Lord. How could you
do that? Or how could you do this? But the facts will show
by God's grace and mercy through that death of the Lord Jesus
Christ that everyone for whom he died Payment has been made
in full case closed Case closed. That's what that's what verse
7 is. So that's the vitality of This
truth and it's manifest through a faith That has Christ as its
only object in verse 8 for by grace. I want you to see that
for by grace. Are you saved? through faith
It's manifest through faith But the saving is by the grace of
God. The tense there is you've been
saved and you'll be kept saved by grace. Manifest through faith. And it says there, it is the
gift of God. The whole of it. The whole of
it. Salvation. That's the vitality
of it. And then down in verses 9 and
10. Not of works, lest any man should
boast, for we are his workmanship. This reality, this vitality is
manifest through good works, not because of good works. You
say, what's a good work? Anything you do that can be attributed
as good, you give the glory to Christ. Otherwise, it's not good. It's all Christ, or it's none
of Christ. We are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained.
That's all we can say. If anybody has anything good
to say of us, God purposed it, Christ purchased it, the Spirit
revealed it. That's all I know. I'm a sinner
saved by grace. I trust that's your testimony.
Thank you.