It was September the 4th, 1950.
A little community called Monterey, Tennessee. Putnam County. The most hailed as urban. Wretched. Miserable. The worst, the biggest
hypocrite this world has ever known or ever shall know was
born. I'm 59 years old today. We are
having a dinner. Would I be wrong in associating
those two things together? I know some of you haven't had
time. You were unaware of this. You haven't had time to get a
present, a card or a gift, but you're welcome to come anyway. Come on and eat with us. In Ephesians chapter 2, if you'd
turn your Bibles there with me. I just have one verse of scripture
that I want to read, but I want you to keep your Bibles open
please. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 13. Ephesians chapter 2
and verse 13. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye
who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. but now in Christ Jesus. The apostle had been praying
for these young believers here in this church. We find that
here in chapter 1 and verse 16 through verse 20. He'd been praying
for them concerning their growth in knowledge. He wanted them
to grow in the knowledge of some things. In verse 17, that they
would know the Lord better, know Him better, know God, know Christ,
know the Holy Spirit, know Him better, the triune God. He prays
for them to that end. In verse 18, He prays that they
may know more of their calling, that you may know the hope of
His calling. that God has called you effectually.
He's called you irresistible. He's called and that call has
ended in your salvation, your conversion. He's called you. And then the last part of verse
18 that has to do with our inheritance. Whether you consider this God's
inheritance in the saints or theirs in Him. He wants them
to come to a greater understanding, a knowledge of that. the riches
of the glory of His inheritance. And then in verse 19, He wants
them to come to the knowledge of God's power towards them and
that power that's working in them. But He's not just praying that they
will give mental assent to these things. That they will hear these
things and just agree with them. But notice how he prays for them. In verse 17 he says, that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
of Him. The heart knowledge of Him. This excellent knowledge of Him.
A knowledge that only the Spirit can give you of Him. For the
Spirit to come into your heart and open your understanding that
you may know Him. No man can say that Jesus Christ
is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. We can't know Him apart from
the Spirit. And notice how he says this in
verse 18, that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened. He wants their understanding
flooded with light. For yourselves, He says, each
one of you, not just your pastor, not just your teacher, but your
eyes not be flooded with this light. That you might know, truly
discern, truly grasp in your heart that He's called you. That He's won your heart. And He says here in the last
part of verse 18, that you may discern this, live
in the reality of this, that this triune God is working in
you by His mighty power. To do what? To do everything.
To believe. How did you believe? According
to the working of His mighty power. The same power that He
wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. And the Apostle Paul prayed this
prayer in chapter 1 because he knew that when he comes here
to chapter 2, it was going to be necessary for them to pray
this prayer. If they understood, if they entered
in to what he was going to tell them here in chapter 2, in the
knowledge of it, the heart knowledge, and the joy of it, and the assurance
and confidence of it, they were going to find themselves praying
this prayer for themselves. Oh Lord, open my understanding. Oh Spirit of God, my Teacher
be, show him the things of Christ to me. There are two tremendous changes
Paul talks about here in the second chapter of this book.
First of all, the change that had taken place in their condition.
You who were dead, you are now alive. You have been quickened
who were dead. He says that twice. He says it
again there in verse 5. Even when we were dead. What
a tremendous change has taken place in the condition of these
men. And secondly, the tremendous
change that had taken place in their position in my text. Ye who sometimes were afar off
are made nigh. You were afar off. Far off from
God. Far off from righteousness. Far
off from life and light. You were far off, but now you're
nigh. Paul uses these terms from verse
1 all the way down through verse 13. Such statements like this. And you who were in time past. Verse 2. Among whom also in verse
3 we had our conversation in time past. In time past. And he continues to say that.
All the way down through verse 13. But now, he says it in verse
12. At that time you were without
Christ. being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope, and without God in the world. There's what you were.
There's the condition you were in. There's the position you
were in. But now, in Christ Jesus, you are made now. Things have changed. Their condition
had changed. Their position had changed. They
once were dead, now they're alive. They once were for all, and now
they're near. There's no wonder the scripture
stresses the new birth like it does. It's absolutely necessary. Because it's in the new birth
where this drastic and tremendous change takes place. It's in new
birth where our condition changes. It's in the new birth where our
position changes. How does the new birth affect
an individual? Well, he was dead. And now he's
alive. He was alienated from the life
of God. Paul tells us here in the first
portion of this chapter that he was living in his old nature. He was simply acting out what
he was. Why your neighbors and your loved
ones and your children act like they do? They're just acting
out what they are. That's what they are. Don't expect too much
of a dead man. He says here in verse 2 and verse
3 that you took your cue in the way that you walked, what you
thought, what you said, and how you behaved from this world according
to the course of this world. And the world was walking being
influenced By the God of it. By Satan himself. In verse 3
he says, your whole manner of living was according to flesh. Flesh. Flesh. It may have been open and profane
flesh. It may have been religious and
moral flesh. But it was flesh. It was flesh. Life was all about you. and your
needs and your wants and your desires. Nothing else matters. And he sums it up with the most
terrible statement because he goes right down to the core of
what a man is. In his nature, what is he? He
is a child of wrath. Just like everybody else. What
does that mean, a child of wrath? Well, you look at the commentaries
and they've got different opinions. But you know what I honestly
think that means, and it seems to fit in verse 2 and 3. Some
say it's the wrath of God that was upon the elect before he
called them. That may be so. But you know
what fits the context better? Since Paul was talking about
what they were, It seems to fit better if you say their mind
were full of wrath against God. And that fits the context and
it fits other scriptures better. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. He said there you were. Look
what a sad, awful, fearful condition you were in. Is the new birth necessary? Without
the new birth, a man cannot experience a change in this condition. Can such a one as this love God? Can a man like this live for
God? Can he be a follower of God?
Can he enjoy God? Not apart from a new birth. Except
a man be born again. He cannot see. He cannot enter
the Kingdom of God. How does the new birth change
a man? It changes the very core of a man. It changes what he
is. Man does what he does because
he is what he is. Change what he is, and you'll
change what he does. Lost sinners live like they live
because they're dead in trespasses and sins. They're simply living
out what they are naturally. The new birth changes that. It
changes what a man is. You hath He quickened who were
dead. That's the new birth, isn't it?
Different terms, but it's the same thing. What happens in the
new birth? Life. A new life. This is the new birth. What happens
in the new birth? Verse 10. We are His workmanship
created. Created. What takes place in
the new birth? A new creation. A new man that
had never existed before. God has done a mighty work. What's He done? He's not only
given life, but He's created. That's why He's called the Creator. He's called the Redeemer. Yes,
but right along with that, He's called the Creator. He's called
the Redeemer of Jacob, and He's called the Creator of Jacob.
Listen to this. Thus saith the Lord your Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel. I am the Lord your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel. in the very same breath. I am
the Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. I am the Lord, the Creator
of Israel. Somebody said our Creator is
our Redeemer. Yes. And our Redeemer is our
Creator. These things saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and that farmed thee, O Israel, fear not,
I have redeemed thee. a Creator and a Redeemer. What does it mean to be saved?
He hath saved you by His grace. What does that mean? It means
the triune God has done a mighty work. What's He done? He's created anew. And I tell you, this changes
everything. This changes everything. This changes you. And the more we see of it, the
more you see of it, the more amazed that you are. Because you see that God has
done it. And how He's changed you. And
that's the amazing thing about it. It's not just what you're
doing, but it's what you now are. He's changed you. Aren't you amazed at yourself? That what used to be you could
never have done, you would not do, you could not do. You seldom
thought about doing. And now you do it with all your
heart. And what is it? You have taken
your soul, your eternity-bound soul, and you've trusted it to
somebody else. to save it by His merit and His
power. How did you do that? You never
would do it before. Why are you so willing to do
it now? Why are you so happy to do it now? There has been a work and it's
changed what you are in your very core. And the first thing
it's changed is your attitude towards the Son of God. Now you hear of Him and you trust
Him. There was a time when all you
thought about was sucking on a worldly lust or enjoying some
worldly pleasure. When are you the happiest now? When you can give yourself up
and give yourself over to love and to worship and to serve and
to please and enjoy the living God. What has happened to you? When controversy arises in this
world and in your family, and in your soul. After a while,
you take sides. You take sides against the world.
And you take sides against family. And you take sides against flesh. And you step out openly on the
side of God and truth. What has happened to you? And the amazing thing is, It's
not just what you're doing. It's what you are. And what you're
doing, you're doing because of what you are. Nobody's forcing
you. Nobody's pushing you. Nobody's
prying you. It's what you are. You've been changed. You're a
new creature. Ain't it sad? to try to get a lost person to
live a Christian life. Have you ever tried to do that?
It always has the same outcome. Disappointment. Oh, I wish I
could get you to read your Bibles. I wish I could get you to come
to worship. I wish I could get you to do something for God.
That's sad, ain't it? I wish we could get God to do
something for men. What we want Him to do is make
them new creatures. Change their condition. Anything
short of that, brothers and sisters, will avail nothing. You can create
moral hypocrites. I know all about that. But if
you're going to create a new creature, Heaven's going to have
to do it. Well, that's a change, ain't
it? That's a change. And if you think that's not a
drastic change, then maybe God hasn't changed you. And if you have experienced such
a change, then I would challenge you to pray what Paul prayed
for these people. Let me see what a tremendous
change has taken place. Let me see it. Let me discern
more of it. That God, the throne God, has
made me a new creature. You say, Bruce, sometimes I doubt
it. I struggle, I struggle, I struggle. I struggle with sin. I struggle
with unbelief. I struggle with self. Something
has made a change in you, Struggle with sin? What are you
struggling with sin about? You don't like it anymore? What's the matter with sin? You
used to run at it, served it, loved it. What are you struggling with it now?
Unbelief? You never even saw it before. All these struggles with sin
and unbelief and self just makes it more amazing that above all
this opposition that you feel and experience, you still believe. And you still love. And you still
follow. You still worship. Ain't that
amazing? You have life within. You are
God's workmanship. God is working in you by His
mighty power. Oh, Paul says, I pray that you'll
see this. I pray that you'll come to a
greater understanding of this. This difference that God has
made. And then secondly, this. Their
position had changed. There in my text. You were far
off. Far off from God. far off from
life, righteousness, salvation, light? You know, I don't think you and
I really understand much about what it was to be a Gentile,
even in the early church, and especially to be a Gentile before
the cross. Gentiles before the cross lived
without hope. They were far off from God. Without
Christ, without hope, without a promise, without a psalm, without
a song of Zion, without a prophet, they lived and died without God
and without hope. They had to went to these dumb
idols and didn't even care. When the Lord Jesus came, he
told his disciples, Don't you go in the way of the Gentiles.
Don't you go preaching to the Gentiles. Don't you do any miracles
before those Gentiles. Don't you mention my name before
those Gentiles. I'm not sent to the Gentiles. I'm sent to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel. Hopeless, helpless, lost, and
dying that way. But now, but now, in Christ you who sometimes were
for all are made nigh. This is the wonderful thing about
salvation. No matter how dark and desperate
your past was, hopeless, helpless, no matter
what position you were in, It's all over now. Don't count
a thing. That's the thing about salvation.
It's this eternal now. But now. And you think things have changed
with them? And you think things will change
with you? No, it's now. It's always now. It was when
you look back. Lost without God in Christ. But now. Now. But now in Christ Jesus. And what he said, by virtue of
being in Christ Jesus. You are near. He puts nothing
between their past and being far off and now being nigh. But this. Here's what made the
difference. And this is all the reason he
gives. He gives no other reason, brothers and sisters. You were
far off, but now you're near. And the only reason he gives
for this position is this. You are now in Christ. Paul had been telling us about
these blessings. He has these favorite words, in Christ. He
just keeps mentioning it. He begins in chapter 1, mentioning
it, in Christ. in Christ. God hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. And here's one of those
blessings. The changing of one's position
from far off to near. Why? Because you're in Christ. Where is Jesus Christ? Well,
He's in heaven. He's at the right hand of God. He's near to God. You cannot
get any more near to God than the man Christ Jesus. And Paul
says here in verse 6 of chapter 2, that God hath raised us up
together and made us set together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus. Wherever He is, that's where
you are. And you're as near to God as
He is, because you're in Him. Near, near, more near to God. I cannot be. In the person of
His Son, I am as near as He. Is that what He said? That's
what He said. Your position has changed. And
it's changed by virtue of being in Him. You're near to God. And being in Christ Jesus means
you'll never be any farther away than He is. The Eternal Now. Now. There's two reasons you and I
have difficulty getting a hold of this. And I think if we could, and live in the assurance of
it, in the reality of it, our joy would be so much more fuller,
But you know one of the reasons that we don't? Because this is a blessing. This is a blessing. This is a
blessing of God. This is a heavenly blessing.
And the human nature, the fallen nature, the flesh cannot grasp
these blessings. They're grasped by the heart.
They're known by the heart. And the heart cannot grasp them
apart from the work of the Holy Spirit enabling us to. And it
comes right back to this prayer, doesn't it? Why can't you and I live with
the joy, the fullness of joy and happiness that the Scripture
says we as believers should live? Why can't we? Well, there's many
reasons, but this is one I want to bring before you this evening. One is this. Because such a blessing
as this is overwhelming. It's absolutely overwhelming.
You try to enter into it. And it overwhelms you. You get
just the thought of it. Just a glimpse of it. And it's
so wonderful. You just fall before it. This
can't be this good. I'll give you a perfect example
of this. You remember when the Lord Jesus had raised from the
dead, and His disciples were in the upper room, and He came
through the wall and appeared to them, and it scared them to
death. And He's trying to calm them
down. He said, it's Me. No, it's the Spirit. The Spirit don't have flesh and
bones. It's Me. I've risen from the
dead. And the Scripture says this about
those disciples. While they believed not. Why didn't they believe? for
joy. What does that mean? Here's what
I think that means. The joy of His resurrection overwhelmed
Him. It overwhelmed Him. And I'll
tell you one of the things that overwhelmed Him. All of these
thoughts were running in their heads. Not only that the Lord
Jesus, their Master, their Savior had risen from the dead. There
He stood. What a miracle! But it went deeper
than that. The very fact that He was standing
there before them in His resurrected body said this to them. All these
promises that He made concerning His resurrection, all these things
that He's preached unto you, they're a reality. They're a
reality. If I go away, I'm going to prepare
a place for you, and I'll come again and receive you unto Myself.
That where I am, there you'll be also. Did they think of that?
That's a reality. If I'll go away, I'll pray the
Father, and He'll send you another comforter. He's going to guide
you and teach you. Oh, that suddenly dawned upon
me. I have power to lay down my life. I have power to take
it up again. There He stands before us, the
Almighty Lord. And all these thoughts running
through their head. We thought it was He that should have redeemed
Israel. Here He stands! What do they think? He did it!
He did it! It's glorious! And the Bible
says it was so overwhelming to them. They couldn't believe. This is
too good. This is too wonderful. They've
been warning us in the paper the last few months. The economy
is bad. where we lived there in the eastern
part of Indiana. A lot of scams. They put warnings
in the paper that if somebody comes around offering you a deal
that's too good to be true, it probably is. Be on the lookout. Be on the lookout. Ain't that
what we say sometimes about this? It's too good. Is that true? Brothers and sisters, what does
it mean to be in Christ? How are we blessed just by being
in Him? We're overwhelmed by it, aren't
we? It's too good to be true. The joy of it all. There's another reason right
quickly. why we don't live in a fuller joy than we have in
the light of verse 13. It's one thing if we still have
this self-righteousness and this legality attached to us. We trust
in other things other than what this verse actually teaches us.
This verse teaches us by virtue of being in Christ, we are near. If it don't teach that, I don't
know what it teaches. We're near. That's our position. And it can
never change. But what do we begin to depend
upon? Well, if I could just believe
more. If I just had greater understanding. If I could serve better. If I
could be more faithful. Oh, I could feel myself nearer
then. If you're trusting in anything
to make you nearer to God than being in Christ, no wonder you've
lost your joy. No wonder you've lost your share
of it all. You remember Asap in Psalm 73,
the fellow that got himself in a terrible dilemma That song was either written
to Aesop or by Aesop. I always think it's written by
Aesop. I don't know. But he got himself in an awful,
awful dilemma. In his thoughts, his attitude
got something awful. The Lord had a rod upon him,
was chastening him. Every morning he said, you chasten
me. Every morning I'm chastening you. It's hurting me. It hurts
me. It grieves me. Everything he did turned out
wrong. He opened his Bible and somebody had removed all the
words to it. Nothing there. Couldn't pray. Heaven shut up.
He got under this awful burden. Labored. Seemed like in vain.
And he started looking at the wicked, the ungodly. He said,
man, he's not having any trouble. Everything he puts his hand to
prospers. Look at his family. Look at his children. He opens
his mouth towards heaven and curses God, and God pours out
these earthly blessings upon him. Oh, and he said, I envy
that man. Are you going to tell God's children that? Oh, no.
Oh, no. I'd never tell God's children
that, if they knew I was thinking this way. Oh, what an awful,
awful condition that man was in. But he went on to the worship
service. And I don't know what happened
there for sure. I don't know if somebody sung
a particular song. I don't know if it was the reading
of God's Word, if it was what the preacher said. But he suddenly
come to himself. He said, now I see, Lord, what
You're doing. Oh, You've loaded them down with
these worldly blessings. But in so doing, You've set their
feet in slippery places. They're full of this world. And
they don't even fear to die. They're so full of vain confidence,
they don't even fear to face death. But as soon as they do,
now I know what's going to happen. It's going to be like one awakening
out of sleep. You're going to wake and you're
going to despise their image. And you're going to cast them
down into everlasting misery. Oh, and he got so ashamed. His
conscience smote him. And he said, oh, I've been like
a beast. I'm like a wild hog, rooting and snorting. Oh, I'm
a wretched, wretched man. And then he makes this wonderful
statement. It goes along perfectly with
Paul's statement. It's the most wonderful statement. He says,
nevertheless, I am continually with thee. Oh, my thinking has changed for
the worse. My attitude has changed for the
worse. But my attitude has not changed my position. And neither shall it ever. Ain't that wonderful, brothers
and sisters? Ain't that a joyful thing? Aren't you glad you're in Christ? One last thing, and I'll close
in this. But now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were afar off
are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Paul's heart and his
pen is full of Christ. But not just Christ, but Christ
in him crucified. The blood of Christ. You know,
there's all kinds of things Paul could have said about the Lord
Jesus that would have been true, but they'd have never fit in
here. He never said here that you're
made nigh by the birth of Christ. Or by the miracles of Christ.
Or by the love of Christ. Or by the example of Christ.
All of these are true and have their place. Thank God for them. But when He says, You're made
now, He says it's by the blood of Christ. That's what brings
us now. The blood. God looks upon His
blessed Son and He loves Him. His soul is wrapped up in His
Son. Look at Him, he says. Look at Him. Listen to Him. Hear Him. That's what He commands
us to do. Hear my Son. Listen to what gracious
words are coming out of His mouth. Oh, if you could see Him like
I see Him. You could see His holy soul. My law is in His heart. He loves it. He perfectly obeys
me. He loves me. And I love Him. That's my Son. My Beloved Son. But when He looks upon us, and when He brings us near to
Himself in our utter weakness, in our utter frailty, in our
unworthiness, and He looks upon us, He says nothing about us. What does He say? When I see
the blood. That's what I'm looking for.
The blood of my Son. God bless you.