Ephesians 2:1-10 ¹You were dead through the trespasses and sins ² in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. ³ All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us ⁵ even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-- by grace you have been saved-- ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God-- ⁹ not the result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Some years ago, people made fun of the Reader's Digest Condensed Version of the Bible. But we all have "condensed versions" of the Bible. Some people want nothing to do with the Old Testament, except maybe for the Psalms and a few major stories about "heroes" (The only hero in the Bible is God, as the Father, through Christ's death and resurrection, restores us to eternal life through the gift of the Holy Spirit and forgiveness!). Many people concentrate on the Gospels, or just one Gospel, or Acts, or Paul's letters. Some say that it is enough to know John 3:16.

But these verses rank up there with the best of the best. The church is the body of Christ. We are given the gift of eternal life when we are dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked. That means dead people spiritually can look alive and walk around. But a beating heart does not mean one that is at peace with God. The old nature, what we arrive with, is filled with passions and lusts, whether for physical pleasure or security or power over others or a glib self-satisfaction. By nature, we get caught up in survival and grabbing for a little bit of fun here and there. It certainly does not satisfy a deep longing for that which does not go away.

When we were dead, we WERE MADE alive. That is a passive verb. Something is done TO US. Dead, not bad! Alive, not nicer! What a perfect time, as we reflect on Ephesians, to reflect on the essence of our new life. Our justification, being declared right with God almighty, comes from a new nature, given to us by grace, to take the power of the old nature away. That is what happens when we are baptized.

Our new life, our holy life, our sanctified life, is different. We do not try to impress God with our attempts at being nice. We are gifted with forgiving love, the grace of God, to pour it out on others. That is our Christian life. Here God is at work WITH US. We worship the God who entrusts us with loving as we have been loved. His immeasurable grace comes IN CHRIST. Our worship is to thank and praise, serve and obey. It is our way to say thank you with our hearts healed and then live our thankfulness by applying his healing grace to others.

We can condense the story and then expand it. "He died, He rose, He gives us life. We love others with His forgiving life. We will live with Him forever." Let us not grow weary. Let us not leave worship, witness, service, and giving to others. This is the really Good News that lasts forever and heals as nothing else can. Our Lord says: "Come to Me, you weary, that I may give your rest - eternally, and now already." No longer children of wrath, we are children of grace. Let us gather to strengthen each other in living His grace out in our lives.

In Christ our Lord and Savior,
Pastor Thomas Trapp