1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
The first time a mother feels the child she is carrying inside of her move, everything changes. It’s the confirmation that life is here, a soul for all eternity. It’s thrilling and terrifying, and it’s also undeniable. The word we use to describe that moment is "quickening". Paul said that being born again is an experience like that. Christ has quickened you. Your soul that was born under the curse of sin, that was separated from God by your trespasses, and that was spiritually dead, leaped to life when the power of God caused you to live. It happened at the very moment you surrendered your life to the Son of God.
You weren't sick, you weren’t just lost, you weren’t struggling, or simply in trouble, you were dead. Dead is a completely hopeless situation. Only God, the source of all life, has the ability to raise the dead. Christ proved it to Jairus’ daughter, again at the tomb of Lazarus, at a funeral procession for the widow of Nain’s son, and at His own empty tomb.
2 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:
To “ walk according to the course of this world” is to live like the rest of the world lives. It is to believe what everyone else is saying. The world is under the curse, influence, and delusion of Satan.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, But the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12.
All of human experience has been tainted by sin. Satan is a liar and a good one. He makes wrong seem right, he makes truth seem like a lie, and he whispers just enough truth to make delusion seem rational. At one time, we were all the children of disobedience. Choosing our way, and our will, over the truth of God’s word.
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Conversation means more than a verbal exchange of ideas. This word means your lifestyle; it includes all that you think, say, and do. At one time, we were no different than the lost all around us. Before we were saved by the blood of Christ, we were all guided by our own desires, wrathful when we didn’t get our way, and living to fulfill the flesh. We may have been able to fool our friends, our teachers, our employers, and maybe even ourselves into thinking that we were “good people,” but nothing was hidden from God.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
With nothing to recommend us, when we were far from God, and far from safety, God stepped in and did something unthinkable. He gave outcast beggars like us, the keys to the kingdom. Because He is rich in mercy, because His love has no limit, He sent His only begotten Son on a rescue mission. When Christ carried my sin to the cross, when He suffered my punishment, when three days later He walked out of the tomb a victor, and when He ascended to the right hand of the Father, we were given the power to live. We are quickened, made alive, with Him. It’s thrilling, and it’s terrifying. By the grace of God, we are saved.
Saved from what? We’re saved from an eternity separated from God in Hell. We’re saved from a lifetime of being the walking dead in this life, stumbling over the truth, falling into lies, and destroying ourselves. We’ve been redeemed. All the pain and misery that we have brought on ourselves through disobedience now has been bought and will be used to bring Him glory and to rescue others from the same fate.
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Why would God do it? He has a reason that only He fully understands. For sure, it is His intention that the great gulf that separated us from God our Creator, should be removed. We are made (recreated) so that we can sit together in “heavenly places'' in Christ Jesus. It’s not a typo, we aren’t sitting with Christ, but in Christ. As close to the Father as we can get. Receiving all the kindness, all the fellowship, all the blessings that God bestows on Jesus. And, we are in that position so we can show (demonstrate through living praise and honor) the goodness of God and the glory of God, not only during our life here on earth but for ages to come.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
The truth is, we have nothing to boast about. All that we have came from God, is redeemed by God, and will go back to God. Our salvation came from His glorious grace. We submitted to Jesus because God gave us the faith to believe. It was a gift! We did not have enough faith on our own to be saved, so He gave it to us.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Don’t you know that you are a valuable work of art? How do you know that something is valuable? It’s determined by the price that was paid for it. You have been bought, by the priceless and precious blood of Christ. Our salvation was designed, it was authored, it was carried out, and it is in the hands of a master craftsman who chose to know us before the world began. We were made to do His will, it is why we are here. It is the only proper response to so great a gift as eternal salvation.
Thank you for studying with us! God bless!