WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT
by Tim Thomas
October 22, 2005
Ephesian 2:1-3
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Amplified Bible
1AND YOU [He made alive], when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins
2In which at one time you walked [habitually]. You were following the course and fashion of this world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God].
3Among these we as well as you once lived and conducted ourselves in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by our corrupt and sensual nature], obeying the impulses of the flesh and the thoughts of the mind [our cravings dictated by our senses and our dark imaginings]. We were then by nature children of [God's] wrath and heirs of [His] indignation, like the rest of mankind.
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In order to appreciate what God did for us through Jesus, we have to appreciate the state we were in. Verse 1 says that we were dead because of the work of sin in our lives, yet God gave us new life through His Son. Verse 2 tells us that the way of sin was our pattern. Before Christ came into our lives, we did the stuff everybody else did. Just like everybody else, Satan was constantly at work in our lives. He was our ruler, and we followed his ways of disobedience. Verse 3 goes on to tell us that we were slaves to our flesh and our fancies, and that we were fully and completely deserving of God’s anger and punishment.
The Good News of reconciliation with God is not good news unless we first understand how bad things were without Christ in our lives. Most of us did not realize that we were following Satan. Most of us did not realize that there are only two rulers to follow, and that by not choosing God we were actually making a choice to follow Satan and to be God's enemy. Most of us do understand the idea that one should try to destroy one's enemy and therefore that God by all rights should have tried to destroy us. But instead of destroying us, God made a very costly effort to rescue us and befriend us. He sent His one and only Son Jesus to die for us so that we could live by faith. Generally enemy soldiers who change sides are either kept in a prisoner of war camp, or at a very minimum kept a close eye on and watched suspiciously. We, instead, are welcomed as trusted children, friends, and partners into the king's home and family. This plan of God's is truly amazing!
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