In this captivating dive into the book of Ephesians, Dr. John Kyle explores the transformation from a life of darkness to one filled with the light and hope found in Christ. Delve into the rich history and context of the Gentiles, their spiritual awakening, and the profound implications of living with Christ as our savior. This episode encourages listeners to grasp the drastic change from their old life and to appreciate the overwhelming grace and truth now accessible through Jesus.
Welcome to Expository Truths, where we exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with Dr. John Kyle, pastor of Faith Community Church in Vacaville. As Christians, we’re called to know the truth and be able to proclaim it. We can know truth when we know the Word of God, which is precise, without error, and powerful and effective for both salvation and spiritual growth. Enjoy digging deeply with Dr. Kyle as he takes us verse by verse through the powerful book of Ephesians, giving us a marvelous summary of the good news of Christ and its implications for our daily lives.
SPEAKER 02 :
Please turn your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 2, verse 11. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 11 through 13. The letter of Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul to the faithful saints living in the city of Ephesus. Paul wrote this while he was under house arrest in Rome in about AD 62, and he wrote it to lay a proper doctrinal foundation for these believers so they could then live out those doctrines for the glory of God. We’re now in the doctrinal section of this book that’s found in chapters 1 through 3. We’re right in the middle of it. And if you remember, chapter 1 was basically two long sentences. The first sentence showed us the many amazing reasons that we can and should bless and praise our amazing God. And the second sentence was a prayer by Paul for the Ephesians that we today should be praying for ourselves and for each other as we earnestly pursue the things that we are praying for. Chapter 2 began by telling us that we were all dead spiritually before God saved us. But good news, right? God is rich in mercy. God is great in love. He made us alive because He’s incredibly gracious to us. He also raised us to life and gave us His divine power for victorious living. And then to top it all off, He will show us His abundant grace and kindness for all eternity. But God, and He changes everything. See, it’s all Him. It’s all His grace, so that means that there’s no boasting on our part. No, our only boast is in Him. And then think of this. Verse 10 says that we Christians are God’s workmanship, His masterpieces. Therefore, go on and live like it. How? Do God’s work. Bear much fruit. Live out your faith because you love Him and because He is worthy. Walk well in what God has prepared beforehand for you to do. All right, what’s next? Verse 11. Therefore, verse 11. Therefore, remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision made in flesh by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. And that’s just a taste. We’re just going to hit on that last part. We’ll get into it more next week. Remember. Remember what you once were. Remembering is so very important for us because it’s easy. For us to lose focus. It’s easy for us to get sidetracked. It’s easy for us to take our eyes off of Christ and focus on things that really don’t matter. It’s easy. But second, before Christ changed all that, look, they were without Christ, verse 12. How tragic is that? To be without Christ. I mean, being without Christ or being separated from Christ is absolutely devastating for your eternal soul. With Christ as Lord and Savior, you have everything, everything that matters. But without Him, you have nothing, nothing that truly matters. He alone saves souls from eternity in hell. He rescued us from our worst nightmare. He delivers us from the grip of Satan. He gives us eternal life, eternal glory. Heaven forever. What else matters? But without Him? What are you left with but to eat, drink, and be merry? For tomorrow you die, and then what? Hell. Without Him, all you have is your best life here. Without Him, all you have is the best of this life only. And while the best of this life only is pretty good, hey, that all ends when you die, and then you must face your Maker and pay the wages of your own sin forever. No hope. No hope. No real peace, not without Christ. No true satisfaction, since that only comes through Christ. No forgiveness of your sin that condemns you. No heaven to look forward to and to catapult you forward in life. Nothing but emptiness. That’s true to everyone without Christ in this world, whether they realize that or not. Hey, now that you know and love Him, can you imagine what life would be like without Him? Paul’s telling the Ephesians and us, that it’s good to do that sometimes. Why? So we don’t forget him and take him for granted. What a picture. Pagan idolaters, hated by the Jews, the people of God, lost and desperate and without Christ. Third, they were once aliens and strangers. Verse 12, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise. Now look, Israel was a nation under God, but the Gentiles had no part in that. Also, God had bound Himself unconditionally to bring blessings upon and through Israel, but the Gentiles had no such promise. See, the Jews were privileged with a history that was based on God and based on the truth of God. But the Gentiles had no such history, and that is a massive deal. Kind of like how blessed people are who get to grow up in the church. Right? They get to hear the truth of God every week. They get to be surrounded by people who love God. They’re protected from the wretched and worldly ways that so many of their friends are exposed to before they know how to battle those things. And even though that doesn’t mean that they’re saved yet, they have great privilege because of their heritage and because of their background of growing up in the church. That was the Jewish people. That’s what they had, which the Gentiles knew nothing of. But look, the Christians that Paul is writing to here in Ephesians, they came out of a Gentile background and they had no such privilege. They had no such history. No, their history was absolutely pagan. It was evil. It was dark. It was utterly wicked. Right? See, for the Gentiles in Ephesus, before Christ saved them, they all worshipped Diana, also known as Artemis. And the city of Ephesus was a hub of that false worship. Look, a statue of the goddess was paraded through the city annually, making stops at the various city shrines along the way where the worshipers prayed and made their offerings. It was believed that her image had been fashioned in heaven and fallen from the sky. It seems that a meteorite had actually fell and it resembled a woman, and so that became an object of worship. What developed was truly a wicked false religion. See, it was a fertility cult. And the idol of the goddess Artemis was in the form of an ugly, multi-breasted woman. Temple prostitution was practiced and it had a very large following. I mean, people from all over the world flocked to Ephesus to worship Artemis in her temple. See, the temple of Artemis was four times the size of the temple of Athena in Athens. And it was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The pagan temple also served as a bank where people from all over the world deposited money along with being regarded as a place of asylum, sanctuary, and safety for the people. So this was big business, the pagan temple of Artemis. And then the images of Artemis that the people worshipped. It really was the hub of activity for the whole city of Ephesus and it was incredibly wicked. It was evil. It was satanic. That’s what these Gentile people worshipped before Christ saved them. Unlike the Jews who had the one true God, think of this, and His law, and the truth, and God’s covenants and promises, and the true temple, and hope, and forgiveness, and mercy. Look, these poor Gentiles had Artemis. And looking back on that and remembering that, was good for them to do sometimes again so they could then be reminded of how good the one true God really is and everything that he gives to us as people as opposed to lame Artemis or any other pagan false idol or false God which has Satan behind it. Remember. It’s good to do. Fourth, before Christ saved them, these Christians in Ephesus were without hope. Why? Because Christ alone gives true hope for the soul, right? But if you don’t know Christ as Lord and Savior, and if you aren’t saved, you truly are left with no hope. How tragic is that? No hope. No hope. Hebrews 6, 18 and 19 mentions the hope that we have in Christ, the hope that we have as an anchor for the soul that’s both sure and steadfast. Christ alone gives us that true hope. And our hope as Christians isn’t like the world’s definition of hope. I hope so, that rarely happens. No, but instead, our hope as Christians is an absolute assurance of future good. It’s a confident expectancy. It’s an unconditional certainty because of God. The God who cannot lie has promised its reality to me, his child. One said, biblical hope is not a hope so, but a hope sure. And that’s right. Look, the writer of Hebrews says that this hope for us in Christ is an anchor for the soul. That’s some strong imagery right there. The main reason you need an anchor is to keep from drifting into things that would destroy you, especially during storms. But our hope in Christ steadies the soul. Our hope in Christ steadies us in the walk of faith. See, we won’t drift if we cling to Christ our hope. And look, our hope in Christ allows us to patiently endure pain and trial and worry and fear because we know what lies ahead. Even more, our hope in Christ brings us a deep sense of joy. See, with God, godly hope, we can maintain an optimistic outlook even when things go wrong. I mean, our life will still have its stresses and its tragedies and its trials, oh yes, but the believer whose hope is in the Lord and who has a grasp on God’s plan won’t be overcome. No, our faith and our hope will carry us through all that. One says that hope is something as important to us as water is to a fish, as vital as electricity is to a light bulb, and as essential as air is to a jumbo jet. Hope is basic to life. Without that needed spark of hope, we are doomed to a dark, grim existence. That’s right. And how often the word hopeless appears in suicide notes. And even if it’s not actually written down, we can read it between the lines. See, you take away our hope and our world is reduced to something between depression and despair. This is where the world is at today for the most part. And this is where these Ephesians were at before Christ saved them. They were hopeless because they didn’t have Christ. But, praise the Lord, not us, right? But not us. And because we have Him and the hope that He gives, we can be joyful. We can smile even through our tears. We can rejoice even through times of suffering. See, this isn’t the end of the story. No, our hope is in God, and He promises great things for us in the future. See, we have an anchor. Our hope in Christ is sure and solid and certain, and that’s what compels us along as we walk this weary pilgrim road. Soon I will be home. I know it. Praise God. for our sure hope. What a gift from God to us. The best is yet to come. We know it because God said it. But what would life be like without him and the hope that he brings? It’s good to reflect on. Why? Because when you reflect on how hopeless you were without Christ, man, that just makes you love him all the more. At least it should. Right? Remember, without Christ, you have no hope. It’s good to remember. You were pagans. You were without Christ. You had a wretched history with a wicked background. You were lost and desperate. You had no hope. Okay, what else? Fifth, you were without God in the world. The end of verse 12. Oh, man. This world is a wicked, cruel, violent place. One noted, the world means robbery, injustice, slander, hatred, warfare, disease, and death. Even if you live a relatively comfortable life, the best you can hope for is expressed in the bumper sticker one saw recently that said this, eat healthy, exercise, and die anyway. But to face all of life’s trials without God and without the hope of eternal life is truly a terrible thing, and that’s right. This takes us back to what Paul said in the first part of chapter 2, where he described what our lives would be like, what our lives were like before Christ saved us. What was that? You were spiritually dead and you lived like it. How? According to the course of this world, Paul said, remember? What’s the course of this world? It’s talking about the evil and satanic world system, the world that’s in rebellion against God, the world that’s in opposition to God, the system that involves the world’s values, pleasures, pastimes, and sinful, self-centered aspirations. John says that the world lies under the grip of the evil one, that it rejected Jesus when he came, that it doesn’t know him, that it hates his followers, and that this world is marked by sin, Satan, and direct opposition to the Lord. And this is how the Ephesians conducted their lives before they were awakened by God, before they were saved. It was godless. It was away from God. It was futile. It was empty. It was meaningless. It was the opposite of a God-pleasing life. Many non-Christians don’t understand this, but this is their reality nonetheless. They may think they are good. They may think they are doing good. They may think they aren’t as bad as the Bible says they really are, but they are wrong. And Satan has done his job well at blinding them to the truth of their true condition. See, if you aren’t a Christian and you are without God, then you’re on Satan’s team. If you aren’t a Christian and you’re without God, then you’re part of the world that stands in hatred and opposition to God. And saying otherwise doesn’t change the reality. It’s still the truth. And that was the Ephesians before God saved them and you and me. To be without Christ also means that you live according to the prince of the power of the air. Who’s that? The devil, right? Satan. He’s the prince of the power of the air. Prince refers to first in rank or power, so that word conveys the idea of being a ruler, a chief, or a prince. Here the word refers to Satan, the first one in power and authority in this wicked kingdom. How he’s a chief fallen angel who rules over a vast multitude of other fallen angels who oppose God and the people of God. This tells us that all unbelievers are ruled by their father, the devil, the chief ruler of all evil spirits whose realm is this world, or the air, which refers to the world that we live in. This tells us that during this present age, Satan and his demons… Dominate, pressure, and control every person who is unsaved. The devil dominates and energizes the spiritually dead, whether they realize that truth or not. And this was your reality before you were saved, whether you realize that or not. Satan was your ruler. You belonged to him. He ruled over you. Wow. Also, to be without God means that you walked in disobedience to God. Talk about people who are characterized by disobedience rather than loving obedience. People who oppose God and who not only don’t believe Him, but who are actively rebelling against Him. They’re obstinate towards Him. They stand in hostile opposition to the will and the government of God. This is what the lost do. This is what those without Christ do. Those with God love and obey Him, But those without God disobey and oppose Him. To be without God also means that you live in the lust of the flesh and of the mind, as Paul referred to in chapter 2. That shows us that those without God, unbelievers, they only have one option. They live to gratify the flesh. That includes sensual desires and living according to what feels good at the moment, but also it includes the desires of the mind. That includes such sins as pride and selfish ambition, things that mark the world without Christ. See, Christians battle the world, the flesh, and the devil, but those without God are dominated by those things. To be without God also means that we are by nature children of wrath. So what lies ahead for those without God? Wrath. Not heaven. No. Rap. Now, all these things aren’t pleasant. They’re not pleasant to look back on and remember, but they are good to remember. See? Why? So that we never forget where we would be if the Lord hadn’t snatched us from the pit that we were in. Remember. Why? Because if we forget, then we will become lukewarm and apathetic toward God and toward the things of God. If we forget, we’ll lose the joy of our salvation. If we forget, we’ll lose our hunger and our thirst to know God more deeply through His Word. If we forget, we’ll lose our motivation to take the gospel to the lost. So remember your desperate situation before God saved you. It’s a command, and it’s very important to do. Where would I be if God hadn’t rescued my soul? Where would I be? My life before Christ saved me was horrible and wretched, but He changed everything. I love Him so much. See? So look, the Ephesians were pagan Gentiles. They were without Christ. They were aliens and strangers with a wretched background in history. They had no hope. They were without God. How horrible! But what about you? For many of us, our family history is steeped in sin and worldliness and emptiness and hopelessness. We were addicts. Adulterers, liars, cheaters, empty, full of selfishness and full of sin. A number of us wouldn’t be here today were it not for Christ rescuing our souls. Remember that. And then what? Turn it around. Turn it around. But now, how good is that? But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. How could this not capture our hearts? Remember, again, how bad the bad is, but then bask in how good the good is. See, Christ changed everything. Anybody? Christ changes everything. And all that bad is now turned around, and now we who were far off and hopeless and dead and lost and belonging to Satan and worldly and fleshly and heading for hell, look, Christ has brought us near by His blood. Yes! He’s brought us near. Or you could say it like this, Christ made us who were dead alive, verse 2. So again, the bad is really bad, but the good is oh so good. When God breaks into your life with the gospel and makes you alive, you simply can’t be the same person that you were before. All things become new. Note that in Christ is Paul’s favorite phrase in Ephesians. I mean, he’s used a variation of it at least 13 times so far. It means that we are totally identified with Christ in His death, resurrection, and present position at God’s right hand. And now we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus and our future is good. Life in Him right now is very good because we have His peace and His hope and His love and joy and all these great things. But the best is yet to come and we have oh so very much to look forward to in Christ. The terms far off and near are Old Testament terms that refer to Gentiles and to the Jews. In the Old Testament, God lived in the temple and those living near His dwelling place and having access to Him were His people. So Israel was near and the Gentiles were far away, but good news, since Christ came, not anymore. Now that Christ has come, not anymore. Brought near implies the intimacy of a personal relationship with the living God and also with each other in Christ. So forget about the labels, Jew, Gentile. Forget about your background, rich, poor, black, white, Asian, American, anything else. Forget about your skin color. Forget about all that because every person who trusts in Christ for salvation and life is brought into spiritual union and intimacy with God and we’re family. In essence, God says, take all those other labels of the flesh and paste this one on top of them. God’s own child. Heir of the promises and glory of heaven. How’s that possible? Christ. The blood of Christ, talking about his sacrifice on the cross for all who believe. That’s how dead, undeserving Gentile pagans like us can be saved, redeemed, forgiven, and rescued from wrath. Christ who died so we who believe can live. He changes everything but now. And so Christ died and shed His blood to bring us near. He died to save us and to make us His own. And it was bloody. It was gory. He was slaughtered. He was crushed. It was painful and agonizing. It was revolting. It was violent. Think of it. God the Son hanging, torn and wretched upon a cross with blood streaming down His head and body and running down the cross. And not only was it wretched physically, but it was horrible spiritually as God the Father poured out His divine wrath onto Jesus because of our sin, because of your sin. You think He loves you It’s good to look back. It’s good to remember. He rescued me. Me. He died for me. He loves me. It’s good to remember. May this remembering ignite our love for this most amazing God today. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, we love you so very much, Lord. We thank you for who you are and what you’ve done. I pray, Lord, that we would indeed remember well. We are prone to forgetting. I pray that we would remember what we once were and what you’ve delivered us from and to, so that we are constantly filled with deep, passionate love that causes us to pursue you, to battle sin, to pursue the things that glorify your good name. to pursue obedience and love and godliness. Bless us, encourage us. We love you and thank you for your word. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thanks for joining us for today’s exposition from the book of Ephesians on expository truths with Dr. John Kyle. Continue on with us next week at this same time. And to find this sermon in its entirety as well as other sermons, visit vacavillefaith.org. Faith Community Church seeks to exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with a commitment to glorifying God through the pure, deep, and reaching message of the gospel through faithful exposition. Pastor John is the preaching pastor at Faith Community Church of Vacaville, a seminary professor, and a trainer of preaching pastors overseas. Join Faith Community Church for worship Sundays at 9 and 1045 a.m., located at 192 Bella Vista Road, Suite A in Vacaville. To learn more, visit vacavillefaith.org or call 707-451-2026. That’s vacavillefaith.org.
