[English Sermon 영어 설교]
Sunday, May 11, 2025 - Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn
The Exceedingly Rich Grace (Ephesians 2:1-7 )
2025. 4. 5. 주일예배 설교- 에베소서 강해 8
본문: 에베소서 2:1-7
제목: 지극히 풍성한 은혜
설교자: 손진국 목사
Dear beloved members of the church, do you believe that God loves us? What kind of love is it? Today's scripture tells us that it is a great love. We have received God's great love. Do you believe that God has shown us grace? What kind of grace is it? The scripture tells us it is exceedingly rich grace. We have received God's exceedingly rich grace. We have received His great love and exceedingly rich grace, and we continue to receive it, and we will receive it until the end of the world. I hope you believe this. Today's passage reveals what that great love and exceedingly rich grace is that we have received.
1. We Were Dead.
[Verse 1] He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins.
This verse is a summary of today's message and also the theme of the entire Bible. This is a proclamation, just like the verse in Genesis 1:1: [Genesis 1:1] In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. After this proclamation, the specific details of how God created are revealed.
The same goes for this. Who are "you" in this verse? You are the ones who have been made alive. More precisely, those who have been made alive are the believers—us.
Who is "He" in this verse? By referring to Ephesians 1:23, we can understand who "He" is.
[Ephesians 1:23] Which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Who is "He"? It is Jesus Christ, the head of the church.
Our original state was that we were dead in trespasses and sins. It does not say we would die; it says we were already dead. So, when did we die? We died the moment life was conceived. Life was conceived, and at the same time, it says we died. It is truly ironic. David expressed this in the following way: [Psalm 51:5] Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Although physical life was born, it says we were born as sinners because we were conceived by a sinful mother.
In the New Testament, there are three words related to life.
Bios (biological life): [1 John 2:16] For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
Psyche (physical life): [Matthew 6:25] Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink…
Zoe (spiritual life): [John 10:10] I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Spiritual life (Zoe) is eternal, while physical (biological) life is finite. Therefore, the true life is spiritual life.
God told Adam and Eve that if they ate from the tree, they would surely die. But did they die immediately? No, they did not. How long did they live afterward? They lived for many more years. Adam lived to be 930 years old. But this was physical life. Spiritual life died when they disobeyed God's word and ate the fruit. As it says in verse 1, they died in their trespasses and sins.
Even though a flower looks beautiful after being cut from a tree, it is already dead because it has fallen from the source of life. Similarly, when humans fall away from the source of life, which is God, they are already spiritually dead, and their physical life gradually fades.
This is clearly recorded in Genesis. [Genesis 6:3] And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
But people often misunderstand. Before I believed in Jesus, I thought the soul would be annihilated when the body dies. This is not true. The spirit dies first, and then the body dies.
In verse 1, it says, "He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins," and in verse 2, it says, "At that time..." When was that time? It was when we were dead in trespasses and sins, when Zoe was absent, and only Psyche remained. In verses 2 and 3, it explains what it means to be in that state of not believing in Jesus.
[Verses 2-3] In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
When people divide others, they often use skin color, language, or origin. But spiritually, people are clearly divided into two groups: those who belong to the prince of the power of the air (the devil) and those who belong to God. Many people think they do not belong to anyone. They claim they belong to themselves, and they live as they please. What does it mean to live as you please? It means living according to the lusts of the flesh and fulfilling the desires of the flesh and mind. That is the world’s way of life, and it is following the prince of the power of the air.
When their biological life (Psyche) ends, what happens? The term "children of wrath" refers to those who are subject to God's wrath. They will face God's judgment and ultimately go to hell. However, the phrase "by nature children of wrath" means that from the moment of conception, every human is spiritually dead, disconnected from God, and a child of wrath following the devil.
This is what we were before we believed in Jesus and what those who do not yet believe are.
[Application] Do you believe that you were dead and have been made alive? What spirit is currently ruling over you?
2. We Are Saved.
From verses 1-3, we see that humanity had no hope. People lived diligently according to the devil's will, and ultimately, they were destined to face God's wrath.
But then, an amazing word appears in verse 4. [Verse 4] But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…
The amazing word here is “but,” which in the original Greek is "de." This word is not found in the Korean translation of the King James Bible, but it appears in the Greek original, and the New Translation Bible based on the original Greek renders it.
[Verse 4 - New Translation] But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…
The word "but" is so important! If this sentence had started with words like "therefore," "so," "because," or "and," we would have no hope. But the word "but" means that despair is changed into hope. Wrath is transformed into mercy and love, the law into grace, and judgment into salvation. I hope that every day of our lives we experience such "but" moments.
Are you angry? It’s because there is no mercy in your heart.
Do you judge and condemn others in a legalistic manner? It's because there is no grace in your life. You may have forgotten how you were saved. The joy of salvation may have disappeared. For those of us like this, I pray that God's mercy, love, and grace overflow in our lives.
How were we saved? [Verses 5-6] Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…
We were saved by grace. When did God save us? When did He make us alive? It says that when God the Father raised Jesus Christ from the dead, we were also made alive together with Him. But the salvation we received is not simply the spiritual life (Zoe) being given to us. Verse 6 says that He raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
The word “together” is repeated several times. Together with whom? With Christ Jesus. Being made alive together means we have been saved. We have been declared righteous. We are no longer children of wrath but children of God. This is justification.
Being raised up together means we are being built up as mature believers in Christ. This is sanctification. Being seated together in the heavenly places means we are being glorified. This is glorification.
When Paul speaks of salvation, he includes being made alive, being raised up, and being seated together with Christ.
Have you been saved? Look at yourself through the eyes of faith, as Paul did. Those who are in Christ Jesus are already seen by God as having received justification, sanctification, and glorification. I pray that you believe this.
However, we often struggle and despair, looking only at our present reality. There are times when we feel unworthy to call ourselves God's children and bow our heads low before Him.
Beloved members, believe that God is the God of the "but."
The prophet Isaiah prophesied that even though Judah would be destroyed and taken captive to Babylon, God would bring them back to Jerusalem to live again. At that time, the situation of the people of Judah was so bleak that they could only be afraid. There seemed to be no hope for their restoration, and it seemed that God's work was absent.
When they looked at themselves, they saw that they had rebelled and betrayed God, and they knew that God's judgment was coming, so they felt unworthy to approach Him.
Yet, God spoke to them, saying, [Isaiah 43:1] But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.”
God told the people of Israel, “It’s not over yet. It is not finished until it is finished.” Why? Because God created them, redeemed them, and called them by name as His own.
Who are we? We are God's.
[Application] What are you afraid of? Are you hearing the devil’s voice telling you, “You’re finished”? Or are you hearing the Lord’s voice saying, “Do not fear, for you are Mine”?
3. We Are Those Who Share the Grace We've Received
We are people who are seated with the Lord in heaven. Then our lives must be different.
How can someone who lives on earth and someone who is seated in heaven live the same kind of life? [Verse 7] that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Through those who are seated with Christ in heaven, God reveals the exceeding riches of His grace and kindness in Christ Jesus. In other words, the lives of believers—those who have faith in Jesus—are meant to reflect God's abundant grace and kindness here on earth.
Let us examine our lives. Is mercy and grace visible in my life? Is the joy and gratitude of being raised from death with Christ evident in my life? Is there delight and awe over the salvation I’ve received? Is the joy of being seated in heaven with the Lord revealed in us now? As someone who has received great mercy from God, am I showing that mercy and compassion to my neighbors?
About ten years ago, there was a mass shooting at a church in the U.S. On June 17, 2015, at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, a 21-year-old white supremacist named Dylann Roof attended a Bible study. During the study, he pulled out a gun and opened fire, killing nine people, including the pastor, Clementa Pinckney.
Though it was one of the many tragic mass shootings in the U.S., what made this event stand out was the response of the victims’ families. Each family member, while expressing the pain and sorrow of their loss, chose to forgive the killer, saying it was because of the love and grace of the Lord. They showed what it looks like to live not as those who dwell on earth, but as those who are seated in heaven.
At the funeral, then-President Barack Obama attended. President Obama said: “I’ve been reflecting on grace this week. The grace of the families who lost loved ones, the grace Reverend Pinckney preached about, and the grace described in one of my favorite and most well-known hymns—‘Amazing Grace.’” Then, after a brief pause, he began to sing:
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound…”
I prepared a video combining these two clips—please take a moment to watch it.
Did you hear what President Obama declared in the video after singing “Amazing Grace”?
As he read out the names of the nine victims, after each name he said: “He/She/They found that grace.”
What is our identity, yours and mine? We are those who have been raised to life with Christ from death. We are those who are seated in heaven with Christ. We are people who have received God’s great mercy and grace. While we live on this earth, may we reveal that grace and live as those who belong to heaven—fulfilling God’s will on earth.
I bless you in the name of the Lord to live as such.
[Application] Do you truly believe that you are seated with Christ in heaven?
Do you have joy because of it?
Having received such exceedingly abundant grace, to whom must you extend mercy and grace today?
하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.
Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.