God Made Us Alive even when We were Dead in Our Sins

Those Who Were Dead

(Ephesians 2:1-5)

When we were dead, we lived in the domain of trespasses and sins. At that time, we enjoyed the ways of this world (which is completely tinged with sin), we were influenced by Satan (the prince of the power of the air), and we lived in complete opposition to God’s commands.

1. Children of Wrath
Meanwhile, we considered ourselves to be free, and thought we acted independently without anybody’s influence. Furthermore, because we were deeply stuck in the character of disobedience, we had a strong allergic reaction to saying, “I believe in God. I obey God.” Since we had these traits from our birth, our destiny was headed for hell.

2. The Pain of Love
But despite being in this desperate situation, God saved us. God is abundant in mercy, and He gave us this great love. This does not mean God leisurely saved us because He is amply able to love us. God not only endured the pain of giving up His Son, but He endures pain even now so that He can forgive us. This is because He takes care of us, though we refuse to change, and we act anyway we want according to the desire of the flesh despite accepting His love.

3. New Life
It is mankind’s nature to keep forgetting their past. Consequently, we should strive to remember what circumstances we were in and remember what love we received from God. If we do this, we will be amply grateful in any circumstance, and we will not waver in our desire to keep the Lord’s commands. Satan has already been judged, but He will continually fight to tear believers down until the day He goes to hell. Therefore, let’s thoroughly abandon our past habit of following the prince of the power of this world and become holy believers who serve the church in love amid this new life.

Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim