INTRODUCTION TO EPHESIANS STUDY , Ron Ward
MADE ALIVE IN CHRIST
Passage: Ephesians 2:1~7  
Key verse: 4,5a
Made Alive in Christ
2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,(A) 2 in which you used to live(B) when you followed the ways of this world(C) and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,(D) the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.(E) 3 All of us also lived among them at one time,(F) gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a](G) and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us,(H) God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions(I)—it is by grace you have been saved.(J) 6 And God raised us up with Christ(K) and seated us with him(L) in the heavenly realms(M) in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,(N) expressed in his kindness(O) to us in Christ Jesus.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 2:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.
Cross references
- Ephesians 2:1 : ver 5; Col 2:13
- Ephesians 2:2 : ver 3, 11-13; Ro 11:30; 1Co 6:11; 5:8; Col 3:7; Tit 3:3; 1Pe 4:3
- Ephesians 2:2 : Ro 12:2
- Ephesians 2:2 : S Jn 12:31
- Ephesians 2:2 : Eph 5:6
- Ephesians 2:3 : S ver 2
- Ephesians 2:3 : S Gal 5:24
- Ephesians 2:4 : S Jn 3:16
- Ephesians 2:5 : ver 1; Ps 103:12
- Ephesians 2:5 : ver 8; Jn 5:24; S Ac 15:11
- Ephesians 2:6 : S Ro 6:5
- Ephesians 2:6 : Eph 1:20
- Ephesians 2:6 : S Eph 1:3
- Ephesians 2:7 : S Ro 2:4
- Ephesians 2:7 : Tit 3:4
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. Dead in sin (1-3)
When we were cut off from God by sin, we may have looked alive--like a cut flower in a vase--but we were dead. We were prisoners of sinful desires and ruled by Satan. We gratified the desires and cravings of our sinful natures. Like everyone else, we were objects of God's wrath.
2. Alive in Christ (4-7)
God who is rich in mercy did not abandon us to death and hell nor leave us in our misery. He loves us. He raised us from the dead with Christ; he made us alive when we were dead in sin. He seated us with him in the heavenly realms. The power by which God raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us to change us into children of God who bear the image of Jesus. It is by his grace alone that we have been saved.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for not giving up on me when I was dead in sin and could only be an object of wrath. Thank you for raising me to a new life in Christ. Please continue the work you have begun in me and in those for whom I pray.
One Word: Once I was dead; now I am alive