As fallen humanity continues to cope with the hopelessness and helplessness of this broken world by turning to a myriad of false saviors, God graciously offers true salvation through Jesus Christ.  In this week’s message, Newley Spikes highlights the Christian’s journey from spiritual death to being made alive in Christ, while demonstrating the Gospel’s power to transform not only our eternity, but also our lives here on earth.

Newley’s Main Points

• We were dead.
• We were enslaved.
• We were condemned.
• But God has made us alive.
• But God raised us up with Christ.
• But God seated us with Him in heaven.

Key Takeaways

• Prior to salvation, we were spiritually dead– hopeless and helpless on our own.

• We are guilty of sins of commission and sins of omission. As defined by Newley, “Sins of omission are not doing something that God’s Word teaches us that we should do.”
• In God’s economy, the wages of sin is death. All people either were spiritually dead or are spiritually dead.
• People are the opposite of possums. They play alive when they are dead. They act like everything is okay when it is not.
• Apart from God’s grace, we were enslaved by the world, enslaved by Satan, and enslaved by the flesh.
• God’s wrath is not an emotion. It is not flippant, impulsive, or uncontrolled. His wrath is the just response to evil and sin, in light of His perfect holiness.
• According to Newley, “‘but God’ are the two most beautiful words in the Bible. Each time the phrase ‘but God’ is used, it is coupled with man’s inability.”
• Regardless of the flavor or intensity of your sins, God made us alive while we were dead in our sins.
• Understanding the weight of our sinfulness helps us understand the weight of our salvation and God’s surpassing grace.
• You can’t out-sin the cross of Jesus Christ.
• God has made us alive with Christ, raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in heaven in order to glorify Himself and demonstrate His grace for eternity.
• This passage showcases the essence of the Gospel– the good news from God that we can be saved through Jesus Christ.
• Believers are to respond to the Gospel with gratitude, worship, remembrance, and discipline to purposefully and practically deepen in the Gospel’s implications for their lives.
• As advocated by Newley, “Gospel gratitude” compels us to action. We should share our testimony, share the Gospel, and shepherd one another with the Gospel.
  
  

Discussion Questions/Application

Personal reflection:

• According to Ephesians 2:1-3, what was true of you apart from God’s gracious intervention?
• According to Ephesians 2:4-7, what is true of you if you have been saved by God?

• Set aside intentional time to reflect on your “but God” story and offer prayers and praise to God for His grace (past, present, and future) in Christ.
  
  

Discuss with your community group:

• Where in your life are you living like the world or like you’re still dead, even though you have been made alive in Christ?
• How can you grow in sharing your testimony with others, sharing the Gospel with others, and shepherding one another with the Gospel?
  
  Passages Referenced for Further Study
  Ephesians 2:1-7; John 11:39; Matthew 8:21-22; James 4:17; Ephesians 5:25; Romans 6:23; John 8:34; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Genesis 8:1; Genesis 50:20; Acts 13:29-30; 2 Corinthians 5:17; John 14:18-20; Colossians 3:1-2; Romans 5:9-10; Matthew 28:19.