God's Good = Life: Understanding Spiritual Death and Redemption in Ephesians 2:1-2
A message from Pastor Matthew Diehl | Round Top Church Christian Fellowship
Introduction: From Death to Life in Christ
In Ephesians chapter 2, the Apostle Paul delivers a powerful reminder to believers about where they came from and who they are now in Christ. This isn't just ancient history—it's the story of every person who has surrendered their life to God. As we explore these opening verses, we'll discover the stark reality of spiritual death, the influence of Satan in our world, and the glorious truth that God's design for humanity has always been good.
Christ: The True Head of the Church
Paul begins this section by lifting the Ephesian believers in prayer, reminding them that Christ—not any human leader—is the head of their assembly and all congregations. As Ephesians 1:22-23 declares:
"And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."
This truth transcends denominational boundaries. In December 1999, I had the privilege of joining hands with Catholics and Christians from all denominations in Houston at the Compaq Center to celebrate Jesus Christ as the Pastor of the Church for 2000 years. As Southwest Ministry Representative for the American Bible Society, I served on the Church Relations committee, inviting Christian churches across Houston to worship together.
Some pastors told me they couldn't participate because Roman Catholics were involved. I understand the historical concerns, but Jesus's words from the Cross continue to resonate: "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).
One beautiful fruit of that unity? For weeks afterward, pastors from across the denominational spectrum called requesting the Contemporary English Version New Testaments we'd distributed—Bibles designed for people who spoke English as a second language or found English difficult to read.
The Unity Jesus Prayed For
For nearly 2000 years, God has spoken through Paul's letters about Christ being the head of all things. This aligns perfectly with Jesus's own prayer in John 17:20-23:
"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me."
Ephesians 1:22-23 sets up what Paul writes next. He points to Jesus summing up all things in Him, which includes believers being perfected in unity with Christ and each other, so that the world may know God sent Himself as Jesus.
The Shared Reality: Dead in Trespasses and Sins
The first unity Paul identifies is the shared sinful life before surrender to God. Then, as they became believers, they unified under Christ's leadership while becoming one with Jesus, just as Jesus is with the Father. This is necessary for believers to be lifted out of the sin-and-death environment and live victoriously.
Ephesians 2:1-2 – The Spiritual Condition Before Christ
Ephesians 2:1-2: "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world"
Verse 1 identifies the spiritual condition of people before coming into right standing with God. What state was that? A dead state. Why? Because they allowed (chose) their sinful life to defeat them. Spiritually speaking, they were the "Walking Dead." Without God's Spirit indwelling a person, they are spiritually dead.
This isn't intended as a put-down, but a call for all people to realize that life without God's Spirit leading them is not life at all.
I don't find it enlightening to constantly remind people of their former miserable life. After you win the World Series, how does it feel to hear someone reminding you of games you lost? Paul's words are designed for the context of humbling gratitude to God for rescuing fallen people from their previous life of misery.
Paul feels a need to remind them of their former estrangement from God for two reasons:
They need constant appreciation for what God did for them
When they interact with non-believers, they should remember they too were once dead in their trespasses and sins
The Prince of the Power of the Air
Continuing in verse 2:
Ephesians 2:2: "according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience."
Within these verses, we see Satan described as the "prince of the power of the air, of the spirit" that is currently, ongoing, at work in people called "sons of disobedience"—fallen people just like the Ephesian saints used to be. Theologians recognize that Satan is present here on earth but has only influential powers, not possessing real authority like Christ.
Satan Is Alive and Active
Some may remember that in 1972, author Hal Lindsey published Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth, selling hundreds of thousands of copies. His first million-copy seller was The Late Great Planet Earth (1970). The timing couldn't have been better—"Premillennial Dispensationalism" from Dallas Theological Seminary was at its pinnacle.
They had End Times figured out. Since Israel became a nation in 1948 (U.N. Charter), they believed a biblical generation (40 years) wouldn't pass until End Times events like the rapture occurred. But 1988 came and went. For-profit prophecy pays, but predictions failed.
Regardless of published books telling us Satan is alive and well, we know from experience in our own lives and from the news that Satan is present and offers his influence 24/7 to anyone who will participate—and he has no shortage of takers.
Understanding Satan in Scripture
Satan can be identified by many titles in the Bible. The Hebrew word simply means adversary of God.
Strong's 07854 שָׂטָן satan:
Meaning: adversary, also the name of the superhuman adversary of God
Usage: accuser, adversary, Satan
Other names include "Star of the Morning, Son of the Dawn" (Isaiah 14:12), who was cut down to the ground after falling from heaven. This contrasts with Jesus being the "Bright Morning Star" (Revelation 22:16), prophetically from the stem/root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1), a descendant of David.
In the New Testament, the name "Devil" is assigned as the Adversary and Slanderer/false accuser, as when he tested Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11.
Strong's 1228 διάβολος diabolos:
Meaning: slanderous, accusing falsely
Usage: devil, malicious gossips
Two Opposing Forces: Good and Evil
From these Biblical texts in Ephesians, we see two forces at odds in this world working against each other with opposing goals for life on planet Earth:
God, our Creator wants to perpetuate life and for us to prosper.
Satan wants to destroy life and everything God made, and in the process, have people worship him (Matthew 4:9).
This highlights the struggle often referred to as good versus evil. However, it's a battle for life or death—eternal life or eternal death (separation from God). We all will have eternal life with God or without God (Revelation 20:10).
Those who reject God because of the moral judgments declared in His Word are the sons of disobedience, also called sons of this world (Luke 16:8), who reject God and His moral Word, suppressing the truth (Romans 1:18) because they choose to be led (influenced) by the prince of the power of the air—Satan (Ephesians 2:2).
Satan's Active Presence in Our World
Paul's identification of Satan to the Ephesians is reminiscent of Job 1, when God asked Satan where he had been:
"The LORD said to Satan, 'From where do you come?' Then Satan answered the LORD and said, 'From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it'" (Job 1:7).
Whether Satan is depicted as spiritual by Paul or to some degree a physical presence in Job, the reality is that Satan is real and seeking to destroy life in God's creation. Satan's goal is to destroy you and me, separating us from the love of God.
The #1 tool in Satan's arsenal? Offering a self-seeking choice (pride) to us and seeing if we'll bite. "Hey Adam—want an apple from that tree to gain the knowledge God knows?"
Resisting Satan's Daily Temptations
Satan tempts people with destructive offers all the time. When someone does or says something offensive to you, what's your first thought process? Being raised in Texas, men are culturally steered to respond very aggressively to offenses. "Turn the other cheek" was for Sundays.
The prince of the power of the air constantly offers destructive choices away from God's intent for our lives. God's intent is for us to respond non-confrontationally.
Proverbs 19:11 ESV:
"Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense."
2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV:
"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
James 1:19 ESV:
"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger."
Proverbs 12:16 ESV:
"The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult."
Hebrews 12:11 ESV:
"For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
Satan's Work in Today's World
To anyone paying attention, we see Satan at work in people, organizations, political parties, businesses, education, and totalitarian/dictatorial regimes around the world. The worldwide media may not say it this way, but we see Satan reported at work every day.
Through the airways of technology, the sons of disobedience use media for evil purposes. I'm not saying media technology is evil—I'm saying that some who use the media are evil and that evil things are reported. Every kind of crime and injustice is reported throughout the day.
How can anyone deny that there is evil in the world? This begs the question: what makes evil so bad? The short answer is that evil/bad destroys life and God's intent for life.
God Made Us for Good
God made creation and saw that it was good (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). Seven times this phrase is recorded. The seventh time, in verse 31, all creation is "very good" or the "abundance" of good. Therefore, the whole creation itself is intended for good. This includes mankind in verse 26.
The word "bad" or "evil" is not used until Genesis 2:9, when Adam chooses to possess the knowledge of good and evil.
Made Alive in Christ
Ephesians 2 : 1 : “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”
The number seven represents the highest level of perfection a human being can achieve—completeness and wholesomeness. There are 7 days in the week, 7 notes on the musical scale, and 7 directions (left, right, up, down, forward, back, and center).
Humanity's Choice to Sin
Adam and Eve's children (Cain and Abel) were born in God's image with "good" designed in them. Cain chose to be corrupted by sin, and death manifested in murdering his brother Abel.
God, being love (1 John 4:8), created an environment to choose good (love) over evil, highlighting the freedoms God created us with. This tells us that mankind starts sinless and has to choose evil.
Some may point to David's confession in Psalm 51 that humanity is born sinful:
"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5)
Christian writers often misinterpret this verse, heavily influenced by Augustine's seminal theory of original sin. Jewish historians observe that David's family lineage on his grandmother's side was not Jewish, thus he was considered by Jews to be a son of adultery—a coarse inference from this verse.
The Need for God's Moral Code
From the time Cain murdered Abel, it became evident that without God's moral code, life would not exist—humanity would murder itself into death. God's moral code for life has to be chosen.
The choice, the solicited opportunity for sin (Satan), is creeping at our door, and God leaves it up to us to master it (Genesis 4:7). But how, on our own? We cannot.
This is why God had Moses write Deuteronomy 30. Read the whole chapter, and you'll see God calls us to love Him. When we love God, we're able to follow His commandments. To love someone is to believe in them. When we believe in God because of our love for Him, we're able to surrender our hearts to Him.
When we love God, He circumcises our hearts, and then we're able to follow His commandments. Is it that straightforward? But if we choose to love ourselves more than God, our hearts turn against each other, as Cain's heart turned against Abel.
The New Heart: Being Reborn of the Spirit
Our choice to love God (the first of the two greatest commandments) prepares us for Him to circumcise our hearts. This is being reborn of spirit.
God had Ezekiel write that God calls upon us to ask Him to give us a new spirit and heart (Ezekiel 36:37). Nicodemus, coming to Jesus in secret at night, wanted to know how Jesus could do the things He does that are from God (John 3). Nicodemus's question goes to the heart of the incarnation—what the world calls Christmas.
Primarily, the incarnation's number one goal is the Cross to pay for the sins of the world. Then, after the Ascension, as promised, Jesus sent His Spirit, the Helper, to assist us in following His commandments—the same Spirit that indwelt King David's heart that he didn't want to lose (Psalm 51:11).
God's Spirit, as Ezekiel wrote, is to inhabit our hearts and give us a new heart. As Moses wrote, our God wants to circumcise our hearts so we can follow His commandments.
This all leads to the central and pivotal focus of history—Jesus. We are set free from the law of sin and death because believers are one with Him.
"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit."
Atheists Stealing from God
This cannot be ignored in the presence of evil. There would not be evil if mankind had not chosen evil over God's moral standard of good, as seen when Adam was given a choice by God (Genesis 2:17).
Atheists often observe that they cannot believe in an unjust God who allows pain and suffering in the world. Without going into a discussion about free-will choice and suffering, the atheist just stole a morality issue from God.
What is just? Atheists claim that morality or justice doesn't exist, along with anything being good or bad—it just is. Frank Turek, in his book Stealing from God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case, makes this point.
The atheist has to call upon God's moral code of justice to refute Him. Does that make logical sense? They deny that God or His moral code exists but still call upon the very Being's moral code to attempt to prove morality and God don't exist.
The Choice: God or Satan
God desires that people freely choose to surrender to Him and have His Holy Spirit guide their lives—living a life of faith, grace, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, righteousness, and forgiveness.
We need to witness to others that this is the core of the Christian life. The attributes of God are spiritual. Notice that the prince of the power of the air is spiritual too.
From my experiences in life, how could anyone deny that there is a spiritual realm to our existence?
God calls us to choose Him over His adversary.
"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
Whether you're a brand-new believer trying to understand what it means to be "alive in Christ," or you've walked with God for years and want to go deeper into Ephesians, this message is for you. And you don't have to navigate it alone.
We've created a free 5-day study guide specifically designed to help you apply these truths to your life. It includes daily scripture readings, reflection questions, practical exercises, and even discussion questions if you want to study with others. Think of it as a personal Bible study companion—walking you through these profound truths one day at a time.
Because here's what we believe: God's Word isn't just meant to be read. It's meant to transform us.
And transformation happens when we take time to reflect, apply, and respond to what we're learning.
Whether you're searching for Jesus, struggling with doubt, or simply need someone to pray with you, Pastor Matthew and our fellowship would be honored to walk alongside you. You don't have to navigate this alone.
The truth: God's love for you isn't theoretical. It's personal. It's powerful. And it's permanent.
Let's talk about what that means for your life today. matthew@roundtopchurch.org
We invite you to reach out
📧 Email us: matthew@roundtopchurch.org
📞 Call us: (979) 249-5085
🏠 Visit us: 440 E. Mill St., Round Top, Texas 78954
