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Sermon preached on Ephesians 2:1-3 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 12/07/2025 in Petaluma, CA.
Sermon Manuscript
Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
Last week, I took us through an overview of this passage. We learned that Christians are spiritually reborn out of a state of spiritual death by the grace of God working through the Holy Spirit. In this new birth, God is now at work to grow us in godliness. I am now going to go more in depth over the next three weeks. That means today we’ll be focusing on verses 1-3 which is about the bad news that we were born spiritually dead, with a sinful nature. I remind you as we study this bad news, that Christ delivers us from it. But we need to understand that being born-again is only the beginning of being delivered from it. Verse 5 says we’ve been born again, but verse 10 says we are still God’s workmanship, meaning we are still under construction. We still have something of that old sinful nature inside us. We still fight against the “old man”. Ephesians will be help us to consider how to combat that remaining sinful corruption in our hearts. That is why I wanted us to spend time delving into these 3 verses further. The remaining sinful nature within us is our enemy. We need to understand the depths of this depravity so we can be on guard against it. While it can be sobering to consider this “bad news”, I hope it will be useful in our fight against it.
Our three points for today will roughly go in order of our verses. First, we’ll consider verse 1, that we were “naturally” dead. Second, we’ll consider verse 2, that are we were “walking” dead. Third, we’ll consider verse 3, that we were “living” dead. Again, while these things are in the past tense for the Christian, there are ways that we still struggle with this, so I will talk both about past and present struggles with such depravity.
Let’s begin then with verse 1 and think of how were naturally dead. Verse 1, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.” Okay, I’m also bringing in here the reference from the end of verse 3 that says we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Taken together, this brackets and explains the state of spiritual death that we are in. Specifically, it explains that this is something innate to all mankind. The word here for nature refers to the basic character or condition of mankind from birth. We know that things like environment, experience, education, and upbringing can influence who we are and how we act. But this word “nature” refers what we are inherently like without any such later influences. Sadly, this passage asserts that from birth, we are inherently spiritually dead people, characterized by sin, and thus under God’s condemnation.
Let us understand that mankind is not naturally sinful because of a defect in God’s design. When Adam and Eve were first created, they were not by spiritually dead or children of wrath. Rather, there were created very good. In the words of WCF 9.1, God made us with a natural liberty of the will that was neither forced nor by absolute necessity of nature, determined to good or evil. The reason now that mankind is naturally spiritually dead and under God’s wrath is due to the choice of our first parents. God created Adam and Eve in a state of innocence with power to will and do good, but also with the free will to fall from that if they so chose. God made a covenant of works with them, guaranteeing life upon the condition of perfect, perpetual obedience. To test them, God gave them a simple rule. He forbade them to eat of one specific tree in the Garden of Eden, even though they were allowed to eat from all the others. The principle of the test was clear. It’s called the moral law. In other words, would they obey God as their creator and master, or would they disobey. God not only commanded them this, but he also warned them that the day they ate of that forbidden tree that they would die. Well, sadly, they chose to disobey God. The surprising twist came in that they did not immediately physically die that day. At that point, they became subject to physical death and did eventually go on to physically die. But God showed them grace to stay the full execution of their punishment with physical death. However, they did spiritually die that day. Their souls died in that first transgression. In that first sin, their eyes were opened and they learned the difference between good and evil by having personally experienced evil by their disobedience. Their reaction was one of shame, even trying to hide from God. Thankfully, God showed them grace, not only in staying their physical death, but also giving them a promise of a coming redeemer to redeem them. God even began to teach them the concept of atonement, of a covering for sin. Yet, he also put a curse on this world, to teach them and all of us about the consequences of sin. Sin is ugly and terrible and not good.
Sadly, Adam and Eve’s fall into sin had a consequence for all humanity. We call it original sin. Question 18 of the Shorter Catechism asks, “What is the sinfulness of that state into which man fell?” It answers, “The sinfulness of that state into which man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the lack of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin; together with all actual transgressions that proceed from it.” In other words, the original sin brought guilt and sinful natures to all humanity, save Jesus as I mentioned last week. That guilt from Adam is here in verse 3 when it says we are children of wrath – we will taste God’s eternal judgment unless we are saved. Romans 5:18 says that Adam’s “trespass led to condemnation for all men”. And that sinful nature from Adam is summarized when it says in verse 1 that we are dead in sin and transgression. Our dead soul is characterized not just by Adam’s sin, but by our own. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
So then, in this first point, I wanted us to recognize that this depravity is our natural state and it’s been that way ever since Adam and Eve chose to disobey God. We’ve all struggled since with a sinful nature. This is why we believe in total depravity. Properly understood, mankind is not basically good, it is basically evil. All our heart is tainted with sin, so much so, that this passage can describe them as naturally “dead”. What follows from this is what we call total inability. As WCF 9.3. says, “Man, by his fall into a state of sin, has wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation: so that, a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself for it.” That means that our dead souls are completely unable to save themselves. As we learned last week, they can’t make themselves alive, only God can do that. We need that irresistible grace to make our dead souls come to life and learn to see the gospel. Only then will we begin to believe in Jesus and start to follow him. This is what has fundamentally changed for us a born again Christians. We are now longer totally unable to come to Jesus. We no longer are characterized by a dead sinful soul. We have begun to see again the light of life in Jesus and begin to follow his ways. Yet, for now there is a still a remnant of that sinful nature that would gladly return us to being in our sin and transgression.
Let’s turn now to our second point to further consider this sinful nature. I’ve titled this point as the “walking dead” because verse 2 uses that language of walking. Verse 2, speaking of our sin, says, “In which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” Normally dead things don’t walk, but this says we used to be both dead and walking at the same time. The imagery of being dead invokes thoughts of lifelessness and inaction. But this kind of death doesn’t involve cessation of all activity. Rather, verse 2 says the spiritually dead walk. This is what we might call a mixed metaphor. It clarifies the metaphor of death. A spiritually dead soul is dead to godly living and good deeds but is quite alive when it comes to walking in sin. The imagery of walking is that of an ongoing lifestyle and practice. The analogy of walking is one of habit and regular conduct. A spiritually dead person’s manner of life is one where sin is their habit and practice. They aren’t trying to live their life for the glory of God and according to his holy law. They are living for their own glory and as they think best. If their conduct happens to sometimes line up with God’s law, it is because they judged it suited them, not because they were looking to walk with God.
Think of how Scripture speaks to such evil walking. Psalm 1 warns against walking in the counsel of the wicked. That fits with verse 2 of our passage, because there it says the spiritually dead walk following the course of this world. In other words, to walk in sin is to walk the way the world walks. Psalm 1 says don’t walk like the world walks. Verse 2 goes on to further explain that the world walks the way it does because they have followed the prince of the power of the air, surely a reference to the devil. At the fall, Adam decided to follow the devil when he ate of that forbidden tree. The world has been following the devil since. That is the walking of the unregenerate man, they walk in sin and transgression, ultimately following the way of the devil. Psalm 1 closes by comparing the two “ways” someone can go. They can either walk in the way of disobedience, following the world and the devil. Or, they can walk in the way of God and righteousness.
So then, this second point is describing how the world, full of unregenerate people, walk in a lifestyle of sin, ultimately following Satan’s lead. There are many examples we could point to that especially show how Satan and the world are trying to lead us down a path of practicing wickedness in a habitual fashion. Think of all the sins related to sexual immorality that the Satan and the world want to say is normal and good: pornography, hooking up, living together before marriage, homosexuality, divorce for unbiblical reasons, and more. Or think of how the world and the devil want to essentially normalize greed and coveting. Consider how the world and the accuser promote sins of the tongue, especially online, where people tear each other apart with their words on social media, and it is increasingly treated like the acceptable norm. We can recognize how the world and Satan want to stir hate toward others who are different than us or hate toward those in positions of authority, instead of showing the honor and love we ought to all peoples. Of course, these are just examples, and it is not just such life-dominating sins that we should remember, but anytime we make a practice of committing any sin we are one walking in that. Let us be on guard against the temptation to normalize any sin.
As born-again Christians who still struggle with sin, we should be regularly examining how we are walking. The old man would have to us walk in a lifestyle of sin. Satan wants to make crooked the straight paths of the Lord. Being born again should result in us turning to walk a new way, in the way of Jesus, walking in good works. But I’m having us reflect today on those areas where the world, Satan, and the flesh are still trying to get you to follow them. Are there areas of sin that you still “walk” in? I mean, are there some specific sins that you are still habitually engaged in? Sins that you haven’t really let go of, that you continue in them, that you abide in them, that you practice them? I urge you to evaluate your Christian walk and see what ways you still want to walk following the world or the devil. The LORD is working on your heart right now to repent anew in those areas. Satan wants you to walk in that sin, not God. The world wants you to keep down that evil path, not Jesus. Your old man wants you to keep holding on to certain sins, not the Holy Spirit. May the Spirit give you eyes to see this remaining corruption within you and put it off by the grace of God. Follow Jesus, not Satan, even in whatever area you’ve been tempted to hold back from God. You were a son of disobedience and a child of the devil. But now, God not only calls you his child, but he also calls you to walk like one.
Let us turn now to our third point to further consider how dark the natural depravity of man is. I’ve titled this the “living dead” to recognize the language of verse 3 which says, “Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind.” Notice the contrast again here, between being spiritually dead yet “living” out our passions and desires. This is again a mixed metaphor that further nuances in what sense we are spiritually dead. Our souls may be dead, but our flesh certainly doesn’t act like it.
You see, this verse really delves into how depraved our sick souls really are. Our dead souls have some very strong passions and desires. The word for “passions” can also be described as lusts, as in those strong desires and impulses to satisfy some craving of our heart. Specifically, it connects these lusts with our flesh, that these are fleshly cravings. The word here for “desires” is a little different. This Greek word is often translated as the “will”, but here it is the plural. It refers to all the things we decide we want. Here it connects these desires with both the body and the mind. The word for body is the same in the Greek as the “flesh” used earlier in the verse connected with our passions. So, we can have passions and desires of the flesh, and we can have desires of our mind, that we seek to fulfill. Clearly in context, these are not good passions and desires. Yes, there can be good passions and desires, but that is not what’s in mind here.
So then, our natural fallen state is one where our soul looks to satisfy both our physical and mental desires. These are often closely related, but not always. In terms of physical lusts and desires, we can crave sexual immorality, gluttony, drunkenness, substance abuse, idleness, or various pleasures and recreations in excessive amounts. The list can go on and on. Subjecting our bodies to whatever sinful lusts we have can literally damage your body. But Scripture says we should treat our bodies as holy, in all purity. As a Christian, we will still struggle with physical lusts and desires and must look to mortify them. We must not feed these desires by giving in to them, but look to put them wholly out of our life, putting off the evil lusts and replacing them with godly desires and practices that truly do nourish and satisfy the soul and bring biblical contentment.
In terms of our mental desires, we can want things in our mind that we should not be wanting. We can entertain forbidden and evil thoughts. These mentals desires can include evil fantasies, desiring illicit relationships, pridefully exalting ourselves in our minds, wishing others’ downfall, craving gossip, and generally all forms of greed, envy, and covetousness. Again, the list can go on and on. But Scripture says that we should think on lovely and noble things, whatever is good, and pure, and admirable. As a Christian, we’ll still struggle with mental desires and must look to take every thought captive for the Lord. When a desire arises in our mind, we must ask, is this a good and righteous desire? We’ll need to distinguish between godly ambition versus sinful covetousness.
When comparing this third point with the previous point, I think it is important to recognize that God cares not just about our outward actions but even what is going on in our hearts. God wants us to not just sanctify our outward walk, but even our internal thoughts and desires. Sometimes the world wants to treat the desires of our hearts as inherently good, saying things like “that’s how God created me.” This passage acknowledges that we were born with a bunch of depraved cravings, but that God’s plan for us is to create us anew, without such wickedness of the heart.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, today we’ve reflected on the old man, what our sinful nature was like before being born again. As a Christian, we have enjoyed a new birth. Yet, as we’ve reflected on today, there is still something of that old sinful nature within us. As a defeated enemy, it’s can be frustrating how much influence he still can have over us. Yet, we are reminded again that this passage speaks to God’s grace continuing to work in us. We are yet God’s workmanship. He is continuing to sanctify us as we do battle against the remaining corruption within us. While this battle can be frustrating, let us take heart again at the words of verse 10, that not only are we yet God’s workmanship, but all this is what God prepared beforehand for us.
What I mean is that even this in-between time is part of God’s plan. This in-between time is the time between being born again and being perfected in glory. When we become a Christian, there is the beginning of a putting to death our sinful nature. When we die and go to be with the Lord in glory, Scripture tells us he will then finish renovating our souls and we will sin no more. We won’t even have any sinful cravings or thoughts any longer! But God has us in this in-between time. God could have, but didn’t, ordain to fully vanquish our sinful nature the moment we become a Christian. That means that God believes this is a better plan, for us to have this season of fighting the good fight as we look to mortify the sinful flesh and put on Christ.
The book of Ephesians will continue to give us wisdom for how to go about this, especially as we get into the second half of the letter. But what is so clear here is that God’s grace is at work through and through. His grace has made us alive to see that God’s ways are better than the world’s. His grace has also forgiven all our past sins. His grace yet forgives all our continued struggles with sin. Let us not let the struggle make us lose sight of that grace. We are still a work in progress, but he is faithful. Let us trust in his grace even as we seek to walk in the good works he has prepared for us.
Amen.
Copyright © 2025 Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
All Rights Reserved.
