A Note from Michael Gossett
Grace Resurrects the Soul
Are you really alive? At first glance, you would immediately say, yes! If you can read,then you are alive! It sounds absurd to even answer this question until you hear the story about Jeanne Pouchain. Due to a bureaucratic fiasco, this 58-year-old French lady was declared legally dead by a court in 2017. Her identity was erased entirely. Her health insurance, bank accounts, and legal status were all taken away from her. She pleaded with the authorities and said, “I am alive!” However, the system refused to recognize her as someone living. As you would expect, her case made news headlines. This woman stood in court and spoke as someone living, and yet she remained “dead” on paper. As absurd as this may sound, there is a profound spiritual undertone that we must address. You can be physically present, socially active, even religiously involved, and still be spiritually dead.
Many are living in that exact state today. They show up to church, speak the language of Christianity, and serve on ministry teams, but biblically speaking, they are not alive in Christ. In Paul’s words, they are dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). They are present, but not living.
This is why Ephesians 2:1-10 is one of the most important gospel texts in all of Scripture. It doesn’t merely diagnose the problem, but rather showcases the glory of God’s grace. It answers three fundamental questions that we ALL must ask and know the answer to: What is my condition apart from Christ? What is my position in Christ? And what direction should my life take because of Christ?
Ephesians 2:1-2 says, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked.” The Apostle Paul doesn’t soften the truth. He doesn’t say we were weak, confused, or morally misguided (although those things are also true). He says we were dead.
Spiritual death really means total inability. It is the condition in which fallen humanity is not merely wounded by sin, but utterly enslaved by it. As dead men, we cannot resurrect ourselves, reform our hearts, or reach out to God unaided. We are, as Paul says, “Without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12).
Sin doesn’t make you bad, it makes you dead. Dead men don’t seek God. Dead men need a resurrection. But Paul doesn’t stop at “dead.” He describes the environment of our death. Paul says, “you walked according to the course of this world.” That means that we are shaped by the values and patterns of a fallen culture. Paul then says, “According to the prince of the power of the air.” This is in reference to Satan, the unseen ruler influencing all who remain in rebellion. Paul also says, “The spirit now at work in the sons of disobedience.” Sin is not passive but rather it is animated, empowered, and insidious. Paul is clearly teaching that all of humanity is condemned. We are not morally neutral by any stretch of the imagination. We do not just occasionally “slip up.” We are rebels at heart, joyfully aligned with the kingdom of darkness unless God intervenes.
This spiritual death infects not just our behavior, but our nature. Verse 3 tells us, “Among them we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind.”
Paul clearly indicts every part of us. He includes our will, our desires, and our intellect. We weren’t just doing sin but we love sin. The phrase “children of wrath” isn’t poetic license nor was it in order to paint a vivid image. It is divine justice. God’s wrath is not a divine temper tantrum. It is God’s settled, holy opposition to all that is evil. Apart from Christ, that wrath is our rightful inheritance.
The cultural narrative tells us people are basically good. Scripture says otherwise. It reminds us that even our most noble acts are tainted by selfish motives apart from Christ. The gospel cannot be watered down to make us think that it makes good people better. The gospel is about making dead people alive.
Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us made us alive together with Christ.”
These two words, “But God,” are the pivot point of redemptive history. They turn the tide from despair to hope, from wrath to mercy, and from death to life. The human condition = hopeless: The divine response = “But God.”
This is why Paul says, “He made us alive with Christ.” Just as Jesus raised Lazarus with a word (John 11), so too God breathes life into our dead hearts. We call this regeneration, which is the act of God by which He implants spiritual life in the soul. Stephen Charnock describes it in this way: “Regeneration is a universal change of the whole man… it is a new birth, a new creation, a resurrection from the dead.”
It is not a second chance. It’s a second birth. That new life brings a new status: “He raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places” (v. 6). That’s not just future glory, but rather it is a present reality. We now share in Christ’s exaltation. Our identity is no longer defined by what we’ve done, but by what Christ has done for us. We were once under wrath but now by God’s grace we can sit with Christ at His table. That is the position grace gives us. This is grace upon grace. It is not earned. It is not deserved. “By grace you have been saved.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.”
Paul anticipates every religious impulse in the human heart. We want to boast. We want credit. But grace eliminates every excuse to do so. Grace eliminates the ability to control and the ability to be proud of our salvation. It is only by grace. This is one of the clearest texts in the New Testament on the means of salvation. Salvation is in Christ alone and is not a reward for effort, but a gift to the undeserving.
Even our faith is not something we can conjure up. It is itself a gift from the Lord. Our faith is a response that is stirred by grace, not the cause of grace. However, salvation doesn’t just end at the point of conversion. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” The Greek word poiēma means “masterpiece.” You are not a random project. You are God’s handcrafted poem, composed for His glory and the good of the world.
These “good works” do not save us but they flow from our salvation. They are not the root, but the fruit. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Faith and works are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God trusts God; and he that trusts God obeys God.” Your new direction isn’t driven by guilt but rather it is fueled by grace.
The story of Jeremy Bentham is strange but revealing for us. Though dead, his preserved body was wheeled into every board meeting at University College London for over a century. The minutes would read: “Mr. Jeremy Bentham: present, but not voting.” How many of us go through each day, each week, or each year present, but not living? They know the language of church and maybe check the religious boxes but their spiritual pulse is flat or nonexistent. Their souls remain untouched by grace. The question is not whether you’ve been around Christianity. The real question is: Have you been made alive in Christ? If you have been made alive, then walk in the reality of grace. Let your good works reflect rather than achieve your salvation. Live as one raised, seated, and secured in Christ.
This Sunday at Green Acres:
Are you carrying something that feels too shameful to bring into the light? Have you ever wondered if Jesus is really willing to deal with the messiest parts of your life? This Sunday, we are looking at a moment in Scripture where Jesus does the unthinkable. He touches the untouchable. In a world that separates, excludes, and condemns, Jesus draws near to cleanse, restore, and renew. Come and hear this message, “A Willing Savior” from Luke 5:12-16. Discover the willing Savior who is not repelled by your past but reaches into it with compassion and power. Whether you feel spiritually stained, relationally isolated, or simply in need of grace, YOU are invited!
Bring a friend. Bring your Bible. And come expecting to encounter the One who still says, “I am willing. Be clean.”
See you Sunday!
Come to worship at Tyler or Flint at 9:30am or 11:00am and Español at 11:00. We also have Connect Groups, which are essential for your growth in Christ, that meet at 8:00am, 9:30am, and 11:00am. Come and join us!
You are loved and prayed for!
Michael Gossett