In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus shares His final commission with His disciples and followers. However, it is more than just a final thought and command. Jesus intentionally shares His desire for what His followers ought to do with the life-changing teachings and truth of His Gospel, which they were all taught by Him. This final calling was not taken lightly. Jesus entrusted this call of sharing His Gospel, to be led by the Spirit, to abandon their past lives and selfish desires, to total surrender and obedience of sharing the truth of Jesus’ life, death for our sins, and His glorious resurrection. So, what is the first step in Christ’s call and desire for their lives? “Go.” Jesus tells His disciples and followers to take a true step in obedience. It is something that they can objectively accomplish and follow through on: “Go.”
1. When was the last time that someone told or asked you to go do something for them?
2. What was your response? Did you want to actually do that? Why?
In the book of Ephesians, Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus, and as he always does, he is encouraging them and imparting doctrinal truth to these new churches, but he also challenges and lovingly rebukes some of their actions. It is believed that this is a “prison epistle,” meaning that it was written during one of Paul’s imprisonments, potentially in Rome. In Ephesians 2:1-10, he writes, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 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 - among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace, you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
First, Paul sets the context and foundational understanding of the spiritual and eternal trajectory of the world. He writes in verses 1-3 that everyone in this world is spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins. Furthermore, the fleshly desires of this world and all who live in it are canted towards selfishness, disobedience, and a stranglehold by Satan. This is the unfortunate true reality of sin. Romans 3:23 reminds us, just as here in Ephesians 2, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This is what we all must accept and understand: that at the core of our lives and who we are is totally sinful. Simply put, complete inability to do good and complete separation from God.
3. Do you remember what your life was like before Christ? What were some of the characteristics that described what led you and your desires?
4. Did you ever feel that you were good enough or able to attain Heaven through yourself alone? Why? What did that look like?
Continuing on in verse 4, Paul makes an incredible statement, “But God.” That is definitely a daily, minute-by-minute reminder that we can all use! Honestly, maybe some of us need to tattoo that on our wrist to simply remember the truth of what the Lord did for us through Jesus. Paul writes in verses 4-7 how God poured out His mercy and love upon us. Now, he does not say that the Lord is doing this after we are baptized, after we have cleaned our lives up and “feel” we can walk into church, or even after we have read the whole Bible! No, Paul makes it clear that the Lord shows us His mercy and His great love for us while we are still dead in our sins. Why? It is because that is the true, loving, and redemptive power of Christ’s death on the cross for us and our sins. Then Paul makes such an important statement in verse 5, sharing how the merciful grace of the Lord is received simply through faith in Jesus Christ. This faith is in Christ’s death for our sins, that He was buried, and that He gloriously resurrected on the third day. That is where our faith and assurance of salvation must lie.
5. Can you think of a time in your life when you truly had no answers and felt there was no way out, “But God” stepped in? When was that? What did that look like? How did you respond?
6. Have you forgotten those moments? Why do we allow new hardships or issues to change what we fundamentally know about God’s character?
Grace. What an incredible word, which is both an action and a gift that we, as followers of Christ, have received from God. That is what Paul reminds us in verse 8. The Lord showed us the action of His grace by sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus paid the ultimate price to restore the brokenness and disconnection between us and God. Then, that grace was given to our world at no cost. It is completely free! However, the caveat is that we must confess and believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Paul declares this in Romans 10:9. Then, Paul gives a humble reminder for all of us as followers of Christ. In verse 9, he writes that this gift of grace is truly a gift. As a gift, no one is able to work for or attain through any good works. Why? It is to keep us all humbly focused on the true finishing work of Jesus Christ.
Humility is so essential to our walk with the Lord. We must remember to check our hearts, minds, and actions daily so that they are reflective of a humble person saved by the grace of the Lord. We are called even to mimic Christ in His example of humility in Philippians 2:1-11. Christ laid out, by the example of His life, how we ought to humbly act and serve in all we do. Again, the reason is not for selfish gain or ambition but for the opportunity to share the amazing message of the Gospel with a world that is lost, broken, and stuck in sin.
7. What does the grace of the Lord mean to you and your walk with Christ?
8. In what ways have you acted humbly, and in what ways have you missed the mark in humility when it comes to the good works that the Lord uses you for? Why is it so difficult for us, as followers of Christ, to remain humble?
Finally, in verse 10, Paul really brings this whole passage back to the focus of our response to an action. Paul says that we are the Lord’s workmanship. Wow! Did you read verse 10? The Creator of Heaven and Earth took precious intentional time to uniquely create you and me. We are His workmanship. There is nothing and no one in this world who can change that truth! I do not know what is going on in your life right now or what season you may be in, but I hope, at the very least, you are encouraged to know how loved you are by our Heavenly Father and that you were created for a purpose! What is that purpose? Paul tells us that we are created to do good works through the name and power of Jesus Christ. Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, our life is drastically changed, and the trajectory of our life is no longer focused on self, but refocused on good work for the Lord. It is work.
It is easy as followers of Christ to be on fire once we accept Christ and everything is new and fresh. However, life can happen, and what was once the priority of our walk with Christ begins to take a backseat when we slide into neutral. We coast. Yet, Paul echoes Christ’s directive in Matthew 28:19, stating that we must “Go.” We are His workmanship, created in Christ, to walk boldly in obedience to the Lord. So, when we talk about Reach as a church, it is my hope and desire that, as followers of Christ, we would not throw it into neutral. I hope and pray that we as a body would truly understand the words Paul is sharing here in Ephesians 2:1-10. The message is that we will never forget how imperfect and sinful we are. The Lord, in His grace and love for us, sent His Son, Jesus, and that it is only through Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection we have been reconciled to our Father, and finally that we have been called to the action of Gospel work!
9. Who reached into your life and helped plant the seed of the Gospel?
10. What will you do this week to “Go”? What will you do this month? What will you do this year to take it out of neutral and “Go”?