Vitalized (3)

A couple of phrases are in Ephesians 2 that are at the heart of the passage: God “made us alive” (v. 5) and God “raised us up” (v. 6). You could say, God “vitalized” us. And when God vitalizes us as individuals, it impacts the family. Vitalized people vitalize families. Now, before we get to the vitalization, we have to see why we need to be vitalized. And the reason we need to be made alive and raised up is in verses 1-3.

Apart from Christ...we were disobedient.

Because we were dead to God, we couldn’t really obey God. So, we were what verse 2 says, “Sons of disobedience.”

Sometimes, people say, “I’d become a Christ-follower, but I want to do what I want to do.” A good answer to that is to nicely say, “Just maybe you’re not really doing what you want to do. You’re doing what the world, the devil, and your flesh are telling you to do.”

Verse 2 tells us that we were disobedient to God because we were following the world, the devil, and our fleshly desires.

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world…

When we were apart from Christ, we were disobedient to God because we were spiritually dead. We could not respond obediently.

“Following the course of this world” is conforming to the world’s ideas about right and wrong, not God’s. It’s being caught up in worldly pleasures… and disobeying God.

… following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

“Following the prince of the power of the air” is following the devil. Now, this doesn’t mean that the devil is always personally at work in the life of everyone who is apart form Christ. The devil is a created being and is finite. However, he is the leader of other fallen angels who have demonic influence in the lives of the disobedient – who keep people away from Christ. Plus, the devil influences this world’s system (John 12:31) keep people disobedient to God.

… among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind… Ephesians 2:1-3a (ESV)

“Living in the passions of our flesh” refers to the fallen nature that we were born with, that controlled the body and the mind and made us disobey God.

As sons of disobedience, we were controlled by the world, the flesh, and the devil – the three great enemies of God.

And this has tremendous implications for the family. Think about Ephesians 6:1.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Ephesians 6:1 (ESV)

If you’re children are spiritually dead and spiritually disobedient, how can they possibly consistently obey Ephesians 6:1?

We are expecting our first grandchild on January 1. It’s going to be a boy. We’re going to think that “Baby D” is the cutest baby ever. But by nature, and then by choice, he’s going to be a “son of disobedience.” There will come a time when his mom and dad will say “no” and he will look right in their eyes with defiance and will do the deed anyway.

Apart from Christ, the direction of a life is disobedience. What might be the implications for your family if someone – or more than one – is, by nature, disobedient in your family?

Will you ask God to make your family members “sons of obedience”?