God’s Eternal Cleansing
God’s Eternal Cleansing
Noah Fitch
February 8, 2026
Ephesians 2:1-10. The key verse of this sermon is Ephesians 2:10. Some of us were born into faith and raised by a faithful family. Others have been able to find Christ later in life through a Bible teacher or some other influence. Regardless of how we each have found God, we as believers have all experienced the miraculous cleansing power that Christ’s death has brought to us all. I have always enjoyed the Epistles in the Bible, the New Testament books that follow after the four Gospels, because they give an excellent summary and interpretation of Jesus’ mission and what it actually means to be cleansed through His power. They have also helped to break down the purpose of Christ’s messages, where things like analogies that Jesus used can sometimes be difficult to understand.
Even if you have been a believer for many years, the power sin has over all of us can be utterly crippling. I personally feel frustrated with myself because I have been a believer for as long as I can remember, having grown up with a faithful family. Yet I myself fall into sin consistently, sometimes even choosing not to repent over them on the same day. My sense of self-pride can sometimes overshadow the need to repent, and I pray that God can help me overcome this struggle. Many believers, especially me, personally choose to play ignorant before and while committing a sin. Sin is the embodiment of selfishness and the lack of care of consequences, and when we knowingly choose to sin, we are actively rejecting Christ’s teachings and what the Epistles teach us about overcoming such things.
Let’s look at verses 1-2. What does it mean to be dead in our transgressions and sins? I was inspired by last week’s sermon from David Cook to spend more time looking into the definitions and meanings of the specific words used in the Bible. Oxford Dictionary define transgression as “an act that goes against a law, rule, or code of conduct,” or simply “an offense.” From the Bible, the Hebrew word for transgression is pesha, and the Greek, parabasis, meaning a willful violation of God’s laws, acting as a direct rebellion or crossing the line of established boundaries.
When we enrich ourselves with the Lord, learning the laws from the Old Testament and the teachings of Christ in the New, this helps us to become more attuned with ourselves and the relationship we have with God. Being honest with ourselves about the sins we have committed and continue to indulge in is so important because ultimately, God knows every single little thing that is in our hearts and minds. It is no use attempting to run away from God when we are sinning because He is an all-knowing God. Psalm 139:7-12. God is always aware of what we are thinking and doing, so the healthiest course of action is to consistently come to Him with our sins and to repent.
Let’s look back at Ephesians 2:2. Paul here is describing how Satan or the Devil thrives when we immerse and subject ourselves to sin. Why does Paul describe him as “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” and “the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient?” We learn more about Satan in Revelations 12:7-9. Even before the Fall in Genesis, when Satan deceived Eve to consume the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, he was able to deceive even the mighty angels of heaven. It is imperative that we understand how crafty Satan is.
When I was younger, I held the belief that Satan was like a stereotypical villain, like the Emperor from Star Wars or Sauron from Lord of the Rings, where he held supernatural powers and was the sole reason why evil exists in this world. While he can’t shoot lightning out of his hands like the Emperor or can pummel through hundreds of enemies like Sauron, he has arguably a more powerful ability: the power to influence and dominate the choices we humans make on a daily basis. He is the antithesis of the Holy Spirit’s influence; where the Holy Spirit can lead us to bring and do good to others, making us closer to God, Satan can lead us to bring and do harm- leading us further from God. Satan indirectly brings evil into the world, but we are the ones that directly enact the evil. So, when we do sin, even if Satan played some part in the evil committed, we are ultimately responsible for what we do to others or ourselves. Don’t be like a young child who places blame on their sibling when caught in the act of misbehaving; “well, Noah was the one who told me to hit Grace, so it’s all his fault!” Noah may have instigated it, but this sibling ultimately chose to hit Grace and thus must be held accountable for the action.
Let’s look at Ephesians 2:3-5. While we are alive in this fallen world, each and every one of us, whether we are believers or not, will always desire to gratify the cravings of our flesh. Evagrius Ponticus of Asia-minor derived the seven deadly sins in the fourth century. Originally the eight deadly sins, each of these serve to gratify the cravings of our flesh: gluttony and over-indulgence replaces the need for God with desires to feed our own flesh; lust has us yearn for others we find attractive instead of being attracted to God’s own love; greed leads us to take from others and keep it to ourselves instead of sharing with each other and giving to God what is always God’s; wrath misplaces God’s judgement with our own as we act out onto others in anger; pride replaces what God has blessed us with what we believe to be our own selfish achievements; envy leads us to yearn what others have to gratify our flesh; and sloth leads us to hide in our own comforts instead of serving others and the Lord. These are called deadly sins because each of these kills our spirit and diminishes our relationship with God.
Despite all this, despite how we so recklessly commit these sins on a daily basis, the Lord has chosen not only to forgive us, but to send Christ His Son to be brutally sacrificed and pay the price for the evil we all commit! Doesn’t that shock you that a completely innocent man, one who has never gratified the cravings of his own flesh, would do such a thing for us? If we choose to believe in this and to come to God in repentance, we will never have to suffer the consequences of committing such evil all throughout our lives. That is incredible that an all-powerful God, who could vanquish us all in an instant, would do such a thing for all of us! We have been made dead in our transgressions, yet we are saved by grace and made alive in our Lord, Christ Jesus! This is the good news that we should share with many in our lives- we no longer have to sit filthy in our sins- Jesus has cleansed us to be as white as snow.
Let’s look at Ephesians 2:6-9. In addition to being saved and cleansed through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God raises us up and even sits us next to Christ Himself. Growing up in school, when it was time for lunch, I would consistently be afraid over where I was going to sit and if anyone would want to sit with me. I was shy as a kid, so I didn’t really take initiative to sit with other people, even people I knew were my friends and would want to sit with me. But imagining now that I and every one of us here has been chosen to sit right next to Jesus- at by far the coolest lunch table ever- is an incredibly encouraging thought. Even if no one else chooses to sit with us, remember that Christ has already placed you with Him as your best friend.
Continuing this thought, God also wants to show us the incomparable riches of His grace. At the lunch table, I would grow to be jealous of others who had what seemed to be way better food; Lunchables with oreos and Capri-sun included, pizza from Lou Malnati’s, Nesquick chocolate milk… but when we sit at Jesus’ table, He wants us to share in food that is more rich than any food we have ever had before- even more than Chicago-style deep dish! As Paul states, it is incomparable how rich we become when we have Jesus. Tasting His words, that are as sweet as honey, is something that we must share with others.
But verses 8-9 make a clear distinction: it is not our own doing that we are saved. We are only saved because the Holy Spirit works through us to know who God is and how much He loves us. It is also important to know that good works are not what save us either. It is through the sole sacrifice of Christ that we are saved, and we should never boast that we chose to save ourselves. Likewise, we should not condemn nonbelievers for their choosing to avoid God. God calls us to have grace with others, even our enemies, as God has first shown grace to us.
Let’s look at the key verse of this message in Ephesians 2:10. We are God’s handiwork, or His true masterpiece. Genesis teaches us that we are made in God’s image, and that when we were created, God saw that it was very good. God saw all of His creation as good, but it was not until humanity was created did God say that it was “very good.” Additionally, with the Gospel and resurrection of Christ, we are a new creation, going beyond our fallen and crippled selves and into a renewed life. Through His sacrifice, we are created to do good works through the power of Christ.
We must also understand that God prepared this for us in advance. Doesn’t a well-planned event- like a birthday party or wedding leave a lasting impression and memory? So much so is God’s plan for each of us. God’s perfect timing shows that God prepared our lives well in advance for us to do good works and for us to bear the fruit that comes from it. Let us remember what God has done for us all and is continuing to unfold in our lives, so that we may be encouraged and we may be willing to share the good news with everyone we encounter.
In essence, despite being dead in our transgressions and sins, despite gratifying the cravings of our flesh, and despite deserving God’s wrath, we have been made new in Christ. God wants us to always seek him, in good times or bad, because His arms are always open. We are God’s handiwork and masterpiece, and through His perfect timing, He is always looking to express His deep love for us. Let’s pray.
