Alive in Christ

Alive in Christ – Sermon Notes     Pastor Mike Snodgrass

Ephesians 1:15-2:10               February 1, 2026

Review:

• Theme: The central theme to this letter is that:
  1. All things are created for ultimate unity in Jesus! This message brings hope to a hopeless, wandering world. Our world struggles for meaning, truth and Paul expresses that this hope is found only in Christ!
  2. Obtain liberty through Christ! This is incredibly relevant for today’s culture and today’s church! WHY?
  3. The Church is the mechanism and place where this all happens! In a world so divided and hostile, the Church is to lead the way by showing the literal divided humanity coming together as one under Christ!

Today’s message is found in Ephesians 1:15-2:10. Please follow along in your Bible or on a Bible app. Follow the Sermon Notes through the Church Center App as well.

IF THIS IS TO BE THE YEAR OF INCREASE AT CROSS POINTE! AND WE ARE TO STEP FORWARD IN OBEDIENCE! PAUL IS SETTING THE STAGE FOR WHAT AND HOW WE ARE TO DO THIS BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND AS THE CHURCH!!!

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Thanksgiving and Prayer Chapter 1

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

Paul uses the greek verb Ginosko for “to know”.

• A verb expressing intimacy, personal knowledge as opposed to head knowledge.

Paul is praying that God gives you and I “wisdom” and “revelation”.

• Paul is referring not to a “head” or “rational” knowledge. He is praying for transformative, experiential knowledge
• Radically saved knowledge/ginosko…
• It’s the difference between, “I know of God” vs. “I know God”…

18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19a and his incomparably great power for us who believe…

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Paul uses the language “eyes of your heart”. In the Old Testament, the idea of one’s heart was the seat of intelligence. In the New Testament the mode of speaking  is expanded  so that “the heart” identifies the higher intelligence in which will and emotions cooperate with the mind. Paul wants you to “KNOW” 3 things!

First, The hope to which he has called you – This hope refers to all the possibilities of spiritual growth open to those whom God has called.

• Think of a new believer in Jesus!
• The complete transformation of persons as they allow themselves to be formed and transformed by Christ. This is the hope to which we are called.

Second, The riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people – Paul describing our eternal home/life. This is a present experience as well as a future hope.

To truly know God is to know hope. As we grow in knowing Him, we begin to understand our calling—and through that calling, we see the inheritance He’s given us. And that inheritance is people. All of this comes to us through Christ alone.

We have no idea what truly our impact and therefore our inheritance will be until we come into heaven. But I believe that we will see not only the multitudes singing praises to the King, but also see the impact of our calling with those saints that were affected by your’s and mine obedience to that calling.

Thirdly, and his incomparably great power for us who believe – By faith we lay hold of the power of God.

What does this incomparable power look like? How does this help you and I?

19b…That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

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God gives three types of power to the believer through this inheritance:

1. Resurrection Power – raised Christ from the dead
2. Ascension Power – seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
3. Dominion Power – above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked

This is the greatest miracle – that His immeasurable power is available now to heal the sick, to drive out demons, to redeem our sins, to energize our wills, to renew our spirits, to reconcile our relationships, to bring peace.

22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

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Paul uses the metaphor of “the body” to describe the church as well as organizing under His “head”. This is referenced in 1 Corinthians 12 describing some of the functions and gifts.

God’s heart is to bring everything back together—every broken relationship, every divided force, every place of conflict. Jesus is right at the center of that unity. He’s the one who makes it possible, shows us what it looks like, and holds it all together. And He’s chosen to work through His church to make that unity visible to the world.

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Made Alive in Christ Chapter 2

The chapter break here is just for organization—it’s not really a shift in thought. Paul is still talking about God’s powerful work. That same power shows up in the lives of everyday people in the church, bringing us from being “dead in our sins” to being made alive with Christ, and even raising us up to share in His victory and life with Him.

In chapter 1, Paul lays out God’s big plan and purpose, all leading to Christ being over everything—and all of it meant to bring glory to God. Now he shifts to explaining how God actually carries out that plan, starting with the salvation of individual people.

DO YOU WANT TO BE APART OF A CHURCH THAT IS ALIVE? IT MUST START WITH YOU AND I INDIVIDUALLY! LOOK AT THE LANGUAGE PAUL USES RIGHT OFF THE BAT IN VERSE 1!

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[b] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

Sin leads to death because it separates us from God. And when we’re in that place, the struggles that come with it don’t stay quiet—they pound on our minds, demanding our attention.

• In Sin we are controlled by Satan. the ruler of the kingdom of the air
• In Sin we walk according to the ways of this world.
• Walking according to the ways of this world, we become deserving of wrath.

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Sin has a way of piling up over time. If it goes unchecked, it can slowly harden our hearts until we stop feeling it at all—that’s what it means to be “dead in our sins.”

Where are you and I “living” right now?

Look at the contrast of what language and grammar he uses in verses 1 & 2 which is distinctly different than in verses 3 & 4. The emphasis from the individual to the collective body!

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Sin equals death, and God’s answer to death is resurrection.

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

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We can do nothing to receive the favor of God; only receive through faith what He has given us.

This new life isn’t something we earn by doing good things. Instead, good works naturally grow out of the new life God gives us through His grace.

Paul again shifts the usage of pronouns from the individual to the collective or the body!

Our lives, that have been made “alive in Christ”, must reflect this transformation! It must bear the fruit of good works. But Paul is also saying this for the church! WE must be in the kingdom business, Cross Pointe must walk in obedience, “for US to do”.

So the question is…

What is He calling you to do? As the eyes of your heart are opened and He pours wisdom and revelation into you? AS FOR YOU… Where is He calling you to expand your tent?