Ephesians 2: All in Christ

Pastor Stone Webber | July 12th, 2026

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ: The Power of Keeping Your Eyes on Jesus

There's something deeply transformative about understanding who we were before Christ and who we've become through Him. The book of Ephesians paints a stark picture of this transformation—a journey from death to life, from separation to unity, from slavery to freedom.

The Reality of Our Former Lives

Scripture doesn't sugarcoat our past. Ephesians 2 describes our former state with unflinching honesty: we were dead in our trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air. We conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. We were, by nature, children of wrath.

This wasn't just metaphorical death—it was spiritual reality. The ancient city of Ephesus was steeped in paganism, with elaborate worship of the goddess Artemis dominating the culture. When Paul arrived preaching the gospel, he encountered fierce resistance. The people were so devoted to their idols that they rioted when their way of life was threatened. They cried out, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" unwilling to see the superior power of Jesus Christ.

How often do we do the same thing today? We may not worship ancient goddesses, but we have our own idols—comfort, preferences, money, status, control. We get so caught up in these things that we become blind to the true power of Jesus Christ. We say "great is this" or "great is that," elevating our idols above the one true God.

But God

These two words change everything.

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ."

No matter what your before looked like—addiction, broken marriage, depression, anxiety, sin—God can transform it. But God can restore all things. But God can set you free. But God brings joy. The past doesn't define you when you're in Christ. You are a new creation.

This raises an important question: if we're truly dead to our old lives and raised to new life in Christ, why do we keep going back? Why do we return to the grave Jesus pulled us out of? Why do we, like dogs returning to their vomit, go back to the very things that enslaved us?

Often, it's because we prefer comfort over growth. We'd rather stay in something familiar, even if it's terrible, than step out of our comfort zone into God's best for our lives. We need to crucify the flesh, die to those old desires, and step into the new life Christ has prepared for us.

The Gift of Grace Through Faith

Salvation is a gift. Ephesians 2:8-10 makes this crystal clear: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

We cannot earn our way to heaven. Nothing we do can make us worthy of salvation—it's entirely dependent on God's grace. We receive this gift through faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith means believing what God says is true, even when our circumstances suggest otherwise.

But here's the beautiful paradox: while we're not saved by works, we are saved for works. Our faith should naturally produce good works as a response to what Jesus has done for us. Faith without works is dead. Our lives become a reflection of Jesus' life—He lived perfectly and died for us, so we die to ourselves and then live for Him.

Breaking Down the Walls

One of the most powerful themes in Ephesians 2 is unity. In the ancient world, there was a literal wall in the temple separating Jews from Gentiles. Gentiles could only access the outer courts, and crossing that barrier was forbidden. But through Christ, that wall has been torn down.

When Jesus died, the veil separating humanity from God's presence was torn. The wall of separation between Jew and Gentile was demolished. We who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. We've been grafted into God's family, given access to His promises, welcomed into His presence.

"For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation."

This unity in Christ has profound implications for the church today. We are one body, one family, unified by the person of Jesus Christ. Yet how often do we allow petty differences, preferences, and complaints to divide us? We argue about music styles, service times, theological nuances, and a thousand other trivial matters while losing sight of the one thing that truly matters: Jesus.

The Danger of Losing Your First Love

The church in Ephesus provides a sobering warning. Thirty years after Paul's letter, Jesus sent them another message in Revelation 2. He commended their works, their labor, their patience, their discernment of false teachers. They were doing everything right on the outside. They hated evil and pursued good.

But Jesus said, "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love."

This is terrifying. You can hate evil, fight darkness, and do good works without actually loving God. You can have all the right actions without the right heart. If Jesus isn't the primary thing, if our eyes aren't fixed on Him, everything else is meaningless.

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

Throughout Ephesians, the phrase "in Christ" appears nearly thirty times. Everything we are and everything we do must be in Christ. He isn't just the center—He is everything. The moment we take our eyes off Jesus, we lose it all.

When Peter walked on water, he only began to sink when he took his eyes off Jesus. The same is true for us. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and you'll walk in peace, unity, and power. Take your eyes off Him, and you'll sink into complaining, division, and ineffectiveness.

Stop worrying about the trivial things. Stop complaining about preferences. Stop getting distracted by secondary issues. Fix your eyes on Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of your faith. He is your peace. He is your unity. He is your everything.

If you're not experiencing peace, turn to Him. If you're feeling distant, run to Him. If you've left your first love, return to Him. Jesus is waiting with open arms, ready to restore, renew, and revive.

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. We are being built together as a holy temple, a dwelling place for God's Spirit. But this can only happen when Jesus remains our cornerstone, our foundation, our one true thing.

Great is Jesus Christ. Nothing else compares.