According to the World & the Devil

Introduction to Ephesians 2: The Contrast of States

0:02 And now I read again this morning from Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 to 10. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 to 10.

0:14 As the first chapter had two great divisions of thought, the apostles' hymn of praise to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the great redemption that is in Christ, and then the great prayer that the saints might understand what God had purposed and secured for them in His grace. So chapter 2, as these two great divisions, the two divisions of the great contrast, the contrast in verses 1 to 10, with what they were as individuals before the grace of God and what they now are in a state of grace, and then verses 11 to the end of the chapter, the contrast of what they were as far as their position with reference to God. To the visible saints of God, what they once were as Gentiles cut off, and what they now are as those brought into union with God's true people, the new man in Christ. I read this morning just verses 1 to 10. And you, when you were dead through your trespasses and sins, wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power, the heir of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience, among whom we also once lived in the lust of our flesh,

1:40 doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace have ye been saved, and raised us up with Him, and made us to sit with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace have ye been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of worse, that no man, man should glory. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God aforeprepared, that we should walk in them.

The Profound Miracle of Spiritual Quickening

2:46 Can you imagine something of the stir that would be created if we were to announce in the local papers this week that next Lord's Day, May 19th, at 233 Runnymede Road at 11 o'clock, there would gather at least 100, 100 people who once were dead but now are alive. Well of course the stir would be created because people would think that we were making reference to physical death. That 100 people whose death certificates had been duly signed by a licensed physician, whose funerals had been announced, whose names had been listed in the local obituary, to think that 100 such people would come back to the world, to think that 100 such people would come back to the world, to think that 100 such people would come back to the world, to think that 100 such people would come back to the world, to think that 100 such people would come back to physical life again and take their place in one place would indeed cause a tremendous stir. But may I say that something far more profound and wonderful than that has happened? And there gathers in this place a body of people, I would like to imagine, in the judgment of charity, that at least a half, two-thirds, three-quarters of whom have experienced something nothing less than the death of Jesus Christ. And I would like to imagine that something far more profound and wonderful than that has happened.

4:05 And I would like to imagine that something far more profound and wonderful than that has happened. And I would like to imagine that something far more profound and wonderful than that has happened. And I would like to imagine that something far more profound and wonderful than that has happened. And that moral miracle of divine quickening from a state of spiritual death.

Humanity's True Condition: Spiritual Death and Activity in Sin

4:12 And as the Apostle Paul is concerned to lead the Ephesians into a deeper appreciation of the salvation of God in Christ, he does so by telling them in the first three verses of this first paragraph, verses 1 to 10, precisely what they were before the grace of God laid hold of them. And he begins with this assertion of their true condition, and you being dead. The assertion of their true state is that of spiritual death. When the Apostle would underscore the greatness of grace, he does not use the analogy of man as lost, man as blind, man as deaf, man as wayward, man as rebel, although all those concepts are taught in the word of God. But he takes that concept, which most profoundly and forcefully underscores our true plight by nature, and the magnitude of God's work of grace when he touches us, namely the concept of spiritual death. I've sought to expound what that means, the cause of that death, of course, being trespassing, and sins. Then, having asserted their true condition,

5:39 the Apostle begins in verse 2 to give a description of the activity of men who are in a state of spiritual death. Having asserted their true condition, dead, he then describes the activities in which they engaged while they were in that condition. Wherein ye once walked, verse 3, among whom we also walked, once lived. So he underscores the reality of the activity of those who are in a state of spiritual death.

6:14 They walked, they lived. And then he goes on to expound the nature of that activity. We had only time to touch on the first aspect of that description, the sphere in which the activity is carried out. Wherein, that is, within the sphere, of your trespasses and sins, ye once walked.

6:41 And so the only sphere in which spiritually dead people can operate is the sphere of trespasses and sins. No matter what they are doing, be it religious or irreligious, moral or immoral, intellectual or very animal, everything that men do while in a state of spiritual death is done within one realm, and one realm alone, it is the realm of trespasses and of sins. That covers our review. We move this morning to move to the second element in which the Apostle gives us some details about the nature of the activity of the spiritually dead. Having described the sphere in which they live and move and have their being, he now then gives to us the standard by which their activities are determined. Notice the wording. According to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

The Standard of the Spiritually Dead: The Age of This World

8:05 By what standard do spiritually dead men move and live in the realm of trespasses and sins? As they walk about, as they move, as they conduct themselves, what standard governs all of their activity? Paul says it is the standard of the course or literally the age of this world. What then lies behind those standards and all the activities which are done to conform to those standards?

8:37 Paul says there is the sinister spiritual power of the devil himself. They walk not only according to the course of this world, but according to the prince of the power of the air. What then are their conscious motivations as they thus walk? He says it is the lust of the flesh and of the mind, and then he concludes by telling us their true position before God while they, they thus walk in accordance with the world, in accordance with the powers of darkness, in fulfillment of the lust of their flesh.

9:14 What is their true condition? They are sons of wrath. They are liable to and constantly exposed to the righteous anger of the living God himself. This then is a broad overview of the thread of the apostles' thought in verses 2 and 3.

9:34 Time will only be given if we only permit this morning to touch on the standard by which the spiritually dead conduct themselves and the spiritual power by which the activities are directed. Now you ask me, Pastor, why do you use the term the standard by which the spiritually dead conduct themselves? Well, for the simple reason that the little phrase according to demands the use of the word standard. You'll notice that according to occurs twice in verse 2.

10:09 Ye once walked according to the course of the world, according to the prince of the power of the air. Now the two words according to are used to translate the one little Greek word which means in conformity to, in line with. Let me illustrate. Maybe one of you young fellows has bought yourself a 10-speed bike and to get a bargain you got one that was disassembled and you came home with nothing but a box full of parts.

10:40 And the first thing the instruction said was this. You must be sure to put your bike together according to these instructions. And then they had point 1, point 2, point 3, all the way down. Supposed to be very simple that anyone with half a brain can get it together again.

10:59 And after 10 minutes you're convinced you only have about a fourth of a brain because you've run into great problems. But now what they're telling you is this. Here is a fixed standard by which you are to assemble the various parts of your bike. Put the bike together according to, that is, regulated by the standard of the instructions.

11:23 Or maybe one of you young ladies has got ambitions to learn how to cook. And so you're taking a simple recipe from your mother's cookbook and it says put the ingredients, together in this order or after this manner. And you've got to follow the pattern laid out in the recipe or you're going to turn the stomachs of mommy and daddy and brother and sister and your efforts at cultivating the culinary arts as they are called are doomed to fail. Well then the apostle says when these Ephesians were dead their true condition and in that condition there was valid and genuine activity only within the sphere of trespasses and sins. What standard, what was the recipe by which they put together the various ingredients of life? What was the standard by which they conducted themselves? He says the standard was the course of this world.

Defining 'The Age of This World' and Its Implications

12:31 Now this is an unusual construction. Look. Literally translated as the 1901 edition has it in the margin it would be according to the age of this world. Now Paul had only said according to this age or according to the world the exposition would be simple.

12:51 Because the phrase is this age, this world occur with enough frequency in the New Testament that we can thread our way with some degree of confidence when we say the phrase this age, this world mean this and that. But when they appear together this is an unusual construction. But let me give you what I believe is the proper exposition of the words. The word age, the word aion, an age or eon as we say in English is a period of time, a long segment of time.

13:27 In the scriptures we are given a contrast between the age which now is and that which is to come. You remember our Lord in speaking of the subject that causes great perplexity wherever the scriptures are read in Matthew 12 speaking of the unpardonable sin he says in verse 32 Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man it shall be forgiven him but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven him neither in this age age nor in that which is to come. So you have two ages. The age that now is and the age which is to come. Now of course the age that now is is bounded by creation and the return of Christ. The age that is to come is eternity. But there is the contrast between these two segments during which God administers His own sovereign power.

14:33 We encounter those very phrases in Ephesians 1 in verse 21 speaking of the exaltation of Jesus Christ to the place of supreme power and authority the apostle says in Ephesians 1 21 He has been exalted far above all rule authority, power, dominion every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come. So you see the age is the epoch of time and since this present age is characterized by the presence of sin, rebellion against God, unbelief and all forms of human depravity, this age is considered as evil. It is an evil age. Therefore when we turn to such passages as Romans 12 2 we are not surprised to have the overtones of this emphasis. Paul says be not conformed to this age.

15:39 He doesn't use the word world, cosmos but he uses eon. Do not be conformed to this age he says to believers. Why? Because this age as it now stands is essentially an evil age.

15:57 Paul says of Demas 2 Timothy 4 8 He hath forsaken me, having loved this present age. In other words having set his affection upon those things which predominate in this age. That is sin, wickedness, worldliness. Galatians 1 4 says that one of the purposes one of the intents of the death of Christ is this.

16:24 He gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us out of this present evil age. Here the age that is present is actually described by the adjective evil. It is a wicked, it is a devilish age. That's why the Lord in Luke 16 8 contrasts the child of God with a child of this age.

16:50 He says the children of this age are wiser than the children of light. To be a child of this age is to be a child of the devil. It is to be dead in trespasses and in sins. Alright? So much for the meaning of the concept age. Now what about the word world? He says that you walked according to consistent with in line with the age of this world. Now the word world here has a variety of usages in the New Testament and I will not weary you with listing them but in this context and many others like it, it has reference to the order or system of things as they now exist under the power and defilement of evil.

17:43 And since the invasion of sin was due to man, the world often refers especially not just to the order or system of things in abstraction but the order or system of things in this world as evil coming to expression through evil. Hence Jesus could say if the world has hated me, it will hate you. What is that world? It is the aggregate of unregenerate men. Thinking as unregenerate men. Feeling as unregenerate men. Acting as unregenerate men. And he says the world that hated me will hate you.

18:25 John says in 1 John 5 19, we know that we are of God and the whole world. Lieth in the wicked one. What is that world? It is the cosmos.

18:37 The aggregate of unregenerate men in spiritual blindness motivated by the God of this world. That's the world to which Paul refers. Now put the two things together and what do you have? What is the standard by which dead sinners spiritually dead men and women, fellows and girls conduct their lives?

19:00 They walk according to the course, the age of this world. And what does that say to us when we put the two together? I can do no better than quote from Lenski who says, to walk in accord with the eon, the age of this world, is to live in a way that harmonizes with this age in its present and debased order. So to walk is to walk in the light of the fallen state of mankind and to walk contrary to the kingdom of heaven which will last forever. It is to walk so as to follow the passing standards of worldly life as it exists all around us, everywhere. The standards of that life are the opposite of the spiritual standards set by Christ. In the kingdom of God. To walk then according to the age of this world is to have the totality of one's life governed by standards, goals, conceptions and motives that are common to this age that will end in the judgment of God in direct opposition to the standards of that age which is to come. For you see

20:27 a Christian is one who here and now has had the invasion of the powers of the world to come. He's in the kingdom now. He's a son of the kingdom now. And the principles that operate in him now are no different from those that will operate in the world to come. They simply come to their fullest and most mature expression in the world for which God is preparing him. Now this is not to say that God has relinquished the control of this age. Paul was very careful to preface to preface to preface the description in Ephesians 2 with the statement in Ephesians 1. Christ is exalted far above all principality and power and might and dominion in this present age.

21:14 So this is not to say that we have evil operating there in a no man's land. This is not to say that matter is essentially evil. That the earth is not the Lord's. That there is nothing good in this world. This is not to say that at all. I am simply attempting to expound the meaning of Ephesians 2.2 and the meaning of Ephesians 2.2 is that this age is essentially an evil age and will continue so to be until the new age dawns upon us.

21:49 This world is essentially an evil system of things in which evil men give vent to their evil designs and pursuit of evilness evil ends and will be so until this world is purified by the fires of a returning Christ.

Application: The World's Anti-God Nature and the Believer's Conflict

22:11 Now, if this is the proper exposition of Paul's phrase, what does it say to us? Well, in the first place it says that we must constantly be reminded that this present world system is not morally and spiritually neutral.

22:28 This present world system is not morally and spiritually neutral.

22:37 Unregenerate men in the totality of their lifestyle are part and parcel of a world system that is anti-God. The standards, the goals, the perspectives, the attitudes which find expression in styles, social activities, political philosophy, political activity in the realm of education, morals and religion, no matter where unregenerate men move, no matter what activities they find themselves engaged in, they're moving in one realm, trespasses and sins, they're governed by one set of standards, the standards of the eon of this cosmos, the age of this world. And even at their best, when they are most moral, when they are most religious, when they are most perceptive, they never break out of the age of the this world. When they think, how do they think? They assume that they've got all they need in themselves, in their own noggins and in their own perceptive faculties to understand God's world.

23:50 It's what called, if you have one month at Westminster Seminary in the introductory course in apologetics, human autonomy.

23:59 They assume that man has the ability to think without any light breaking in external to him. Whereas the child of God acknowledges that it's only in God's light that he sees light. When unregenerate men are at their best in humanitarian endeavors, what is their highest goal? The good of man. That's diametrically opposed to the whole goal of God's activity, the glory of himself. Of him and through him and unto him are all things. We must not think that this age and this world system is morally and spiritually neutral. No, no. It is positively and aggressively anti-God. That's why Paul says don't be conformed to this age. It will seek to press you into its mold. Resist it because it is positively against the better interest of your pursuits as a child of God. The second thing we must

25:09 understand is this. The clearest indication that we've been delivered out of this present world system is that we feel ourselves constantly in conflict with it. One of the surest marks that you've been delivered out of this age of this world is that you find yourself constantly in conflict with it. As a drop of water blends in with the ocean into which it is cast, to move with its waves, to undulate with its movements, never to feel out of place.

25:45 So all of us were as long as we were part of that ocean of humanity called the world. As long as we were walking according to the age of this world, we moved with it. But when God in grace was pleased to lay hold of us as he was with these Ephesians and to bring us out of that world system, to bring us into the kingdom of God, to impose upon us, graciously, a whole new set of standards, a whole new set of perspectives. How do I know? What do I know? Why should I know? How do I live? Why should I live? In what way can I live to bring praise to my creator? It was a totally new realm of existence. From the age of this world we've been incorporated into the kingdom of God. But because we are still here and because the remains, the remains of sin within, have an affinity for the age of this world, the Christian is in a constant state of tension and of conflict.

26:54 And it's the very presence of that tension and conflict rather than being a mark that he's not a Christian, is one of the clearest signs that he is. The flesh lusting against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh, these two contrary, the one to the other. And so I say to you this morning, if you find no conflict, no wrestlings, no warfare, no sense of being out of place in school, in the place of business, in the neighborhood, if as you live from day to day you are not constantly made aware that though you're living in this age and in this world, you're not living on the basis of the spirit of this age and the spirit of this world. I say if you don't feel that conflict and tension at point after point after point, you have reason to question whether or not you're a Christian.

27:53 Neighbors just want to get together for an innocent time of sharing. So what do they do? They invite you to a cocktail party. They can't get their tongues loose till they get half juiced up with booze.

28:05 You want to be kind and you want to show genuine neighborly affection, but you find yourself pained. You have to turn down their invitation to attend their cocktail party. And you're conscious you're not governed by the perspectives of the age of this world. You see?

28:25 And you go point after point in the place of business. There are no such things as moral absolutes. There are white lies. There are business lies. There are half-truths. There are twisted truths. Why? Because everybody knows you just can't make a buck and call it an honest buck anymore.

28:43 But you're determined your yea will be yea and your nay nay in every sphere of business activity. In every business relationship you will conduct yourself as under the eye of Christ. Are you not conscious day after day and week after week that you're not of this age? My friend, if you can conduct yourself in any place of business and not feel the pinch, you better ask where you stand. Wherever we are, this is not a morally neutral world. And the mark that we've been delivered out of it by the grace of God is that we're consciously conscious of the conflict. But now for your comfort, let me say the third thing by way of application. Not only need we be reminded that this present world system is not neutral, we need to be reminded that the clearest indication we've been delivered out of it is our conflict with it. But thirdly,

29:39 we must remember it's but an eon. It's but an age of this world. It's but an epoch in the unfolding of God's eternal purposes and the conflict will not go on forever. For this world and the works thereof shall be burned up and God will usher in the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.

30:02 To me, one of the most wonderful things to anticipate as a Christian is that the hour is coming not only when I shall have no battles from within as a new man in Christ and the instincts of my new life reaching out after perfect holiness, perfect conformity to God, perfect subjection to His law and yet I have this law within as Paul calls it. But oh, what a blessed thing to know that I shall not only be delivered from the remaining corruption within but I will enter into a situation in which there will be no external conflict as I seek to live consistent with the standards of the age to come. An age in which there is perfect honesty, perfect righteousness, perfect equity, perfect peace, perfect harmony and in that world all who are brought into it by the grace of God will rejoice that the age of this world was just an age, just a passing epoch in the unfolding of God's drama of redemption.

The Sinister Power Behind the World: The Prince of the Power of the Air

31:09 Paul says that's the standard by which you Ephesians once moved. Now remember he puts it in the past tense in which he once walked. That was the standard which governed you. It is no longer true if you've been quickened to life but then Paul digs behind that standard.

31:32 It's as though someone says, well Paul, while we were moving in the sphere of trespasses and sins, governing our lives by the standards of the age of this world, was there anything behind all of that? Paul says yes. Behind all of that activity, was a sinister spiritual power directing those activities and bringing you into willful compliance with those standards. And so he describes the spiritual power by which the activities of spiritually dead sinners are directed and notice the words by which he describes them.

32:12 You walk not only according to the course of this world but according to the prince of the power it's a singular, it should not be translated as a plural, the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience.

32:37 Now as we look at the words two things can be said with great authority. Number one, there is no question that in their accumulated weight that they refer to Satan as the sinister spiritual power behind the activity of all men who are dead in trespasses and sins. We may say with equal authority it is well nigh impossible, well nigh to impossible to ascertain with great precision precisely what Paul meant by each of the little descriptive phrases. And I have literally spent hours and scoured commentaries well it got up over a dozen maybe not into the dozen's what does he mean when he talks about the prince of the power of the air, if only he put a plural and said the powers of the air, exegesis here would be easy. And if he had only changed the case when he said of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience. What does he mean the powers of the air? Well these are difficult things to expound dear people and I will not weary you with all of the possibilities and what I have come to as tentative conclusions in my own mind for my task as a preacher is not to weary you but to seek to secure your interest in the word of God.

34:06 Suffice it to say that this much is clear. Number one Paul is a surgeon that the power behind the activity of dead sinners walking according to the course of this world in the realm of trespasses and sins is the power of the devil himself. He is called the ruler of the power of the air in this passage. The ruler of the spirit that works in the sons of disobedience and by comparing scripture with scripture it is relatively easy to locate what this ruler is. Our Lord in John 12 and verse 31 gives us a very strong suggestion in this direction. John 12 and verse 31 Now is the judgment of this world now shall the prince of this world be cast out. Here Satan is called the prince of this world. Turn to Luke chapter 11 verses 15 and 18 Luke 11 verses 15 and 18. But some

35:26 of them said by Beelzebub the prince of the demons casteth he out demons now who is this prince of the demons our Lord assumes verse 18 that it is Satan and if Satan is divided against himself how shall his kingdom stand because ye said I cast out demons by Beelzebub. So here you see Satan Beelzebub both identified by our Lord as prince of the powers of darkness when we come then to passages such as this in 2 Corinthians 4 4 the God of this world have blinded the minds of them that believe not the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me it is agreed by all who believe their Bibles that this is an explicit reference to Satan. Now that being so what does Paul tell us in Ephesians 2 2 what does he tell us about the spiritual power that operates behind the course of life carried out by the unregenerate well he tells us number one that there is a personal devil not an impersonal force not a medieval concept or medieval which is the proper pronunciation I checked it earlier this morning though oft times we say medieval it is three long eves medieval

36:55 hard to say but that's the proper way to say it it's medieval this is not a medieval concept this is not an impersonal force he says you walked according to the prince that personal devil who was very personally interested and personally active in your lives before the divine quickening and the miracle of regeneration occurred. Second thing the text tells us is this this personal devil is the supreme ruler of all the forces of evil he is the supreme ruler of all the forces of evil Paul says he is the prince of the power of the air what is this power of the air well we don't know precisely but one thing we know it is no good power it is an evil power whether it's speaking of the aggregate of all the demons who are called the power of the air or whether he is speaking of some special demonic personage who has peculiar power I do not know I have my ideas after reading many of the commentaries but one thing is clear whether that power be another personage or many personages there is a prince over them an archon a ruler a sovereign over them and in this passage that ruler is called their prince

38:22 the devil and so the personal devil is the supreme ruler of all the forces of evil he is ruler of the authority and also he is ruler of the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience and the construction of the grammar is such that we must throw back of the spirit to ruler he is ruler of that spirit whether we are thinking of a personal spirit or the general attitude that operates in the sons of disobedience it is an evil spirit whether personal or impersonal but it is not an independent spirit it is a spirit subjected to and under the government of the archon the prince the ruler himself so two things are clear there is a personal devil this personal devil is the supreme ruler of all the forces of evil the third thing that is clear in the text is this these forces of evil at satan's command and under his direction and this to me is the frightening teaching of the passage are actively at work in the lives of all unregenerate men and women boys and girls look at the text you walked according to the prince of the power of the air of the spirit that now is working among the sons of disobedience

Satan's Effective Work in Unregenerate Hearts

39:50 the spirit that is now active in the sons of disobedience now this word is a very strong word is the word Paul used in chapter one in verse eleven speaking of the sovereign God who worketh all things after the counsel of his will there is an efficient a powerful operation of God called his working of all things precisely the same word he uses it in chapter three in verse twenty unto him that is able to do exceeding abundant above all we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us same word used in Philippians 2 13 for God is at work in you believers to will and to do of his good pleasure what is that working well that brings us into the whole doctrine of the relationship of the Holy Spirit's efficient working in the heart of a believer it is a powerful it is a present a pervasive working this text says there is a spirit that is at work in the sons of disobedience a spirit that is under the control of the prince of evil spirits the devil himself therefore we should not be surprised to find the apostle talking in the language of

41:18 second Timothy 2 26 Timothy he says be patient as you labor with unregenerate men they constantly oppose themselves and they oppose you but Timothy listen be patient apt to teach in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledgement of the truth that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil having been taken captive by him unto his will how effective is the work of Satan in the heart of every person who's never been quickened by regenerating grace God says he's a slave of the devil taken captive to do his will as men stealers would come into a village and violently seize people and bring them to their own domains and make them slaves so he says Satan has seized upon human beings and made them captives to perform his will no wonder when the Lord commissioned the apostle Paul to the work of a preacher in the missionary he says Paul as you preach and I am pleased to make that word effectual men are converted only when there is a great deliverance Acts 26 18 open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to

42:46 light and from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me no one ever receives remission of sins no one ever enters the purchased inheritance of grace but what there is a mighty deliverance from the power of Satan that happens when a three year old gets saved as well as when a fifty year old gets saved all men by nature are dead in their spiritual death they only exist in the realm of trespasses and sins they're only governed by the standards of the age of this world and behind those standards operating in three year olds in fifty year olds in ninety year olds is the power of the devil himself who's taken them captive they'll never be saved unless there's a mighty deliverance from the power of the devil he is actively at work in the sons of disobedience now by application let me say several very important things do you see what lies behind the so called sophisticated smugness of all intellectual rejection of the gospel and the truth of God am I speaking this morning to someone who sits here with jaundiced eye

Application: Unmasking the Devil's Work in Unbelief and Worldliness

44:13 say I'm too intelligent to believe in personal devils the poor preacher's been sucked into the exorcist mentality he's been dabbling in the occult no he hasn't I won't read a page of that foul demon inspired literature there's enough in my bible to strike fear to my heart and I shall never dabble with the occult oh but you say I'm too smug and sophisticated and too intellectually oriented to ever think that there's a personal devil and to say that I'm his slave my friend listen your very pseudo intellectualism is a manifestation of the devil working in you for the scripture says the God of this world have blinded the minds of them that believe not and the reason you do not believe is not because you have a superior intellect that is too far elevated in its development to submit to such concepts as God and sin and the devil and hell and grace and forgiveness no no those are concepts that blind the minds of sinless angels it says the angels desire to look into such mysteries those are the intellectual concepts that will be our delightful pursuit throughout all eternity

45:42 my friend the reason you have intellectual hangups with the gospel is not because your intellect is too far developed to embrace these concepts it's because the devil the devil is effectually working in your mind what lies behind the blatant materialism that makes men and women indifferent to the gospel so that on this the Lord's day a day set apart in a special way for the preaching of the word and the worship of his name men are wrapped up in banging their tennis balls across a net sitting in front of air TVs to watch their favorite performer on an athletic field or on a stage filled with minds can only see the dirt in their gardens in the comforts of their living room crass materialists utterly indifferent what lies behind that indifference they know they shall not live forever they say see their mums and dads going the way of all flesh they bury father bury mother and they see the grim reaper coming and they know they're next in line but utterly indifferent my friends there's no explanation but this the spirit who now worketh in the sons of disobedience making them so spiritually nearsighted they cannot see beyond the new arrangement of flowers in the backyard

47:09 beyond the new colors in their TV sets beyond the pride of life as they lay up substance for themselves in their shelter I tell you I think I'd go mad trying to understand human beings if I didn't understand this passage how can creatures so noble so noble who have faculties and capacities never given to the beast of the field how can they live as such brute beasts in pure crass materialism as though they had no soul that would live forever as though they had no destiny beyond the grave here's the answer ye walked according to the prince of the spirit that worketh in the sons of disobedience what lies behind the gross sensualism which drowns men and women in base lusts dear people we're living in an age that is made a god of the nerve endings of the sexual life of the sexual life of the sexual life of the sexual life of the sexual life of the sexual life of the sexual life of the sexual organs that's stating it bluntly but truly and the bookstands are glutted all the way from cheap glossy porno magazines to so called sophisticated medical sex manuals that reflect the generation absorbed

48:38 the nerve endings of their sexual organs and I say oh god how could it be here's the answer the spirit that worketh in the spirit of the spirit in the sons of disobedience dear unsaved person that's where you are this morning whether you are one who is revolted by the baser forms of sensual abandonment and certainly you've been elevated above crass materialism or you would not be here are you one whom I described earlier oh but I have intellectual problems with the gospel my friend it's not intellectual they are moral problems but the scripture says the reason men do not embrace the light is because they love darkness almighty god calls you to humble yourself to own your sins and to prostrate yourself in his presence pleading mercy from the only channel that mercy will ever cut to rebel sinners the wounds the sufferings the agony the baptism of blood endured by the blessed son of god our lord our lord and saviour jesus christ you must take the place that harlots take

50:06 you must take the place that ignorant savages take a stripped helpless needy sinner prostrate before the only channel that divine mercy will ever cut in the direction of sinners the blood and the wounds the obedience of jesus christ god says that your life is governed not merely by the external standards of the age of this world when you look only to them you have some reason to feel comfortable there are very intellectual people who share my doubts about the validity of christianity you have some reason to feel comfortable as you look at your materialistic life well it's innocent enough i'm not hurting anyone else you may even find some escape to rationalize your grossly sensual life but my friend look behind that external standards set by the age of this world there is this sinister power that is at work in you right now this morning in this place and you are nothing more or less as a dead sinner but a captive of the devil effectually working in you

Christ's Supreme Authority Over Satan and God's Sovereign Grace

51:29 blinding your mind perverting your affections distorting your perspectives thank god it was my joy months ago to expound if he's one twenty one and i want to close on that note this morning we look at it please when paul is describing the glory of an exalted christ he says that that christ by the mighty power of god was raised from the dead first twenty twenty made to sit at the right hand of the father in heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is made not only in this world but also in that which is to come and he put all things in subjection under his is satan the archon the ruler of the authority of the air is he the ruler of that spirit that operates in the sons of disobedience yes he is but there's a ruler over him there's a ruler over him that's why he said now is the judgment of this world come now shall the prince be cast out

52:59 his head was bruised upon mount calvary there's one who sits enthroned in a place of might and power and my friend if that were not true i wouldn't be standing here today preaching i'd be out somewhere feeding my lust feeding the pride of my mind feeding the pride of my mind feeding the pride of my mind feeding the pride of my mind feeding the baser appetites of my body there's only one reason i'm here it's because there's one who has power over the one who is the prince of the power of the air who in his grace and mercy has delivered me from the power of satan and brought me into the glorious liberty of the sons of god and oh dear sinner he is able to deliver you he is able to set you loose he is able to make you his own free man look to christ call upon him who is mightier than that vicious mighty one satan and child of god i know you appreciate god's grace to you but i hope you appreciate it a little bit more this morning that's why paul wrote this very graphic description of what we were before the grace of god came that's why i've deliberately been very very summary

54:26 given a very summarized statement of what paul says about the devil i have willfully and deliberately avoided speculation about what is this authority of the air what is this spirit that worketh i believe it's a subtle trick of the devil in our day to get men's attention filled with himself i just want to say enough about him to get you to see how bad your plight was and then turn your eyes away to the mighty one the lord jesus that together we may be found prostrate at his feet this morning worshipping him that it's true of us as was true of the ephesians look at the words again you being dead wherein ye once walked according to the age of this world according to the prince of the power of the air but thank god we can say it once was true dear child of god you were worse off than you realize but thank god he doesn't wait till we appreciate how bad we are before he takes us out of that mess paul is writing to people who have been saved many of them for at least five years their appreciation took a long time to catch up with their experience may god grant that our appreciation will catch up a little bit more this morning then we should be found with our new enlightenment and new understanding of today's world as it is,men.

55:56 in heart prostrate before our blessed Lord saying blessing glory honor and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the lamb forever and ever as I hope to point out in a careful exposition later on but I'll just point a finger in the direction of a hint this morning will you notice the words that pervade the last six verses of this first paragraph rich in mercy great love made us alive in Christ riches of grace kindness grace not of ourselves gift of God his workmanship created do you catch the thrust of it it's like Paul is just ransacking his vocabulary grace kindness riches of mercy what's he trying to tell us he's saying oh Christian if you're saved the cause lies wholly in another riches of grace mercy power I don't know how in the world anyone who claims to be a Christian can hold on to his Arminianism self-consciously after reading a passage like this to say that there's anything in me that moved me and contributed to my salvation I was walking

57:23 according to the tracks laid by the world in the noose of the devil help came from without blessed be God for sovereign free grace no abstract theological concept to debate about my friends burning Christian reality to shout about hallelujah let us pray