VICTORY OVER THE WORLD, THE FLESH, AND THE DEVIL

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: EPHESIANS 2:1-10



INTRODUCTION:


  1. In our text we see our three greatest enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil.
  2. Paul writes to the church at Ephesus and says that before they were saved, they "walked according to the course of this world" (2:2). He is referring here to the worldly, satanic system that has left God out of everything: philosophy, entertainment, politics. If you want to know what the Bible means by "the world," all you have to do is turn on the TV for five minutes.
  3. The school system, TV and Hollywood, rock music, and so on – this is "the course of this world." It is antagonistic to the Word of God.
  4. Our second great enemy is the flesh (2:3). This refers to man’s fallen nature, the old Adamic nature that we are born with, that wants to control our bodies and our minds and make us disobey God.
  5. "The lusts of the flesh" should not be limited to the wicked sins of immorality, but actually include all the longings and impulses of the self-centered man.
  6. Apart from God’s grace and power, man is not only dominated by self-centered passions, but he is actually "fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind" (2:3).
  7. Last, but certainly not least – our third enemy is the devil – "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh (literally, "energizing") in the children of disobedience" (2:2).
  8. Today, I have entitled my message: "How to Have Victory Over the World, the Flesh, and the Devil."
  1. VICTORY OVER THE WORLD: BY REGENERATION
    1. Paul starts off by stating that before we were "quickened" we were "dead in trespasses and sins" (2:1). The only hope for a dead man is that he be quickened, i.e. "made alive" or "regenerated."
    2. According to the Word of God all unsaved people are "dead in trespasses and sins," i.e. they are unable to understand and appreciate spiritual things. They may not feel dead, but according to the Bible they are spiritually dead.
    3. A preacher once preached a strong message on the heavy burden of sin and after the service a young man started teasing him. He said: "How heavy is sin? I don’t feel it!" The preacher replied: "The other day I preached a funeral. If I were to walk over to the casket and place a heavy weight on the dead man’s chest, do you think he would feel it?"
    4. These Ephesians had not only been dead, they had been depraved, disobedient, and devilish (2:2). In churches all over the world this Lord’s Day, there are many dead people in attendance.
    5. Back in 1920, the head of the JW cult, Judge Rutherford, traveled across the country giving a lecture entitled: "Millions Now Living Will Never Die." A fundamentalist preacher responded to this false teaching by preaching a message entitled, "Millions Now Living Are Already Dead."
    6. Many years ago, Dr. A.C. Gaebelein was holding meetings in the YMCA auditorium. One day the secretary of the YMCA showed him a little card which he handed out to people. The card read: "I promise faithfully henceforth to lead a religious and Christian life," and then there was a place to sign one’s name. The secretary said, "How do you like that? Isn’t that a pretty good way of putting it?" Dr. Gaebelein said, "How on earth can a dead man live any kind of life? What is the use of putting a card like that into the hands of a dead sinner, and having him sign it and say, `I promise to lead a Christian life’? You cannot live a life for God until you receive a life from God."
    7. Let me stop here for a moment and ask: Have you received this new life in Christ?
    8. Unsaved people are being led astray by the devil – they walk "according to the course of this world…" (2:2).
    9. As a pastor, it breaks my heart to see people disobey God and mess up their lives – they are "the children of disobedience" (2:2b). The Ryrie Study Bible says this is a "Hebraism for disobedient people," in other words, lost people who refuse to obey God.
    10. The great evangelist, George Whitefield, caused a big stir in his day when he stated that man is half beast and half devil. Actually, he was being very kind – man is more like 90% devil!
    11. Notice in verse 3, Paul switches from "ye" to "we" – he is saying, "we all had our conversation (walk as well as talk) in times past in the lusts of our flesh." Before he was saved, Paul was not an adulterer but he realized that he was a lost sinner, blinded by the devil, and "by nature" a child of wrath just like everyone else without Christ.
    12. Paul is saying that the natural man is carnal, corrupt, and condemned by God. What hope does he have? Only in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus.
    13. This is the way to victory – the old rugged cross. Unsaved friend: you can have peace with God and victory over this wicked world through faith in Him.
    14. I was lost and on my way to hell. If ever a sinner deserved to go to hell, it was me. But God in His mercy and grace "quickened" me (2:1,5). I was born again and things have never been the same!
    15. Glory to God! Instead of going to hell, God turned me around and now I’m on my way to heaven.
  1. VICTORY OVER THE FLESH: BY GOD’S GRACE
    1. We not only see three bad things in this text: the world, the flesh, and the devil; but we also see three wonderful things: God’s great mercy (2:4), His great love (2:4), and His great grace (2:5) – "the exceeding riches of His grace" (2:7).
    2. Mercy means that we do not get what we deserve – God’s judgment and wrath, eternity burning in hell. Grace means we get what we do not deserve – salvation (2:8,9).
    3. "He saw me ruined by the fall,

      4. Yet loved me notwithstanding all,

      He freed me from my lost estate,

      His loving kindness, oh how great!" – Samuel Medley.

    4. Let me emphasize something here because most people who claim to be Christian do not understand this. The Bible says, "For by grace are ye saved…" (2:8). This is present tense – not "ye will be saved" or "might be saved," but "are saved." Are you saved?
    5. And how are we saved? "Through faith" (2:8). Charles Haddon Spurgeon said: "It is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee; it is Christ. It is not thy hope in Christ that saves thee; it is Christ. It is not even thy faith in Christ, though that be the instrument; it is Christ’s blood that saves thee."
    6. Most people think that you get to heaven by works. However, the Bible teaches the very opposite (2:9). Most people, whether they be Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or whatever, think that Mother Teresa must be in heaven now because of her work with lepers and other poor people. However, this goes against the Bible (2:8,9).
    7. Rome teaches that one is saved by grace plus works. This is a teaching that has led countless millions of souls to hell (cf. Rom.11:6).
    8. According to the Bible, if it were possible to be saved by works, then Christ died in vain (Gal.2:21).
    9. We are not saved by good works, we are saved for good works (Eph.2:10). We do not work for God in order to get saved; we work for God because we already are saved.
  1. VICTORY OVER THE DEVIL: THE POWER OF GOD
    1. After this awful picture of fallen mankind in Eph.2:1-3, how wonderful to read these words, "But God…" (2:4).
    2. Man is a wicked, hell-bound, hell-deserving sinner – "but God" is rich in mercy – God is mighty to save – God has a great love for us (2:4).
    3. "But God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom.5:8).
    4. And the same power, God’s "mighty power" (Eph.1:19) that raised Christ from the dead, is working in those of us that have trusted Christ (1:19,20).
    5. The same power that raised Christ from the dead "raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (2:6).
    6. We can have victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil through God’s power. In fact, because of our union with Christ, we are seen as already delivered from the present evil world and already seated in the heavens "in Christ Jesus" (2:6).
    7. Beloved, if you are saved that ought to do something for you. And if you are not saved, I hope you don’t put off salvation one day longer.

CONCLUSION:

  1. Years ago, Queen Elizabeth has been in the news on account of the death of her daughter-in-law, Princess Diana. Actually she is Queen Elizabeth II.
  2. The first Queen Elizabeth lived in the 16th century and had a far more interesting life.
  3. One day a woman disguised herself as a man and hid in Queen Elizabeth’s boudoir, hoping to stab her to death. However, the queen’s attendants carefully searched the room and discovered the would-be assassin.
  4. They brought her before Queen Elizabeth and showed the queen the dagger they had taken from her. The would-be murderer got down on her knees and begged the queen to have compassion on her and to show her grace.
  5. Queen Elizabeth said: "If I show you grace, what promise will you make for the future?" the woman looked up and said, "Grace that hath conditions, grace that is fettered by precautions, is no grace at all."
  6. Queen Elizabeth thought about it and said: "You are right; I pardon you of my grace" and then let her go.
  7. History tells us that from that moment Queen Elizabeth had no more faithful devoted servant than that woman who had intended to kill her.
  8. Unsaved friend, if you need to be saved, it will be by God’s grace. Grace is favor freely shown to those who deserve only judgment.
  9. Will you come to Christ today? – He will save you if you put your trust in Him.

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