"…He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."

Inquiry: What is our condition that it requires such an atonement?

The atonement of sinful man by a merciful God is woven throughout Scripture like a scarlet thread in a brilliant tapestry, from Genesis to Revelation. In the Old it’s seen in the "bruised heel" of Genesis 3:15; in the offerings of Abel, Noah, Abraham, and Joshua; in the Passover; in the offerings of Leviticus and Numbers, till we reach the prophetic words of the psalmists and prophets.

In the New it’s fulfilled in Christ, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," as viewed in the Gospels.

I. We are dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). Before Christ we "…were dead in [our] trespasses and sins," the Apostle says.

II. We are by nature and practice the children of wrath (v. 3).

The Apostle adds, "…we too…lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath." Notice immorality is not the sole domain of the flesh; the mind is involved as well. Let those with a lust for pornographic materials take note.

III. We are found without hope and without God in the world (v. 12). Paul reminds us we "…were at that time separate from Christ…having no hope and without God in the world."

IV. We are strangers and foreigners to the household of God (v. 19).

Though not specifically stated, it is implied in the condition which existed before we were "…no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household."

Application/Challenge: What if God had said, "No! I will not send my Son as a propitiation for their sins." Or if the Father said, "Go!" but the Son said, "No! I won’t go!" Where would we be? Still dead in our trespasses and sins, still separated from the love of God, still outside the household of God! But praise be to God we "are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household."

(Theological and biblical considerations were culled from George E. Morgan’s "Atonement," in The King’s Business, a now defunct monthly periodical of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (BIOLA); (July, 1922) Vol. 13, No. 7, 701-02. Thanks also to Dr. J. Richard Chase; ibid., nd, 11-13, for suggesting the outline to the Ephesians content.)