In Luke 17 we find the account of Jesus healing ten lepers but then finding only one returning to thank and worship him. They had been given a new lease on life and yet 90-percent, for whatever reason, never thought to show gratitude.

Likewise (but to a greater extent), believers have been given new life in Christ—by his grace we’ve passed from death to life, darkness to life. Today, on this thanksgiving weekend, we want to make sure that we’re “turning back” together, running to the Giver of life to express worshipful thanksgiving for such a precious gift.

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To begin our time in God’s word today I’ll ask you to take your Bible and turn to Luke 17. While not our primary text for today, this familiar story in Luke’s gospel of a miraculous healing by Jesus will serve as a picture of and an introduction to our topic of focus on this thanksgiving weekend.

[Luke 17:11–18] While He [Jesus] was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”

Indeed, “Where were the other nine?” Why did only one healed leper return to say thank you? One author I read this week suggested a number of possible reasons for their absence:

One waited to see if the cure was real.
One waited to see if it would last.
One said he would probably see Jesus later and thank him then.
One decided he had never actually had leprosy.
One reasoned he would have gotten well anyway.
One gave the glory to the priests.
One said, “O, well, Jesus didn’t really do anything.”
One said, “Any rabbi could have done it.”
One said, “I was already getting better.”

Ultimately, we don’t know why and the text doesn’t tell us but whatever their reasons for not returning, I think we can all agree that the lack of gratitude shown to Christ for the new life he had given them is as offensive as it is unfortunate.

As Christians, you and I have been given new life in Christ and we want to be like the one who came back and not like the nine who kept running. And today, on this thanksgiving weekend it seems especially appropriate that we, as a church family, “turn back” together, run to Christ this morning glorifying God, falling on our faces before him in worshipful thanksgiving for what he’s done for us.

I’ll now invite you to turn from Luke’s gospel to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where we’re going to look at the first ten verses of chapter 2. Ephesians 2:1–10.

This is a well-known passage—your copy of the Scriptures may be well-worn in this place, corners dog-eared, scribbles all over the pages—and rightly so. Ephesians 2:1–10 is an epic passage of Scripture that sends the Christian on a time-travelling journey to the past, through the present, and into the future.

In fact, that’s how we’re going to organize our study today. We’re going to be reminded of what we were before Christ, what we are now with Christ, and what now we’re to do for Christ. Past, present, future; what we were, what we are, and what we’re to do. And all of this with a “thanks be to God” ringing in our hearts.

Ephesians 2 begins with bad news; with a description of what we were before Christ. As I read the opening three verses, imagine Paul iss writing about you specifically. What we’re about to read was us—helpless, ostracized, dying-in-the-street-lepers before we heard Jesus was coming to town.

[1–3] And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Perhaps one of the greatest enemies to a thankful heart is sustained prosperity. One with money may forget what it was like to have none. One with close friendships may forget what it was like to be lonely. Similarly, one who has experienced God’s saving grace and has been walking by faith for years may forget what it was like when they were opposed to him.

Paul doesn’t want that to happen and so reminds us of what we were before Christ. And it’s a bleak, hopeless picture. As Paul says succinctly in verse 1, we “were dead.”

And, in case we’re not sure exactly what that means means, Paul explains. First, it means we were enslaved to the world. 

[1–2a] And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world,

The world is the system that seeks to understand reality apart from God; relying on humanistic thinking, secular reasoning, and works-based salvation. We were enslaved to the world.

Second, we were influenced by the devil. 

[2b] according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 

Paul comes back to this in chapter 6 of Ephesians when he writes [6:12]. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Satan is currently the ruler of this world; a judged and defeated ruler but one who, for a time, is still operative, prowling “around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8). Before Christ you and I were dead in that we were enslaved to the world and influenced by the devil.

Third, we were entrapped by our flesh [3a] Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind,

Lest we be tempted to think that all that’s wrong with us is outside ourselves—“it’s the world and the devil, not me!”—Paul points out that part of our problem was inside. We weren’t mere victims, but willing participants. We loved our sin and lived to satisfy all its cravings without reservation.

What were we before Christ? Dead! We were enslaved to the world, influenced by the devil, and entrapped by our flesh.

Isn’t it interesting that as our culture pushes, advertises, sells, and indulges in an ever-increasingly debauched and sinful lifestyle, they always do so under the banner of freedom. The world entices with promises of liberation. “Free yourself from old-fashioned thinking, from oppressive hierarchies, from objective truth, from biological realities, from familial responsibilities, and from the constraints of God. Throw off the shackles of inhibitions and conscience and come into the light of true and total emancipation.” 

The world’s promise of freedom is the cheese in the mousetrap. When we come to nibble, SNAP! Pain, enslavement, and death. 

[3b] and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Our former deadness brought upon us God’s wrath. God is perfectly loving, yes, but also perfectly just and holy. And, as such, he cannot let sin go unpunished or he’d cease being what he is. Therefore, what we were before Christ was dead, enslaved, children of deserved and just wrath.

Verse 4 begins with two of the most precious words in all of Scripture: “But God.” And on these two words Paul pivots from what we were before Christ to what we are with Christ.

[4–7] But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

As a Christian—one who has trusted in Christ Jesus alone for the eternal life he promised to those who do—this is what we are with Christ. In spite of what we were before, this is our current reality.

First, notice in verse 5, while we were once dead, we’ve now been made alive together with Christ by grace. Grace simply means we’ve been given something we didn’t deserve and, in this case, it’s salvation—life with Christ. 

Just as Jesus is very much alive right now, so we have been given new life. We have his eternal Spirit indwelling us, empowering us, guiding us, guarding us, and keeping us. We are alive right now in as much as Christ is alive right now, that is to say, eternally so.

Second, while we were once enslaved, we are now raised with Christ and seated with Christ (v. 6). While we will one day be raised physically, following the example of Christ himself, here Paul is speaking of our current spiritual experience. It’s in heaven with Christ that our citizenship now lies. Our passports are eternal and from the Country beyond. That’s why Peter could write in his first letter that we are aliens and strangers in this world, passing through. Why? Because our home Country is elsewhere and our King is waiting.

While we used to “walk according to the course of this world” we are now “seated” in the heavenly places in Christ. Paul’s contrast could not be more dramatic. What we were before Christ is dead, enslaved, and wrath-deserving, but what we are with Christ is alive, raised, and seated in the heavenly places.

My father, who’s a pastor also, recently preached on this same text and called it a “rags to God’s masterpiece story.” That’s exactly right, isn’t it. We’ve been lifted from the pit of despair to heights higher than we can imagine.

We may ask, Why would God do this for us? 

[4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

There’s the fuel driving it: God did this for us because he’s overflowing with mercy and love. Now add verse 7:

[7] so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

By taking dead, enslaved, wrath-deserving rebels and making us alive, raised, and seated with his glorious Son, we are eternal trophies of his gracious character for the universe to see and to celebrate. 

Brothers and sisters, this is what we are with Christ. We are living, empowered, indwelled, trophies of God’s immeasurable mercy, love, grace, and kindness. Your worth and my worth is intimately connected with God’s worth, which is infinite.

We’ve been reminded of what we were before Christ and what we are with Christ. But Paul ends by pointing forward to what we’re to do for Christ. In light of our salvation, what now? Do we keep running like the nine ungrateful lepers or do we turn back in thankful worship to our Saviour?

In the closing three verses Paul re-states the reality of our salvation, then describes two possible reactions to that reality—one inappropriate and one appropriate. 

First, the re-statement of our salvation: [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 

Our salvation is God’s grace, grace, grace. Grace that Paul has already described in chapter 1 verse 8 as being lavished upon us. God gave us something we didn’t deserve. Why? Because he loved us and desired to show his magnificent character in saving us.

And how is this beautiful gift opened? How is this immeasurable credit applied to our accounts? Through faith. Through belief. Through trust. 

[John 3:14–16] “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Jesus, speaking here, begins by referring to an account in Number 21 where, because of their sin, God’s people had been inflicted with poisonous snakes in their camp. Many were being bitten and dying. Moses prayed to God and asked for mercy on behalf of the people and God told him to make a serpent out of bronze and put it up on a pole and tell the people that whoever is bitten and looks at that bronze snake, they will be healed and live.

Then Jesus says, so it is with me. I will be lifted up on a cross, and all who desire to live must look to me in faith; must believe. 

What must we do to be saved from our deadness, enslavement, and God’s wrath? Look to the one who was propped up on the cross. Trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ—that he, the Son of God, lived a sinless life, died a sinners’ death, and was raised on the third day.

If you’ve never done that before today, now’s the time. Wherever you are, as you’re listening to this, the Holy Spirit of God is prompting you to respond to this good news. You don’t need to give money, walk an aisle, or even say anything out loud. Just right now, in your heart and mind, talk to God. He’s listening. And tell him, “God, I realized I’ve been living a dead life—enslaved to the world, the devil, and my flesh—and, because of that, I’ve been at odds with you. I don’t want that anymore. I want what Paul’s describing here in Ephesians 2. I want eternal life. I want peace with you, God. I want hope for the future. And I know I can only have that through your Son, Jesus, who himself said: ‘I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.’ Father, I’m trusting in Jesus today.”

And, friend, that’s all it takes. When one does that, they pass from death to life and experience the grace of God as Paul described in Ephesians 2. “It’s not of yourself, it is the gift of God” unwrapped by faith in his Son.

Now that’s he’s re-stated our current salvation in verse 8, Paul, now describes a couple possible reactions, the first being inappropriate: 

[9] not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Imagine going to a birthday party where the one opening the gifts insists on paying everyone for at least part of the cost of the gifts they brought. It’s offensive, off-putting, inappropriate, and, perhaps more than anything, steals the glory from the giver of the gifts. It cheapens their act of generosity. 

So too in salvation. Not only can our works do nothing, but when we attempt to pay God back or work-off our debt, it’s insulting to the Giver of the gift. If we remember verse 7 and the purpose of salvation this particularly makes sense: God’s saved us so as to reflect his glorious character to the universe for eternity. Us trying to work not only gives us an imaginary reason to boast in how we helped God saved ourselves, but it’s also an attempt to thwart God’s plan to glorify himself.

Christians have been moved from the darkness of verses 1–3 to the beauty of verses 4–7 totally and solely by his love- and mercy-motivated grace. We contributed nothing but the sin that made our salvation necessary. To try and work with an eye to pay off this debt is an inappropriate response to the gift.

So, what’s the appropriate response? Paul closes with that: [10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

The word for “workmanship” is the word from which we get “poetry.” God’s people are his work of art, skillfully put together to display his glory, love, and grace. 

And, while the individual Christian is certainly encompassed in this passage, I believe Paul’s primary target is the body of Christ—the church—the collective people of God. All the pronouns are plural. We together are God’s workmanship. And how do we together respond to the new life we’ve been given? By walking in the “good works” he’s prepared beforehand for us to do. 

And what are the good works God has prepared for his people to do in this world? God doesn’t leave us guessing. Even if we flip the page to Ephesians 4 we find a number of commands for the body of Christ to carry out: “speak truth … be angry and yet do not sin … don’t steal … work hard … watch your mouth … be kind to one another … put away bitterness … be imitators of God … walk in love.”

In other words, live godly lives. That’s what God has prepared in advance for us to do and we have the Holy Spirit living in us to empower and guide us in that thankful and worshipful endeavour.

We’ve been saved, brothers and sisters, by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We’ve passed from death to life, from darkness to light, from the pit to the heavens. We’ve been resurrected from death and freed from bondage.

And now that we’ve seen that our skin is clear from the leprosy of God’s wrath, what are we going to do? Do we keep running? Or do we turn back and fall at his feet in thankful worship by living the godly lives he’s called us to live in the midst of the community of believers he’s providentially placed around us, not because our godliness earns or contributes at all to our salvation, nor does it pay him back in any way, but because we’re so full of joy that we can’t help it.

May Paul’s reminder of this truth serve as the cornerstone of our thanksgiving weekend. We truly have everything to be thankful for. God bless.