We were dead.
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
- Ephesians 2:1-3
Three Ways in which We’re Swayed by Sin:
The World
The Devil
The Flesh
But God made us alive!
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
- Ephesians 2:4-7
Life in Christ Gives Us Victory Over Sin:
1. We reject the world’s patterns.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
- Romans 12:2
2. We fight back against the Devil.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
- Ephesians 6:11 (ESV)
3. We discipline the flesh and control its desires.
But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
- 1 Corinthians 9:27
In grace, God gives us new life and empowers us to live.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
- Ephesians 2:8-10