AI Summary
5 min readAlive With Christ (Part 2)
"All human beings know that story is true, and to deny that story is true, just so you can stay in control of your own life, will banish you to despair." Tim Keller returns to Ephesians 2:1-5 to push past a superficial understanding of sin and into what he calls the "flesh"—a concept most churchgoers, he argues, fundamentally misunderstand.
What the Flesh Actually Is
Keller insists the biblical word "flesh" does not mean the body. It is not about sexual sins, drunkenness, or bodily appetites. Rather, the flesh is "the bent of the whole person to be your own God rather than be under God." It is the part of your heart that devises strategies to make you independent from God—to become your own king and savior rather than relying on him.
This reframing changes everything. Keller quotes his friend David Powlison: "The essence of sin is an inordinate desire for something good." The flesh takes good things—work, relationships, morality, religion itself—and elevates them to ultimate status. You begin to think, If I have that, I'll be fine. You make that thing your functional savior.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:03) **Introduction: The Core of Christianity** - Keller introduces the passage Ephesians 2:1-5, setting up the contrast between spiritual death and new life in Christ.
- 2 (00:49) **Review: The Meaning of “The Flesh”** - Keller recaps his previous teaching on the biblical concept of the flesh, arguing it is not the body but the entire person's bent toward self-rule.
- 3 (04:05) **The Essence of Sin: Inordinate Desire for Good Things** - Keller introduces a key definition from David Powlison: sin is an inordinate desire for something good.
- 4 (05:49) **The Flesh in Religion and Moralism** - Keller demonstrates how the flesh operates in religious people, producing pride, rigidity, and self-righteousness rather than grace.
- 5 (07:21) **The Flesh as Bondage** - Keller explains that anything made into a substitute God will never satisfy, creating a perpetual craving and bondage.
- 6 (09:41) **The Deep Root of the Problem** - Keller argues that the problem is not just sinful behaviors (the "shoots") but the deep-rooted motivations and strategies of the flesh (the "roots").
- 7 (11:28) **The Gospel's Answer: "But God"** - Keller arrives at the central pivot of the passage in verse 4, emphasizing the three crucial truths about the new birth: the what, the how, and the why.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on November 8, 1992. Series: Salvation From the Outside In. Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-5.
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