SPIRITUAL DEATH

Eph. 2:1-6

Morning Meditation 10/28/12

This text says: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”

Man is born spiritually dead and soulishly alive. He is born a natural man and has inherited his fallen nature from his father (Rom 5:12). This does not mean he does not have a spirit. He is body, soul and spirit (1Thess 5:23) by creation (procreation). To be spiritually dead is to be dead in one’s relationship to God. No matter how hard man tries he cannot attain anything that will give him the capacity to relate to God any other way that through his inherited nature. And this very nature is enmity to God (Rom 8:7). Salvation is God saving his enemy (Rom 5:10).

Paul in Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” The words “hath he quickened” translate a word (suzoopoieo) that means “to make one alive together with.” In verse five he tells them who they have been quickened together with. The verb here is an aorist active indicative verb. The aorist tense is a point tense and refers to a point of time in the past, i.e., the time of their salvation. It is also a once for all action. It is a point of time divorsed from time and perpetuated forever. Hallelujah. That is our salvation!

The words “who were dead in trespasses and sins” describe their past. The word “were” (Gk. on) means “being.” It refers to a state of being. The state of being is described by the word “dead” (nekros) which means “destitute of life.” When referring to the death of a person it means “one that has breathed his last, to be lifeless.” But in the case described by Paul here, the people had not breathed their last, they had never breathed at all. He describes a condition into which they were born. Salvation takes a person spiritually dead and gives him life by a creative act of God (2Cor 5:17).

The words “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” describe the life style of a spiritually dead person. It still does. This is where the unsaved world operates. They live out a life that is described in these words. There is nothing in this description that indicates one spark of life in relation to God. And every saved person has this past. If this is not in your past, you have not experienced the life of which Paul speaks here. Paul says to the Ephesian Christians “And you hath he quickened who were...” You are not “now.” You have a past. And thank God it is in the past.

He goes further and says, “Among whom also we all had our conversation (manner of life) in times past ... and were by nature the children of wrath.” He includes himself along with all the saved. We were not “children of God,” we were “children of wrath.” We are not born physically “the children of God.” We have a connection with God by creation but we also have a connection with Adam, the fallen head of the human race. We share that fall by procreation.

But the good news is “And you hath he quickened.” The Ephesians are no longer dead spiritually. They are not only alive physically, they are now alive spiritually. And they did not get that life by improving the natural man. They got this life from God. The words “He quickened” mean that God is the giver of the life they possessed. And this is how he (God) did it: “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.” When Jesus was raised from the dead and given life, every person who is in Christ was given that life with him. It is a given life. It is not an earned life. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This is described in Romans chapter six in detail. God is not only the one and only source of physical life, he is the one and only source of spiritual life.

The reason for salvation is described in the words in verse four: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us.” God is rich in mercy. He loves us so he undertook our salvation and accomplishes it in believers.

The words “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ’ tell us how he did it. We are inseparably joined to Christ in salvation. There is no resurrection apart from his. He is called the “firstfruits of them that slept” (1Cor 15:20,23). He is called the “firstbegotten of the dead” (Rev 1:5). Why the first begotten from the dead? Because all other resurrections depend on his resurrection. This is the reason our eternal salvation depends on his resurrection. Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:17 “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” If you wonder why fundamental Christians insist on our belief in the resurrection of Christ, this is it. This is why we will not tolerate someone who does not believe in the literal resurrection of Christ to preach in our pulpits or teach in our schools. If one happens to get into one of our schools, there is a fight over it. To deny the resurrection is to deny the Christian faith. I cannot emphasize this strong enough. A person who denies the literal resurrection of Christ is not a Christian unless he has lost his mind since he has been saved.

We are born spiritually dead. A spiritually dead person cannot create the life necessary to have fellowship with God. No denomination, no church or no set of moral standards can make a spiritually dead person come to life. It takes an act of God. God’s plan to save man is revealed in Scripture. He sent his only begotten Son to offer himself as man’s substitute to pay for man’s sins. The “wages of sin is death.” Jesus had no sin (1 Pet 3:18) and as our sinless substitute died in our place. This is good news for bad people. God’s salvation is described in the words: “for by grace are ye saved through faith” (Eph 2:8). We must believe the truth of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” You say, “I just don’t believe that.” That is the reason you are not saved. You cannot reject that message and be saved. I believe. And the Bible says: “ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God “ (John 3:18).

May God bless you.

In Christ

Bro. White