Apostle Paul writing to “God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus”, Ephesians 2:4-7: “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
No one needs a doctorate in theology to understand the simple truth embedded in the text above that we summarise in the following points:
The love of God for us is obviously great (because)
- God loved us even when we were dead in trespasses (sins)
- God made us alive together with Christ
- God raised us together with Christ and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus
God has done all the above (1-4) in order (purpose) to show in the ages to come the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.
It is important to note that the phrase “we were dead” in the Greek evokes a continuous state of being (2) in the past, one in which are the people Paul describes as “the rest” (Ephesians 2:3). Interestingly, in Ephesians 2:12 Paul states, “that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
In other words, apostle Paul is reminding God’s people in Ephesus their former (spiritual) state, namely, they were (spiritually) dead whilst they were (living) without Christ (Jesus Christ) in the world. At that time, the Bible says, they had no hope and were without God in the world.
In other words, they were living but (spiritually) dead (dead man/woman living) on earth or in the world. Obviously, they were born dead, but they became “born again” and (spiritually) alive on that account (See John 3:3). Here spiritual death and living without God (separated from God) are synonymous.
It is important to understand that living without God -and God is Spirit (John 4:24)- accounts for the proliferation of idolatry all over the world in the effort of humankind’s engaging in compensatory (religious/spiritual) practices to fill in the spiritual vacuum created by spiritual death -Thinking of the notion of “spirituality” without God…..
Remember the Lord Jesus statement to the young man whom he called to follow him but who asked to be first allowed to go bury his father instead? Matthew 8:22, “But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”” Talking about the dead burying the dead!…
Are you dead of alive? What is your spiritual state?
First Spiritual Death: The Garden of Eden.
We’re told that God kicked Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden dead but living.
Genesis 2:16-17, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”” Here we recall that “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)
Hence, we believe that Adam and Eve died in the day that they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, just as God said, an act symbolic of disobedience to God’s specific Command. However, Genesis 5:5 reveals, “So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.” Accordingly, the Bible is here telling us that Adam died twice (Genesis 3 and 5): The first time spiritually as his spirit separated from God, and, the second physically as his soul separated from his body.
Spiritual death explained: Genesis 3:7
Genesis 3:7, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.”
They knew as a matter of fact, that is, as when someone comes to realise the reality of his/her loss, as in the expression “stripped naked”…. They knew as a result of the eyes of both being open. What they did next indicates hiding on account of guilt, fear and shame (psychological impact) for wilfully disobeying God despite prior warning about the consequence…..
We’ve just read what the Bible reveals about the exact thing that happened to Adam and Eve in the day they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good evil, that is, the day they died….
Job 1:21 comes to mind, “And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”” Interestingly, talking about his (spiritual) state from his mother’s womb, king David states, Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”
At surface level, Job’s statement is taken in the sense of stating that just as he brought nothing into the world when he was born, likewise he will take nothing when he dies. At a deeper level, however, we note that the word naked describing Job when he was born also describes Adam and Even when they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Also, it is interesting that Job’s statement suggests the Lord’s taking away what he had given (loss) as the cause for his returning naked to where he came from.
Similarly, having disobeyed God, Adam and Eve lost something of God (Spirit/Glory/Presence) on account of God’s taking it away so that they died spiritually. Interestingly, Apostle Paul writes, 2 Corinthians 5:2-3, “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.” ….
Genesis 3 presents the sad account of what separated God from humankind, namely, disobedience to Him. This separation is what spiritual death is about in line with John 1:4, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Therefore, no (spiritual) life without Him!
Isaiah 59:1-2 comes to mind, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”
The statement “your iniquities have separated you from your God” not only evokes spiritual death but also recalls the sad account of Genesis 3 as a pattern humankind is bound to on account of being born spiritually dead of the first (spiritually) dead couple that lived on earth.
The Good News!
Ephesians 2:4-9, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
We all need to understand that the phrase “made us alive with Christ” is what theologians describe as “divine passive” to highlight the idea of God’s doing exclusively. Hence, the comment in parentheses (by grace you have been saved) which is further explained in terms of “not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Isn’t good News?
If spiritual death is separation from God, to be made alive with Christ is reconciliation with God. Here the key word is twofold, namely, “with Christ” for without Christ actually means without God, as seen early, because Christ is the one who reconciles us to God by the Cross of Calvary. No wonder that John 14:6 reveals, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Finally, a verse for you to ponder over especially if you are without Christ in your life, Ephesians 1:13-14, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Tell me, what is keeping you from believing in Jesus Christ today, if you’re yet to do it?
