Sunday, we began our study of Eph. 2:1-3, which basically summarizes the first 3 chapters of Romans. This week we focused on being dead in sins (Eph. 2:1) by looking at Rom. 1:18-32 where Paul describes the Devolution of fallen humanity.
What Can Dead People “Do”?
Eph. 2:1 tells us that before we were saved by grace through faith we were dead in the sphere or realm of trespasses and sins. Dead in the Bible doesn't mean annihilation, nor does it mean we can't do anything. Death in the Bible occurs when some aspect of creation is separated from its created purpose. A classic example of this is found in Rom. 4.
There, Paul tells us that Abraham and Sarah were dead (Rom. 4:19) yet they were walking around doing all kinds of things. So, in what sense were they dead? They were dead because their reproductive system was unable to produce a child. It was separated from its created purpose of producing a child. They were dead reproductively, and they couldn't do anything about it.
But Paul also says that God had given them a promise. He promised to give life to their dead reproductive system. While Abraham and Sarah couldn't do anything THEMSELVES to remedy their dead situation, they could believe God's promise to them and rely on Him to remedy the situation. And that is exactly what God did, resulting in the promised child, Isaac.
Similarly, we are all born into the world dead SPIRITUALLY. Humans were created to operate relationally through human personhood made up of spirit (God-connectedness), soul (self-connectedness) and body (world-connectedness) (1 Thess. 5:23). Human flourishing comes from the human spirit being filled with God and enlightened with His Truth, which in turn directs the soulish life of our inner person, which in turn directs our interaction with the world.
But we have been separated from that created purpose. We are all born into the dire predicament of being alive physically but dead spiritually. While this predicament is dire, it is not hopeless because like Abraham, God has given us a promise as well. He has promised us that He will give life to our dead spirit by grace through faith (Eph. 2:5, 8). He has promised that He will give life to the dead spirit of All who believe (faith) in the Person and Work of His Son on the Cross for sinners (grace). So, while we are completely powerless to remedy our dire problem of being dead spiritually OURSELVES, we can believe God's promise to us and rely on Him to make our dead spirit alive through Christ.
Temporary physical life is God's gift to humanity. It gifts them with the opportunity to enter a right relationship with Him through Christ by faith that re-connects their human spirit to God's Spirit, making them alive spiritually with everlasting life, thereby fulfilling its created purpose. This is what should be recited in every nursery rhyme. This is what every child's first words should be. This is what ought to be taught in the earliest grades. The most important thing we need to know and understand is that physical life isn't primarily our opportunity to become great in our careers or education or athletics or anything else. Those things are all distant seconds when compared to our opportunity to be connected to God and made alive spiritually unto righteousness and everlasting life—BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH.