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You Were Dead
You Were Dead
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
The word dead here is referring to a spiritual death. Death signifies absence of communication with the living. One who is dead spiritually has no communication with God; he is separated from God. The phrase “in your transgressions and sins” shows the sphere of the death, suggesting that sin has killed people and they remain in that spiritually dead state.
Wages of sin is death
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.
Someone who is dead in their trespasses and sins is a follower, not a leader. Now understand me. We need to be followers of Christ, but that is it!
Look what the scripture says says! It says someone who is dead in their trespasses and sins follows the course of this world, follows the prince of the power of the air, follows the desires of the body and mind, and follows the rest of mankind, their nature, their actions, their mannerisms. The only one we’re meant to follow is Jesus Christ.
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
So Paul lays down the foundation of where the state of an unbeliever. It looks bleak, but watch this.
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.
Being dead in trespasses is not the end of the story!!! Its the bridge to the plot twist. Its a setup! Its a lie from the devil that doesn’t have to be true!! You don’t have to stay dead! Because I know, my God is the God of resurrection! My God is the God of revival! My God is the one who raised Lazarus from the dead! My God is rich in mercy! My God will never leave me or forsake me! Do you believe that today?
Even while all of that was going on. Even while the sinner is dead in his trespasses and refuses to come to Christ. Even when you seem to be on the autobahn to hell, Christ died for you. He made you alive with Christ by his grace. He didn’t just make you alive with Christ though, even though that would have been enough. He seated you in the heavenly place with Jesus Christ.
Earlier we learned that a spiritually dead person cannot communicate with God. The only way a spiritually dead person can communicate with God is to be alive, and that must be done by the One who is Himself alive. There is a comparison that needs to be made to understand this verse. Everything listed here is physically for Christ, but spiritually for us. Christ was dead physically and resurrected physically. We were dead and resurrected spiritually. Chris is physically seated in heaven. We’re spiritually seated with Him.
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.
Paul here tells us how we were saved. We were saved by that immeasurable grace. He drives home the point of how hopeless and helpless we were. We cannot save ourselves. If we could, then Christ died for nothing. But one may ask, why would God save me? Verse 10 answers that. We are His workmanship. The Greek word for workmanship means masterpiece. God’s workmanship is not achieved by good works, but it is to result in good works.
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Five things occur when you’re not saved by Jesus.
You’re alienated from Christ.
It says that they were alienated from Israel. Israel means “God perseveres” So God perseveres His people. Jesus doesn’t follow you. You follow Jesus.
We did not have an inheritance.
We had no hope.
We had no God in our world.
Notice what verses 14-16 say: He killed the wall of hostility!
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone it says in verse 20. In ancient building practices “the chief cornerstone” was carefully placed. It was crucial because the entire building was lined up with it. The church’s foundation, that is, the apostles and prophets, needed to be correctly aligned with Christ.
the Old Testament God’s glory was in the temple, which represented His presence with the people. In this Age God dwells in His new temple which is constructed not from inanimate materials but of living believers. The Holy Spirit indwells each individual believer, who is thus a “temple”. But the temple in Ephesians 2:21–22 refers to the Holy Spirit’s corporate “dwelling”, His “temple” composed of all Jewish and Gentile believers.
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