An Analysis of the Spiritually Dead

You are Responsible for Your Spiritual State

We live in a culture that rarely takes responsibility for their own actions. And by the way, I am guilty of this as well. It has become acceptable to point the finger at someone else and place the blame on them for whatever the case is. It is seemingly a weekly occurrence where two of my kids will come to me crying and I’ll ask what happened. Inevitably, they begin by telling me what their brother did to them. And then I will ask them about what they did and they tell me that they retaliated. It is not their fault. Yet, Paul is writing to the Ephesians that the state that they were once in was one of their own doing.

Those who have not yet encountered Ephesians 2:4 and beyond are dead not because of what someone else did. Instead, it is their own sins and trespasses. I love looking at the meaning of words. When I think of the word trespass, I always think of a sign on a dirt road that says “NO TRESPASSING”. This sign draws a line that ought not be crossed. God has drawn lines for how it is we ought to live. And when we cross over that line, we have trespassed against Him.

The same can be said for sin. Traditionally, the concept of sin is understood to be an archery term that misses the mark.

When someone

The Dead Are Guided From the Outside and Inside

Course of this world | The world is used throughout the New Testament and just about every time it is used in a negative context. This is why I believe that God has placed a longing in those who love Him for another world beyond this place.

Prince of the power of the air | A reference to Satan. He is the king of death. He desires nothing more than people of the world to remain that. He gives them what they need to continue to love the world.

Passions of our flesh | Because of the sin of our father Adam, we have a sin disease. Our desires are not naturally for the things of God. Instead, they are for the trespasses and sins in which we once walked.

There is only one cure for that disease.

This is the state for all people. Whether Jew or Gentile, we have all been born into a state that follows the world around us, the guiding of the devil, and the desires of our own flesh.

Without Christ, All Are Dead

There is something missing from this equation that my brother will come to in just a moment. But I need to speak to the deathly state. It is good for nothing. A dead tree has no purpose. No shade. No fruit. No pollen. The wood that it bears is not good for a fire. It is a hazard. This is the state of a person before the encounter Jesus.

Ezekiel 37:1–3 ESV

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.”

Imagine looking out over this valley. There is nothing but bones. Dry. Good for nothing. So much so that there is question if they can even live again. And that is where we arrive in verse 4 of Ephesians 2.