Matthew 8:21-22 “Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." (22) But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
We have seen thus far that when men are born into the earth that their spirits are filled with the life and light of God, for their spirits come from God. Sadly however their spirits do not remain in that condition, for there comes a time in each one’s life when their spirit dies and thus they become separated from the life of God. We know that to be true because the bible clearly teaches us that all those who are in the world are spiritually dead. In the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord confirmed that truth to us when He stated that those who are in the world are spiritually dead people, for in this passage our Lord was instructing those who were spiritually dead to bury those who were physically dead.
Ephesians 2:1 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul teaches us the same thing that Jesus taught, when He describes our spiritual state before we are saved. For in this passage He plainly tells us that we were dead and we have since been made alive. Obviously the Holy Spirit is referring to the state of our spirits before we come into the kingdom of God, for we were spiritually dead and not physically dead before we were born-again.
Romans 1:21 “because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
The scriptures plainly teach us that there comes a time in each person’s life, when their spirits’ change from spiritual life and light to spiritual death and darkness. In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul teaches us that there was once a time in the lives of all those who are in the world, when they knew God and were spiritually alive to God. But then the time came when they chose no longer to glorify Him as God, and so their foolish hearts were darkened. In other words their spirits, which had received the light of God when they came into the world died, and thus their spirits became darkened. The fact that their hearts became darkened means that before that time their spirits were in the light.
Romans 7:9-11 “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. (10) And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. (11) For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.”
The apostle Paul confirms this same truth to us in the above quoted passage of scripture, for in this passage Paul tells us that he was alive at one time in his life. Paul is speaking about spiritual life and not physical life in this passage. And so Paul declares that he was alive once before God held accountable for his actions, for he says that he was alive once without the law. When Paul says in this passage that the commandment came, he is referring the point when God held him accountable for his actions for the first time in his life. The moment that happened, Paul sinned by transgressing against the commandment of God, and because of his sin he died. Obviously Paul did not die physically, but rather the death that he is referring to in this passage is the death of his spirit. What happened to Paul happens to everyone, i.e. everyone is born alive in spirit and because of sin, at the age of accountability everyone dies in spirit.
Michael E.B. Maher
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