Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, (5) even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”
There are two conditions of the human spirit. The one condition is spiritual life and the other condition is spiritual death, and the spirits of everyone is either one or the other. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul is speaking about the condition of the spirits of men. In this passage the Holy Spirit teaches us that all believers were dead before they were saved. We know that the Holy Spirit is not saying that we were all physically dead before we were saved, but rather that we were all spiritually dead before we were saved. And so we see from this passage that the description that is applicable to all unbelievers today is that they are all spiritually dead. In this same passage of scripture the Holy Spirit then goes on to say that believers have been made alive in Christ. Just as all believers were not physically dead before they were saved so it is that they are not all made physically alive when they are saved, but rather the Holy Spirit is teaching that we transitioned from being spiritually dead to becoming spiritually alive. And so we see that the description that is applicable for all believers today is that they are all spiritually alive.
Luke 9:59-60 “Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." (60) Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus told the young man whom He had called to follow Him, to let the dead bury their own dead. When Jesus made that comment He was referring to their spiritual state, for it was their spirits that were dead. And so in effect our Lord was telling that young man to let those who were spiritually dead bury those who were physically dead. I want you to notice that Jesus knew that everyone in that man’s family were spiritually dead, which is why He made that comment. So how did Jesus know that they were all spiritually dead? The answer is simple. No one had yet been born-again at that time, for Jesus had not yet been raised from the dead. And so, everyone on the planet when Jesus walked the earth was spiritually dead, believer and unbeliever alike. This point reveals another truth to us, which is that all Old Testament saints were spiritually dead, simply because they could not be born-again. And so we see that it is only after Jesus was raised from the dead that all believers could be made spiritually alive.
Colossians 2:13 “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit again reinforces the truth to us that before we came into the kingdom of God that we were all spiritually dead and that in Christ our spirit’s have once again been made alive. Clearly there are two states that exist for the spirits of men. Those who are outside of Christ are spiritually dead, while all in Christ have been made spiritually alive.
Michael E.B. Maher
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