If you are among the many throngs of people today who are truly in search of answers, trying to make sense of the chaotic and often ‘dark’ world that we live in, then I don’t know of any better verses to point you to from the Bible than the ones I touched on the other day, 1 John 5:19, Acts 26:18; Rev. 12:9...and the one I have included here below, found in Eph. 2:1-3.

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

I have referenced this passage regularly here over the past few years and want to come back and ‘unpack it’ even more today, because there is so much to be gleaned from it that can bring so much clarity and understanding to why we are the way we are, and what God is trying to communicate to us to bring us into more freedom. And the best way I know to do this is to dive in and take it ‘one piece at a time’.

Let’s take that first statement and look at the Amplified version and how it reads: “And you [He made alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins,”.

The first mistake we can make when reading this...is to automatically assume, or conclude...that this passage is directed at ‘us’, or anyone who reads it. Let me explain. Paul’s making it quite clear of our condition before...and after one comes to Christ; and I’m not talking about someone who says a short prayer and ‘joins a church’.

What is our condition or status prior to truly repenting and coming to God with ‘all our heart’? We were separated from Him...because of our sins and sinful lifestyles...and therefore we were (or are) ‘spiritually dead’. Yes, we did (or still have) a heartbeat, we breath and function and think and feel emotions and ‘live out’ our lives in this world, but remember...we were designed and created in ‘three parts’: spirit, soul, and body.(1 Thess. 5:23).

God created us as ‘spirit beings’, in His image and likeness (prior to the fall in the garden- Gen. 1:26-27; John 4:24). He also gave us a ‘soul’ which most agree makes up our ‘mind, will, intellect, and emotions’. I suppose you could include our individual makeup and ‘personalities’ with that as well. And then God ‘housed’ us in a physical body that has physical needs (food/water, etc.).

Now this is important to understand so we’ll take this slowly. When God told Adam early on to not eat from that one tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He made it quite clear: in the day you eat of it, you will surely die. (Gen. 2:17). A few years ago, I read a comment by someone who posted on one of my messages and they made this statement: “Clearly, Adam and Eve did not ‘die’ after they ate of the tree.” So I guess the Bible lied to us, or maybe we don’t understand what it means to be ‘dead’ ...from God’s perspective. Romans 5:12 would be a good verse to be familiar with because Paul confirms how ‘death’ entered the world, and it was through the sin of Adam...and ‘death spread to all men’.

Sin...separates us from God; always has and always will (Isa. 59:2). And apart from Him, we have no ‘life’. Take a look at what Jesus said in John 5:40 and 10:10. So if Jesus is coming to give us ‘life’, then maybe He’s suggesting that we are ‘needing life’ which would indicate we are ‘dead’ (spiritually).

So it goes without saying...a person can go through this world and be in the best ‘physical health/condition’, eats right, exercises...all the ‘things’. They can also have a sharp mind, may be well educated or have good common sense and...even have some semblance of a ‘moral compass’ and do their best to ‘do what is right’. “I’m a ‘good person’ and do all the things that ‘good’ humans do.” I believe the rich, young ruler from Matt. 19 would fit in this category. He sure had a lot going for him, yet he recognized that something was missing in his life; hence his reason for coming to Jesus seeking ‘eternal life’...whatever that meant to him. (Matt. 19:16) You might also jot down Proverbs 14:12 for some perspective.

Yet...at the end of the day...if one is apart from, or separated from God...then they have no ‘life’. We were all ‘born dead’ (Rom. 5:12; John 3:36) and if we remain apart from God, we will never truly taste and experience the ‘life’ that only God can bring. This is why we must be ‘born again’ in order to see and experience the kingdom of God (John 3:1-7).

And God’s desire is for every last one of us to come to Him and receive this life (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). Not only is it imperative that we ‘come to Him’ (John 5:40)...but it is equally important that we ‘continue on’ with Him, which is what ‘abiding’ means. John 15:1-8 should take on that much more meaning to us now, with added emphasis on vs. 4-5 in that text. To ‘abide in Him’ is to ‘walk in the light as He is in the light’ which means we will walk as He walked; and if we don’t...we risk the danger of being ‘overtaken by the darkness again’ from which we were ‘called out of’. (1 John 1:7; 2:3-6; John 12:35-36; 1 Pet. 2:9)

I don’t want to get ahead of myself here, but the first part of the next verse (2) in Eph. 2 points out that those who have been ‘made alive’ or ‘quickened’...”once walked according to the course/pattern of this world’. This means anyone who has come to Jesus...no longer walks that way (past tense). We will see there as we study on...that ‘the course of this world’ means we ‘walk according to the flesh’ (nature). And to do so...puts us in a very precarious position with God. Romans 8:7-8 says we make ourselves an enemy of God, or are ‘hostile’ towards God and we will not subject ourselves to His law. Paul then drives home the point in vs. 13 saying...if we continue to walk according to the flesh, we will ‘die’ (or remain dead). Sounds like something God told Adam back in Gen. 2:17...”You will surely die!”.

The next time someone tells you that a true ‘born again believer’ will always continue to sin on ‘this side of heaven’...because of this ‘flesh nature’...you might ask them to explain Galatians 5:24 to you, where we are told what those who ‘belong to Christ’...have done. I’ll continue on tomorrow, Lord willing, but please know that my postings here over the next several says might be spotty...for reasons I’ll explain later. :- ). Be blessed.