Home -- English -- Ephesians -- 018 (The spiritual appraisal of natural man)
Previous Lesson -- Next Lesson
The spiritual appraisal of natural man (Ephesians 2:1-3)
Ephesians 2:1-2
2:1 “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” (Eph. 2:1-2).
Paul began his letter to the church leaders and the churches in the region of Ephesus by worshiping God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He thanked Him for everything He had done and all that had been realized in the house churches, which were composed of both Jewish and Hellenistic Christians. He then went on to the instructive part of his letter. His desire was to expound the foundations of the Christian faith, so that the basis of every critical reservation against fundamental Christian teaching, embracing all aspects of world view, might be expunged.
Who is dead in sin?
Paul proceeded to first vanquish the proud Hellenists, who were held by the pride of their moral philosophy and science. He simply told them: You, too, were spiritually dead – blind, deaf and dumb, lame and without knowledge. This apostolic judgment of the Greek Classic and its culture should be taught in all the high schools and universities of Europe. It needs to be grasped, so that the idealizing of Greek history can receive a Biblical definition. Every world view that does not recognize the crucified and risen One, or that even rejects Him, is spiritually dead and lifeless – without recognition of the reality of God. Every person living without Jesus, the Savior of the world, is spiritually lifeless, underdeveloped and naïve. Even geniuses and professors are, without the Holy Spirit, spiritually dead corpses. Everyone in whom the life of God does not dwell gropes about in semi-consciousness – branded by a “sickness unto death”. We need to have a sincere sadness in us and lament as at a burial procession over the spiritual condition of the world, if only it would cause some around us to wake up and turn to God.
The cause of this fatal contamination is the indifferent and godless life of both the individual and the masses, with often the deliberate transgression of the LORD´S commands. When in the depth of a person´s being there is no shaking through the recognition of the Holy God, nothing to teach him the true and righteous fear of God, then that person begins to dance around the golden calf. This is followed by contact with spirits of darkness and the dominion of the evil one. In the German language the word for sin, “Sünde”, has to do with the term “Sund”, which is a term used to express the “narrow straits” of an ocean or sea. The vast majority of people live far away from God, in “narrow straights”, without the springs of true life. They perceive themselves to have a good conscience, since godlessness has become legally inspired in our day and age. In truth they go astray in life and live without the presence of an inner peace. This is the logical consequence of the spiritual death and egoism that reigns in them.
Prayer:Dear Father in heaven, we worship You, for You have enlivened us with Your own life. By nature we are not a hair better than the godless of our day. But You had compassion on us and drew us to Yourself through Jesus Christ and His word. Please help us so that we will be able to offer the life of Your Spirit to those living around us who are still dead in sin. Amen.
Questions:
- Who is spiritually dead in our day and age?
- Why does man often sin indifferently?