Ephesians 2:1

“And you were dead in your offenses and sins,” 

Let me let you in on a little secret – dead means dead. I have attended a lot of funerals and burials and have never once met someone who came back from that event. I am not trying to be hurtful or disrespectful if you have gone through that recently. I just know that death is the final act of this earthly body. Unless you are lucky enough to have been brought back medically, everyone who is reading this has never experienced death – yet.

Paul kind of slaps the Ephesians in the face with today’s verse. “You were dead! D-E-A-D, Dead!” Why? Because of their offenses and sins. Remember Romans 6:23? “For the wages of sin is death,…” The result of the fall of man in the garden was death – physical and spiritual death. Without an intervention by God, man would die spiritually because of their sins. Paul wants the Ephesians to remember that.

APPLICATION

You are probably thinking Well, thanks for the good news, Carl. That really made my day! You have to hang on. The first three verses of chapter 2 are all about showing us what we were BEFORE Jesus. In verse four we will see the good news. So, just hang in there. Keep coming back each day to get the full picture. This may feel like a cliffhanger, but I promise there is a bridge in sight.

Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned—” It all sounds so hopeless, doesn’t it? We have all been infected by this germ called “sin.” It is highly contagious. In fact, we were all born with it. Now hang on, Carl. You can’t tell me those precious little babies are sin filled. According to Scripture, yep! I don’t believe a baby or child will be held accountable for that until they are able to hear and comprehend the Gospel (but that’s a whole other discussion for another day).

I love 1 John and how John shows when we have left this sin-filled life and chosen to live our lives for Jesus. He says this in 1 John 3:14. “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death.” This is how we apply this verse. First, we accept Jesus, and then we show the world. Can you live today in that manner? Through Christ, you can.

O Lord, You have given me a new life. Help me live it honoring You.