Those Spiritually Dead

Those spiritually dead live 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 (Ephesians 2:2). Those spiritually dead have no faith in Christ. Another spirit works in them, the spirit of disobedience. Their lifestyle is according to this present evil world. Those spiritually dead have no personal relationship with God.

God gives believers new life through our Lord Jesus Christ. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5). Believers receive new life from the mercy and love of God in Christ. Because Christ lives, believers are spiritually alive to God. Christ is our new life.

What did we do to deserve new life with God? The answer is nothing. It's because of God's mercy toward us. It is God's mercy and grace through faith in Christ alone. We were spiritually dead, but now by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:5). By grace through faith in Christ, we have new life.

New life is received by the mercy of God through the gospel of Christ. Before we trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, we were spiritually dead. The word dead means separated. We were spiritually dead, that is separated from God. And He made you alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). That's our new life in Christ

The Son of God

"Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God" (Daniel 3:25, NKJV). Those are words spoken by King Nebuchadnezzar. He ordered three men put in the firey furnace, because they would not bow to the statue of a false god. He described the fourth man "like the Son of God." Is that a reference to the pre-incarnate Christ? In Daniel 3:28, the king also described the fourth man as God's Angel.

W. E. Vine wrote, "The relation between the Lord and the 'angel of the Lord' is often so close that it is difficult to separate the two (Exodus 3:2, 4, 7-8, 12). This identification has led some interpreters to conclude that the 'angel of the Lord' was the pre-incarnate Christ."

Charles C. Ryrie explained that "the Angel of Yahweh is a Christophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. The Angel spoke as God, identified Himself with God,  and exercised the prerogatives of God (Gen. 16:7-12; 21:17-18; 22:11-18; Exod. 3:2; Judg. 2:1-4; 2 Sam. 24:16; Zech. 1:12; 3:1; 12:8). Appearances of the Angel ceased after the incarnation of Christ, which supports conclusions that He was the pre-incarnate Christ."

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ the Son of God makes a promise to every believer, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). When believers go through trials of faith and testing, we should never doubt the promise of Christ. Always is His word of assurance to each of us.

Why We Should Pray

Wayne Grudem wrote, "God does not want us to pray so that he can find out what we need, for Jesus said, 'Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.' Instead, God wants us to pray so that our dependence on him can increase."

Grudem was right. We never pray to inform God about anything. He knows all things, the end from the beginning. He certainly knows every need we have or ever shall have. He knows what we need before we ask him. He is omniscient, knowing all that has been, shall be or could have been.

Dr. Grudem taught that we should pray to express our dependence upon God. We are not self-sufficient. We are more aware of our dependence upon God through trials, temptation, and difficult days. Prayer  depends on God to supply our needs (Matthew 6:11).

Prayer includes adoration, confession and thanksgiving to God. Yet, you also come to God most often to express your dependence upon him. In those times, you make your requests known unto God. You admit your need and seek God's help. You ask God to supply your need according to his will. Prayer is the way to express your dependence on God.

Grudem maintains that "God wants us to pray so that our dependence on him can increase." We are totally dependent on God. It's in him that we live and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). Prayer is expressing your dependence upon God, knowing that he shall supply your needs (Philippians 4:19).

Christ Living In Us

Christ lives in us by faith. That means we have new life, the life of Christ. We can truly say, "Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit, also known as the Spirit of Christ. His presence is experienced through faith, hope, and love. These are the three abiding gifts of the Holy Spirit. "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13). 

The Spirit of Christ lives in us through three abiding gifts. Faith is in your heart to trust Christ as your living Lord and Savior. Hope is given to trust Christ with your future. Most importantly, the love of Christ is in you. The love of Christ enables you to love God and others.

The Spirit of Christ lives in all believers (Romans 8:9). Christ is in our lives by faith. Christ lives in us by hope that the world didn't give us, and the world can't take it away. Most importantly, the love of Christ lives in us, bringing peace and joy. The Holy Spirit is the witness of Christ living in us, through faith, hope, and love.

One Sacrifice for Sins

"But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God" (Hebrews 10:12). Jesus Christ is our one sacrifice for sins forever. He died in the place of every believer, to take away all our sins. He is risen from the dead, and now at the right hand of God to save all who believe the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). 

Christ is our one and only sacrifice for sins forever. He is the only way we are reconciled to God. We have all sinned (Romans 3:23). Only the blood of Jesus can take away all our sins (1 John 1:7). God proved his love for us as sinners at the cross of Jesus (Romans 5:8). Only one sacrifice can forever cleanse you from all sin. 

Christ is every believer's one sacrifice for sins forever. Christ died in our place. He took our judgment and punishment. He paid the complete debt of all our sins forever. That is the testimony of every true believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not what we do, but what Christ did for us. Believers receive the one and only sacrifice for their sins in Christ alone.

The Old Testament sacrifices were never complete. They were offered again and again, with endless repetition. They pointed toward the one and only sacrifice that takes away sin. They pointed to Christ who died as the one sacrifice for sins forever. There is no other name whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). 

Those Who Are Cursed

The word curse means to be cut off, that is cut off from the blessing of God and marked for destruction. God's covenant of law promised blessings to those who obey and curses to those who disobey (Deuteronomy 28:15-24). Those who are cursed in sin are cut off from the blessings of God.

Martin Luther taught that Christ died for the curse of our sin. "He voluntarily fulfilled all righteousness, living under the law without spot or blemish, bore our sins, became a curse for us, and offered himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. This is the atoning, reconciling work of Christ."

Those cursed are controlled by a spirit of disobedience (Ephesians 2:1-3). They are under the dominion of sin and the curse of the law. The only hope of salvation is in the sacrifice of Christ alone.  As Luther said, Christ "became a curse for us, and offered himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world."

The curse of sin is removed by faith in Christ as our sacrifice! Luther taught that Christ in the atonement "became a curse for us" at the cross (Gal. 3:13). He wrote, "This is the atoning, reconciling work of Christ." That means by grace through faith in the sacrifice of Christ, believers are free from the curse! 

One Great Act of God

Abraham Kuyper, in his classic book on the Holy Spirit's work, wrote, "There is one great act of God which re-creates the corrupt sinner into a new man, the comprehensive act of regeneration, which contains three parts: quickening, conversion, and sanctification." 

Regeneration makes believers spiritually alive in Christ. We were spiritually dead to God, until the Holy Spirit awakened us to new life in Christ. "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1). We are made spiritually alive to a personal relationship with God in Christ.

Regeneration enables our conversion to Christ. Conversion has a negative and positive aspect. Negatively, you turn away from your old life through repentance. Positively, you turn to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit's work enables you to repent and believe the gospel.

Regeneration sanctifies us, which means to be set apart in Christ. Through conversion, we are set apart to new life in Christ (1 Peter 1:2). Sanctification by the Holy Spirit begins in conversion and is completed in glorification (Romans 8:30; 1 John 3:2). Sanctification is the process of spiritual growth in Christ (2 Peter 3:18).