"ONCE DEAD, NOW ALIVE" (An Article by Christian Henry) ~ 11/20/25

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” (Ephesians 2:1-3)

The story of how Paul first came to the city of Ephesus is really fascinating, and you can read all about it in Acts Chapter 19. Ephesus was a vast city that served as the center of worship for many Greek and Roman gods. Paul had an effective missionary presence there, converted many people to Christianity, and, while imprisoned by the Romans years later, he penned this letter to the church there. The big idea of this chapter is that the truth of the Gospel must inform every aspect of how we live our lives.

Paul begins the chapter by saying, “hath he quickened,” which expresses that, if we connect this verse with the last part of the previous chapter, we were made alive. We’ve been filled with His gifts and graces and thereby brought back to life. We were once dead in our transgressions, having swerved off the road and missed the mark. These immoral actions were once part of our lives, following the lead of the Devil, rather than God. This verse highlights the impact of sin: sin causes death. Even as saved believers, we still struggle with sin and disobedience. The one who claims to be without sin deceives themself. The combination of these expressions, “trespasses and sins,” covers both willful, knowing sins, as well as mistakes and errors.

Paul refers to the sin-centered lives of his readers in the past tense. Those who followed the course of the world and the way of Satan, who continues to deceive and influence many today. He even lumps himself and other Jews in with the Gentile Ephesians, something unheard of at the time, claiming that they also once acted according to the customs of the world and lived similarly sinful lives.

Their natures were once corrupted just as the rest of the world’s; living in open opposition to the Lord and for the flesh. He uses the pronoun “our” because this secular behavior is part of human nature. It’s inherent and inescapable in this life.

This is the way we all once lived. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel for us because, “...God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.” (Vs. 4-5) Notice how Paul does not say, "but then we did…" He refers only to the power of God, who brought us back to life. This remarkable change in our lives stems from only two sources: God's great mercy and His rich love for us. God expresses His incredible love by saving His enemies from their sin (as Romans 5:8 says).

We do not make ourselves alive; God does. Our sins separated us from God, both spiritually and in our eternal destiny. And yet, the trespasses which Paul mentioned in verse 1, which make us ”dead,” were not enough to stop God from making us alive.