Unable to Respond, Until Made Alive

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” (Ephesians 2:1–3).

The Bible states very clearly that those who are outside of the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ are spiritually dead. Even those of us who are now in Christ were at one time also spiritually dead: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.” The passage then speaks of the kinds of activity in which the spiritually dead participate.

These activities come naturally to the spiritually dead. The apostle Paul expanded upon this list in his letter to the Galatian church: “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19–21).

Not only are those outside of Christ spiritually dead, but they are also blind. Second Corinthians 4:3–4 says, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

This spiritually dead and blind malady is also accompanied by an inability to hear.

Jesus, when speaking to the Pharisees, said this: “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:43–44).

Humor me for a bit as I ask you a few questions. Of what is a dead person capable? What can a blind man see? What can a deaf man hear? What are our natural expectations of those in such physical conditions? In many instances, do we not feel compassion for those with such handicaps?

When those in the world (outside of Christ) speak and act in the way that they do, they are just doing what comes naturally, for they are dead, blind, and deaf to the things of the Spirit, held captive by the prince of the power of the air, Satan himself. And if this is true, we, as those who were at one time in the same boat, need to view them with compassion because they are just doing the best they can as ones who are dead, blind, and deaf. We too were held captive until the truth of God’s grace in Christ broke upon our hearts.

Paul completes his thoughts in Ephesians chapter two with these words: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:4–9).

Again, I say, the temptation to lash out at those who are spiritually dead, blind, and deaf, and to judge them harshly for their actions and words—actions and words that just come naturally—is to forget that we too, at one time, were no different than them. But for the grace of God, there we go!

So, let us pray for those who still dwell in darkness. And when we do have opportunity to engage with those who see things so very differently from the way we see things, let’s  take the posture recommended by apostle Paul to his spiritual son, Timothy: “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:24–26).

Let us always remember, these people are not our enemies, the are victims of the Enemy, held captive by the one who comes to kill, to steal, and to destroy (John 10:10). For he is the one who builds fortresses of philosophies and speculations, raised up against the knowledge of God (II Corinthians 10:4-5).