I’ve been studying Ephesians recently, and I noticed something that many of the commentaries assume but don’t seem to properly justify. If you’re interested…
“And although you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly lived according to this world’s present path, according to the ruler of the domain of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience, among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest… But God, being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you are saved!” — Ephesians 2:1–5 (NET)
“Spiritual Death” Isn’t in the Text
One of the most common ways Ephesians 2 is explained is by saying that before Christ we were “spiritually dead.” While that phrase is widespread in Christian theology, it is worth noticing that it does not actually appear in Ephesians 2, nor anywhere else in Scripture. Paul simply says that we were “dead in our trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) — pneuma (“spirit”) isn’t in the verse at all. This matters, because “spiritual death” often carries a package of assumptions that the text itself does not explicitly state: complete separation from God’s life, total inability to respond to God, or absolute incapacity to exercise faith. Whatever one ultimately concludes about those doctrines from the broader sweep of Scripture, they should not simply be read into the word “dead” itself.
Dead — But Remarkably Active
In fact, the immediate context seems to indicate that Paul’s “dead” readers are remarkably active. They walk according to the ways of the world. They follow the ruler of the power of the air. They pursue the desires of the flesh. They are disobedient and stand under judgment. The emphasis is not on an immaterial part of a person being literally dead, but on humanity existing under the power of sin and exposed to God’s coming judgment.
By Nature, Not by Guilt
Verse 3 does talk about being “by nature” children of wrath — the Greek behind this can point to “by birth” or “in reality” — and this seems to indicate some kind of inherited sinful state. This should be held in tension though with Paul’s general view of sin as abnormality and disorder; it is not our “natural” state, in that sense, but a corruption of our created purpose. Even if our being born into this fallen world involves experiencing and even contributing to that abnormality and disorder, it does not follow that we somehow inherit guilt itself — we make our own choices and are each held accountable for our decisions. So thank God for his patience!
Now and Not Yet
Because the judgment of us all as “children of wrath” parallels the death of verse 1 — in other words, even though we are liable to that judgment of wrath (and death), that judgment is future. And yet, it is very much real and relevant in the present. In the same way, I believe being “dead” here should not be understood as having a literally dead, useless, impotent, inactive human spirit, but as figurative or metaphorical — describing a very real present condition viewed in light of its ultimate eschatological (i.e. end-time) outcome.
This is what theologians sometimes call an “inaugurated eschatology,” or a now-and-not-yet reality.
Paul in fact uses this same pattern when describing salvation — a few verses later, he tells believers that God has already “made us alive with Christ,” “raised us up with Christ,” and “seated us with Christ in the heavenly realms.” Obviously, this has not been fully realised yet. Our resurrection is real and present in one sense, but we still await bodily resurrection (and most likely a real, physical death before that!). Our reign with Christ is real and present, but we still await its full manifestation. The life, resurrection, and enthronement of believers are already true, but are not yet fully revealed.
A False Choice About Faith
This perspective also helps avoid a false dichotomy that often appears in discussions about faith. The choice is presented as either:
- Faith is a self-generated human achievement independent of God, or
- Faith must be unilaterally implanted after regeneration because the spiritually dead person is incapable of responding.
But these are not the only possibilities! Scripture consistently presents life, breath, existence, and every human capacity as gifts from God. The capacity to trust may itself be part of God’s graciously created reality. Yet acknowledging that truth does not require us to conclude that the actual exercise of faith is something other than our genuine response. Faith can be both enabled by God’s grace and genuinely exercised by the person who trusts. That seems to fit the flow of Ephesians 2 itself. Salvation is entirely God’s gift. The initiative is his. The mercy is his. The grace and love is his. Yet believers are still called to respond, to believe, and ultimately to “walk in the good works” God has prepared for them.
Redeemed, Not Replaced
The chapter begins with people who “walk” according to the powers of the present age. It ends with people who “walk” in the works God has prepared for them, even growing and being built into a temple for God himself to dwell in by his life-giving spirit! And that’s what I call invigoration — God’s grace transforms our condition without erasing our agency.
So the great encouragement of Ephesians 2 is not that God replaces our humanity, but that he redeems it. He rescues those trapped under sin, wrath, and the powers of the age, brings them into the life of the age to come, and calls them to live now as participants in union with Christ in a future that has already begun. The deadness was real. The new life is real. But both are best understood within Paul’s great vision of the gospel: the age to come has broken into the present, and God’s people are already living in its light — even while awaiting its final revelation.
So — were you ever really “spiritually dead”? Or is that just a phrase we inherited, standing in for something Scripture is actually a lot more precise about?
I pray you’re walking in the Lord, as we’ve all been called to.
In Christ,
Paul