Made Alive in Christ

Let me just look at two passages in Ephesians which deal with both of these conditions: the death of the spirit and the rebellion of the soul. In Ephesians 2:1 through 3, speaking to believers who have come alive in Christ, Paul says,

“And you He made alive, who once were dead in trespasses and sins.”

They were not physically dead, but they were spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. And it was the new birth that brought them back to life.

Then it says about those sins,

“in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,” that's Satan, “the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all,” and that includes the apostle Paul, “we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

That's a picture of the whole human race in rebellion against God. And because of the rebellion, dead in trespasses and sins. That is the outcome of sin. The spirit dies, the soul becomes a rebel in rebellion against its creator. What happens to the body? It becomes what the Bible calls corruptible. That means it's subject to sickness, aging, and ultimately death.

But as I pointed out, the death of Adam did not take place physically for more than 900 years. The death that Adam experienced when he disobeyed God was probably what the Bible would call the first death. Then the New Testament speaks of the second death, Revelation chapter 20 verses 6 and 14, which I believe is the final separation of the rebellious spirit and soul from God forever.

Now, what happens when we get saved? To our spirit? It's made alive. We have become alive again in Christ. Let me read Ephesians 2:4 and 5.

“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 (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

So God made us alive. That's not all that He did. We do not have time to analyze this, but He also resurrected us, and then He enthroned us. All that is put in the past tense. So if we can accept it, spiritually we are seated with Christ upon the throne. But the thing that I want to emphasize now is we have been made alive.

Now, the soul through repentance is reconciled to God. It's very important to emphasize repentance. A rebel cannot be reconciled to God as long as he remains a rebel. So one of the things that's involved in salvation is that we lay down our rebellion. Lots of people who claim to be born again and saved have in actual fact never renounced their rebellion. They have an outward form of Christianity, but the inner reality is not there.

Let's look now in Romans chapter 5 for a moment. Romans chapter 5 verse 1.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We were at war with God. Now we've been justified by faith. We have peace with God. Then in verse 11 it says,

“and not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”

We were at war with God; we have been reconciled.

Then what happens to the body through salvation? It becomes a temple for the Holy Spirit. I think this is very important. A lot of believers do not realize that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and that we have to treat them with reverence. In 1 Corinthians 6:19 and 20, Paul begins, “Do you not know?” A phrase that he must use at least half a dozen times. My observation is that every time Paul says, “do you not know,” most Christians do not know.

So this is what Paul says.

“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body.”

Let's sum up what happens at salvation. Our spirit is made alive, our soul is reconciled with God, and our body is made a temple for the Holy Spirit.