Dead. What does this word convey to us? Have you seen a dead person in a casket, or come upon a dead animal in the woods? It is obvious that they are not about to take another breath, or reach out to us, or get up and walk away. The man in the casket is cold and lifeless and most definitely not present. The animal’s eyes are glazed and empty and flies buzz greedily around them. This is what dead means. Yet when we read certain verses in Scripture, somehow we feel differently about the word. In Ephesians 2 Paul says in verse 1 “…you were dead in your trespasses and sins…” and in verse 5 that “…even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ…” And from this point we somehow come to the metaphor that God throws us a life preserver and we grab a hold of it. But this does grievous harm to Paul’s metaphor. A dead thing can grab hold of nothing. A dead thing cannot tread water. A dead thing can do absolutely nothing…unless it is quickened.
DK
For a more thorough treatment of this topic, check out these sermon notes from John Piper.
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1985/521_Why_We_Need_a_Savior_Dead_in_Sins/
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