July 22
Ephesians 1: 22: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things
to the church, 23: Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in
all. 2: 1: And you hath he quickened, who
were dead in trespasses and sins…
Often, it serves us well to remember that
the chapters in our bible were added by the translators. This is one such example. As we read of God raising Christ and giving “him,
the Head over all, to the church,” we are told that it is Christ’s glory to be
the one who “filleth all in all” his body.
Immediately, we are told what that means, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” The translators added the italicized words
because they convey what verses 4-10 tell us God did in and by our resurrected
Lord and Savior.
Notice, our death was in “trespasses” as
well as in “sins.” The word “trespasses”
declares we were guilty of breaking the law of God for which we needed the free
justification which Christ accomplished for us by his death on the cross. The word “sins” declares we were dead spiritually
for which we needed God to quicken us by Christ filling us with a new heart and
giving us his Spirit. (Eze 36: 25-27) Both
these works are performed by our triune God by Christ our Head and both are
necessary before holy God will receive guilty, dead sinners like us.
First, we must be paid the just wages which
our trespasses have earned, which is death. (Rom 6: 23; Eze 18: 4) This death is much more than that physical
death which we all shall face at God’s appointed hour. It is the “second death” of “fire and
brimstone” of God’s eternal and unalterable justice which every trespasser
shall die. (Rev 20: 14; 21: 8) The
second death will be a living death “where their worm dieth not, and the fire
is not quenched.” (Mr 9: 44) But all praise and glory goes to God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who by his sovereign will and grace, who in
his Son, provided himself, the Lamb, to die that living death upon the cursed tree
for a people chosen unto salvation from eternity. Look into the darkness of Calvary’s cross and
behold our Substitute alive in agony as he died that living death of hell’s just
wrath which all his people deserved. Christ
cried, “It is finished” before commending his spirit into the hands of God,
declaring that his physical death was but a visible token to his people that
that living death had been conquered and justice forever satisfied in those
hours in which he suffered upon the cross.
By the death he accomplished, the gift of God is eternal life to all his
chosen seed.
Secondly, and just as important, because
we were dead in sins, a new man must be created within each of God’s elect, in
the true righteousness and true holiness of Christ. (Eph 4: 24) While dead in sins, not only could we not
believe on Christ in faith, nor offer up “the calves of our lips”, God could
not receive us or any offerings of faith and gratitude from us, because “it
shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein.” (Ho 14: 2;
Lev 22: 21) The blessed man is not
simply the man “unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity” but also “in whose
spirit there is no guile.” (Ps 32: 2) We
have not that guileless spirit until God puts his Spirit within us, forming Christ
in you, and gifting us with faith by his grace. (Gal 4: 19; Col 1: 27; Eph 2:
8-9) There is simply no freedom from the law of sin and death except by the law
of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. (Rom 8: 2) The reality is that the true spiritual child
of God does not even exist until God has circumcised the heart, whereby God’s
child is created within these dead sons of Adam. (Rom 2: 28-29; Gal 6: 15) Again,
all praise and glory goes to our triune God for we are “his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus, unto good works which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them.” (Eph 2: 10)
If we have a new spirit and a new heart to
behold that we have been delivered from our death in trespasses as well as in
sins then shall we praise and glorify our triune God for Christ Jesus who
filleth all in all.