Japanese author and novelist Haruki Murakami is quoted as saying, “Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.” Unfortunately, death is a part of life that everyone will experience at some point, but Paul teaches us something in Ephesians 2 that is completely unheard of in nature: the passage from death to life. Of course, Paul isn’t talking about a physical sense of life and death, but a spiritual one.
The first concept Paul mentions in Ephesians 2 is the concept of spiritual death. Paul writes, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV). Our state of spiritual death is by our own doing. We have followed the course of disobedience and our own worldly passions, and as a result have become dead in our trespasses. First John 2:15-16 teaches us that we can’t be followers of the Lord and followers of our own desires at the same time. Every person on Earth will have to make a choice of whether to follow the Lord or the passions of the flesh.
Paul makes a good case for following the former. In Ephesians 2:4, Paul teaches us that God is “rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us” (ESV). It’s because of His grace and love that we don’t have to remain dead in our sins, but rather be “made alive together in Christ.” Ephesians 2:8 further teaches that our salvation doesn’t come solely from God’s grace, but our faith as well. Paul then goes on to discuss the role that the blood of Christ plays in our salvation. In 2:13, Paul uses the euphemism “far off” and “brought near”. The phrase “brought near” means now having access to God (Ephesians 2:18). How does Paul say that we gain this access to God? Through the blood of Christ! God has graciously given us a pathway to salvation for those who have faith. However, in order to have forgiveness for our trespasses we must come into contact with the blood of Christ (Ephesians 1:7; 2:5; Isaiah 59:2). How do we come into contact with the blood of Christ? Baptism!
Matthew 26:28 shows that the remission of our sins is through the blood of Christ. Acts 2:38 explains that the redemption of sins is through water baptism. How do we reconcile these seemingly contradictory statements? The answer is simple. It isn’t either/or, but both! The blood of Christ is what saves us, baptism is the when. It is through God’s grace that we’re given the blessing of salvation. We have to be believers to receive this blessing. We receive this blessing, and are made alive in Christ when we come into contact with the blood of Christ. That happens at the moment of our baptism.
If we want to receive the blessings outlined in Ephesians 2, then we have to obey the mandate of the New Testament and put on Christ in baptism. From that point on we must continue to live our lives in accordance with the New Testament (Romans 6:1-4). Don’t wallow in your trespasses; seek out Christ and join him today in baptism.
Grayson Campbell