These verses
are descriptive of the bad news that makes the gospel [euaggélion] “good news” (1:13; 3:6, 7; 6:15, 19). As one long sentence in the Greek text, the
verb (which communicates the good news) is not supplied until v. 5. The former
lives of the Ephesians were, for the most part, characterized by pagan idolatry,
superstition, and black magic (cf. Acts 19:13-36). Thus they were spiritually
“dead.” While physical death is the absence of animated life, being “dead in the
trespasses and sins” is to be “destitute of a life that recognizes
and is devoted to God” (Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon 423); see also
vv. 5, 12; 5:14; John 5:25; Rom. 6:13; Rev. 3:1; cf. Luke 15:24, 32. Physical
death is the separation of one’s spirit from the body (Jas. 2:26), whereas
spiritual death (the consequence of sin) is the separation of one’s spirit from
God (Isa. 59:2).
The terms
“trespasses” [pl. of paráptōma] and
“sins” [pl. of hamartía] could be used
interchangeably and probably appear together here for emphasis. The former (see
also 1:7; 2:5) means to fall away after being close beside; a deviation from truth and uprightness, thus a misdeed. The latter (its
only occurrence in Ephesians) refers to missing the
mark; it is self-originated and self-empowered rather than originating from and
empowered by God (contrast 1:3-19). It is an error of understanding and/or a
bad action or evil deed and is always employed in the NT in an ethical sense.
This is the
typical mindset and behavior in which the Ephesians “once walked.” Note: the
walking dead! The Hebraic idiom “walk” [peripatéō] means
to live or conduct oneself, used repeatedly in Ephesians (2:2, 10; 4:1,
17[x2]; 5:2, 8, 15).2
This
passage is often used as a proof-text by those with a Calvinistic perspective,
wherein the pre-Christian state is described as, “by nature children of wrath.”
However, the context shows that being spiritually dead is the consequence of
“trespasses and sins, in which you once walked” [not inherited].
Accordingly, the Greek term phusis, rendered “nature” here, is not
necessarily indicative of something innate but rather “a mode of
feeling and acting which by long habit has become nature” (Thayer’s Greek-English
Lexicon 660). Prior to their conversion to Christ, the Ephesians (like the
rest of us) were deserving of God’s wrath because of their habitual practice of
sin.
“But God, being rich in
mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead
in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been
saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places
in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable
riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you
have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of
God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:4-10).
Grace is a free gift of God (Eph. 2:8; cf.
Rom. 3:24; 6:23), but in order for a gift to be of any value, it must be
“received.” The Corinthians, for example, had received God’s grace by receiving
the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-2; 2 Cor. 11:7), to which they responded in
obedient faith (Acts 18:8; 1 Cor. 12:13). They are then admonished “not to
receive the grace of God in vain” (2 Cor. 6:1) by neglecting God-given
responsibilities (5:17-21) or by regressing into their former sinful affections
(6:12-18).
Conclusion:
Spiritual life or spiritual death is the
choice available to each of us. If we choose the latter by continuing in sin
and rejecting God’s gracious gift, we are among the walking dead – void of spiritual
life that is purified, illuminated, guided, and invigorated by God. Will you
choose to walk among the living, or will you choose to walk among the dead?
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 Unless otherwise noted,
scripture quotations are from the ESV.
2 See also Gal. 5:16, 25; Rom.
6:4; 8:4; 13:13; 14:15; 2 Cor. 4:2; 5:7; 10:2, 3; 12:18; Phil. 3:17,
18; Col. 1:10; 2:6; 3:7; 4:5; 1 Thess. 2:12; 4:1, 12; 2 Thess. 3:6, 11.
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