Regina 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 2:1-4 (emphasis mine)
It’s bleaker than it even sounds. Even this perpetual idealist cannot spin these verses pretty. The walking dead. That described us. Before Jesus, we had no capacity for life. No ability to be free of the sin that ruled us. We rebelled against the holy ruler of all and submitted to a soon to be dethroned prince of the power of the air. That evil spirit no longer works in us. The Spirit of life has raised us from the dead.
We do not walk as dead; we walk with God.
Jesus Christ walked this earth as fully God and fully man. At every turn, the second Adam proved to be something the first was not and never could be. The God Man obeyed in every place we do not obey. He chose every right thought, every right action, and His feelings followed truth rather than pride, lust, or jealousy, or anything like it.
He is altogether holy, altogether unlike us, yet He chose us.
Jesus received the full measure of all the wrath of God over all our sin. Every single sin. Every single thing we count as a little indiscretion. The drops of blood He spilled account for all of the failings I committed in all of my yesterdays, the moments I sin today, and for all the sins of my tomorrows. The death He died was the price I owed. We cannot skirt past the cross. That emblem of suffering and shame bought us everything.
The Savior of our souls stopped breathing. In the dark, His warm bruised bleeding body cooled, and I imagine all of heaven stood wondering over this sacrifice. Even angels long to look into these things. The darling of heaven wrapped no longer in swaddling cloths, but in burial cloths. He would not need them for long.
Christ arose.
He despised sin, destroyed death, and He lives still. This is the breathtaking beauty of the Gospel. Good News. Oh gracious, yes. Forever life, forever freedom offered. Jesus Christ offers Himself in our place for our sin. Only fools would refuse Him. Only the deceived would let this promise go. Today if you hear this Good News do not harden your heart. Today if you are a believer thank the Lord for Jesus. Do not forget the Gospel. The simplicity and beauty within Him, the salvation of our souls. We are FORGIVEN because of Him. We no longer follow sin. We no longer follow Satan. We no longer follow death. The Redeemed of the Lord, follow God.
