The passage that is used most frequently to defend the idea of Total Depravity is Ephesians 2:1-3 where Paul writes about people being dead in sin.
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others (Ephesians 2:1-3).
How Calvinists Understand “Dead in Sin” (Ephesians 2:1)
Due to the popularity of this passage among Calvinists, it would be possible to produce scores of quotes from various authors and writers who quote this text as proof for their doctrine of Total Depravity and total inability. I have already listed several of these quotes in an earlier post about how Calvinists understand the phrase “dead in sin,” so let me provide just a few additional quotations here which are fairly typical of how Ephesians 2:1-3 is understood.
The Calvinist often equates Paul’s image of being dead in sins for total inability (Palmer, Five Points of Calvinism, 16-19; Spencer, TULIP, 35).
To be dead in sin is to be in a state of moral and spiritual bondage. By nature we are slaves to sin (Sproul, Grace Unknown, 130).
Now it will surely be admitted that to be dead, and to be dead in sin, is clear and positive evidence that there is neither aptitude nor power remaining for the performance of any spiritual action (Boettner, Predestination, 65-66).
Boice writes approvingly of John Gerstner’s idea that unregenerate humans are like zombies:
John Gerstner … compared Paul’s description of our sinful state to what horror stories call a zombie. A zombie is a person who has died but who is still up on his feet walking around. It is a gruesome concept, which is why it appears in horror stories. But it gets worse. This upright, walking human corpse is putrefying. It is rotting away, which is probably the most disgusting thing most people can imagine. But this is a fair description of what Paul is saying about human nature in its lost condition. Apart from Jesus Christ, these sinning human corpses are “the living dead” (Boice, Doctrines of Grace, 74).
The basic approach to explaining Ephesians 2:1-3 is to focus on the phrase “dead in trespasses and sins” and then draw an analogy from this that just as physically dead people cannot do anything, so also, those who are “dead in sin” cannot do anything spiritually.
Those who are dead in sin are incapable of doing anything good, of comprehending the things of God, or of believing in Jesus for eternal life. In order to do these things, the Calvinist contends that the person who is dead in sin must first be regenerated by God, and only then can they believe in Jesus or obey God in any way.
Since Calvinists focus on the word “dead” in their quotes, the best way to approach Ephesians 2:1-3 is to similarly focus on this word to see what it means. Rather than make this post too long, I refer you to yesterday’s post where we looked at the word “dead” in the Bible, and saw that the best definition and synonym for the word “dead” is “separated.”
What is Paul Saying in Ephesians 2:1-3?
This helps us better understand what Paul is saying in Ephesians 2:1-3. In Ephesians 2:1, where Paul says that as non-Christians, we were “dead in trespasses and sins,” he is not saying that we are unable to believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life, or that the capacity for faith is non-existent.
Rather, Paul is simply (and clearly) saying in Ephesians 2:1 that as non-Christians we were separated spiritually from God. As we saw in the discussion on Romans 7:15-20, those who are spiritually dead are separated from God and cannot interact with Him as they were meant to. But this says nothing about their ability or lack of ability to do anything good, let alone their ability or lack of ability to believe in Jesus for eternal life.
Quite to the contrary, in the immediately following verses, Paul writes that when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, God made us alive in Jesus Christ.
How did this happen?
It was not by regenerating us prior to us believing in Jesus for eternal life, but the other way around.
After stating that God made us alive in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:5), Paul explains that this life is given to those who believe (Ephesians 2:8).
Yes, the offer of eternal life by grace through faith originated with God (we will look at the so-called “gift of faith” of Ephesians 2:8-9 in the next post), but the fact remains that the way to be transferred from death to life is not by waiting for God to regenerate us, but rather by believing in Jesus for eternal life.
Rise Up, You Dead People!
We know that is what Paul means because he later calls on people to wake up and rise from the dead so that Christ may give them light (Ephesians 5:14).
If Paul really meant that the dead cannot wake from their sleep, cannot see the truth, and cannot hear the Gospel, how then could he call on the dead to wake up and respond to the offer of eternal life in Jesus Christ? He could not logically do so.
For Paul, those are dead in trespasses and sins can remedy their situation by responding to the call of the Gospel and believing in Jesus for eternal life. When this happens, God sends light and life into their heart and mind, so that they can respond further, and live in the way God desires for them.
Dead in Trespasses and Sins
So the one who is “dead in trespasses and sins,” is not unable to respond to the Gospel or believe in Jesus, for “dead” does not mean “non-existent” or “unable,” but refers instead to the separation from God that the unregenerate person experiences.
Paul himself described their condition earlier, when he said they were “strangers … without God … far off … alienated from the life of God” (Ephesians 2:12-19; 4:18). These sorts of synonyms reveal that being “dead in sins” is not inability but separation. Nor is their situation is hopeless, for Paul invites those who are dead to awake, arise, and believe (Ephesians 5:14; 2:8-9).
If you want to read more about Calvinism, check out other posts in this blog series: Words of Calvinism and the Word of God.
there is a major problem with your argument
>There is a major problem with your argument
Please provide specific issues that you think are wrong.
Otherwise, your statement is as meaningless as “Calvin’s heresy is greater than Basil’s heresy”.
We have no ability as enemies of God before He called us out of our grave. Did Lazarus have a choice when Jesus called him out the grave? God does not grant the ability to everyone. There are major flaws in your statements unfortunately. How can a dead man rise if he has no ability? In our depraved nature we want nothing to do with God. And you said so yourself we are only made alive through Jesus. Since we are separated we have no way to approach a Holy God without His permission and without His choosing of whom He draws near.
It is against one’s nature, to serve God or even obey . You must be born again. With out this spiritual birth , one will never come to the call of God. We are saved by grace through faith not that of yourself it is a gift of God. Grace is a unmerited favor of God. You did nothing to get it, and undeserving of it. We don’t except Christ we are excepted of him. The calling of God is without repentance, that meaning you will never repent until it’s made known to you, you have somewhat to repent about, this happens when one is under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
When Adam and Eve sinned did they die? God said they would. So how did they die? They became separated from God. Did God still talk to them? Yes. Did they interact with Him? Yes. Did they understand God? Yes. And later did God talk to Cain? Yes. Did Cain understand God? Yes. etc….
Great points, Keith. I agree. They did die spiritually, and I would say that physical death was also introduced, but they could also still communicate with God and understand spiritual truth. Thanks!
I think as for their physical death, the separation Adam and Eve suffered was a lot like a plant deprived of the sun, they withered. Deprived of the life giving presence of God.
Hi Jeremy,
I also believed and taught that the human spirit died. I no longer do.
(…) but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the the day that you eat of it you shall surely die (Gen 2:17, NKJV).
This widely held position that the spirit of the human died when Adam sinned is obviously an assumption derived from the fact that he continued to live to the age of 930 years after his original sin. This assumption may be fuelled by Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 15:45:
The first Adam was made a living soul [psuche]; the last Adam a quickening [life-giving] spirit [pneuma] (KJV).
There is, however, no indication of a spiritual death in the above or any other verses of the Bible.
Adam was never prohibited in the beginning to eat from the tree of life, which would give him everlasting life. In fact, it was only in Genesis 3:22 when the Lord God sent the humans from the garden that He indicated it was done so that they could not eat from the tree of life and live forever. I wonder how many times I have read this verse without any real comprehension of what it said.
Interesting. So is the spirit separated from the body and soul at all? Is Paul saying in 1 cor 15:45 that the spirit replaces the soul? When Adam sinned, did it affect the spirit or soul at all? If so, how?
Hi Jeremy, for this answer’s purpose I quote the observations of “church father” Tertullian:
Being thus single, simple, and entire in itself, it is as incapable of being composed and put together from external constituents, as it is of being divided in and of itself, For if it had been possible to construct it and to destroy it, it would no longer be immortal. Since, however, it is not mortal, it is also incapable of dissolution and division. Now, to be divided means to be dissolved, and to be dissolved means to die.”
Well, then, since you separate the spirit (or breath) and the soul, separate their operations also. Let both of them accomplish some act apart from one another – the soul apart, the spirit apart. Let the soul live without the spirit; let the spirit breathe without the soul. Let one of them quit men’s bodies, let the other remain; let death and life meet and agree. If indeed the soul and spirit are two, they may be divided; and thus, by the separation of the one which departs from the one which remains, there would accrue the union and meeting together of life and of death. But such a union never will accrue: therefore they are not two, and they cannot be divided; but divided they might have been, if they had been (two).
Whenever, indeed, the question is about soul and spirit, the soul will be (understood to be) itself the spirit, just as the day is the light itself. For a thing is itself identical with that by means of which itself exists (Tertullian, in Schaff, 1885).
I tested my understanding with a Jewish Rabbi by asking: “God said to Adam that he would surely die the day he ate of the forbidden tree (Genesis 2:17). Yet Adam ate and although it was not without dire consequences, he did not die that day and lived to 930 years before he died. How should I understand this seeming contradiction, please?”
The Rabbi replied that the classic Jewish commentators offered various solutions to this problem:
• One explanation was similar to my own understanding as indicated above.
• Other commentators explained that the ‘day’ mentioned in Genesis 2:17 referred to a day of God, which is equal to a thousand years and that had Adam not sinned, he would in fact have lived forever.
• A third opinion was that Adam would have died regardless, but now he would die as a punishment instead of a natural death (Chabad.org).
It is clear that the Scriptures do not contain any statement pertaining to the death of the human spirit and that the whole notion seems to be unfortunate assumption.
When God said “you will surely die” it does not mean that death will come instantly after eating. death came upon mankind when they fell from sin.
there is no such thing as spiritual death since the spirit has no life in itself although the spirit gives life. the soul is eternal as you supposed to understand the book of Luke in chapter 16 when both the beggar & the rich man died. The body is the one who will be receiving death and also it is the same to be born again, that was the reason why the Bible made mention about spiritual body.
Another thing is that the word “dead” from the Greek word “nekros” mean dead body; corpse and never meant to be”SEPARATED”
Romans 5:6
For while we were STILL WEAK, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
the Bible talks about our ability before Christ, we were WEAK.
Romans 3: 10-19
none does good.
none is righteous
I believe that Ephesians 2 1-10 in particular verses 5 and 6 prove that Paul is teaching inability because he says in verse 5 “that even while were dead in our trespasses He meaning God made us alive in Christ” or quickened us. God through Jesus did something for us that we were incapable of doing ourselves and that is that He made us alive in Christ and seated us in the heavenlies with Jesus. we didn’t do that God through Christ did that for us otherwise if we could do it we would get the glory not God. and also notice in chapter 1 how God blessed us with all spiritual blessing to the praise of His glory we could offer nothing to our salvation but our sin It pleased God to save us for His Glory . hope this makes sense if not I will try to answer any questions you might have
and I believe that dead means inability not just separation or said better like this we were separated from God because of sin and God acting on our behalf thru Jesus saved for his good pleasure.
I see. Yes, that is the normal explanation of this text. I taught it that way myself when I preached through Ephesians several years ago. I have a different understanding of this text now, which I tried to explain in today’s post and the one from yesterday about the meaning of the word “dead” in the Bible.
Just out of curiosity, if dead means inability, how do you understand Paul when he writes that believers are dead to sin?
Go and listen to Matin Lloyd Jones. Listen to the first three messages of Ephesians. Lloyd Jones is a very imteresting man. You will find his meaasges a ( MLJtrust.org). Listen also to his GREAT BIBLE DOCTRINE – “The Effectual Cal”l and also “Regenerstion – a new Dispositon.” This man is a great preacher and Bible teacher, he as helped me a lot.
I don’t think dead always mean inability but includes it in some way .
some of your posts have been straw men arguments against total depravity that are real easy for you knock down and in reality the text has nothing to do with inability and no Calvinist believes it either
Death-in almost in every context, scripturally means separation. Adam and Eve, seperated from Eden and God’s fellowship to eternal seperation, i.e. The Second Death!
Right! I tried to define death similarly in my post from yesterday. https://redeeminggod.com/dead-new-testament/
Paul, every point I make about what Calvinists believe is backed up by quotes from leading Calvinists. Maybe I have read more Calvinists than you have?
Everyone who does good is born of god.
We love because he first loved us.
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.
The only thing you could do is recognize your depravity that’s leading you to death and want to change for your own sake.
The only thing I’m able of is to realize the consequences of my actions and desire to be changed with my whole heart, with the experience of sin killing my happiness.
I am only able to desire to change but I can’t change my ways myself to the right path, because my way of thinking is to benefit my self at the cost of the agony of others (but following what I think to be beneficial leads to death all the time).Only God’s love poured in my heart and his friendship with me enables me to change.
Yes, God’s love and grace enables changes (Titus 2:11-14). And God’s love sent Jesus to live and die for us, and the Holy Spirit to draw us to Jesus.
Faith, of course, is our response to all this love and grace.
The Father DRAWS who to Himself through Christ by the Spirit? Please exegite Draws. Does the Potter have His own Free Will to do as He pleased?
maybe you read and explain out of context just like you do scripture
Ha! This is why I love talking with Calvinists.
As time goes buy the kind defenders of free will over their rejection to “dead ” here and colossians 2:13 tend to resort to a familiar defense, that of labeling it a Calvinist viewpoint and that its almost a cultist view point to hold.Very sad yet very much the defense of many christians.Dead may i suggest is dead ,the inability to respond,does not mean that prior to being saved one could not read scripture but because of this spiritual deadness its not profitabel/meaningful-we just cannot continue to revise the meaning of dead to fit a view point-because natural man has not been born again this deadness (spiritually) shows itself as “none seek after God”,in this condition they are” slaves to sin”and the spiritual things of God(the bible) is “folly/foolishness” even the gospel is judged by natural man as “folly/foolishness “(1 cor.1:18)Please stop with this weak/common defense called Calvinism-many believers are truly turned off by such a defense.We must not forget the man’s “free will” is what took the whole human race down in the garden;i would hope we can rise above our love affair with the human will.
Pete,
I cannot tell from your comment if you are a Calvinist or not. I also cannot tell if you think my post is a defense of Calvinism or not.
I am not a Calvinist. This post is not a defense of the Calvinistic understanding of Ephesians 2:1-3.
To be dead in sin is to be separated from God. Being separated from God, means human beings was incapable of finding his way back to God. Hence, God initiated the search for the lost. As the lost sheep was incapable of finding his way back to the fold in the same way the dead in sin is incapable of good, since he has been separated from the ultimate good. Hence while we were yet sinners christ died for us.
Jesus told a parable about redemption, we call this, the parable of the prodigal son. In Jesus story, the separated son was capable of realising what was good and what his predicament was, the separated son had an idea in his mind about the way to go to return to his father. And he set out on his own volition.
In fact , at the son’s return, Jesus has the father rejoicing and saying ” my son who was dead is now alive. ” (He wasn’t literally dead).
It appears that those who insist on the idea of the lost as corpses that cannot respond in any way to God, seem to be not listening to Jesus’ parables.
I suspect that this doctrine of dead ” inability ” owes more to Plato than to Jesus.
I think many well meaning Christians take this parable along with the other 2 (lost coin, and lost sheep), and try to use it for lost humanity. I really beleave this is talking about backsliding, because all 3 lost things are already OWNED. son, coin, sheep. So this is talking about Christians away from the Father, Steward, and Son.
Considering the parable of the prodigal son, we could ask; who is talking ?; Jesus. Who is the audience?; Jewish people under the law . What is the occasion? : Jesus’ stated mission to the lost sheep of Israel. The parable says more about God’s unconquerable love for His chosen people than any supposed Christian back sliding, whatever that may be. J0hn wrote, to Christians, ” See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are !”
So scripture tells us ( believers ) that as our state of being we are born again, children of God. One doesn’t slide away from being a child of its Father.
Here is a thought regarding ability. ISAIAH 45:19 Says that the LORD speaks righteousness. That sounding to me, means exactly what it says, everything He speaks is true, everything. I think we all could and should agree on that. Pont being, if everything the LORD speaks is true, then it must be true that we still have the ability to make a choice, respond, however one wants to say it, but when the Lord calls everyone every where to repent and believe the Gospel Mark 1:15 and Acts 17: through Paul, then we must have the ability to do so, or we than can say, God, Jesus is lying. For it would be lying if he commands us to do something and we cant. One other thought if I may, referring to Lazarus it is clear in John 11:42 and other verses preceding that He raised Lazarus clearly for our believing, nothing indicating that we cant call or come to Him or showing that we are dead in our sins as a physical corpse clearly that we may believe, Can Jesus raise the dead of course but that was not done as described over and over by Calvinist. Just my thought.
Thank you for the explanation of death being seperation vs death being the inability to respond. Very good.
3. (1)Questions for most Calvinst is did John Calvin believe the French justice (or any nonAmerican) (since he was a lawyer) is “Guilty till proven Innocent”?? (2) Where and when did American justice start “Innocent till proven guilty”? (3) Does the Bible teach “Innocent till proven Guilty” or “Guilty till proven Innocent”??
Does the “natural man” have God’s Spirit? No. And those spiritually appraised cannot understand God’s message and the Word tells us they think it’s foolish. So how would they ever believe in something they can’t understand and is foolish to them?
[1Co 2:14 NKJV] 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.
Hi Dan, don’t forget the work of the Holy Spirit in revealing their lost condition to unbelievers regarding Salvation:
John 16:8–11 —
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
Also, there is an order established in Scripture, that the hearing of faith comes before the receiving of the Spirit (as opposed to the conviction of the Spirit in an unbeliever):
Gal. 3:2 —
This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
The work of the Spirit brings faith, and the response of faith brings salvation and the uniting of our spirit with the Holy Spirit, resulting sanctification, justification, etc. that enables us to grow in spiritual discernment.
Ephesians 5:8 begins by saying “now you are light in the Lord.” The context of Ephesians 5:14 is that Paul is talking to believers and telling them to walk in the light. Using Ephesians 5:14 to justify the idea that nonbelievers can arise from the dead is not consistent with the context and leads to an unjustified exegesis of this passage.
This is amazing! I think it accurately refutes the points of Calvinism of being dead in sin. And I agree with the point that is being made that we are separated from Christ because of sin.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:44
John 6:44 is the stone on which this argument stumbles. Thank you for it, Lord.
Dead in din means the situation in the fall that is Adam’s sin not our daily life making sin isn’t it?
When paul said dead in sin is it that ADAM’s sin not our day to day life sin. Is that right?
Dead does not mean dead? Really?
All the glory belongs to God.
Where is free will ever mentioned in the Bible? For if you made the decision you would have pride over the person who didn’t.
It was Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920), the Dutch Calvinist, who rightly said and in this he was true to Calvin’s thought: “No single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically sealed off from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”
Thank you so much. I just have learned, the church I have been going to are Calvinists. I am heart broken. The Pastor wants to come and discuss these things with me. I am praying the Holy Spirit will come and convict, convince and guide into all truth and give me words to speak. Please pray for me as we meet. Thank you❤️
This is the first I’ve read of your views. It is well-written and full of grace toward we who are reformed, thank you. I like to think that Christians should and can always honor one another even in stating our disagreements (unlike some of my brothers in the following comments). I continued to be impressed with your approach as I read your responses to comments below!!