Ephesians 2:1 And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
All too often these passages are misunderstood to be referring to regeneration, when in fact they are referring to the conversion of the person from living in sin and after the desires of the flesh, to that of righteousness and living after the Spirit. Before I go any further let me provide proof for this reasoning.
Ezekiel 18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, [and] doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked [man] doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Notice that this passage clearly distinguishes that it is a righteous man that turns away from his righteousness to commit iniquity. This righteous man is compared to a wicked man and describes his iniquity as being no different. The question is asked of whether this righteous man should be allowed to live after having committed the iniquity. When this passage is compared to the passages above, we can see that they are almost identical. The only difference being that this passage is dealing with the turning from righteousness to iniquity, and the ones from the New Testament deal with one turning from his iniquity to righteousness. When a regenerate child of God is living in sin, he is referred to in scripture as being dead. He is dead in his sin and trespass just as the passage from Ezekiel describes. He has turned from living righteous, to living in sin. When this occurs, the Holy Spirit departs just as in the case of King Saul as described in the following passage.
1 Samuel 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
Because Saul sinned against God, the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. And so it is with every regenerate person. If the person dwells in sin, the Holy Spirit will not dwell within them. This is also explained by the following passages, but from the opposite view.
Lev 26:3,9,11,12 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them (conversion)… For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you… And I will set my tabernacle among you (referring to the Holy Spirit): and my soul shall not abhor you… And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
The Holy Spirit will only dwell among those who are living righteously, following after its guidance. A regenerate person, having not yet converted from his sin, is considered to be “dead in sin and trespass“. He is in the same state as the righteous man who turns from righteousness to iniquity. Paul repeatedly makes this argument in his epistles, and even more so in Romans. Those who have traditionally misunderstood these passages will no doubt deny the truth of them. But if you desire the truth, then I pray you will consider these things closely before dismissing them.
Romans 8:1 [There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Those who have turned to righteousness and have received the Holy Spirit, are no longer under the condemnation they find themselves in when attempting to observe the law to gain righteousness, as described in Galatians 3:10. This is the state which Paul describes in chapter 7.
Roman 7:10 And the commandment, which [was ordained] to life, I found [to be] unto death.
Then in chapter 8, Paul describes one who has been freed from the law, by converting to righteousness and following after the Spirit.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Just as the righteous man above, when he lived righteously, was free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
When we follow after the Spirit, righteousness is fulfilled, for we are testimony to the promise of God to Abraham.
Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace.
If we continue to be lead of the old carnal man, then we are dead because we do not bear fruits of righteousness. But when we are spiritually minded, we take possession of eternal life and find peace with God.
Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Those of the Roman church, are those who have professed to walk after the Spirit. They, therefore, should not be in the flesh, but in the Spirit. But if they have professed falsely, then the Spirit of God does not dwell within them, for they are still in their sins. And any man who is still living in sin has not converted to being one of Christs obedient children. They are not Christ’s disciple. They are not Christ’s faithful servant. They are not among the sheep who follow him.
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
But if the Holy Spirit does dwell within the person, then that same Holy Spirit will also quicken the body making it a fruit bearing instrument to God.
