How to Benefit From the Former Life (Part 1 of 2)

Recapping God's Power in Ephesians 1

Last week, we wrapped up the concept of how the power of God benefits us. The Apostle Paul focused on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We examined God's omnipotence—the fact that God can do whatever He desires, with nothing hindering Him.

We see the power of God in creation, in the universe's superstructures where galaxies form vast systems. It's mind-blowing. But Paul emphasizes that God is powerful enough to raise Jesus from the dead. If God can do that, there's nothing in your life He cannot work out or fix.

Chapter 1 highlights every blessing God bestows, all centered on your salvation, holiness, and living as God outlines. These blessings show us being purchased out of slavery to sin, ransomed by Jesus into right relationship with God.

We saw how horrible sin's slavery is and how blessed it is to be in Christ, recipient of God's power. Nothing in your life is outside God's control or ability to work for your good and His pleasure.

Your Former Life: Dead in Trespasses and Sins

Paul applies this power specifically to us in Ephesians 2:1-3.

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

God raised Jesus from the dead, and now Paul hits us with the reality of our life before Christ. You were not just enslaved to sin—you were dead in trespasses and sins.

You might think, "Before Christ, I was alive. I breathed, my heart beat, I made decisions." But Paul speaks of spiritual death related to your relationship with God, not physical death.

Some claim they felt spiritually alive in sin because it was enjoyable or meaningful. But Scripture teaches there is no true life, usefulness, or permanent satisfaction in it—only spiritual deadness.

The Greek word for "dead" is nekros, meaning corpses. You were spiritual corpses, decomposing, blind to the spiritual realm, walking in darkness.

Trespasses: Violating God's Standards

A trespass is an offense, like ignoring a "no trespassing" sign and jumping the fence. Spiritually, it's violating God's standards. In Eden, God gave freedom within boundaries: eat from any tree except one. The restriction wasn't about the tree being poisonous—it was God's command, tied to judgment and death for disobedience.

The world says rules restrict freedom, but in God's playground, boundaries enable true freedom. The greatest place to be is submitting to God's absolute freedom over your life, saying, "Your will be done," like Jesus in Gethsemane.

A spiritually dead person cannot submit this way—they won't, don't want to, and can't.

Sins: Missing the Mark

Sin means missing the mark, failing to hit God's glory, as in Romans 3:23:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Your purpose is to make God famous. Sin is failing at that continually—a lifestyle of bailing on God's standards, disregarding His will. Even moral acts like an atheist building an orphanage don't glorify God.

Spiritual deadness means bent toward evil, no desire or ability to please God. It's continual participation in what offends Him—spiritual uselessness. The real walking dead are unbelievers.

Worldly, Satanic Influence, and Children of Wrath

You formerly walked according to the course of this world—worldly. According to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit working in sons of disobedience. This is Satan, a tyrannical ruler over the spiritually dead.

If spiritual deadness isn't bad enough, add satanic influence. Jesus told the Pharisees, "You are of your father the devil." Sin itself is satanism's deepest form. Revelation 2:24 links sexual sin to knowing "the deep things of Satan."

Verse 3: By nature, children of wrath, even as the rest. The worst place is deadness to sin under God's wrath.

Benefits of Remembering the Former Life

This is your former life. Examining it burns the image in your mind: saved from spiritual corpse-like deadness, Satan's dominion, God's wrath—given life and freedom.

How futile to return! It's like being raised from the morgue only to walk back in, burying yourself alive in sin. Or like Israel, freed from Egyptian slavery—plagues, Red Sea victory, God's presence—yet complaining, "Would that we had died in Egypt!"

Don't miss sin. God was what made Eden great; now the Holy Spirit dwells with you. Looking back as God sees it motivates pressing forward.

This truth also urges gospel preaching to the lost, still in deadness under Satan and wrath. And it gives hope for the current life: no matter how bad now is, it's never as bad as the former life.

The Old Life's Worst Compared to Spiritual Death

It will never, ever be as bad as being dead in your trespasses and sins. Whatever conflict you're having with your parents, whatever conflict you're having in school, whatever issues you're experiencing, whatever temptation is bothering you, whatever suffering you're going through—no matter what it is—it will never be as bad as being dead in your trespasses and sins.

Hope for the Future Life

The old life can teach us to have hope for the future life. It will only always, ever get better. The circumstances may not change completely. In fact, the circumstances are probably going to get worse. Things within your life are probably going to get worse. Believe me, it actually is the best place you can be—to be suffering.

When you're experiencing moments of peace and there's absolutely nothing going wrong in your life, that's when you need to ask what actually is going wrong right now. Because it is the life of a Christian to experience difficult things.

But how it gets better is because we change as we go through this. We're not just saved out of these things, but you're on the track to something that is ultimately better: being more and more like Jesus Christ, the one who prayed in Gethsemane,

"nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."