Ben,
By "dead in sins", it refers to the need for salvation; specifically, as Rom6 asserts, "we are either slaves to sin, or slaves to righteousness --- to God". The only way to "not-be-dead-in-sins", is to be indwelt by the Savior and the Spirit --- through faith.
Yes, it surely does. It is referencing mankinds need to be saved, saved from death and the resultant sins. All men need salvation. Without salvation, Christ is not soverenign over His created order. Satan, who has the power of death reigns over mankind. Christ reversed that and is the victor over death and sin.
He freed mankind from the bondage, that is the condemnation we were already under, convicted by one single sin, through one single individual. Christ freed mankind from that bondage, so that each individual could make the free choice, just as Adam was able to make that choice.
But, now as freed human beings, we certainly do have the choice to either return or remain slaves to sin, or slaves to Christ. Without life, neither would make a difference, we all would still die permanently, dust to dust, Gen 3:19.
Without faith, we are still enslaved to sin, and under condemnation. As Rom8:1 says, "Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are IN CHRIST JESUS..."
Enslaved by our choice, not through Adam. If we reject Christ we are not under the condemnation of Adam, but now we are under the condemnation of Christ. He will judge each soul at the His judgement seat, ONLY because He restored life to mankind so each could stand in judgement. It is the mercy and justice of God being revealed.
As I pointed out from I Cor 15:14-19, faith is moot unless man first has life. If you have faith in Christ and Christ did not overcome death, then at the end of your life, you would die, being a mortal. But that death would be final, permanent as God told Adam in Gen 3:19. You will have no life, no eternal existance, no immortality. Faith is meaningless because it was only temporary, only for this life. Now, this might have been acceptable even for God, but God created man in His Image, to be both eternal and to be in union with Him. Adam precluded that from ever happening. That is why Christ is the Savior of the world, He came to save sinners already under condemnation.
From "bondage", technically --- yes. But men are still under bondage if they choose to be (that is, if they choose to reject Jesus).
But that is the whole point. We can choose. We have been freed from Adam. Under Adam you surely did not choose. You are already condemned simply because you were born a human being. You are convicted irrespective of what you did, or could do. Even if you had faith in God, it would be meaningless, because you would end in death.
Conditionally --- He gave life to ALL, but only those WHO receive Him by faith actually receive His life.
There is absolutely nothing conditional about it. If that were so, just what condition made unbelievers rise from the dead in that last day to stand in judgment?
Faith does not grant life, physical life. Faith grants life IN Christ. It is a spiritual relationship, not a physical one.
Faith doesn't; but faith receives Him AND immortality.
It recieves Him and immortality IN Him. Those in hell also have life, have an eternal existance and have immortality. They did not remain a pile of dust as they would have IF they remained in Adam.
He restores life to believers.
A spiritual life, we Live in Him, in Him we have life, which is a spiritual life, a union, communion with Him. If we did not have a physcial life, this would all be temporary and moot because we would still die permanently. We would still be under Adam's condemnation.
Christ reversed the fall. Christ's Work was for the purpose to restore His created order back to the pre-fall condition of no death, of man being free to choose, not being undercondemnation. All the things we are speaking of which we get by faith, to be in union man was fully capable of before the fall. It is the purpose of our existance. Man and God did not need Christ to make this happen. Adam was doing it, was in communion with God. It is what man was restored to, not what constituted the fall. Death, Death Death, physical death, was the bane of mankind. It is the fall.
I don't think so --- "made alive", is opposed to "dead in sins". The only way to NOT be dead in sins, is to have forgiveness through Christ.
Yes, but all of mankind was dead in sins. While we were yet sinners, (dead in sins, under the Adamic judgment, under permanent death) Christ came to give life, to reverse that judgment. He reversed it for all men. As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. It is the Incarnation. If not, if Christ did not give life to the universe, then we shall not ever rise from the dead. We are just talking words, Satan still has control over mankind through the power of death. Faith is moot.
I know you believe that God calls all men to repentance. That He desires all men to repent and to know Him. This is fully ingenuous if Christ did not save mankind first, give them life, so that the call can be real. Furthermore, if Christ did not save all, then none are saved. It is impossible to save or grant only some to life. It would be possible if mankind had different essences, or different human natures. Thus when Christ assumed our fallen natures in the Incarnation, ONLY those who equated with the human nature He assumed would be granted life, immortality. The problem with that is that then Adam also is of a different human nature than some men. Thus not all men died through Adam. Your whole theology falls without Christ granting life, immortality to mankind through the Incarnation and His resurrection.
Unless, you can show somewhere else and by what means all the unbelievers, those not granted life in your interpretation can arise on the last day. If you cannot then also, you have most beleivers being judged to hell, as only believers by your view can be raised from the dead.
Another problem, if man can be raised by some other means, then why was Christ necessary only for believers? Can you answer these questions?
Man "saves himself", by virtue of conscious belief and receiving of Jesus' gracious sacrifice. AND, man "saves himself", by conscious diligence IN our faith. That's the only possible understanding of 1Tim4:16.
This is spiritual union, the salvation of our individual souls. It is what each man must do. It is what each man would have been required to do without the fall. It is what existed before the fall. It is what man fell from, it is not the fall.
You are exactly correct, that we believe in the sacrifice, we are not part of that sacrifice, We don't participate in it physically, only spiritually through baptism. But to do all that, man needs life. A dead mortal being cannot have an eternal existance. It is impossible.
I believe you're mis-reading the passage. Verse 17 says "If anyone be IN CHRIST" --- that's referring to saved believers. The statement "reconciling the world", is the same as 1Tim4:10, "God is the Savior of ALL MEN"; it does not deny that "all men" is qualified by "above-all (malista) believers".
Yes, vs 17, but 18 is explaining why that is possible. All things, not just man are of God, who has reconciled Himself through Christ. Which also aligns with Col 1:15-20. It also aligns with the following verse 20. We must reconcile ourselves to God. See the opposite initiator. God first reconciles mankind, so that man can reconcile himself to God. God justifies mankind, so that man by faith, may be justifed to God by that faith.
V21 is again mankind. Now granted that if you hold to your view that not all mankind recieved life, then these texts can only be for believers, but that would be subtracting from scripture. Christ reconciled ALL THINGS, to Himself. Hardly leaves any room to miss much of humanity.
But nevertheless, verse 21 God made man righteous, which means acceptable, to be put into a right relationship. Man needed life, eternal existance before any union or communion with God could be meaningful and continuous into an eternal existance.
There's only one "reconcilliation", it's through Jesus' death sacrifice, by faith.
You are correct untill you add, "by faith". There are two. God to mankind, and then by faith, man to God. Same word, same meaning, but the initiator is different. The latter is totally impossible without the former.
Sins expose a heart that is not "dwelling in Christ"; thus, sins do not separate us from Christ (nor does sinlessness JOIN us to Christ) --- the fruit, exposes the heart.
Just how do you not bear fruit and not sin?
Those who are not in Christ, are condemned to perishing. Only through faith does one receive eternal life.
Perishing eternally, immortally. Now, how did they get this way? What did they do to recieve life in order to endure hell?
Remember, the purpose of man's existance was to be eternally in union with God. So when the Bible speaks of those believers receiving eternal life, it is implied with HIM. That is the purpose of Christ coming in the first place. To restore His created order back to prefall status. Death was the end of God's created order. It could not stand or God would not be sovereign. Christ won over Satan and the power of death. Death period. Not death for some. For some is life for none. That is why Christ did not, could not lose any the Father granted to Him. He saved mankind from Death, so man could freely accomplish what God created him to be and do. Now, those that freely reject Him will bear the consequences, but the consequences of their own choosing, not by one man, for a single sin of which they had no responsibility for.
And, as Rom1:17 says, it's "BEGINNING faith to ENDING faith; the just shall live BY faith."
Agree, but all this is moot without life. Life, Life, Life, man need life. He needed to overcome the condemnation he was already under. Could man do it? No, But Christ did overcome death for all.
