Perhaps the Greatest Miracle of All

Would we consider an individual today, repenting of his sins and coming to Christ as his Savior, a miracle? Yes, but not in the same sense as we have seen with physical miracles. In a spiritual sense, it is a miracle because a person who is spiritually dead is made alive in Christ. When death is spoken of in the Bible, it has the idea of separation. When a person is physically dead, their soul is separated from their physical body. When a person is spiritually dead, their soul is separated from God.

Lazarus Rising from the Dead

     As we saw in John 11, Lazarus was physically raised from the dead. This would be considered a miracle because it is impossible for a person to rise from the dead, especially after being dead for four days. Apart from the laws of nature being changed, this person could not be made alive again. When Lazarus died, his soul was separated from his body. When Jesus brought him back to life, his soul was reunited with his body. In the same way, a person who is spiritually dead, is physically alive, but his soul is separated from God because of his sin. This person cannot be made alive spiritually apart from the work of the Holy Spirit drawing this person to Christ. The person becomes spiritually alive, when the relationship between God and that person’s soul is restored, as God intended it to be. We cannot make ourselves alive spiritually through some work on our part because we are dead and that is the nature of being dead.

     Paul makes this point very clear in the book of Ephesians, chapter two. He begins the chapter by telling the Ephesians what their spiritual state was before Christ. “And you were dead in your offenses and sins, in which you previously walked according to the course of this world…” (vs. 1-2). They were physically alive, but spiritually dead because they were spiritually separated from God. They were dead men walking. After discussing the nature of being dead spiritually, Paul talks about the process of being made alive with Christ. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ…” (vs. 4-5). This passage tells us how we are made alive. It is a work of God because of the work of Christ on the cross. The conclusion is that dead people, whether physically or spiritually, cannot be made alive apart from God bringing them to life.

     Being made alive spiritually, after being spiritually dead, is an even more amazing event than Lazarus being raised by Jesus. The big difference between the two events is that Lazarus had to die again. Technically, he was resuscitated only to die again at some point in his life. When we are made spiritually alive, the result is eternal life. We will never be spiritually dead again because of the efficacy of Christ’s work on the cross. This is really a miracle! We once were dead and are now alive.