We'll pick back up where we left off in Ephesians chapter 2.
Ephesians 2:1
"And you hath he quickened, who were (past tense) dead in trespasses and sins:"
In the last section we went back and reconstructed Adam as he was created, a perfect spirit in Genesis 1 and a perfect human in human Genesis 2. Remember we had the three circles, and in that first circle we had the makeup of Adam as he was created with a perfect body, with no seeds of death through sin. Adam could have lived forever. God gave him a personality of a mind, will, and emotions patterned after the very personality or character of God Himself. Also in that first circle we found Adam also had that third part the spirit that made him complete so that he could fellowship and communicate with God. And with his spirit operating correctly it had an influence on his personality, and it in turn had an influence on the body. So Adam was under a perfect set of circumstances in a perfect body, and with perfect soul and spirit.
But then we went and looked in the second of the three circles after he ate, immediately the body begin to die even though he lived 930 years, he still died. We're talking about physical death here, with his soul and spirit being separated from his physical body. The physical body is all that died, his soul and spirit remain active and they are the part which goes in the hell awaiting the finial judgment. He also lost that third part, the Spirit or God's presences. Then we pointed out how the moment Adam ate of the fruit he became sin with its nature. Now the reason we're using that word is because so often Paul uses the terminology that "we are of a sin-nature, its who we are not what we do." The things that we do naturally are not Godly, but rather ungodly, Satanic or evil. Now that's just the bent or benefit of the old Adamic Nature, but remember the spirit part of Adam died and completely became inoperative as far as God was concerned, sadly it became Satan's realm of influence and so every child born from Adam and Eve on are now only a two part being of physical body with a soul, of mind will and emotion...etc., but that flesh or the outer shell contains the sin-nature creature. Here's the secret, God at the same moment of death caused the spirit to become a seed like hidden within mans soul awaiting rebirth or awakening.
Now we're going to pursue the lost person a little further, because that's the format of Scripture. The natural first, and then the spiritual. So we're going to look at the natural for a little bit. This is the person who is living but is spiritually dead, and what is his future if he does not come into God's saving Grace. Let's go back to John's gospel chapter 5, and we're going to jump in at verse 28. Now this is Jesus speaking during His earthly ministry, and they're asking Him many questions. But here again Jesus doesn't give us any doctrine on how all this is brought about, but rather He leaves that for the Holy Spirit and the Apostle Paul to reveal. But Jesus does tell us the end result of a person who is nothing more than body and soul. We also have to keep in mind that the Lord Jesus was under constraint by the Holy Spirit and then the Law and the Prophets. In other words He could not openly reveal that which was still hidden from plan view. That is why He taught in parabolic form, even His disciples did not always get it. And so it is still into our day, if we have not the Spirit of Christ we are none of His! And all remains a secret hidden in plan sight.
John 5:28-29a
"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming (He doesn't put a date or year on it, but it's a future point in time) in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice. (that is the voice of God to come forth) And (they) shall come forth, (there will not be anyone that won't hear that call to come forth from the grave, whether they're lost or saved. They will come forth, not the saved and lost at the same time, but all will come forth) they that have done good,..."
Remember there's only one way we can please God, and what is it? BY FAITH! After we've done His perfect Will. Jesus doesn't come right out and say it here, but the scriptures are so plain that there's only one way of doing good in God's eyes, and that is by exercising Faith. And Faith comes through Love and Love through the knowledge of God in Christ and then the knowledge of Christ in us who is all Love restored to us. Then His Grace works through both Love and His Faith because they've been restored within us. We have become Christ-like-ones again.
Hebrews 11:6a
"But without faith it is impossible to please him:..."
And who pleased God, Christ did. So those who are of faith will come forth.
John 5:29b
"... unto the resurrection of life;..."
Now the word eternal is not in there, but it's certainly implied, because what does John 3:16 say?
John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (declared the only begotten, when? After He ascension as revealed in Hebrews 1:5, 5:5; Psalm 2:7 and Revelation 1:5), that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
So that's always implied that the believer is looking forward to an eternal life situation. This is our hope and the working out of our so great a salvation. Now let's look at the next part of the verse of John 5: 29.
John 5:29b
"...and they that have done evil, (having no faith, and rejecting this Gospel, they reject Christ) unto the resurrection of damnation."
Now we could stand here the rest of the our study and give scriptural instances of lost people who were lost only because they would not believe what God said. We can start with Adam and then Cain. We wouldn't doubt a bit that Cain was probably a nicer man than his brother Abel. He was probably the kind of guy that people would say, "Isn't he a swell guy?" But what was his problem? No Faith! Which is what got Esau cast out. He couldn't believe what God had told him to do, so Cain goes out into eternity lost.
The next person we could use as an example is Esau. Jacob and Esau were twins, they had the same parents, the same environment, and again we wouldn't doubt that Esau was probably a more likable fellow than Jacob, in fact from a man's point of view, he was. Because which one of the two did their father Isaac prefer? Esau. Nice guy, good fellow, but what was his problem? No faith! Whatever God said didn't mean a thing to him, and that's why he was willing to sell his birthright for a bowl of bean soup. He saw no value in his birth rite nor its promise. Tennessee people know all about white bean soup. So Esau gave it all up for a bowl of soup, and the reason is no faith, and he's lost for all eternity. So you can find that all the way up through Scripture, the ones without faith may have been better people, they may have been more moral, but they were destitute of faith, so God calls them evil.
John 5:29b
"...and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
A better word for damnation would be condemnation. In other words every lost person from Cain, who left this life when their body died, their soul continued to live. So many times Paul uses the word "sleep" when he refers to those who have died. In fact let's look at the Scriptures so we'll know what we're talking about. So turn with us to I Corinthians 15, he also uses it in I Thessalonians chapter 4. Let's just drop down to verse 51.
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