What does it mean to be spiritually alive?

The Bible reveals that every human is born into the world spiritually dead. Through faith in Jesus and the transformative power of the gospel, we are made spiritually alive in Christ: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, . . . gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. . . . But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. . . . And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:1–6).

All people of every nation, age, and condition live in death and darkness until they come to faith in Jesus (Psalm 107:10; Matthew 4:16). They are separated from God, living without hope, and destitute of spiritual life (Ephesians 2:12). The only way to change our spiritual disposition—to be radically transformed from spiritually dead to spiritually alive—is to believe in Jesus Christ and place our trust in Him (Romans 3:22). Through faith in Jesus, we are restored to a right relationship with God (Romans 5:1; 8:10). We become one with Christ (Galatians 3:26–28) and His righteousness becomes our righteousness (Philippians 3:9). We are then ready to become all that He intended for us to be (Romans 8:28–30; Ephesians 2:10).

The theological term for being made spiritually alive is regeneration. Regeneration is expressed in the Bible as “rebirth” or being “born again” (see Titus 3:4–6; John 3:3–7). When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us and gives birth to spiritual life (2 Corinthians 3:6, 8–9; Romans 8:2). The Spirit of God cleanses us and makes us new (2 Thessalonians 2:13). He makes us holy, convicting us of sin (John 16:8), setting us free, and making us more and more like Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 3:17–18). We become a whole new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Being spiritually alive means having the life of Christ in us. Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself” (John 5:24–26). Those who are spiritually alive have been given the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ—they will live forever with God (John 3:15–16, 36; 6:40, 54; 10:28; 17:3).

The process of regeneration—of crossing over from spiritual death to spiritual life—is not achieved by human will or by doing good things—but by the gracious and merciful act of God and the internal, ongoing work of the Holy Spirit (John 6:63; Ephesians 2:8, 9).

The concept of believers being made spiritually alive is closely associated with the resurrection of Jesus Christ (John 14:19). The apostle Paul presents this powerful depiction: “For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:12–23, NLT).

Because we are raised to new life in Christ, we are set free from the spiritual powers of sin, death, and darkness in this world (Romans 5:17; 8:2). “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there” (Galatians 5:24, NLT). We no longer live to satisfy our sinful nature but are now free to obey the Spirit of God (Romans 6:18; Romans 7:4–6).

Born-again Christians serve a God “who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist” (Romans 4:17, CSB). God breathes spiritual life into us and raises us with Christ. He also blesses us in Christ with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3) and seats us with Christ in the heavens (Ephesians 2:6). We are positioned spiritually in heaven, where Christ lives. This world is not our home because our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Because we are spiritually alive in Christ, we now live to please God (Ephesians 5:7–10), hungering and thirsting for righteousness and seeking His kingdom and righteousness above all else (Matthew 5:6; 6:33).