Man by nature can't by his own freewill ability come to Christ because all men by nature are spiritually dead in [in the sphere of] trespasses and sins. Speaking of Gods elect Paul writes of them by nature Eph 2:1-3
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
The word dead here nekros means:
adj: dead, lifeless, subject to death, mortal, (b) noun: a dead body, a corpse.
The lifeless here by nature is lifeless spiritually. Spiritually to God and things of God man naturally is liken to a dead lifeless corpse.
Jesus used this same word here Matt 8:22
But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
Now the dead was to bury the dead. The Spiritually dead person was to bury the physically dead person. Yet the Spiritually dead person wasn't dead physically was he ? Did you know that one can be dead, lifeless and yet be physically live and active ?
Now in order for a man to come to Christ he must first have life, no not physical life but spiritual life which not even the elect have by nature. 2
Your interpretation has been coloured by your bias. We should let the bible give us guidance.
Joh 5:21 "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
Jesus said that He gave life to whomever He pleased and then went on to describe those people as those who hear His word and believe the Father.
Joh 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
But what condition were these people in spiritually prior to hearing the gospel message? They were in Jesus's words "dead" but this did not stop them from responding to the message. [Rom 1:16]
Joh 5:25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when
the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and those who hear will live.
"Realized eschatology" is the aspect of future conditions that exist already in the present. In this case it refers to the believer's possession of eternal life already. Beasley-Murray called this verse "the strongest affirmation of realized eschatology applied to the believer in the NT." [
Note: Beasley-Murray, p. 76.]
People pass from death to life the moment they believe [1Jn_3:14]
I agree with that interpretation, but I also recognize that I am biased towards that view. [John 6:44 predisposes me to the belief that God MUST initiate salvation.]
So in Ephesians 2:1, how can we be certain that "who were dead in trespasses and sins" meant "man cannot come to God as a corpse cannot do anything" and was not intended to signify a spiritual state of rebellion? ("you are all dead to me" - said God).
You see man prior to salvation as a spiritual corpse but if so then how do they sin?
As you said you have a bias but the remedy for that is to read the word that Jesus spoke.
Joh 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
Jesus makes it clear that the time when the [spiritually] dead will hear the voice of the Son of God unto life is “now.” How does this happen? It happens through faith in Christ,
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears G191 (G5723) My word and believes G4100 (G5723) in Him who sent Me has G2192 (G5719) everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
Here Jesus plainly describes the initial movement from spiritual death to spiritual life. The one who hears the words of Jesus in faith (just hearing is not enough, they must also believe/trust) passes from spiritual death to spiritual life. This clearly marks the transition from death to life and that is a perfect description of what constitutes regeneration.
So the oft repeated C/R analogy of the preacher in the morgue preaching to a corpse is shown to be in contrast to the words of Jesus.
Jesus tells us that the “dead” will “hear” (in faith) unto “life” and the C/R' tells us that only those who are already regenerated can “hear” unto faith. Jesus says that hearing and faith come before life and C/R's says that life comes before hearing and faith. C/R's say that the “dead” cannot possibly hear anything, just like a lifeless physical corpse. Jesus tells us that the “dead” can hear (Rom_10:17; Gal_3:2), and this hearing by faith is what moves those who hear from the state of spiritual death to the state of spiritual life.
So are you going to allow your personal bias overrule the words of Christ Jesus?