At that point I knew that I possessed “Eternal Life”. This assurance was based on great promises found in scripture, such as:

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:14-16).

I looked to Christ alone for salvation and upon belief I knew that I had eternal life.

The eternal life that I now possessed and enjoyed was a gift from God that I could never lose, as I was indwelt and sealed with the Holy Spirit, who had applied the benefits of Christ’s work on the cross to me:

“In [Christ] you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:3-4).

The indwelling Holy Spirit enables enjoyment of “eternal life”, the present reality and possession of every Christian. The Lord Jesus described eternal life as a positive ongoing intimate relationship with Him and God the Father:

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

So, every believer experiences the blessings of this life even before their fullest future expression.

However my study and meditation caused me to consider the question, “What or who caused me to believe?” This question arose because the Scriptures are very clear concerning the state of humankind since the fall. Every person has a nature that opposes God and has no inherent ability to receive the things of God:

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

The state of humanity naturally

The Scriptures teach that, due to our fallen nature, we are spiritually dead. This point is clearly made by Paul when reminding believers in Christ about God’s working in their lives:

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).

Obviously Paul was not describing them as once physically dead but as once spiritually dead, separated from God, devoid of any spiritual life. Humankind naturally is neither in a healthy state nor merely spiritually sick, but is dead, as far as relationship to God is concerned, and totally dependent on His intervention to impart life.

However, far from being inactive in our deadness, Paul goes on to describe the activity of the sinner:

“in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others” (Ephesians 2:2-3).

Paul reminds the believers of their former state, before God graciously worked in them, when they willingly indulged the desires of their flesh and mind. The worst thing about our sinful condition is that, because of our sin nature and practices, we are objects of God’s wrath.

At this point some readers may be thinking, “Surely not everyone is as bad as that!” The Bible does not teach that every human is as bad as they could be, or that all are as bad as each other, but it does teach that all sin and in their fallen condition no one can please God. That does not mean that sinners are incapable of doing good to others; there are many examples of individuals helping people, being kind and showing mercy. Nonetheless, as sinners, we cannot do any spiritual good or anything at all that pleases God. No act, no matter how noble we might judge it, can please God unless it is done for His glory, and it cannot be done for His glory unless it is done by faith (Hebrews 13:6) and in the name of His Son (Colossians 3:17).

In Romans 3:9-20 we have another clear and concise diagnosis of the condition of each and every person apart from God’s grace – hopeless:

“There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God” (Romans 3:10-11).

The quotations in verses 10-18 are from several passages of the Old Testament and present a shocking picture of the human race. No individual is able or willing to do anything to please, understand or seek for the one true God. Sin has truly corrupted the desires, the mind and the will.

Another metaphor that the Bible uses to describe our state naturally is blindness:

“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

Paul teaches us that Satan, the god of this age, has blinded the minds of the natural man. His blinding of peoples’ minds makes it impossible for them to see the light of the gospel, and unless their minds’ eyes are opened they will never turn to Christ. Once again we see the necessity for divine intervention before we can comprehend the truth. Blind eyes need to be opened and only God can give sight to the blind.

Some have suggested that the teaching that mankind cannot respond to God without an initial direct divine intervention robs humanity of free will. They contend that “dead in trespasses and sins” only conveys the idea of estrangement and separation from God, and that humans have the innate ability to respond positively to the gospel.

However, it is essential to understand that what we choose to do is not determined by our will, as though that it has its own independent existence, but it is a choice of our mind. Whilst everyone has free will, the ability of self-determination, all choices will be in accordance with the person’s inclination and disposition. As the fall has totally corrupted human inclination away from God towards self, in their natural state no one will choose against that fallen nature and place saving faith in Christ.

The essential quickening of the Spirit

Unless God graciously intervenes we will never turn to Him. It is only when the Holy Spirit, efficaciously works in a person that they will trust in Christ for salvation.

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63)

The natural man only has the flesh and that is unable to give life; only the Spirit can do this.

Charles Wesley summarized the problem of our nature and will in the well-known hymn, “And can it be”. He wrote about being spiritually bound, held fast in the darkness of sin and his nature, and a change only occurred when the Lord shone a quickening (life-giving) ray on him:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

The Lord Jesus taught man’s inability to come to Him; He said that no individual can come unless they are drawn by the Father:

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44).

The word translated “draw” can also be found in John 21:6 and 11 where it describes when a fishing net is pulled to a desired destination. W. E. Vine comments that “helko (or helkuo) is used; for there a drawing of the net to a certain point is intended”[1]. This usage helps us understand the effectual and powerful work of the Holy Spirit. When He draws a person, the scales of blindness are taken away and the person understands the gospel, repents of their sin, and trusts Christ for salvation, confessing Him as Lord. The one who believes has been drawn to Christ.

As far as the new believer is concerned he understood the gospel and came to faith in Christ and has life. He may have heard a gospel message with an exhortation to “look and live”. Certainly that was the case for me and for every believer I have spoken to. From man’s perspective our awareness of new life came upon belief. However from the divine perspective we know that first blind eyes were opened to see the truth and to believe.

This principle of cause and effect greatly helped me answer my question “What or who caused me to believe?” It was not the eloquence of the preachers or any intellectual ability that I possessed but it was firstly the work of the Holy Spirit. Thus all the glory in salvation goes to God.

A vivid picture of God’s grace to those who are dead in sin is found in the raising of Lazarus (John chapter 11). When Jesus went to Lazarus’s tomb he had been dead for four days. He could not respond to any stimulus; there was no life in him and nothing within him that could generate life. He lacked any power and ability. However in three short words the Lord Jesus issued a personal and specific command:

“Lazarus, come out” (John 11:43c ESV).

This episode illustrates what happens when a sinner comes to the Lord Jesus Christ. Lazarus was physically dead, and all sinners are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:5). In order for Lazarus to respond to the call of God, he had to be given life. Similarly, the sinner, who is dead in trespasses and sins, needs the work of the Holy Spirit within them so they can respond to the call of God.

Once the spiritually dead are quickened by the Spirit, they will immediately respond in obedience and walk in newness of life. Praise God that all who trust Christ have new life and are lifted out of the graveyard of sin (John 5:24).

The wonderful miracle of commanding a man who is unable to respond, and then giving him the power to respond parallels God’s grace in salvation.

The offer of the gospel is a genuine offer to all, but only those who, by God’s grace, have been awakened will trust in Jesus Christ. Apart from the grace of God we would be in a hopeless situation – dead in trespasses and sins with no desire or inclination to seek God.

As believers, we praise God for the amazing grace He has shown to us by quickening us (giving us life) through the work of the Holy Spirit.

[1] W. E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words