Not Dead Because of Sin, but to Sin

Originally posted on October 13, 2025 – by Andre Piet

In many translations of Paul’s letters, we read that we were “dead because of trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13). But that raises questions. Because elsewhere Paul says that we have died with Christ and are therefore dead to sin. These two ideas seem difficult to reconcile. After all, someone who is dead because of sin is a victim of sin and cut off from the life of God. But someone who is dead to sin stands above it: he has escaped it and lives in a new reality. The one speaks of being lost; the other of liberation. How can both be true at the same time?

The Concordant Version shows that there is no contradiction here, but rather a beautiful coherence. It does not translate these verses as “dead because of,” but as “dead to the trespasses and sins.” That may seem like a small nuance, but it makes a big difference in meaning.

The Matter of the Dative

The entire difference hinges on one small Greek word that appears in these sentences. In Greek, Paul uses a grammatical case known as the dative. This can be understood in two ways: as indicating cause (“because of”) or relation (“with regard to,” “to,” or “for”). Most translations automatically chose “because of,” likely because it seemed the most obvious. But the context shows that “to” or “for” fits better.

This is also evident in other passages where Paul uses the same expression. In Romans 6:2, he says: “We, who died to sin, how shall we still be living in it?” No one translates that as “died because of sin.” And in 1 Peter 2:24, we read: “that we, being dead to sins, should be living to righteousness.” There it is consistently rendered as “to.”

This makes the picture clear: someone who is dead because of sins is underneath them and lost to them; but someone who is dead to sins has moved beyond them and lives in a different realm. That is exactly what Paul means in Ephesians 2 and Colossians 2: we are not defeated by sin, but delivered from it – dead to sin and alive to God.

It thus becomes clear that Paul in these chapters is not speaking about our former condition, but about our current position in Christ. We have been crucified, died, buried, and raised with Him. The old humanity is past; we now live in newness of life. That is why we are dead to sin and alive to God.

One Line in Paul’s Message

The traditional translation (“dead because of sins”) gives the impression that Paul is looking back on our past, as if he were speaking about unbelievers. But the verses themselves clearly show that it is about the new human in Christ. We have been “made alive together, raised together, and seated together in the heavens” (Ephesians 2:5–6). That is not a description of the past, but of the present.

The Concordant Version preserves that line and avoids giving the concept of “dead” two different meanings. We are not dead because of sins (as humanity in Adam), but dead to sins (because we are united with the crucified Christ).

The Power of Precision

The precision of the Concordant Version does not focus us on the past, but on our current position in Christ. Its rendering is not only linguistically accurate, but also fully aligned with Paul’s teaching elsewhere. Not dead because of sin, but dead to sin – and therefore also alive to God.

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