As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:1-10

The first two verses of today's passage may have been read quickly and without much thought or contemplation. But if you take a moment and think about what Paul wrote, the statement that you were dead in your sin is truly an incredible thought. Before you gave your life to Christ, you were spiritually dead. You are not just a little worse off, missing a small piece of something, or partially incomplete. You are not simply less happy, less secure, or less fulfilled. Without Christ, you are dead; and there is nothing you can do about it in your own power. This is why accepting the gift of salvation is so much more than what we think it is in our limited human mental capacity. We have become spiritually alive! What was dead has come back to life! This is the incredible truth and power of every testimony. Christians often downplay the significance of our decision to accept Christ. We might believe our story isn't special or dramatic, but no matter your story, the simple, powerful fact remains that you were dead in your sin, without life and disconnected from the source, and now you have been made alive in Christ. A dead man feels comfortable in his coffin; but if he were to be made alive again, he would instantly feel suffocated and uncomfortable in the place he used to be comfortable. There would (and should) be a strong urge to escape the coffin and leave it behind. In the same way, when we were spiritually dead we felt comfortable in sin and the bondage of sin; but having come to new life we feel the claustrophobic conviction that we must escape that coffin of our old life and of our flesh and leave it behind for something much better.

The second powerful truth we see in verse two is that there is no such thing as neutrality in the spiritual realm. You are either for and with God, or you are against him. Many people wrongly believe that an unbeliever is standing in a neutral territory somewhere between light and dark. That person looks to either side and at some point in their life, chooses to either walk to the light by accepting Jesus, or to the dark by choosing to reject him. This is not the case. Every single person is born into the dark, and we as sinners, have followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, who is Lucifer or Satan. You don't have to choose to follow Satan. If you are not in Christ, you already are. You may not even realize it, but by conforming to the patterns of this world, you are conforming to the image of Satan instead of the image of Jesus. There is no neutrality or fence-sitting in the spiritual realm. Jesus Christ himself said that you are either for me or against me and that a person is either one who gathers or one who scatters. (Luke 11:23) The good news of the Gospel is that God has lifted us up out of that darkness and has seated us with Christ. We didn't leave spiritual Switzerland to get to God. We were plucked from hell at just the right time and placed at the foot of the throne.

Finally, the third amazing aspect of today's passage (though there are far more than just three) is its description of the incredible love and mercy of God and how these qualities play into how a person is saved. Some warp the idea of God’s great mercy and love into something that justifies our pride. We wrongly imagine that God loves us because we are so lovable and deserving. Instead, God’s love is so great that it extends even to the unlovely; to the children of wrath mentioned in the previous verse. Every reason for God’s mercy and love is found in Him. The truth is that we give God no reason to love us, yet in the greatness of His love, He loves us with that great love anyway. How amazing is that! With this in mind, we must stop striving to make ourselves lovable to God, and simply receive His great love while recognizing that we are unworthy of it. This is the great secret of the Christian life and one that dispels pride and springs up humility and gratitude. This is when God started loving us. He did not wait until we were lovable or deserving, something we could never be. He loved us when we were dead in trespasses, providing nothing lovable to Him. Paul cannot speak of this glorious work God does without reminding us that this gift of grace is given to the undeserving. That is what makes it grace, and that is why it is so good!