Dead in Transgressions and Sins (2:1-3) And you were dead in the trespasses and sins (2) in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience (3) among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. The introduction of this passage ‘and’, signals a continuation of a this passage and the one previous to chapter 2. Throughout chapter 2, Paul continuously refers to his audience as ‘you’, according to some commentators, “Those whom Paul addresses directly with an emphatic you are in the first place his Gentile…show more content… The most important factor about this repetition, is that in verse 5, rather than referring to the audience with the pronoun ‘you’, he refers to them with ‘we’. According to Lincoln, “In line with the progress of thought in vv. 1-3, not only the readers but all believers are included in the assertion” (Lincoln, 100-101), this provides a simple explanation for the transition that Paul makes in this verse from verse one. The emphasis placed on God’s love in v. 4, continues in this verse, this is why it begins with ‘even’, it explains that God loves humanity in spite of their death in trespasses. God having mercy on humanity and loving humanity even through sin, has made humanity alive together with Christ, this makes it known, that in order to be alive rather than dead in trespasses and sins, it must be with Christ. This preposition with is defined as, ‘possesing (something) as a feature or accompaniment’ (dictionary.com), this simply stated, means that if one is not together with Christ they will not be alive. The Greek word for grace is, “χάρις (charis) meaning; “grace, the state of kindness and favor toward someone, often with a focus on a benefit given to the object; by extension; gift…” (stepbible.org). That being said, Christ is a gift from God, that is undeserved, and with Christ humanity is saved and made alive. The thought of being saved is imperative to believers, but…show more content… 6, where God’s action is more precisely described in terms of their being raised up and seated with Christ” (170). Paul again, refers to the preposition ‘with’, allowing the audience to know that those who are together with Christ will be raised up with him and seated with him. Intriguingly, Paul continues use this preposition ‘with’ to explain that, believers will be with Christ, but continues on to say heavenly places in Christ Jesus. This is explained well by
