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But God's mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great, 5 that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God's grace that you have been saved. --- Ephesians 2:4-5 v4 - We were dead in our sins, “but God”… We were rebels against him, “but God”...We were enslaved by the devil and our sinful natures, “but God”...These may be the two most welcome words in all of Scripture: “but God.” God could have left us spiritually dead, in rebellion against him and in bondage to our sins. But he didn’t. He did not save us because of , but rather in spite of, what he saw in us. In addition to thanking him for what he has done for us, we should also show humble patience and tolerance for others who seem unworthy or undeserving of our love and compassion. They may be spiritually dull, rebellious, and even antagonistic toward God. So were we; but God loves us anyway. Can we do less for fellow sinners? v4&5 - In the previous verses Paul wrote about our old sinful nature (2:1-3). Here Paul emphasizes that we do not need to live any longer under sin’s power. The penalty of sin and its power over us were miraculously destroyed by Christ on the cross. Through faith in Christ we stand acquitted, or not guilty, before God (Romans 3:21-22). God does not take us out of the world or make us robots---we will still feel like sinning, and sometimes we will sin. The difference is that before we became Christians, we were dead in sin and were slaves to our sinful nature. But now we are alive with Christ (see also Galatians 2:20). --- Life Application Study Bible notes