Bible Strands
Ephesians 2:5
made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul, writing to a mixed Jewish-Gentile congregation in Ephesus, mid-argument about God's unilateral initiative in salvation (vv. 4–7). He has just stated the cause (great love, rich in mercy) and is now stating the act itself before moving to its result (raised and seated, v. 6).
The words — συνεζωοποίησεν (sunezōopoiēsen): "made alive together with." The prefix συν- is not decorative; it binds the reader's new life to Christ's resurrection as a single corporate event, not a parallel one.
The thread — The "dead in trespasses" language recurs in Colossians 2:13; the "while we were still sinners" logic in Romans 5:8; the grace-not-works framing in Romans 3:24 and Ephesians 2:8.
Why it lands — The verse places the reader as the object of a completed divine act, not the agent of their own rescue. It forecloses the move toward self-justification before the reader can make it.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Cross-references
- Romans 3:24 and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
- Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,
- Romans 5:8 But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!
- Acts 15:11 On the contrary, we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
- Romans 8:2 For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death.
- Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
- Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.
- Ephesians 5:14 So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
- Romans 4:16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.