What did God do when we were filthy?
Even while we were filthy and dead in sins, God, who is rich in mercy and great love, loved us while we were yet ungodly and sinners; He reached down, quickened us, and made us alive together with Christ, a picture of His resurrection.
Les teaches that Ephesians 2:4 turns on the word “but.” Before that, we were children of wrath, disobedient, enemies of God, dead in sins, and filthy with Him. But God—not by any person—is rich in mercy. Because of His great love, He loved us, just as Romans says He commended His love toward us while we were yet ungodly and sinners. That is where He reached down and quickened us, making us alive together with Christ. Les explains that this quickening pictures Christ’s resurrection.