King James Bible
"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)"
Paul emphasizes humanity's complete spiritual helplessness—not merely sick or weak, but dead, utterly unable to respond to God. This metaphor underscores that salvation cannot originate from human effort, as corpses cannot resurrect themselves. God made believers alive through union with Christ's resurrection, using the same divine power that raised Jesus. The past tense indicates this spiritual resurrection is an accomplished fact for believers, not a future hope. This parenthetical statement crystallizes Paul's theology: salvation is God's unmerited gift, not earned through works or merit. The perfect tense suggests both a past action with ongoing results—believers remain in a saved state.