It's Alive!!

Ephesians 2:1-5

The contrast here is incredible: we are the body of Christ - the "fullness of him who fills everything in every way." (1:23 - something I can't wrap my mind around. We, as the followers of Jesus, somehow are seen by God as the fullness of Jesus here on earth? I don't think that we have a clue about the way that God sees us. Sure, we may believe that we will become the fullness of Christ when we reach heaven but God sees that as a reality now! I think this is part of the hope to which he called us - v. 18. It's no wonder that Paul prays that our eyes would be enlightened to this!). However, Paul reminds us where we came from: dead in our transgressions and sins. This is not about us realizing our full potential as human beings or anything like that. We had no potential! Paul makes it really clear that this is about the grace of God: we deserved nothing except God's wrath because we gratified our own selfish cravings and desires and were capable of nothing because we were dead in our sin but God made us alive in Christ and raised us up to realize our potential as the Church (and in Christ it is already realized somehow...).
Look at all the attributes of God in just three verses (3-5): wrath indicating God's justice and holiness; great love; rich in mercy; grace. Paul not only had a great understanding of the individual attributes of God's character, he also had a great understanding of how they fit together.