‘And you being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, I say, did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses.'
Paul now makes the significance of it all crystal clear. We were dead through our trespasses (compare Ephesians 2:1-3), dead to the Spirit and under sentence of final death. We were dead because our fleshly hearts were not spiritually circumcised with the resultant willingness to hear and obey and to love God with all our being. We were not alive to God. But God in His mercy has forgiven the trespasses of all who believe in Christ and has made them alive in Him.
‘Dead through your trespasses.' This is amplified in Ephesians 2:1-3 where it is associated with being controlled by the world's ideas and ways, and by Satan himself.. Thus are they dead to God and under sentence of final death.
‘And the uncircumcision of your flesh.' This can hardly refer only to physical circumcision. Paul would not have seen that as a cause for being dead to God. He did not believe that circumcision made a man alive to God and he knew of far too many circumcised people who were dead to God as well. Indeed he regarded them as ‘uncircumcised' (Romans 2:25). But he did see untransformed flesh as resulting in death (Romans 8:6). The point is that they had not experienced spiritual circumcision to their ‘flesh', their fleshly hearts and minds, through the working of God, and were thus dead in sin and doomed (see on Romans 8:11).
‘He made you alive together with Him.' It is Paul's constant theme that by union with Him in His death and resurrection, that is in union with His own body and ‘in Him', we are made alive with His life (Romans 8:12; Colossians 3:1; Romans 6:4-11; Romans 8:9-11; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:5-6; Philippians 3:10 compare John 5:25; John 14:19; James 1:18; 2 Peter 1:3-4).
‘Having forgiven us all our trespasses.' Note the change from ‘you' to ‘our'. It is added on almost as a note because Paul is so aware of the unmerited love of God and the wonderful forgiveness that is his and ours through that love. So Paul identifies himself and his fellow-workers, and the whole Christian church, as in need of, and as enjoying, the assurance of, forgiveness. ‘Having forgiven' (charizomai). The word means to give freely as a favour and then comes to refer to forgiveness given freely by grace. Compare its use in Colossians 3:13; Ephesians 4:32 see also 2 Corinthians 2:7; 2 Corinthians 2:10. Its use stresses the graciousness in forgiving. ‘Trespasses', the taking of false steps and therefore the positive doing of wrong.