Ephesians 2:5

even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by favor you have been saved)
- Ephesians 2:5

To correct the false teaching that Christ would only have favor on the Gentiles after they died, Paul points out that they were all spiritually dead at one time. This is in contrast to the false teacher's use of the prophecy mentioned in Eph. 5:14