Ephesians 2 opens with a succinct but thorough outline of the gracious gift of salvation.

This is such a clear description of the idea that God saves us by his grace and because of his love (not as a reward for our actions or attitudes) that it is hard to work out how some Christians have seen things differently. We are particularly intrigued and puzzled by a few phrases Paul uses here, such as "children of wrath" and the past tense of God having "raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms".