Dan Samms introduces Ephesians and talks about new life in Christ.  He goes into detail about the three parts of a person (Body, Soul, Spirit) and what it means to be physically alive but spiritually dead.  Jesus' role in spiritual regeneration and His glory and dominion are essential.  

God came to earth to reveal Himself and pay your sin debt (John 1:14, 1 John 2:2, 1 Peter 3:18).  Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Put simply, we earn death by sinning, but God gives us the free gift of eternal life, because of Jesus' sacrifice.  There is nothing you can do to earn a gift.  All you have to do is accept it.  Romans 10:9 gives us a simple way to accept it: "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."