SALVATION is not rescuing the perishing but the raising the dead Until one understands the definition of bible words as the Greek intends, the meaning is often left to the reader who may or may not have good English skills.
One troubling disagreement is exactly how dead is dead. For some use the Arminian defintion which is to deny original sin that brought death on mankind both physical and spiritual. Arminian view is to believe (in simple terms) that man did not die but is asleep. They look at it as rescuing the dying instead of raising the dead.
The T of the tulip holds to original sin, that the natural man is dead in sin, reprobate (worthless, rejected, cast-away,
I see the raising of Lazarus as a picture of our being born again.
KJV John 5:21
For as the Father raiseth up the dead (corpse), and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
[quicken/regeneration -same thing]
Ephesians 2: 1-5 is definitely addressing spiritual death because Paul is not writing to dead people.
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, (the Greek word used here for 'dead' means A CORPSE........that is very dead.
2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
So before anyone can repent or be sorry for sin they must first be born again (quickened/regenerated), the Holy Spirit come to us and shed light on the word and teaches (so we understand), convicts of sin (so one can know what sin IS) and is our comforter (brings us to God's word for the solace of scriture) give us gifts to serve the church, such as discernment, hospitaltiy, teaching, et all
MY POINT is that from the point of fIRST being born again (the quickening to life), several things happen to us almost simultaniously as the Holy Spirit begins His work in us. We are convicted and know true sorrow for being sinners, we know we are undeserving but that Christ shed His blood for My sin, and we have a new desire to read the scriptures because we are now HUNGRY for the words. And then we grow. I am still amazed when I think of the way I experienced this.