Commentators unanimously stress that being 'dead in trespasses and sins' is not a metaphor for being flawed or spiritually sick. It describes a real, present state of spiritual death. John Calvin explains this as the 'alienation of the soul from God.' Like a corpse, a person in this state is insensitive to spiritual realities—God's call, Christ's love, and eternal truths—and is utterly unable to reanimate themselves.