The Way We Were

Exposition of Ephesians 2:1-3

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 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” (Ephesians 2:1-3).

The first observation one needs to understand is the difference between the (NASB translation (above), and the KJV that has the words “you hath he quickened.” The KJV has the words in italics, which means they were added by the translators, and are not in the Greek text. They are omitted in modern translations and rightfully so.

Our Past Condition (2:1)—“you were dead in trespasses and sins.”  Before we were blessed by God in redemption, we were dead in trespasses and sins. The pronoun “you” is emphatic, and indicates those to whom he is writing. He is speaking to believers. Their past condition was “being dead.” It is a present participle indicating they were existing and continually in a state of spiritual death. It portrays our condition by our nature before God’s action. Of course, death here is not speaking of physical death, but spiritual death (Col. 2:13); speaking of those who are alienated from God. Death means separation from either the spirit from the body (James 2:26), or the spirit separated from God (Isa. 59). Being dead is further described with the prepositional phrase “in trespasses and sin.” There are three possible ways to understand this phrase. It could indicate cause, instrumental, or locative. It is best to take it as locative (in the sphere of). “The ‘trespasses and sins’ do not merely indicate the cause of death…, but they are descriptive also of the state of death. They represent not simply the instrument, but as the same time the condition of death” notes Eadie (Ephesians, 119). Men, outside Christ, are dead in trespasses and sins for all are sinners. Doctrinally this is known as total depravity. This does not mean man is as bad as he can be; rather he is as bad off as he can be. He is lost in his sin. The only differences between unsaved men are the deepness of their sin. All have sinned (Rom. 3:23), all are guilty. But thank God, there is also grace for all (Rom. 3:24, Eph. 2:8-10).

Our Past Consequences (2:2-3).  Paul giving our past standing now goes on to describe our state. He states “in which formerly walked” (2:2; cf. Col. 3:7). The preposition is one of sphere, referring back to being dead spiritually. Now he speaks of our state of conduct in that condition. The Greek word for “walk” is peripateo, meaning to walk around in the ordinary. It is a metaphor for our ordinary conduct. It speaks of the ordinary course of life of one who is not a believer. Their walk was according to three operative standards or forces:

·         The Direction of the World—“according to the course of this world” (2:2). The word translated according (kata), indicates the standard by which action occurs. Eadie says it usually expresses conformity (p. 122). Thus, our lifestyle was in conformity to the standards of the world, not God’s standards. We followed the world’s course. The word course is the Greek word aion, normally translated age. Thus, this phrase is literally “according to the age of this world.”  This is no doubt a reference to this present evil age (Gal. 1:4). Lincoln suggests the translation of “this world-age.” (Ephesians, 95). It speaks of being controlled by the age or course of worldly norms and values, which is hostile to God. It is the governing principle which controls the world. It is the spirit of the age, by which man is moved along on his downward slide from God.

·         The Dictates of Satan—“according to the prince of the power of the air” (2:2). Again the word according indicates an additional conformity that the unsaved exercise. The word prince is the Greek word archon, conveying the idea of first or chief, denoting a ruler or prince. This is a clear reference to Satan (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4; John 12:31).  Satan is the prince or ruler of this world. The word exousia (power) denotes authority, right to act, realm, and power. It is probably best to understand it in this context as realm. He rules over the realm of the air.  Job (1:7) says Satan goes to and fro on earth. He controls this evil world (1 John 5:19).

Hoehner observes: “The unregenerate not only walk according to the values of the present age but also under the control of the leader who rules over this evil world” (Ephesains, 320-321). This is clear from the rest of the text—“of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience’ (1:2). This phrase describes the preceding clause. There can be little question that this phrase indicates men are controlled by the prince and power of the air. We are in subjection both by environment (domain of the air) and internally (spirit). He works in the unsaved. He controls their spirit by blindness (2 Cor. 4:4) and lies (John 8:44).

The phrase “sons of disobedience” refers to man’s natural character and condition. The Greek word apeitheia (disobedience) means “unwillingness to be persuaded, and expressive either of disobedience in general, or of unbelief which is only one form of disobedience” (Hodge, Ephesians, 102).  Paul takes up the phrase again in Ephesians 5:6, to show that they desire and will receive God’s wrath.

·         The Desires of the Flesh—“Among them we too all formerly lived in the lust of the flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath” (2:3). The word formerly is used in three areas in this chapter. Our former walk (2:1), our former life (2:3), and our former state as Gentiles as being far off (2:11, 13).  The “we also” or we all, is a universal and all inclusive phrase that includes Paul the author and the readers, and expands out to all men everywhere. All men who are unsaved live in conformity to these elements. The “among whom” joins this clause with the immediately preceding phrase “in sons of disobedience.” All men are in this condition by nature.

In times past “we all lived in the lust of the flesh” (1:3). Here is the main verb—anastrepho, meaning literally a compound word ‘again’ and “turn,” meaning return, to turn back, to turn again. Figuratively it is indicates to conduct. It depicts our lifestyle before we were converted and saved. The sphere we lived in was that of the lust of the fresh. The word translated lust is epithumia, denotes a strong desire of any kind. It marks the sphere of activity of the unsaved. The word flesh is always used in a metaphorical sense by Paul. It denotes our nature, and signifies our fallen state, not the material skin we are encased in. Unlike the other two forces, which are external, this is an internal force—our own nature. Flesh is not to be understood merely as our sensuous nature, but our corrupted nature we have from birth.

Therefore, man is always “indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (1:3). The text is a present participle indicating this is a continuous action or pursuit of the natural man. This corrupted nature of man desires sin (Rom. 6:12), impurity (Rom. 1:24), covetousness (Rom. 7:7-8), and is not obedient to the will of God (1 Peter 4:2). This phrase defines how the lust of the flesh manifests itself—in indulging it the things satisfying and fulfilling to the soulish or fleshly nature of man. But that is not all, Paul adds “and of the mind.” The word mind is the Greek word dianoia, meaning the thinking process, thoughts, or reflection. It is not just carrying out the desires of the flesh, but also the mind, the corrupted mental process. It is the mind-set of the natural man, which opposes God (cf. Rom. 8:5-7). Since man lives in this sphere of influence, he can not help but carry out the wishes of the flesh and mind.

We “were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (1:3). Paul ends this section with a parallel of verse 1. He ends were he begins. As “we were” death in sin, also we “were” by nature children of wrath. This last “were” speaks of the result of man’s condition and conduct—children of wrath. This is a statement of status. It is the present status of sinful man. This status came by nature. The word nature (phusis) indicates “our natural constitution or condition as opposed to what is acquired” (Hodge, 107). It is not what we became, but what we are by birth. It is by nature, (not on the account of nature), that men are the children of wrath. Being children of wrath is genitive of destination, which indicates man is by nature moving toward the wrath of God. It does not describe man in terms of attributes or character (wrathful children), but speaks of being destined for wrath. It describes a status for all mankind outside of Christ. It can only be changed by faith in Christ.

“But God” (v.4) intervened by His grace, and believers are no longer in this condition.  It is the way we were—but no longer. God intervened to give us a new status by grace through faith. We are now sinners saved by grace (Eph. 2:8-9) with a new status—made alive with Christ, raised up and seated with Him (Eph. 2:4-7).