Ephesians 2:1-2 1And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2in which you once walked, following the present age of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience;
Paul moves from the cosmic level of ch. 1 to the personal experience of the Ephesians in ch. 2. He had just written about the church as the body of Christ and now applies that concept to believers. This “body” has many parts and is made up of people from many cultures and languages. The early church was also a mix, especially of Jews and Gentiles. Paul reminds them of their unity in this letter and begins to build toward the call to be one in Jesus Christ.
These verses pose several challenges for interpreters. The first sentence lacks a finite verb. Rather, what we find is an accusative pronoun used with an accusative participle, literally, “you being.” This style of writing catches the attention of the readers. They are the focus of Paul’s attention now.
This you had a problem of being dead due to trespasses and sins. This is the condition of what all people are in (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Trespasses are stepping across the boundary and standard of God’s laws. They indicate some intentionality and rebellion against God’s sovereignty. Sins result from shooting for the wrong target by following a direction contrary to God’s will and purposes and are often associated with seeking to fulfill fleshly, selfish desires. When these two words are combined, they give a broad and inclusive look at the human problem of sin. As Paul wrote in Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death.” This death is experienced in several ways, similar to how salvation is experienced. In this life, those who remain in sin are dead spiritually, with no relationship to their creator. This affects every area of their lives. Spiritual death will affect the eternal outcome because it has already been judged by God. The outcome of those who remain in sin is God’s wrath.
The Ephesians once walked in this disobedience. They were deceived by the world which offers promises it cannot fulfill. The world is filled with things that appeal to the “flesh,” which is controlled by a sinful nature. Humans are in rebellion against God with their focus upon what this world provides. Their values are determined by what brings their flesh happiness. All people seek comfort, security, and happiness.
The problem is not in seeking these but where people find them. Paul attributes the problem to following the ruler of the power of the air. This is a difficult phrase to translate from the Greek because each of the terms has a wide range of meanings and nuances. This is most likely a reference to Satan, as is suggested by the last clause of this sentence. This ruler is a spiritual being who operates in the invisible air. The dominion of this ruler is the air, which is understood to be the area above the earth, the sky. The devil cannot control the heavens, which are God’s place, and so can only go just above the earth. This is basically a poetic way of saying that the authority of the devil is limited.
The real problem is that this ruler is now working in the sons of disobedience. Those who live in sin and continue their trespasses against God’s laws are being controlled and deceived by Satan. The forces of evil has a deadly influence on the human race. There is only one escape from this found in Jesus Christ. This is happening now. The evidence is all around us and is clear for those who are no longer being deceived and tricked. As Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:26, the answer to this problem is that people must “come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”
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