EPHESIANS 2:1-3 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
Starting in Chapter 2, verse 1.
He Made Alive; (Colossians 2:13) And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
Alive in this text is "quickened"; to quicken together with, make alive with, refers to spiritual life imparted to believers at their conversion. The Greek is συζωοποιέω suzoopoieo.
(Ephesians 4:18) having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
Quickened is the opposite of dead which in Greek here is, νεκρός nekros which in this text is referencing the spiritual condition of the unsaved.
Trespasses; Sins; with the preceding "were dead in" means spiritually dead and lost. The Greek is παράπτωμα paraptoma which is primarily a false step, a blunder, to fall away. This is a deviation from uprightness and truth.
The exact meaning of "sins" here is, lit., a missing of the mark," but this etymological meaning is largely lost sight of in the NT. It is the most comprehensive term for moral obliquity which is a deviation from proper conduct or thought. I think this is why Paul starts to really define what "sin" is, but in this verse, it seems to mirror or run alongside "trespasses".
In Verse 2.
You Once Walked; This is a biblical expression that pictures a believer's steady normal progress with God. Paul is urging us to no longer walk according to their old ways.
Course Of This World; Anything worldly used in this sense would be outside of Christ. In other words "not uprightly".
The Greek word for "world" here is κόσμος kosmos but the literal translation would be "the age of this world." When we are dealing with an "age' or "course" αἰών aion is typically used.
Prince Of The Power Of The Air; This is namely the adversarial spirit Satan. (Note the following lines).
Prince here is ἄρχων archon which has several meanings. Here it is used of the Devil, as "prince" of this world, John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11; of the power of the air, Ephesians 2:2, "the air" being that sphere in which the inhabitants of the world live and which, through the rebellious and godless condition of humanity, constitutes the seat of his authority;
Sons Of Disobedience; (those characterized by) People who disobey whether Christian or non-Christian.
Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Colossians 3:6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
Moving to Verse 3.
Among Whom; 1 Peter 4:3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.
Paul goes on to remind us of exactly what we are outside of Christ.
Lusts Of The Flesh; Means "strong desires" even with the modifier "of our flesh" this word pertains to more than sensual cravings.
Lust in the Greek is ἐπιθυμία epithumia. In scripture this word is not always used in a bad sense, the word describes the emotions of the soul, the natural tendency towards things evil. Such "lusts" are not necessarily base and immoral, they may be refined in character, but are evil if inconsistent with the will of God. In this case, it's used in the bad sense.
The Mind; Paul uses this to also illustrate the thought practices of the "sons of disobedience" or anyone outside of or not walking with Christ.
The Greek word here for "mind" is νοῦς nous and in this context, it's used with an evil significance, a consciousness characterized by a perverted moral impulse.
Nature; The natural powers or constitution of a person or thing. The Greek word is φύσις phusis.
Children Of Wrath; (Psalm 51:5) Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
By the way, this is only one of many verses that deal with our sin nature from birth. I think God has provisions for those He deems innocent, there are verses that allude to the fact that we are thought of by God before we are in the womb. Galatians 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace. However - we are all born sinful and none of us are good. We have to be taught that. Then we either respond to that teaching or we don't. Some people may have a propensity to gravitate toward kindness, but none of us are good without Jesus Christ. Just as a life lesson, never mistake kindness for a walk with God. Lots of "the children of disobedience" are "kind".
One of the biggest lies the world tells us is that we are all inherently good. This simply isn't the case. It's the exact opposite and we need Jesus Christ.
Paul seems to be describing the condition of sin in the life of one who refuses to seek God.
Takeaways -
1. Even Christians call fall into the category of "sons of disobedience'. It is extremely important to keep our walks with God upright and fixed on Him.
2. We often hear that we shouldn't trust our hearts unless they are in line with God. The same can be said of our minds. Our minds are tricky and if you are feeling like something is off or you might be just doing your own thing, it is important to consult the Word Of God and other strong Christians.
3. Contrary to what the world says, no one without Christ is genuinely "good". Not me, not you, not your kids, not your cat, not the sweet old librarian. A person might be kind, but true "goodness" comes with a pursuit of and faith in Jesus Christ.
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