Ephesians 2:1 - Meaning and Application

Paul is here describing the miserable condition of the Ephesians by nature. Unconverted people are dead in trespasses and sins. All who live in sin are dead in sin, and the phrase “trespasses and sins” covers every kind of sin, both inward and outward, sins of heart and sins of life. Sin is the death of the soul. Where sin rules, all spiritual life is missing. Sinners are dead in their condition, because they lack the life and power that come from God, the fountain of life. They are also dead in the sight of the law, like a condemned man who has already been counted as dead.

A life of sin is also a life shaped by this world. In verse 1 Paul speaks of their inward state, and in verse 2 he speaks of their outward conduct. In those trespasses and sins, they once walked, meaning they lived and behaved like people of the world. They followed the pattern of this age, which stands against God.

We are by nature slaves to sin and Satan. Those who walk in trespasses and sins, and according to the ways of this world, are walking according to the prince of the power of the air, that is, the devil, the chief of evil spirits. The devil and his fallen angels act together under one ruler, so Scripture speaks of their power in the singular. The air is pictured as the place of his rule. Jews and pagans both thought of the air as full of spirits. By God’s permission, the devil has some power in the lower air, where he is near at hand to tempt people and do as much harm as he can. But God’s people take comfort in this, that Christ, who is head over all things to the church, has defeated the devil and keeps him bound.

Wicked people are slaves to Satan because they follow him. They shape their lives and actions according to the will of this great usurper. Their whole way of life matches his suggestions and yields to his temptations. They are under his rule and are led captive by him at his will. That is why he is called the god of this world and the spirit now at work in the children of disobedience. Children of disobedience are people who choose to disobey God and serve the devil. In them he works very strongly and effectively. Just as the good Spirit works what is good in obedient souls, so this evil spirit works what is evil in wicked people. And he still works, even in a world that has received the light of the glorious gospel.

Paul then adds, “Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past,” meaning that the Jews were in the same sad condition by nature. He is saying that they too were as vile and sinful as unconverted Gentiles. He will describe their natural state more fully in the next words.

We are by nature servants of the flesh and of our corrupt desires. By carrying out the desires of the flesh and of the mind, people bring upon themselves that uncleanness of body and soul that Paul later urges Christians to cleanse away (2 Corinthians 7:1). This includes all the sin and wickedness done through both the lower and the higher powers of the soul. We once lived in the actual practice of the sins to which our corrupt nature drew us. The carnal mind makes a person a complete slave to sinful appetite. The words can also mean “the desires of the flesh,” showing how strong these lusts are over those who give themselves to them.

By nature, we are children of wrath, just as others are. The Jews were in that state as well as the Gentiles, and every person is by nature in the same condition. This is true not only because of habit and imitation, but from the time we begin to exist, because of our natural inclinations and desires. All people, being naturally children of disobedience, are also by nature children of wrath. God is angry with the wicked every day. Our condition and our way of life deserve wrath, and they would end in eternal wrath if God’s grace did not step in. What a strong reason this gives sinners to seek that grace, which can turn children of wrath into children of God and heirs of glory. Up to this point, Paul has described the misery of our natural state, and he goes on to develop the same truth further in the verses that follow.