Chapter Two
Eph. 2:1. And you, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
Eph. 2:2. in which you once walked, according to the course of this world, according to the will of the prince who rules in the air, of the spirit,
Above he said that God manifested in us the same power and working as in Christ. Of Him it is said that He raised Him from the dead and seated Him above all. And then now he speaks also of us: "and you," he says, "who were dead" (not by bodily death, which began with Adam, but by the death of the soul, which comes from ourselves, the death of sin) He raised and lifted up. So then, by the same power He both raised the Lord from bodily death and us from the spiritual death of sin, and the transformation of the soul's disposition is far more important than the raising of the dead, as was said above. The thought of this passage is indeed such, but it is stretched out too much until the words "made alive together with Christ," since much has been inserted and there is repetition in the words "God, who is rich in mercy." So then, having said that they were dead and having shown in what way they were dead, namely through transgressions and sins, he comforts them in a twofold manner: by the words "in which you once walked," and not now; and by the addition that you sinned because of enslavement to the devil, and not everything depended on you, but also on your helper, who so powerfully ruled over you. You sinned, thus, "according to the course of this world," that is, thinking about worldly and temporal things and making bad use of this age. For this age is not evil, but the misuse of it is. It was given as a guide, since, being corruptible and quickly passing, it can arouse us toward the incorruptible and unchanging; but we, having given ourselves over to its corruption and flux, made it not a guide but an opponent. By "prince" who "has dominion in the air," he means the devil, and not the Demiurge, as the impious Manichaeans think. He calls him "prince" because people have subjected themselves to him and serve him more than God. However, such power of his exists only in this age and does not extend beyond the air, because it has place not in heaven but under heaven. Therefore Paul also calls him the prince "who has dominion in the air," not in the sense that he rules over the air and controls it, but because he loves to dwell in it. For the devil, being a spirit, lives in the air as if in a spirit (πνεύματι), and to this day has authority and power in it, ruling over those who have subjected themselves to him. And some understand by "the prince who has dominion in the air" the prince of the aerial powers. Therefore, they say, he added "of the spirit," that is, the prince and ruler of every aerial spirit. For after he once became a prince, he apparently did not lose his authority even after his fall.
Eph. 2:2. "now working in the sons of disobedience,"
He did not say "compelling," but "working." From this it is clear that he rules over those who have voluntarily submitted to him. For if he ruled against our will, he would compel. And from what follows it is also evident: he "works," it says, "in the sons of disobedience," that is, in those who do not obey God, but obey him voluntarily.
Eph. 2:3. Among whom we all also once lived according to our fleshly lusts, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts,
Not only does he reassure them by this, saying that our sinfulness came from the devil, but also by placing both himself and all others in the same position as them, since no one was without sin. By the lusts of the flesh he means those that arise from carnal-mindedness. That he is not reproaching the flesh here is clear. For having said "fulfilling the desires of the flesh," he adds "and of the mind," that is, thinking of nothing spiritual. Therefore it is not the flesh that is worthy of condemnation, but the mindset that draws one toward passionate pleasures. Or else in this way: we defile the mind by thinking evil, and the flesh by carrying it out. And you may consider the works of the flesh to be adultery and the like, and the work of the mind to be envy, holding grudges, and the like.
Eph. 2:3. and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest,
This is said instead of: we offend and anger God, and were nothing other in reality than wrath; just as a child of a human being is by nature a human, so also were we. And as sons of Gehenna and sons of perdition are called those who are worthy of such, so also "children of wrath" are called those who do things worthy of wrath. The word "by nature" is used instead of: truly and genuinely, "even as the rest," for no one was free from wrath.
Eph. 2:4. God, who is rich in mercy,
We were doing deeds worthy of implacable wrath, but God, he says, is not simply merciful, but also "rich in mercy."
Eph. 2:4. by His great love, with which He loved us,
And love from great mercy. For otherwise how would we — children of wrath — have been deemed worthy of love?
Eph. 2:5. dead in trespasses, He made alive together with Christ, –
Here is the end of the previously begun thought, while the rest is all a parenthetical insertion. Again Christ is the mediator, and the matter is worthy of trust: for if the firstfruits (the firstborn) lives, then we also live; since God gave life to both Him and us: to Him in actuality, and to us in power for now, and a little later — also in actuality. Behold the extraordinary greatness of His power, namely that He gave life to the dead, the sons of wrath. In this lies the hope of our calling.
Eph. 2:5. by grace you are saved,
With deep spiritual shock he expressed this, marveling at the ineffable gift of God. For not by labor and not by your own works, he says, were you saved, but only by grace. For, as far as works are concerned, you were worthy of punishment and wrath.
Eph. 2:6. And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Since the firstfruits and the head, Christ, I say, has been raised, God also raised us through Him; in exactly the same way, if the head sits, the whole body sits together with it. Therefore he says: "in Christ Jesus," that is, because He is seated, we also are seated. Or else: "raised us up with Him" should be understood not as referring to resurrection, but to being made alive through baptism. But how then "seated us"? "If we endure," he says, "we shall also reign with Him" (2 Tim. 2:12). And Christ says: "you will sit on twelve thrones" (Matt. 19:28), and in another place: "but to sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared" (Mark 10:40). So then, this has already been prepared.
Eph. 2:7. That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Lest anyone doubt what has been said, he endeavors to make his speech more convincing, saying: if not for the sake of love toward us, then at least out of the desire to manifest His goodness, He will surely fulfill this. Now many do not believe this, but in the age to come all will know what God has granted us, seeing the saints in ineffable glory. As for the expression "in Christ Jesus," it means: this does not pertain to Christ alone, but through Him it passes also to us, as from the beginning to the whole: with Him we shall be made alive, with Him we shall also sit. So says the great John Chrysostom in his commentary on this passage, while in his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew he says that no one will sit then. Truly the gift of the Spirit and of revelation is needed to comprehend the depth of these mysteries. For if the wise teacher John had not said clearly that we "shall be" seated, then one might have said that in Christ we "already" sit, just as also that in Christ we are deemed worthy of worship from the angels. For it is not we personally who are deemed worthy of worship, but since our nature, united with God the Word, receives worship, this honor passes also to us. It is in this sense that he now says that we too shall sit.
Eph. 2:8. For by grace you are saved through faith,
Having said that which concerns God, namely, that we are saved by grace, he adds also that which belongs to us — "through faith," so as not to violate free will.
Eph. 2:8. and this is not of you, it is the gift of God: