CHAPTER 2
LECTURE 1
You [Gentiles], especially, dead as you were in your lapses and sins—in the past your steps were bound by them. [You were] following [the inspiration of] this world-age, the ruler of the atmosphere, that spirit which is now at work among the rebellious men. In the past all of us, [Jews] too, followed these ways. In our own fleshly passions, we did whatever our flesh and our thoughts decided. As much as the rest of mankind we were by nature under the wrath [of God].
[Read Marcus Barth, note on “this world-age” (p. 214), and “The realm of the Evil One” (p. 228).]
1 And he has quickened you, when you were dead in your offences and sins,
2 Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now works on the children of despair;
3 In which also we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
Above, the Apostle enumerated the blessings bestowed on the human race in general through Christ (1:3). Here the Apostle sets them in relief by comparing them to [mankind’s] own former condition. Their past state can be considered in two ways: first as a state of sin, and secondly as a state of paganism. Therefore, the Apostle does two things:
First, he recounts the blessings shown them in regard to their first state.
Secondly, he recalls those related to their second state. (2:11).
The first part has two sections:
First, the Apostle describes their state of sin.
Secondly, the blessing of the grace of justification (2:4).
Again, the first part has two divisions:
First, he calls to mind the state of sin with reference to the pagans.
Secondly, then with reference to the Jews (2:3).
Once more the first has two parts:
Secondly, he adds its necessity (2: 1)
God, he says, is wondrously active in the faithful, “in accord with the exercise of his mighty power, which he worked in Christ,” (Eph 1:19) in raising him from the dead. Hence, according to this activity, and after the example of this operation, he has restored us to the life of grace from the death of sin. “He will revive us after two days: on the third day he will raise us up and we shall live in his sight” (Hos 6:3). “If you have ben raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God” (Col 3:1).
He demonstrates the need for such a blessing when he states when you were dead in your offenses and sins where he describes so well their sin. First of all, [he depicts] the multitude [of their sins] at And you, when you were dead with the worst type of death, spiritual death. “Evil will slay the wicked [Vul: The death of the wicked is very evil]” (Ps 34:22). Sin is termed a death because by it man is separated from God who is life: I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6). Dead I say, in your offenses and sins —behold the great number! For offenses are the omissions [of what they should have done]—“Who can discover errors?” (Ps 19:13)—while sins are [the evil they] committed. Wherein in time past you walked is added to exaggerate the great number of sins. For if some are dead in offenses and sins at one time, they nonetheless cease at another time and leave off sinning; but these keep up their pace in going from bad to worse. Philippians 3 (18) contains a similar idea: “For many, as I have often told you and now tell you with tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.” They “have gone after worthlessness and become worthless” (Jer 2:5).
Secondly, he describes the twofold cause of their sin. One arises from this world insofar as they are attracted by the things of the world. * Concerning this he states according to the course of this world ; you were allured by mundane matters into a worldly life. “If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him.” Hence the command: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world” (1 Jn 2:15).
The other cause was the devils whom they served, of which Wisdom 14 (27) warns: “The worship of infamous is the beginning and cause and end of all evil.” * In reference to this he says according to the prince of the power of this air , and he portrays three aspects of this cause.
First, as regards their strength he says the prince of the power . He exerts a power, not by the fact that he has it naturally, since he is neither the Lord nor creator by nature, but to the degree that he dominates over men who subject themselves to him by sinning. “Now shall the prince of this world be cast out” (Jn 12:31); “for the prince of this world is coming; he has no power over me” (Jn 14:30).
Secondly, concerning their dwelling place he says of this air , that is, he has power in this darksome atmosphere. Here it should be noted that two opinions exist among the doctors. For some held that the demons who had fallen [from grace] were not from the higher ranks, but from the lower ones in charge of the lower bodies. * It is evident that the whole of material creation is governed by God through the ministry of angels. Thus John Damascene * was of the opinion that the first of those who had fallen had been in charge of the terrestrial order. He may have derived this from Plato’s talk about certain celestial or world substances. In this perspective of this air is interpreted that they were created to preside over this atmosphere.
Others * preferred, and with better reason, that those [angels who sinned] were from the highest ranks. Of this air then designates that this atmosphere is the place of their punishment. Jude refers to this in his canonical [letter]: “And the angels who did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling he has kept in everlasting chains under darkness until the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6). The reason why they were not immediately thrust into hell after their fall, but released in the atmosphere, was because God did not want the creation of those who had sinned to be totally frustrated. Hence, he sent them to try men, by which the good would be prepared for glory and the wicked for eternal death. The time of our warfare and of merit will last until the day of judgment, till then they will remain in the atmosphere; after the day of judgment, however, they will be thrust back into hell.
Observe also how one reading has “of the spirit” which, as a genitive singular, stands for the plural “of the spirits.” Another reading gives “spirit” in the accusative case; as if to say: “according to the prince spirit,” that is, the prince who is a spirit. *
Thirdly, [he describes] their activity when be states that now works on the children of despair . They are the children of despair who reject the fruit of Christ’s passion. Or, those who have no faith in eternal realities nor hope in salvation through Christ. In these the prince of the power of this air freely works , leading them wherever he wishes. Later it is said of them: “They have become callous [Vul: despairing] and have given themselves up to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness” (Eph 4:19). Perhaps, of despair means those of whom we should despair because they sin out of malice; the prince of this world doing whatever he pleases in them. For no one should despair of those who sin from ignorance or weakness, nor does that prince do whatever he wants with them.
On the contrary, however, one should never despair of anyone else as long as he lives. I reply. Our hope in someone can be twofold. On the one hand, it can be in the man, and on the other, in divine grace. Thus someone may be despaired of as far as he himself is concerned, but never must confidence in God be lost. For instance, people rightly despaired of Lazarus’ power to bring himself back to life once he bad been placed in the tomb, but no trust should have been lost in the God who raised him up. Therefore, those who out of malice are sunk in their many sins can be despaired of from the point of view of their own strength: “I have sunk into the abysmal Mire, where there is no footing” (Ps 69:3). But no one should despair if it is a question of the divine power. Concerning these children of despair it mentions further on: “Let no man deceive you with empty words. For because of these things the anger of God comes upon the children of disobedience [Vul: despair]” (Eph 5:6).
Next (v. 3), the Apostle recalls the sinful state of the Jews, thereby demonstrating how everyone had sinned, according to that saying of Romans 3 (9): “For we have charged both Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin.” Nevertheless, a difference should be noted. The Apostle had designated two causes when dealing with the sin of the Gentiles, one on the side of the world and the other on that of the demons whom they worshiped. The Jews were like the Gentiles in their sinful condition in regard to the first cause, but not the second; hence, the Apostle only mentions their sin as arising from worldly causes. In reference to this he makes three points:
First, he recounts their guilt regarding sins of the heart.
Secondly, the sins of action.
Thirdly, original sin.
A sin of, the heart is implied in carnal desires. About this he asserts: in which sins and offenses also we all who are Jews conversed in time past , leading our life in the carnal desires of our flesh . “For we ourselves also were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another” (Tit 3:3). “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ; and make no provision for the desires of the flesh” (Rom 13:14).
Sin in action is nothing else than a manifestation of inner concupiscence. * A certain concupiscence of the flesh exists, it consists of the natural concupiscences; for example, for food through which the individual maintains his own life, and for sexual relations by which the species is preserved.
Regarding these he says fulfilling the will of the flesh , doing what the flesh delights in. “And they who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom 8:8). Another concupiscence exists, that of thought. These desires do not spring from the flesh but from the appetitive faculty of the soul, such as the ambition for honors, for one’s own excellence and the like. Of these he states and of our thoughts , that is, inordinate desires are followed once they are caused by the prompting of our reflections.
Original sin is hinted at in and we were by nature children of wrath . This sin of the first parent was not only passed on to the Gentiles but to the Jews also: “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned” (Rom 5:12). Baptism cleanses only the individual person who receives it from original sin; his children must also be baptized. Likewise, circumcision cleansed only the individual from original sin; the children they begot still had to be circumcised. Thus he says we were by nature , that is, from the earliest beginning of nature—not of nature as nature since this is good and from God, but of nature as vitiated— children of an avenging wrath , aimed at punishment and hell, even as the rest , that is, the Gentiles.