Ephesians 2:1 - 2: Dead in Trespasses and Sins:

A tale of two men follows; both outwardly good and one very religious, however both of whom appeared to have walked according to The Prince and Power of the Air.

After being assured that God The Father put/subdued/subordinated all unto the Lord Jesus Christ, The Head of The Church, The Body of Christ, Ephesians 1:20 - 2320 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

, i.e., true believers, who are His instruments of righteousness, Paul tells The Body of Christ: “And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;” Ephesians 2:11 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

. The 3 words “hath He quickened” are in italics, thus are not in the original. However, the fact believers “are quickened” with Christ is made clear in Ephesians 2:55 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

so the phrase “hath He quickened” in verse 1 is a gloss from verse 5. The point of verse 1 is the fact that every person born into this world was dead in trespasses and sins before they believed the Gospel of The Grace of God, Acts 20:2424 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

; 1 Corinthians 15:1 - 41 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

. This is also clearly stated in Romans 3:2323 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

; “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

It stands therefore, that before anyone can come to believe to salvation they must recognize they are sinners, i.e., dead in trespasses and sins. Years ago I made the acquaintance of an attorney when I was on the Phoenix Police Department (PPD). He turned out to be a good friend; we had a good relationship and met for lunch every week. After I retired from the PPD we continued our friend ship. I had a burden for his soul and witnessed to him frequently. In response he would sometimes make light of this, calling it my “Jesus hobby” but never the less I continued to share the Gospel with him.

He developed serious health problems and one time when he was hospitalized I brought him a Bible and asked him to read The Gospel of John and the Epistle to the Romans and told him again that I prayed for his health and salvation. He did thank me for my prayers. His problem was that he didn’t believe Ephesians 2:1 and Romans 3:23. Every time I pointed this out and that The Lord Jesus Christ had died for his sins he denied he was a sinner. Other than being an attorney, he was a good man, honest, good clean conversation, etc. But as good as he was on the outside, he was a sinner, like all descendants of Adam. As disease ravished his body I visited him each time in the hospital, the last being about 2 weeks before he died. He was angry that on that occasion because he said the doctor told him he only had a short time to live and he did not believe it. Shortly thereafter he went into home hospice and I visited him as he lay in a hospital bed in the front room of his house. He was in a coma from which he never awoke. I prayed he had come to believe or would regain consciousness and believe but there was no indication he ever did.

The Apostle Paul goes on in verse 2: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” Ephesians 2:22 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

. Fact: before any of us come to believe the Gospel, 1 Corinthians 15:1 - 4; Romans 4:24 - 2524 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

; Romans 10:8 - 118 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

; etc., we walked/deported/occupied ourselves according to Satan, the chief prince and power (he who has the authority/jurisdiction/influence) of the air (the spiritual realm). Since he works in and through the sons of unbelief/ rebelliousness, it appears that he was successful in my friend’s life.

Now consider verse 2 in relation to “religious” individuals. I know of many churches that book guest speakers who were formerly gangsters, pimps, thieves (the worst, the better) to give their testimonies on how The Lord changed their lives when they came to believe the Gospel. It seems most congregants eat it up, marveling that God saved such wretches from Satan’s hold! However, this view misses the point. Satan didn’t need to work in their sinful pursuits before they were saved. They were perfectly capable of conducting degenerate sinful life styles on their own because that is the nature of fallen man. On the contrary, Satan, being the chief prince and power of the air (spiritual realm) works in outwardly good, clean, sophisticated, educated, religious, well spoken men and women. I was acquainted with such a man who fit the bill perfectly. Of course, I’m not claiming to be the judge of anyone, our Lord Jesus Christ will do just that. But I can observe.

I was acquainted with another man who has also passed away. He was addressed as “Reverend” and pastored a large church with a large following. We served together on the board of directors of a charitable organization. He was smooth, articulate, highly educated and often gave high sounding invocations at events but he never prayed in the name of Jesus Christ. The Reverent was very influential with those in power in Arizona. I never attended his church but his beliefs and preaching were made clear to me by a mutual friend who did attend his church and was a personal friend of the “Reverend.”

While discussing with our mutual friend one time I asked what the “Reverend” preached. He told me the “Reverend” was very intelligent and presented great homilies centered on current events, how people should be good citizens, and in general how to improve our society. When I asked if he preached the redeeming power of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, my friend was aghast and said of course not. He said the Revenant was not a Bible thumper who harangued about sin, Jesus Christ and His shed blood. Based on what I was told, I’m afraid both the Reverend and my friend walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. In other words, it appeared the Reverent was a perfect instrument of the Devil.