In Ephesians 1:18-2:7, the apostle Paul says this:

“. . . having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what [are] the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what [is] the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

And you were dead through your trespasses and sins, wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience; among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:— but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus . . .”

In the first section, Paul is describing the goals of his prayers for the Ephesians, and then climaxes it by ending with his desire for the Ephesians to know the greatness of God’s power toward them. Immediately following this, he explains the ultimate example and reason for God’s power toward them — the resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

However, it’s the second section I want to focus on in this study, which he begins by saying, “and you were dead through your trespasses and sins”. Why does he immediately follow his description of the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ with this? Because he’s about to explain to the Ephesians the “hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe”. Having just explained the exceeding greatness of God’s power toward them in the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ, he’s now going to explain how this “working of the strength of God’s might” has affected the Ephesians. It’s as if he’s saying, “Christ was raised from the dead, lifted up into heaven, and seated at the right hand of God through the same power that God directed toward you, and now I’m going to show how you were raised from the dead, lifted up into heaven, and seated at the right hand of God in Christ”.

With that background, read this section again:

“And you were dead through your trespasses and sins, wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience; among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:— but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus . . .”

So, first, Paul compares the Ephesians to the Lord Jesus Christ by telling them that, like Jesus, they were dead, not physically, but “through [their] trespasses and sins”. What does Paul mean by “dead” here? Well, to figure that out, we have to think about how the Bible defines death. The first explanation of death is found in Genesis 2:17, where God tells Adam:

“. . . but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof THOU SHALT SURELY DIE.”

As most Christians know, Adam and Eve did eat from that tree, but they didn’t die immediately. And yet God promised that they would die in the day that they ate from it. So, what did He mean that they would die? Genesis 3:7-8 describes their death:

“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of Jehovah God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife HID THEMSELVES from the presence of Jehovah God amongst the trees of the garden.”

Once they had disobeyed God by eating from the tree, their relationship with God was immediately broken, and they hid themselves from the God with whom they had once walked. They were soon cursed by God, and driven out of paradise. Because of this curse, all people after Adam are conceived in a state of hostility against God, and no longer able to truly obey Him.

So, when Paul says that the Ephesians were dead through their trespasses and sins, he means that they were spiritually dead, or cut off from communion with God, and hostile toward Him. But what does he mean when he says that they were dead “through [their] trespasses and sins”? “Trespasses” refers to violations of God’s law written in their hearts. That is, sins that they committed against what they knew they ought to do. “Sins”, on the other hand, means a failure to glorify, or imitate, God (as He is revealed in Jesus), as Romans 3:23 says:

“. . . for all have SINNED, and FALL SHORT of the glory of God [which is embodied in Jesus, the radiance of the glory of God (Hebrews 1)] . . .”

Thus, when Paul says that the Ephesians were dead through their trespasses and sins, he means that they were cut off from fellowship with God, and hostile toward Him, because of their trespasses and sins against Him.

Next, he describes how their spiritual death manifested itself in their daily lives:

“. . . wherein [your trespasses and sins] ye once walked according to the course of this world . . .”

What does Paul mean when he says that they walked in their trespasses and sins? He means that they led lifestyles, or styles of life, that were characterized by committing trespasses and sins. That is, they did nothing but trespass and sin against God.

And this walking was “according to the course of this world”. What does this mean? It means that they followed the direction of natural humanity — walking in trespasses and sins.

But Paul next says that this walking is not only according to the course of this world, but “according to the prince of the powers of the air”. What does he mean by “prince”? The underlying Greek word could also be translated “ruler”, so this person is the ruler of these powers. Of course, Paul more clearly describes this ruler in the next part of the verse:

“. . . of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience . . .”

Who is this spirit? Paul clearly identifies him in 2 Timothy 2:24-26:

“And the Lord’s servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing, in meekness correcting them that oppose themselves; if peradventure God may give them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth, and they may recover themselves out of THE SNARE OF THE DEVIL, having been HELD CAPTIVE BY HIM unto his will.”

This spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience is none other than the devil himself. But what are “the powers of the air” that he rules over? Paul identifies them in Ephesians 6:12:

“For our WRESTLING is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against THE POWERS, against the world-rulers of THIS DARKNESS, against THE SPIRITUAL HOSTS OF WICKEDNESS IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES.”

Clearly, “the powers of the air” that the devil rules over are demons. This phrase is parallel to “the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places”. What is “the air”? The heavenly places. And what are they? The places of the spiritual, or non-physical, realm in the universe. So, these demonic powers have power in the spiritual realm.

But what does Paul mean that the devil is working in the sons of disobedience? First, who are these sons of disobedience? The term “son” refers to their relationship to disobedience — they are sons, or legal dependents of, disobedience. That is, they get their sustenance, or satisfaction, from disobedience. And to whom are they disobedient? To God, of course, since it is His greatest enemy, the devil, who is working in them.

So, how is he working in them? Exactly how Paul says — they are “held captive by him to do his will” — they are his slaves.

In the next verse, Paul introduces another group of people, other than the Ephesians, who were also once dead in their trespasses and sins:

“. . . among whom [the sons of disobedience] we ALSO all once lived in the lusts of our flesh . . .”

Who is this “we”? Well, if we look at verses 11-13a of chapter 1, Paul distinguishes between the Ephesians and this second group of people:

“. . . in him, I say, in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will; to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: in whom YE ALSO . . .”

So, who are the “we” who are different from the Ephesians? Those who “had before [first] hoped in Christ”. And who first hoped in Christ? The first Jewish Christians. Therefore, the “we” in the passage we’re looking at are the first Jewish Christians.

So, not only did the Ephesians walk in their trespasses and sins, but so did the Jews, including Paul. But what does he mean that they “lived in the lusts of [their] flesh”? The word, “lust”, means “strong evil desire”, so Paul is saying that they’re very life was characterized by their evil passions that were from their flesh, or natural evil humanness.

And how did they live in the lusts of their flesh? By “doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind”. Why does Paul say that they did the desires of both the flesh and the mind? Because he’s recognizing that they had both a physical part (the flesh) and a spiritual part (the mind) that were both evil, and so he could describe them living in the lusts of their flesh by saying that they acted on the desires of their flesh and minds.

Furthermore, they didn’t just live in sin, but they also were dead to God: “. . . were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest . . .”

What does he mean by “children of wrath”? The term, “children”, refers to those who are under the care of parents, so, in a similar way, the Jewish Christians were under the “care” of God’s wrath before they became Christians. That is, they were under the curse of God’s wrath before they were Christians — the watchful eye of God’s wrath always hanging over them. In other words, they were deserving of God’s wrath.

But Paul doesn’t just say that they were children of wrath, but that they were the children of God’s wrath by nature. What does this mean? It means that it wasn’t just what they did that made them deserving of God’s wrath, but their very essence, or nature, was evil, and deserving of God’s wrath.

Finally, the Jews weren’t alone in their natural worthiness of wrath, but were so “even as the rest”. That is, the rest of humanity — the Gentiles.

In the next verse, Paul contrasts this dead condition of the Ephesians and the Jews with what follows by saying:

“. . . but God, being rich in mercy . . .”

What is Paul implying here? He’s implying that, although the Ephesians had been dead in their trespasses and sins, although they had walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, although they had lived in the lusts of their flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and although they had been children of wrath by nature, God was rich in mercy. What does this mean? It mean that He has an infinite supply of mercy, or compassion, so He had mercy on them — even though they had trespassed and sinned against Him, and they deserved His wrath.

And why did God have mercy on His people?

“. . . for [because of] his great love wherewith he loved us . . .”

Here, Paul says that the love that God had for them was great, or immense, or awesome. Not only that, God didn’t just have love for them, but He actually loved them. What does this mean? It means that He displayed His great love for them by having mercy on them.

But Paul doesn’t stop there; he again says that God was merciful and loved them “even when [they] were dead through [their] transgressions”. Even while they were spiritual corpses that were doing nothing but literally “deviating” from God’s law for them, He still loved them.

And how did God love them? By making them “alive together with Christ”. What does this mean? Well, whereas when they were dead they had been under the control of the prince of the powers of the air, had been worked on by him, had been sons of disobedience, and had been children of wrath by nature, now they were under the control of the Holy Spirit, were sons of obedience and were by nature children of God.

But that’s only how they were “alive” because of God’s love. What does it mean that they were “made . . . alive together with Christ”? It means that they were made alive because they were spiritually united to Christ, the Supreme Prophet, High Priest, and King, so they now shared in the spiritual life that He had been given when He was raised from the dead in a changed, eternal, and perfect body.

Immediately after saying this, Paul adds as a side-note that “by grace have ye been saved”. Why does He do this? Well, the word, “grace”, basically means God’s undeserved favor, so Paul is saying that the fact that God made the Ephesians alive together with Christ because of His mercy and great love with which He loved them shows that they were saved from their death, from their trespasses, from their sins, from the prince of the power of the air, and from God’s wrath, only by God’s undeserved favor.

But they weren’t only made alive together with Christ, but were “raised . . . up with him”. What does this mean? It means that they were lifted up into heaven because they were joined together with Christ, so they were now spiritually in the spiritual realm.

Further, they were “made . . . to sit with him in the heavenly places . . .” Having been lifted up into heaven with Christ, they also sat with Christ, at the right hand of the Father, in the spiritual realm. This means that they were now joint-rulers of the universe with Christ, and were honored by the Father as such. Why do I say that? Because Paul is saying that Christians have experienced spiritually the same thing that Christ experienced spiritually in Ephesians 1:20-22:

“. . . which he [God] wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to SIT AT HIS RIGHT HAND in the heavenly places, FAR ABOVE all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and he put all things IN SUBJECTION under his feet . . .”

But not only does Paul say something like this, but so does the apostle Peter in 1 Peter 2:9a:

“But ye are an elect race, a ROYAL priesthood . . .”

What does it mean to be a royal priesthood? To be a priesthood of kings. And why are Christians kings? Because they were seated at the right hand of God with Christ, the Supreme King.

Finally, Paul says that God made them alive together with Christ, raised them up with Him, and made them to sit with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Why does Paul add this last phrase? Because God only did all of this because He spiritually united Christians to Christ before the foundation of the world, as he says in Ephesians 1:4a:

“. . . even as he chose us in him [Christ] before the foundation of the world . . .”

What does this union mean? That all that is true of Christ in His humanness is also true of Christians. That is why they were made alive with Christ, raised up with Christ, and seated with Christ in the heavenly places.

And why did God do all of this?

“. . . that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus . . .”

What are the ages to come? All the ages to come, or eternity. So, God made Christians share in Christ’s resurrection, ascension, exaltation, and reign so He could display the boundless and immeasurable treasures of His grace in His kindness, or excellent and good treatment, of His children, because they are spiritually united to Christ Jesus.

If you’re trusting only in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who came to earth from God the Father to become a man, to die for our sins against Him, and to rise from the dead and ascend into heaven as the Lord of the universe as the only Way that God has forgiven you of your sins, then how does this passage apply to you?

  1. You once were spiritually dead in your trespasses and sins.
  2. You once walked according to the course of this world and according to the prince of the powers of the air.
  3. Satan once worked in you.
  4. You once were a son of disobedience.
  5. You once lived in the lusts of your flesh.
  6. You once indulged the desires of your flesh and mind.
  7. You once were a child of God’s wrath by nature.
  8. God was rich in mercy toward you because of His great love for you.
  9. When you were dead in your transgressions, God made you alive together with Christ in Christ Jesus.
  10. God saved you by His grace.
  11. God raised you up with Christ in Christ Jesus.
  12. God made you sit with Christ in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
  13. God made you alive, raised you up, and made you sit with Christ in the heavenly places so in the ages to come, He will show the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward you in Christ Jesus.
  14. Finally, let me emphasize that you are currently alive with Christ, in heaven with Christ, and seated at the right hand of your Father with Christ in the heavenly places. You are spiritually, and not physically, there, but you are there nonetheless. Are you living as if you are living with Christ, in heaven with Christ, and in authority with Christ?

If you aren’t a believer in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, then you are currently dead in your trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world, controlled by the prince of the powers of the air, being worked on by him as a son of disobedience, living in the lusts of your flesh, doing the desires of your flesh and your mind, and are a child of wrath by nature. But God is still rich in mercy, and He ultimately displayed His great love by sending His only begotten Son to the earth to become a man, to live the perfect life, to be punished by God the Father while He was suffering on a cross for our sins against Him, to be raised from the dead, and to ascend into heaven as the Lord of the universe. God is now commanding you to change your mind and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, His death for our sins, and His resurrection as the only grounds of God’s forgiveness of your sins because He has fixed a day on which He will judge people like you in righteousness through the Man He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead. He promises that anyone who will change their mind and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, His death for our sins, and His resurrection for His forgiveness will be completely forgiven of every sin and given eternal life. I beg of you on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ — please be reconciled to your Creator by changing your mind and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.