Lesson 17

b. Every Unbeliever is Dominated by Kosmos thinking; 2:2a

- "in which, [sins] you formerly walked according to the course of this world,"

Pre-salvation condition

- "you formerly walked" peripate,w; talking about lifestyle; [8x's in Eph] this pulls together our whole life before the cross;

- That former life Paul says was lived according to a standard;

Archbishop Trench writing on the use of aivw,n says this:

"All the floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, aspirations that are any time current in the world; which it may be impossible to seize and accurately define; [codify] but which constitute a most real and effective power; being the moral or immoral atmosphere which at every moment of our lives we inhale, again inevitably to exhale!"

- The ruler/prince of the age = Satan the great deceiver

* The B.L.: Paul is saying that the Unbeliever is dominated by the world.

* As a believer we know that we are no longer of the world, and we do not have to be dominated by it in any way.

c. Every Unbeliever is energized by Satan 2:2b

- The expression, "the prince, [ruler, a;rcwn] of the power [evxousi,a] of the air," brings into focus, the ruler of demonic realm, Satan!

Who are the son's of disobedience

** What we find here in this context is the opening salvo by Paul in Ephesians where he introduces us to invisible conflict that is ongoing behind the scenes between the Power of God and the power of Satan.

d. Every Unbeliever lives under the rule of his old nature 2:3a

- Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh,

- "Among them" refers back to who?

Here we are introduced to the reality of the rule of one's life by what Paul calls the strong desires, the lusts of the flesh; its impact on one's conduct.

- The use of "flesh" to refer to the sin nature and its lusts emphasizes its genetic location, as a part of the body.

We were as unbelievers not only living in the sphere of the desires of the flesh but were also doing consistently the desires or the dictates of the flesh.

So far in the context we have seen that the Unbeliever has 2 very powerful external influences attempting to promote rebellion against God;

#1 the kosmic thinking of the world; "course of this world" Which is External.

#2 the prince of the power of the air; with his many counterfeits and operatives, demons. Also external.

#3 In verse 3 we have a third, very powerful influence seeking to encourage disobedience of God; the flesh, sin nature; Its internal!