“And you did He quicken, when you were dead through your trespasses and sins, wherein aforetime ye walked, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now works 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.”
There is, we know, a corporal, and there is also a spiritual, dying. Of the first it is no crime to partake, nor is there any peril in it, inasmuch as there is no blame attached to it, for it is a matter of nature, not of deliberate choice. It had its origin in the transgression of the first-created man, and thenceforward in its issue it passed into a nature, and, at all events, will quickly be brought to a termination; whereas this spiritual dying, being a matter of deliberate choice, has criminality, and has no termination. Observe then how Paul, having already shown how exceedingly great a thing it is, in so much that to heal a deadened soul is a far greater thing than to raise the dead, so now again lays it down in all its real greatness.
“And you,” says he “when you were dead through your trespasses and sins, wherein aforetime ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience.” You observe the gentleness of Paul, and how on all occasions he encourages the hearer, not bearing too hard upon him. For whereas he had said, You have arrived at the very last degree of wickedness, (for such is the meaning of becoming dead,) that he may not excessively distress them, (because men are put to shame when their former misdeeds are brought forward, cancelled though they be, and no longer attended with danger,) he gives them, as it were, an accomplice, that it may not be supposed that the work is all their own, and that accomplice a powerful one. And who then is this? The Devil. He does much the same also in the Epistle to the Corinthians, where, after saying, “Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters,” and after enumerating all the other vices, and adding in conclusion, “shall inherit the kingdom of God;” he then adds, “and such were some of you;” he does not say absolutely, “you were,” but “some of you were,” that is, thus in some sort were ye. Here the heretics attack us. They tell us that these expressions (“prince of all the power of the air,” etc.) are used with reference to God, and letting loose their unbridled tongue, they fit these things to God, which belong to the Devil alone. How then are we to put them to silence? By the very words they themselves use; for, if He is righteous, as they themselves allow, and yet has done these things, this is no longer the act of a righteous being, but rather of a being most unrighteous and corrupted; and corrupted God cannot possibly be.
Further, why does he call the Devil “the prince” of the world? Because nearly the whole human race has surrendered itself to him and all are willingly and of deliberate choice his slaves. And to Christ, though He promises unnumbered blessings, not any one so much as gives any heed; while to the Devil, though promising nothing of the sort, but sending them on to hell, all yield themselves. His kingdom then is in this world, and he has, with few exceptions, more subjects and more obedient subjects than God, in consequence of our indolence.
“According to the power,” says he, “of the air, of the spirit.”
Here again he means, that Satan occupies the space under Heaven, and that the incorporeal powers are spirits of the air, under his operation. For that his kingdom is of this age, i.e., will cease with the present age, hear what he says at the end of the Epistle; “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against powers, against the world rulers of this darkness;” where, lest when you hear of world rulers you should therefore say that the Devil is uncreated, he elsewhere calls a perverse time, “an evil world,” not of the creatures. For he seems to me, having had dominion beneath the sky, not to have fallen from his dominion, even after his transgression.
“That now works,” he says, “in the sons of disobedience.”
You observe that it is not by force, nor by compulsion, but by persuasion, he wins us over; “disobedience” or “untractableness” is his word, as though one were to say, by guile and persuasion he draws all his votaries to himself. And not only does he give them a word of encouragement by telling them they have an associate, but also by ranking himself with them, for he says,
“Among whom we also all once lived.”
“All,” because he cannot say that any one is excepted.
“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.”
That is, having no spiritual affections. Yet, lest he should slander the flesh, or lest it should be supposed that the transgression was not great, observe how he guards the matter,
“Doing,” he says, “the desires of the flesh and of the mind.”
That is, the pleasurable passions. We provoked God to anger, he says, we provoked Him to wrath, we were wrath, and nothing else. For as he who is a child of man is by nature man, so also were we children of wrath even as others; i.e., no one was free, but we all did things worthy of wrath.
Ver. 4. “But God, being rich in mercy.”
Not merely merciful, but rich in mercy; as it is said also in another place; “In the multitude of your mercies.” And again, “Have mercy upon me, according to the multitude of your tender mercies.”
Ver. 4. “For His great love, wherewith He loved us.”
Why did He love us? For these things are not deserving of love, but of the sorest wrath, and punishment. And thus it was of great mercy.
Ver. 5. “Even when we were dead through our trespasses He quickened us together with Christ.”
Again is Christ introduced, and it is a matter well worthy of our belief, because if the Firstfruits live, so do we also. He has quickened both Him, and us. Do you see that all this is said of Christ incarnate? Beholdest thou “the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe?” Them that were dead, them that were children of wrath, them has he quickened. Beholdest thou “the hope of his calling?”
Ver. 6. “He raised us up with Him and made us sit with Him.”
Beholdest thou the glory of His inheritance? That “He has raised us up together,” is plain. But that He “has made us sit with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” how does this hold? It holds as truly, as that He has raised us together. For as yet no one is actually raised, excepting that inasmuch as as the Head has risen, we also are raised, just as in the history, when Jacob did obeisance, his wife also did obeisance to Joseph. And so in the same way “has He also made us to sit with Him.” For since the Head sits, the body sits also with it, and therefore he adds “in Christ Jesus.” Or again, if it means, not this, it means that by the laver of Baptism He has “raised us up with Him.” How then in that case has He made “us to sit with Him?” Because, says he, “if we suffer we shall also reign with Him,” if we be dead with Him we shall also live with Him. Truly there is need of the Spirit and of revelation, in order to understand the depth of these mysteries. And then that you may have no distrust about the matter, observe what he adds further.
Ver. 7. “That in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace, in kindness towards us, in Christ Jesus.”
Source: Homilies on Ephesians (New Advent)