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

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:

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Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

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But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

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Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

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And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

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That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

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For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Ephesians 2:1

2:1 And. The connective “and” ties this statement to the previous verses. That is, as Christ was raised and exalted, so we also are spiritually raised in Christ and given new life in Him.

Ephesians 2:1

2:1 trespasses and sins. Every man and every woman, regardless of wealth or education or family background, are sinners by nature and practice, and therefore are spiritually dead, facing God’s future judgment.

Ephesians 2:2

2:2 power of the air. The “prince of the power of the air” is Satan, ruling a vast multitude of fallen angels, “spiritual wickedness in high places [i.e., ‘heavenly places’],” opposing God and His people. See Ephesians 6:12.

Ephesians 2:3

2:3 conversation. “Conversation” is an archaic English expression for “way of life.” Note that “we all” are born to this self-centered life style and need desperately to be saved and given a new nature.

Ephesians 2:3

2:3 children of wrath. In our natural state we are called both “children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2) and “children of wrath.” We are also called “children of this world” (Luke 16:8) and even “children of the wicked one” (Matthew 13:38) and “children of the devil” (I John 3:10). This is why Jesus told even such an outwardly righteous and religious man as Nicodemus: “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

Ephesians 2:6

2:6 together. In Christ we all are “quickened” (Ephesians 2:5), “raised up,” and “made [to] sit” together. These great truths are so certain to be accomplished that they are expressed in the past tense.

Ephesians 2:7

2:7 ages to come. There is, indeed, despite the taunts of skeptics and materialists, “pie in the sky, by and by!” “All that is in the world…passeth away” (I John 2:16-17). In the ages to come, however, “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). Note also II Corinthians 4:17; Ephesians 3:21; Hebrews 11:25-26; Revelation 21:4).

Ephesians 2:8

2:8 that. This classic gospel verse stresses that even the faith through which we receive God’s salvation is the free gift of God. We have nothing of which to boast (Ephesians 2:9).

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