having been the slaves of appetite and passion.  I admit that the direct and

immediate sense of the passage is, that they were, when without the gospel, and

before they were renewed, the children of wrath; but still the fair

interpretation is, that they were born to that state, and that that condition

was the regular result of their native depravity; and I do not know a more

strong or positive declaration that can be made to show that men are by nature

destitute of holiness, and exposed to perdition'.

The term `by nature' here must therefore refer to what man had become.

Sin and death had so invaded his nature as to distort his reason, give the reins

over to the flesh, and make him a slave to his own desires, so that he became an

easy prey to the great deceiver.  Any other explanation of `by nature' has the

appearance of special pleading, and goes against the obvious meaning of the

apostle.  All this however but leads us to the great thought of this section,

the fact that the believer is associated with Christ in His high exaltation.  To

look back to the depths from which we have been delivered, as we look up to the

high glory to which we have been called, is salutary.  We will walk humbly, for

all here is of grace.  The change is introduced in Ephesians 2:4 with the words

`But God', a triumphant interference of omnipotent Love.

Although we may have made an advance and learned an essential truth by

recognizing that Ephesians 2:1 does not refer to our state `by nature' dead in

sins, but our state by grace `dead to sins', we shall seriously miss our way

both in Ephesians 2 and in Romans 6, which provides the doctrinal basis, if we

stress this death to sin as an end in itself.  The goal is life, `that we might

live unto God':

`What shall we say then?  Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

Let it not be so.  How shall we, that are dead to sin, Live any Longer

Therein?  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus

Christ were baptized into His death?  Therefore we are buried with Him by

baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the

glory of the Father, even so we also should Walk in Newness of Life.  For

if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be

also In the Likeness of His Resurrection ... Now if we died with Christ,

we believe that We Shall also Live with Him ... For in that He died, He

died unto sin once: But in that He Liveth, He Liveth unto God.  Likewise

reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, But alive unto God

through Jesus Christ our Lord' (Rom. 6:1-11 author's translation).

In Galatians 2:20 Paul not only said that he had been crucified with

Christ, but he added `nevertheless I live'.  And so we come to Ephesians 2:4,5

where the word `quickened' wrongly supplied in verse 1 is at length recorded.

Ephesians 2 is subdivided by the notes of time indicated by the words `in time

past' and `at that time' (Eph. 2:2,11,12).  The relationship of these time

periods can be seen by the following set-out of the subject matter:

A

a

Once.  Walk.  World.  Flesh.

b

4.

But God.  Mercy.  Love.

c

5-10. Made Alive  together.