Two spirits powers are brought into strong contrast in this contest, the one, the spirit

of the evil power that energizes the unsaved in their disobedience to God, the other, the

Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead. In Eph. 1: 19, 20 we read of:--

While Scripture does not minimize the greatness of the energizing power of Satan, it

does draw attention to the "exceeding greatness" of the energizing power of God. This

evil energy is spoken of in  II Thess. 2: 7, 9,  "the mystery of iniquity already

energizeth", and "whose coming is according to an energizing of Satan"; this dreadful

working is met by God in verse 11, "and for this cause God shall send them an energizing

of deceit". Whether we can fathom this awful depth or not, we can realize the reality of

Satan's power, and understand in some measure the unseen worldwide influence that is

manifesting itself on every hand in the case of nations, and of the world, in fact in all the

things of man. "The son of disobedience" are put in direct contrast with those who are

"children of light", showing thereby that disobedience is connected with darkness.

Apeitheia is rendered "unbelief" in Rom. 11: 30, 32, and Heb. 4: 6, 11. Peithõ is

often rendered "persuade", and the sons of disobedience are chargeable with an

unwillingness to be persuaded as to the truth. While the world is divided into two main

divisions, saved and unsaved, both of these divisions are sub-divided; not only are the

saved blessed under various dispensations, but they are also made up of ready and

unready ones. The unsaved are all unbelievers, but some have never wilfully rejected the

word, having never heard the gospel (Rom. 10: 14, 15), while others are said to have

pleasure in them that commit the awful works of darkness (Rom. 1: 32). There are those

who are said to be "ever learning, and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth",

the reason being that they "resist the truth", and are men of corrupt minds, "reprobate

concerning the faith" (II Tim. 3: 7, 8). The "strong delusion that they should believe a

lie", is sent to those who "received not the love of the truth" (II Thess. 2: 10, 11). The

miracles of the false prophet deceived them that had received the mark of the beast"

(Rev. 19: 20). It is a part of the work of Satan to turn men away from the truth, for "the

god of this age hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, lest the light of the gospel of

the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (II Cor. 4: 4);

such were the Gentiles, walking in the vanity of their minds, having the understanding

If the Ephesians to whom the apostle wrote (addressing them as "ye" in 2: 2), were by

nature "sons of disobedience", the Jews from whom the apostle had been taken (spoken

of as "we" in verse 3), were as truly "children of wrath even as others", "among whom

we all had our conversation in time past".  It is not strictly necessary that the we of

verse 3 should be limited to the Jews, for the apostle may have intended an all-embracive

term, "we all", Jews and Gentiles, but seeing that the distinction is observed in verses 11

and 12, it may be intended here also. It is a levelling statement; outwardly Israel was not

numbered among the nations; they were the circumcision, others had no hope, no

Messiah, no God, yet were they (the favoured people) children of wrath even as the