A.V. puts in the margin against the word "disobedience" the word "unbelief" and in

Rom. 15: 31 "do not believe" in the text is altered to "are disobedient" in the margin.

There is only one occasion where a word is translated "disobedient" which in the original

actually means insubordinate or refractory, namely I Tim. 1: 9; in every other case the

words disobedience and disobedient translate either apeitheo and its derivatives,

"unwilling to be persuaded", "refusing to believe" or parakoe "to hear aside, amiss".

Those who were thus energized by the prince of the power of the air, must therefore have

had some relation in the first place with faith, and by their reaction, and refusal, laid

themselves open to his wiles and deceits.

II Thess. 2: 10-12 has a terrible thing to say about those who "received not the love of

the truth"; they become the subject of a strong delusion, and believe "the lie". The A.V.

says that those thus energized were "children of disobedience". The truer translation

reads "sons of disobedience" and employs a Hebraism that is well known. The same

figure is found at the close of a list of dreadful immoralities in Eph. 5: 6 where once

again "wrath" is said to come upon them. We read elsewhere of "sons of this world"

Luke 16: 8; "sons of light" 16: 8; and "sons of day" in I Thess. 5: 5.

"Ye walked . . . . . we all had our conversation." The Apostle and those who were

with him, were no different from, nor better than those just mentioned. They were

"children of wrath" as the rest. The keys upon which the devil plays are said to be "the

lusts of the flesh" and the response made by the individual concerned "fulfilling the

desires of the flesh and of the mind". Without "desire" man would remain inactive and

apathetic. Eph. 2: 3 is the only passage in the A.V. where the Greek word thelema is

translated "desire", usually thelema is translated "will" as in Eph. 1: 1, 5, 9, 11; 5: 17;

6: 6. The word however does not convey the idea of determination so much as desire or

wish. The words translated "lust" epithumia and the word translated "desire" thelema are

in themselves colourless. While "the lusts of the flesh" are practically always evil, the

words epithumia and epithumeo are used in a good sense in several places.  For

examples, in Matt. 13: 17 the Lord told His disciples that many prophets and righteous

men "desired" to see the things which they saw. It is used of the Lord Himself in His

great desire to eat the Passover with His disciples (Luke 22: 15), and of Paul's "desire"

to depart (Phil. 1: 23). It was because "the flesh" had become the instrument of sin in

which no good thing lived, that to follow its desires was but to put oneself at the mercy of

the Prince of the power of the air. Such, said the Apostle, were "by nature children of

wrath, as the rest".

The use of this word "nature" has caused a great deal of heart searching on the part of

teachers and preachers. Phusis, the word so translated, occurs in the N.T. thirteen times,

and apart from Eph. 2: 3 it is innocuous. When Paul said that certain practices were

"against nature" (Rom. 1: 26), and when he said to the Corinthians "doth not even nature

itself teach you?" (I Cor. 11: 14), the word is used of something that is right and proper.

The selfsame word is used of the "Divine nature" (II Pet. 1: 4). We must not confuse this

with the word psuchikos (I Cor. 15: 44, 46), which refers to the "soul" as contrasted with

the "spirit".  Those who were "Jews by nature" (Gal. 2: 15), or those who were

"uncircumcision by nature" (Rom. 2: 27), were not esteemed to be wrong because they