"Under New Management"
Ephesians 2:1-10
Second, We WERE Unrighteous 2:2-2:3a
2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind.
In verse 1, Paul focuses on our "death." In verse 2 he turned his attention to life, that is, the manner in which we lived our lives that resulted in our death. Paul uses the phrase "in which you formerly walked." the term "walked" refers to conduct. Paul is saying here that we lived in our sins.
Continuing in verse 2 he explains the nature of that walk:
"...according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working..." This reveals the source of the old management under which we served. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 says: "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
Paul continues his emphasis in verse 3, Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh..."
Radio personality Paul Harvey told a story about how an Eskimo kills a wolf. It is a gruesome story, but it offers fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sin.
First, the Eskimo coats the blade of his knife with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of blood and allows that to freeze, and another, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood. Next, the hunter fixes the handle of the knife into the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood.
The wolf then begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his tongue, nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more--until the dawn finds him dead in the snow!
Like that wolf, the Apostle Paul says that we were consumed by our own lusts. Our willingness to yield to the old management, to live in sin, resulted in our death.
There’s more tomorrow.