What does Ephesians 2:2 mean by walking according to the prince of the power of the air?
Ephesians 2:2 describes the former walk of believers as following the world's course and the prince of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the children of disobedience. Paul says we all once walked that way; before conversion believers were no different, being part and parcel of that same disobedience.
Les explains that Ephesians 2:1 first establishes that the whole human race is dead in trespasses and sins, and that believers too were once dead in trespasses and sins. Verse 2 then describes their past walk: “wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world” and “according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” Les says we were part and parcel of that. Before becoming believers, they were no different from everyone else; as believers, hopefully they are different. He illustrates this with a man who once would have been out with the crowd but now would rather be in Bible study. The passage stresses that even when we were dead, Paul keeps bringing this up.
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:
More Questions
Who is the prince of the power of the air that works in the children of disobedience in Ephesians 2:2?
Before salvation a person walks according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience, so that believers were once part and parcel of that same condition.
Is the 'prince of the power of the air' in Ephesians the same as the 'god of this world' in 2 Corinthians?
The 'prince of the power of the air' in Ephesians 2 is the 'God of this world' in 2 Corinthians 4, the one who blinds the eyes of those who do not believe.