Fragmenta ex commentariis in epistulam ad Ephesios Unit 3 opening
—to walk according to the age of this world, and not according to the age of the better world toward which the saints press?
Someone will take “the age of this world” more simply as the time that stretches alongside this world’s framing from beginning to end. Another, from what follows, will suspect that the ruler of the authority of the air—the spirit now at work in the sons of disobedience—is the same as the age of this world, since Paul sets them as one: “in which you once walked according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, of the spirit.”
And in Galatians, “that he might deliver us from the present evil age,” someone will take to show that the present age is an evil living being, the same as that ruler of the authority of the air of the spirit. Yet the Galatians wording has a counter-case: of days too—things agreed not to be animate—Scripture says something like “redeeming the time, because the days are evil,” and Jacob says, “few and evil have been the days of the years of my sojourning on the earth.”
And the line “through whom he made the ages” will seem to call the ages creatures, of which one may have become evil by apostasy and be named “age of this world” and “ruler of the authority of the air of the spirit now at work in the sons of disobedience,” among whom we also all once lived.
Notice that he did not say “according to the ruler of the air,” but “of the authority of the air.” So one must ask what the authority of the air is, in order to see its ruler. The wording can also mean something like this: according to the ruler of the authority of the spirit—which spirit is spirit of air—now at work in the sons of disobedience.
Since a ruler is ruler of something, you will mark whether the one now named is ruler of every authority that concerns the air, an authority that stays about the air and works on the sons of disobedience (and everyone who disobeys announced divine teachings shows himself, by that very disobedience, a son of disobedience). And perhaps our wrestling is against these authorities, as we resist the workings they want to plant even in us, wishing to make us sons of disobedience.
It is no wonder that these authorities are said to be in the heavenly places—just as the principalities and authorities and world-rulers are “in the heavenly places”—when the air about us is, by a Scriptural habit, called “heaven.” For we say “birds of heaven,” and it is clear that those are spoken of with respect to the air.
And “in which we also all once lived”—in what, if not in the trespasses? For he did not answer only to the trespasses but also to the sins. After saying “and you being dead in your trespasses and sins,” he adds “in which you once walked.” Now he also answers to “your trespasses” with “and in which we also all once lived,” so that, having said “in which you once walked according to the age of this world” and keeping silence about himself, he may not seem to boast.
Paul himself knows a desire of the flesh and another desire of the Spirit, saying, “for the flesh desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.” Having lived in the trespasses, because we were in the desires of our flesh, we did not do one will but several, and not only of the flesh but also of the thoughts.
We ask what the wills of the thoughts are, being other than the wills of the flesh. And we guess that by doing the works of the flesh and loving pleasure one does the wills of the flesh, but by falling away from sound opinion and right understanding we do the
Greek
αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου περιπατεῖν, καὶ οὐχὶ κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κρείττονος κόσμου ἐφ' ὃν οἱ ἅγιοι σπεύδουσιν; ὁ μὲν οὖν τις ἁπλούστερον αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἡγήσεται τὸν συμπαρεκτεινόμενον χρόνον τῇ τούτου τοῦ κόσμου ἀπ' ἀρχῆς μεχρὶ τέλους κατασκευῇ. ἄλλος δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἑξῆς ὑπονοήσει μὴ ἄρα ὁ αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ ἄρχων τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας καὶ ὁ αἰὼν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, ἐπείπερ ὡς καθ' ἑνὸς τέτακται ταῦτα πάντα, λέγοντος Παύλου ἐν αἷς ποτε περιεπατήσατε κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος τοῦ πνεύματος· καὶ ἐν τῇ πρὸς Γαλάτας δὲ τὸ ὅπω ἐξέληται ἡμᾶ ἐκ τοῦ αἰῶνο τοῦ ἐνε τῶτο πονηροῦ νομίσει δηλοῦν ὅτι ζῷον πονηρόν ἐστιν ὁ ἐνε τὼ αἰών, ὁ αὐτὸς ὢν τῷ ἄρχοντι τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος τοῦ πνεύματος (πλὴν ἔχει ἀντεπιχείρησιν τὸ ἐκ τῆς πρὸς Γαλάτας ἐπιστολῆς ῥητόν, ἐπεὶ καὶ περὶ ἡμερῶν λέγεται, τῶν ὁμολογουμένων ὡς οὐκ οὐσῶν ἐμψύχων, τοιοῦτό τι ἐξαγοραζόμενοι τὸν καιρὸν ὅτι αἱ ἡμέραι πονηραί εἰ ι, καὶ μικραὶ καὶ πονηραί εἰσιν αἱ ἡμέραι ἃ παρῴκηκα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς φησὶν ὁ Ἰακώβ). καὶ τὸ δι' οὗ ἐποίη ε τοὺ αἰῶνα κείμενον δόξει κτίσμα λέγειν τοὺς αἰῶνας, ὧν δύναται εἷς ἀποστατικῶς πονηρὸ γεγονέναι καὶ λέγεσθαι αἰὼν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου καὶ ἄρχων τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας, ἐν οἷς καὶ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἀνεστράφημέν ποτε. καὶ παρατηρητέον γε ὅτι οὐκ εἶπε κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ ἀέρος ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος· οὐκοῦν ζητητέον τὴν τοῦ ἀέρος ἐξουσίαν, ἵνα οὕτως ἴδωμεν τὸν ἄρχοντα ταύτης. δύναται δὲ ἡ λέξις καὶ τοιοῦτό τι δηλοῦν κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ πνεύματος, ὅπερ πνεῦμα ἀέρος ἐστὶ τὸ πνεῦμα, τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας. ἐπεὶ οὖν ὁ ἄρχων τινός ἐστιν ἄρχων, ἐπιστήσεις μήποτε πάσης ἐξουσίας ἄρχων ἐστὶ τῆς περὶ τὸν ἀέρα ὁ νῦν λεγόμενος, ἥτις ἐνεργεῖ διατρίβουσα περὶ τὸν ἀέρα εἰς τοὺς τῆς ἀπειθείας υἱούς (καὶ πᾶς δὲ ὁ καταγγελλομένων θείων δογμάτων ἀπειθῶν αὐτοῖς δι' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἀπειθεῖν υἱὸς ἀπειθείας ἀναφαίνεται)· καὶ μήποτε πρὸ ταύτας ἡμῖν τὰ ἐξου ία ἡ πάλη, ἀνθισταμένοις ταῖς ἐνεργείαις αἷς βούλονται ἐμποιεῖν καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς, θέλουσαι ἡμᾶς ποιῆσαι υἱοὺς ἀπειθείας. οὐ θαυμαστὸν δὲ ταύτας τὰ ἐξου ία ἐν τοῖ ἐπουρανίοι εἶναι λέγεσθαι (ὥσπερ τὰ ἀρχὰ καὶ τὰ ἐξου ία καὶ τοὺ κο μοκράτορα ἐν τοῖ ἐπουρανίοι ), τοῦ περὶ ἡμᾶς ἀέρος κατά τινα συνήθειαν τῆς γραφῆς «οὐρανοῦ» ὀνομαζομένου· λέγεται γὰρ πετεινὰ οὐρανοῦ, σαφὲς δὲ ὅτι ταῦτα κατὰ τὸν ἀέρα λέγεται. τὸ δὲ καὶ ἐν οἷς ἡμεῖς πάντες ἀνεστράφημέν ποτε, τίσιν ἢ τοῖς παραπτώ μασι; καὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἀπέδωκέ τι πρὸς τὰ παραπτώματα ἀλλὰ πρὸς μόνας τὰς ἁμαρτίας· εἰπὼν γοῦν καὶ ὑμᾶς ὄντας νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασι καὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν, ἐπιφέρει τὸ ἐν <α>ἷς ποτε περιεπατήσατε· νῦν δὲ ἀποδίδωσι πρὸς τὸ τοῖς παραπτώμασιν ὑμῶν τὸ καὶ ἐν οἷς καὶ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἀνεστράφημέν ποτε, ἵνα μὴ δόξῃ, εἰπὼν τὸ ἐν <α>ἷς ποτε περιεπατήσατε κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἑαυτὸν δὲ ἀποσιωπῶν, οἷον ἀλαζονεύεσθαι δοκεῖν. οἶδε δέ τινα αὐτὸς ὁ Παῦλος ἐπιθυμίαν τῆς σαρκός, καὶ ἑτέραν ἐπιθυμίαν τοῦ πνεύματος, λέγων ἡ ὰρξ ἐπιθυμεῖ κατὰ τοῦ πνεύματο τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα κατὰ τῆ αρκό . ἀναστραφέντες δὲ ἐν τοῖς παραπτώμασιν, ἐπεὶ ἤμεθα ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν, ἐποιοῦμεν οὐχ ἕν τι ἀλλὰ πλείονα θελήματα, καὶ οὐ μόνον τῆς σαρκὸς ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν διανοιῶν· ζητοῦμεν δὲ τίνα τὰ θελήματα τῶν διανοιῶν ἕτερα ὄντα τῶν θελημάτων τῆς σαρκός· καὶ στοχαζόμεθά γε <ὅτι> τῷ μὲν ποιεῖν τὰ ἔργα τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ φιληδονεῖν ποιεῖ τις τὰ θελήματα τῆς σαρκός, τῷ δὲ ἀποπεπτωκέναι τῆς ὑγιοῦς δόξης καὶ τῆς ὀρθῆς διανοίας ποιοῦ μεν τὰ
About this text
Origen of Alexandria, Fragmenta ex commentariis in epistulam ad Ephesios (Greek).
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 14 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.