Sermon II (continued, part 3)
^The third is, What his power over these his subjects is? It is more in-
trinsical, by working in them ; he is the prince of a spirit that worketh in them.
I may add this in the fourth place, Because that the working of this spirit is in them, and so to demonstrate unto men that all carnal men are under the power of Satan, there had need be some evidence of it ; therefore the Apostle addeth,
< that worketh now in the children of disobedience. He points to some more eminent children of disobedience, in whom apparent!}-, to the eyes of these Ephesians, or of any man enlightened by the Holy Ghost, the spirit of the devil doth appear
: and, saith he, ye all had your conversa tion among these, and you were under his power more or less, as every un regenerate man is.
I have despatched the first, the description of the kingdom of Satan, as it
shield forth in these words. I come now to the second, repeating nothing ot what I have said ; and the sum of it is this, that all unregenerate men are subjects of this kingdom, or this prince ; which, I say, is imported in these words,
< in which ye walked viz., when ye were unregenerate according to the prince of the power of the air. In that they are said to walk after this prince, or according to this prince, it importeth him to be their prince according to whose will they live.
I -will open the phrase a little, and then I will give you such observations as shall be both to explain the thing further, and to quicken our hearts.
VOL. II. D
50 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SERMON IV.
How arc unregenerate men said to walk according to the prince of the
power of the air, or according to Satan as their prince ?
In the first place, men are said to walk after their prince when they walk
after his example. Regis ad txemplum, after the example of the prince the whole kingdom follows.
If it be said that the devil s example is not visible, therefore that cannot be the meaning of it, that they walked after the prince of the power of the
air, that is, after his example ; my brethren, it is true his example is not
visible, and men do not de industria imitate this devil. Yet, notwithstand
ing, whilst they do the same works that the devil himself, if he were incar
nate, or supposing him to be clothed with flesh and blood, and that he were
to live in this world and to be conversant amongst men as one man is with
another, according to the laws of human kind if, I say, they walk so as he would walk supposing him such, so long they may be said to walk after his
example ; they do by his instinct the same things he would do. There is a
notable place for this in John viii 44 : You are, saith Christ, speaking to the Jews,
* of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will
do. Yea, at the 39th verse saith he, If you were Abraham s children, you would do the works of Abraham. They pretended to be Abraham s children, and they pretended to do the works of Abraham ; but Christ tells them they were of their father the devil, and that they did his works. At the 30th
verse, saith he, I speak that which I have seen with my Father, and ye do
that \\hich ye have seen with your father, meaning the devil. A strange
parallel this ! It is certain that our Saviour Christ did do what he saw with
his Father ; for the Father doth nothing but what he shewcth the Son, as he
saith, John v. 20. Yea, but, saith he, although you do not visibly see what
the devil doth, yet you do the same things as if you had conversed with him, and been acquainted with him, as if you had seen him as children sec their
* The lusts of your father ye will do, saith .he ; and as I do that wliich 1 have seen with my Father, so ye do that which ye have seen with your father. Abraham walked before God, and was upright, as eyeing God in all things. Wicked men, indeed, do not walk thus before
fathers. This is his scope.
Satan, as eyeing him ; yet they walk in the same steps, as if they saw what
the devil doth, and what he would do.
Then again, in the second place, they are said to walk after the prince of
the power of the air, not only because materially they do the same things the
devil doth and would do, but because they satisfy his lusts, and his will over
them, in all that they do. The lusts, saith he, of your father ye will do,
ver. 44. You do not only the same things which he doth, but which he
desires you should do ; and so you gratify him in all that you do, and you
fulfil his pleasure more than you do your own. They are not said to fulfil
their own lusts so much as the lusts of their father the devil
And then, in the third place, not only they do what he would have them
do, but they do it after a commanding power of his. A friend may do what
a friend desires ; but yet he doth not walk after him as a prince. But now,
all carnal men in the world do walk after Satan as their prince
: they do not
only what he desireth they should do, but he hath a command
i over
them, for that being a prince evidently implies. And therefore, in 1 Tim.
ii. L 0, they are said to be token captive at his will. And in Act^
i verted, they arc said to be delivered, to be turned from
>wer of Satan. And so now you have the phrase opened what it is to walk after the
i this, because he speaks chiefly of
prince of the |
EPH. II. 2.] TO THE EPHESIANS. ol
the great devil. He doth not immediately command in all men s hearts, for it is impossible he should, as Christ doth ; therefore Christ is called a Head as well as a Prince, so is not Satan ; yet he sends out lesser devils that do command in men s hearts. As suppose there were those here in England that should act all the king of Spain s counsels, or the Pope s coun
sels, and what he commandeth, though what is done here is not immediately done by either of these, yet if it be done by those agents that are sent out by the king of Spain, or by those emissaries that are sent out from Rome they may be said to walk after their prince, or to walk after the beast ; those, I mean, that do obey their directions : so it is here. I come now to some observations, that will further open the words. Obs. 1. The first observation is this : That this great kingdom of Satan s
especially lies, for the matter of it, in sin. It is clear out of the coherence : Ye were dead, saith the Apostle, in sins and trespasses, in which ye walked
according to the prince of the power of the air. His princedom therefore lies in matter of sin ; and men are subject to him as to a prince, chiefly as they walk in sin. As the kingdom of Christ consisteth not in meat and
drink, but in righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost ; so Satan s kingdom lies not in disposing of riches or honours, simply so con
sidered, further than in order some way to the advancing of his own kingdom, and as men sin in the pursuit of them. It was a lie the devil told Christ , when he said he had all the kingdoms of the world to dispose of; that is proper only to God, as you have the expression in Dan. iv. But now, as the Pope pretends to a spiritual power, and saith he hath power in temporals in ordine ad spiritualia, in order unto spirituals; so the devil and these rulers of the world, they are spiritual wickednesses, as they are called, Eph. vi. ; but yet in order to advance this their spiritual kingdom of sin, they do deal in the great affairs of the world, and in turning things up and down ; but yet still, I say, their kingdom properly, the object-matter of it, lies in matter of sin ; and therefore in Eph. vi. 12, if you mark it, they are said to be the rulers of the world of this darkness, so the words are to be
read, that is, they are rulers only of the darkness of the world, that is, the sin of the world. And were it not for sin, they should have no power over men. The prince of this world cometh, saith Christ, and he hath no thing in me, because Christ had no sin. Satan s kingdom doth not lie hereafter to torment men, for then we might fear him. Fear him that can cast both body and soul into hell. Torment, the punishment of sin in hell, is God s work ; but the devil s proper work is sin.
Now, my brethren, it is thus, both in Satan s intention, and in his con stant course to this day. When he first set up his kingdom, he did not aim so much to have the disposure of all the honours and glory in the world, though in order to advance his kingdom he hath done it, and he hath had
it, but his principal aim was to set sin up in the world against God. Therefore, in 1 John iii. 8, sin is called the work of the devil ; that is, it is his great project, his great design. And the Apostle speaks there of Satan s kingdom in men s hearts : for he saith that Christ came to dissolve the work of the devil, therefore not in his own heart, but in men s. Every kingdom, you know, hath an interest of state ; and if men be true to their
interest, they follow it close and pursue that above all things else. Why, the interest of state that is in Satan s kingdom is to advance sin. There fore while you walk in sin, you walk according to the prince of the power of the air.
There is this difference between us poor men, that are by nature the
52 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE K.MON IV.
captives of tliis great prince, and the prince himself. We arc gulled the most
extremely that can be ; our design is to have riches, honours, and pleasures here in the world. We do not aim to sin, unless it be such as have sinned
against the Holy Ghost. We would be glad to have these things without
sin. But because we aim at these things, and cannot attain them without
sin, therefore it is that we sin. But it is otherwise with Satan ; for to have men sin against God is his great design ; it is the kingdom that he hath set
up. Therefore now we are like a company of poor silly rebels that are led
into the field by an arch traitor, and some go fur plunder and spoil ; but he
goes to vex his prince, to oppose him, to rebel against him. And that is the
great design of this great monarch the devil.
Now, my brethren, the meditation that you may have for your use from
hence is tins, and it is, next to the glory of God and the dishonour of God, the greatest consideration can be had in the world to deter a man from sin ;
consider but this : that by sinning ye do pleasure the devil ten thousand
* his lusts ye will do / and when ye do his lusts, that which he would have you do, you give him
times more than yourselves. Therefore saith Christ,
satisfaction, you bring him in pleasure, you advance his kingdom. It is the
motive that John useth why men should not sin. Sin, saith lie, is the devil s
work, and will you advance his design ? 1 John iii. 8. If you mark the
coherence, it is clearly so. And it is the work of Christ to dissolve sin.
4 He hath appeared/ saith he, to dissolve the work of the devil/ in the same
place. So that now, as Christ s kingdom and his power lies, and the intent
of it is, to dissolve sin ; so the devil s kingdom and his aim is to set up sin.
Ail his comings in are by men s shillings. It is not man s end to sin, but it
is Satan s. Kay, my brethren, let me say this unto you, that Satan doth
not aim so much at your damnation as he doth aim you should sin, though he aims at your damnation too ; for he hates man, but he hateth God more.
In the damnation of the creature, therein is God glorified ; but hi the shi of
the creature, thereby God is dishonoured, and thereby Satan is therefore the more gratified. And therefore we should learn from hence tliis great lesson,
to hate sin more than damnation : for it is certain the devil himself is
pleased more with your sin than with your damnation, for he is the prince of it. Walking in sin, saith he, according to the prince/ ifcc.
Ols. 2. A second observation, which will clear and explain what we are
upon, is this : T/tat only those, and all those t/tat walk in sin, be it the least, are subjects unto Satan; in which ye walked according unto the prince/ &c. In 1 John iii 8, 9, the place I quoted even now, he that committeth
sin is of the devil / and being of the devil, he is on the devil s side, he is
of his party ; that phrase of Christ s interprets it, he that is not with me. He that committeth sin is with the devil ; and so he that walkcth hi it, the
comforts of his life come hi by it, makes a trade of it, be it the least. Ainl John gives this very reason why every man that committeth sin thus is of
* sinneth from the beginning. Wli
the devil ; for the devil/ saith he,
the meaning of that? He that continueth hi any sin, saith he, is of th
devil; because that hath been the devil s practice, it is that which mi him a devil, his having sinned from the beginning, not having Mimed at
the beginning, but his continuing in sin, going on in ;i constant course of i*. And th<n again, he suith, lie that is born of God hath a new nature that
cannot agree with it. Hut I add this reason toil ilfOj beeftQM if that m s kingdom li-s in sin, as yu heard before, tin :i v.h.iv nn ni-neth,
igneth. The case i I-T if his kingdom lieth in it, where
Aii l th ttti of MII, as in
EPH. II. 2.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 53
Rom. vi. 20, is all one and to be the servants of Satan ; as to be the servants of righteousness, as you have it there, is all one and to be servants unto
Christ. And therefore in Acts xxvi. 18, instead of saying, to turn men
1 from sin unto God, you have it, to turn men from the power of Satan unto God ; because where sin reigns, there Satan reigns. There is this likewise may be added to explain it : Satan s kingdom, you
see, lies in sin, and the bounds of his kingdom lie in the dominion of any
sin. And therefore now, although he doth not carry on all men to all sins,
yet, notwithstanding, if sin have but dominion in a man that he walketh in
it, then Satan hath a dominion. Though he doth not carry men on to all
degrees of sinning, yet still his kingdom is maintained in them, as concern
ing the persons that are the subjects of his kingdom, they come within the bounds of it ; for the bounds of Satan s kingdom lie in this, when sin reign-
eth, when men walk in it, let it be any sin, though never so small. The
truth is, God doth not let men be so wicked as Satan would have them ; we must not understand it so, that Satan is such a prince that hath so his will
as whatsoever he would have men do, they do. But he is such a prince as
having a company of discontented rebels under him, he suffers them all to walk by their own laws ; yet look, what is peculiarly the law of his kingdom or commonwealth, for so I call every man s heart, he holds them to that
law, he hath power to put them upon that sin. He is a tyrant that hath not a kingdom of one kind, as amongst men, but he hath variety of dominions, some greater, some lesser, for so I may call the hearts of several men unre-
generate ; yet still, be it the smallest sin, if a man walks in it, he comes within the verge of his kingdom, his person is in his kingdom, and in that
snare the devil takes him captive at his will, and so he is his prince. My brethren, sin is the devil s viceroy \ he is the chief prince indeed. And
though it be but a petty viceroy, it keeps the devil s tenure, and the devil hath power according to the common law God affords him, to put men on to
that sin which their peculiar humour is addicted unto. And therefore sin is
called the snare of the devil, 2 Tim. ii. 2G, in which men are taken captive at
his will. Now any one lust is a snare ; and as a bird that is taken in a snare
by the fowler, for the word here, taken captive, is venatu capto, to take
alive by hunting, the bird may hang by one string or cord, and he hath her by that at his will : so any one sin for corrupt nature venteth itself
in several men several ways is a snare, and it is a snare of the devil. You may see that in 1 Tim. vi. 9, They that will be rich fall into a snare, when
their heart is set upon it ; it holds in any sin, instance in what you will.
Obs. 3. The last observation that I shall make is only this, which is the apostle s scope also : The misery that all unregenerate men are in thai walk in sin. It is the apostle s scope here to strike their hearts with the
depth of that misery which they lay in by nature ; and to express it to them, he shews they were subjects of that great kingdom of Satan. My brethren,
let me speak sadly to all our hearts. Every man falls either under the king dom of Christ or under the kingdom of Satan ; and we do this hour, this moment, actually stand members either of the one or of the other ; there is not a third kingdom, as there is not a third place to go to. Our Saviour
Christ, in Luke xi. 23, when he discoursed of Satan s kingdom and of his
* His kingdom, saith he, 4s not divided
own, of Satan s kingdom, ver. 18,
against itself; of his own kingdom and of God s, ver. 10, If I with the
finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come
upon you ; here are two kingdoms, now, ver. 23, he tells them plainly every man must fall to one of these kingdoms, there is no neutrality
: He
54 AN IMPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [SEUMON IV.
that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me
scattereth ; he falleth to that scattcrer, he that is the great destroyer, as ho
is called, Rev. ix. 11. As it is in war, you must take part either with the
one side or with the other, there must be no neuters ; so it is here, they are
so engaged, and such an irreconcilableness there is, that men must fall, and
they do fall, one way or other.
And let me add this further : That we were all born under Satan s kingdom
is as certain as that we are ; and that till by an almighty power we are
rescued out of that kingdom, and translated into the kingdom of his Son, we must remain in it, and we walk in it. Now therefore consider with your
selves, it is a matter of the greatest happiness, or uuhappiness, of men born
into this world, under what kingdom they are born, and are cast to live. What an infinite misery is it to the poor Grecians and their children to
be born under the tyranny of the Great Turk ! and what a happiness to be
! for still, the more western and northward, the more freedom have the subjects, and the more eastern, the more tyranny.
born in these western parts
It is a matter of great concernment what king a kingdom hath : Woe to
thee, O land, when thy king is a child, Eccles. x. 16; and, When the
wicked bear rule, the people mourn, Prov. xxix. 2. Now if God from hea
ven should curse a man, if Christ himself should utter the greatest curse
that ever he uttered, what would that curse be ? Let the devil be his king, and let the devil rule over him. You shall find in Scripture that it is thus :
Ps. cix. 6, Set thou a wicked man over him ; the Septuagint renders it, Set that wicked one over liiin, using the same word John useth in his first
epistle, chap. iL 13, 6 cro^c ;, that wicked one, the devil : and saith he, in
the very next words in the psalm, Let Satan stand at his right hand he
is that wicked one ; let him be both his ruler to carry him on to sin, and when he hath done, let him be his accuser too : for so always the witnesses
that accused a man stood on his right hand ; therefore, in Zech. iil 1, you
read, when Satan would accuse Joshua the high priest, he stood at his right hand.
Now, my brethren, whose curse is this, and upon whom did it fall ? It is
the first curse in that psalm in which the prophet begins to curse, that that same wicked one should be set in office over him, as some translate it, and
that Satan should stand at his right hand, that is, when he had carried him on to evil, then to accuse him, and so destroy him body and soul. Whose is this curse 1 My brethren, plainly this curse is against Judas, and
therefore is spoken in the person of Christ. (And by the way, I take it, you have no psalm that hath this kind of cursing in it, but it is David bear
ing the type of Christ, or prophesying immediately of Christ.) How do you
prove that 1 Look into Acts L and you shall find that the very words of
this psalm are applied to Judas, and that by the Apostle Peter. It is writ
* Let his habitation be desolate, and his
ten in the book of Psalms, saith he,
bishopric let another take, the very next words in that 109th psalm, and
so he goes on. Now, that this did immediately concern Judas appears by
tfab : for the apostle in Acts L saith that another apostle was to be chosen m room of Judas, wliich all the world could not ha\ I had not
Ghost revealed that his aim in this psalm was j. r.sonall
is. And this curse is the curse of Jesus Christ, who is able Wh . troin h av, n would curse a man,
S.-ripturc snr . As
the swin m, w.-rc .lieninto the
sea, so Judas fell headlong, .-viith Acts i. 18. And he carried him on to
EPH. II. 2.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 55
hang himself ; for after he had been his ruler to carry him on to sin, then he was his accuser to God j and he never left until he had a commission from God to tempt him to undo himself. You see, my brethren, that the
heaviest curse that Christ himself from heaven pronounceth against his great enemy, he that was a traitor to him, that delivered him up to be crucified,
is this, that the devil should rule over him.
Will you now but consider, in a word or two, what a king you have. Alas !
in being a servant of sin, sin is but a moral king, a metaphorical king ; but
the devil is a real king, a personal king, a creature subsisting and existing as yourselves ; therefore we arc said to be
( taken captive at his will. He hath an understanding and a will, and out of that understanding he rules and guides thee, as one reasonable creature rules and guides another. And what art thou but a poor captive ? Thou hast but a little of thy will, he hath his will ; thou art but taken captive, like the ox that goes to the slaugh
ter, or as a bird that hastefch to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his
life, as Solomon speaks. Do but consider with yourselves ; for, as I said
before, this is certain, though we hear not the devil, nor see him, nor feel him,
yet whilst we lie in the state of nature, or walk in the least sin, the devil is our prince, and he serves his turn upon us j consider, I say, we are all men, and man is a noble creature, he scorns to be led captive. Why, thou art led
captive by Satan. Ye were carried away, as the Apostle saith, 1 Cor. xii. 2, unto dumb idols, according as ye were led. And thou art deceived and
gulled by it, for thou hast but a petty project in sinning ; he hath the greatest design in the world, he acts another part ; his design is to set up sin against God directly and immediately. Poor creatures, that is not our design imme
diately. Therefore he is said to deceive the nations, Kev. xx. ; and he deceived Eve, 2 Cor. xi. 3. Now man, as he scorns to be led, so of all things else he scorns to be deceived. There was never such a gull put upon the world as this ; therefore it is said, the mystery of iniquity wrought. They that brought in Popery knew not themselves what they did ; but the devil
knew, he designed it, it wrought in a mystery. So now the mystery of ini
quity works in all men, and the truth is, they do not know the bottom of it, the depths of Satan in it, they do not know the bottom of the design.
And as we are thus deceived, so we serve one of another nature. It was a law in Israel that they should not have a king that was a stranger, one of another nation, but that they should choose one from among their brethren
to be their king, Deut. xvii. 15. Why, Satan is not a prince of your own
nature, he is not of flesh and blood. We fight not with flesh and blood, saith the Apostle, but with spiritual wickednesses. It is therefore to us poor men, as I may so compare it, just such a bondage as the Israelites were in under Pharaoh. Pharaoh was king over his Egyptians, they were his natural
subjects, they had a comfortable life under him, as the natural Turks have under the Great Turk ; but we are like the Israelites, whom he made to serve with rigour ; or as the poor Grecians, and other Christians, that are slaves and captives to the Turk he is of another nature from them. So is this
devil; his own devils have a natural kingdom with him, therefore he doth
temper it so to them as that he doth not oppose them, for then they would divide from him ; and therefore Christ saith, if Satan should cast out Satan, his kingdom would be divided, and not be able to stand. But we, poor
creatures, are as the beasts that are taken, as Jude expresseth it, at his plea
sure, and are under a prince of another nature. And not only so, but we
serve an utter enemy that perfectly hates us, and that seeks to destroy us. In Eev. ix. 11, those same locusts there spoken of had a king. But what
AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE S IV.
manner of king had they ? Even such, yea, the same k I have ; it was the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in th-.- Hrl.row tongue/ saith he, is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue his name Is Apollyon, that
is, the destroyer. His aim is nothing but to destroy and to undo us ; there fore he seeks whom he may delude. And when he useth his authority to
carry us on to sin, then he goes to God and accuseth ; when that wicked one ruleth over a man, then he standeth on his right hand and is an accuser. Therefore he is said to have the power of death, not because he is a tonm-n-
tor, but because he hath a commission from God to carry a man on to sin, and then to urge las commission.
My brethren, let us therefore come in to Jesus Christ ; lie is a king of our own nature. In all probability, as I shewed before, it was a motive to the
angels to set up a kingdom against Christ, because they would not be sub
ject to one of another nature. It may therefore well be a motive unto us to come in and subject ourselves unto Christ. Why ? Thou shalt have a king that is of thine own nature ; and whereas the other is a destroyer, he will be a saviour; whereas the other is an accuser, he will be an intercede! .
I should likewise shew you the Apostle s scope is thankfulness ; but I reserve that till we come to those words, He hath made us sit together in
heavenly places in Christ. For it is a great change to be translated from the kingdom of Satan and to sit together with Christ in his kingdom, which
is the state of every Christian.
And .so much now for that second head, viz., That every unregenerate man
is a subject of Satan s kingdom, and their misery in that respect, which Is
* walk according to the prince of the power of the air.
clearly the Apostle s scope, aud that they
I come now to the third head, and that is this : The spirit that now worketh in the children, of disobedience.
Here are three things for the parts of these words. Here is the spirit that worketh; here is the time when, now; here are the persons in whom, the children of disobedience. I must first open the phrases, before I can come to the tilings I shall speak out of it. And
First, What is meant by spirit that worketh?
1 The difficulty of open ing this licth in this : because in the Greek it is the genitive case, as we call
it; that is, if you would translate it rightly, the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that worketh. And so here being three genitive cases coming together,
* of the power, of the air, of the spirit, it makes the words the more difficult. There are some, and you see our translators took part with them, that say it is a change of the case ; that the genitive case is put for the accusative, that is thus,
* in which ye walked according to the prince, saith he, and if you would know what that prince is, he is
* the spirit that worketh, kc. And it is true that there are instances in Scripture that one case is sometimes put for another. But the truth is, it is both hard an-1 not so usual ; and therefore, unless there be a necessity of it, I would not
square the meaning here by that transposition of the case. And thei this reason for it besides, because that the great devil, who is this great prince, doth not work in every child of disobedience all th<>.-- \vrks that are wrought by other devila in them. Rather, then-f-.r.-, it mu.-t ! meant that he is the prince either of the spirits, or of a spin /, that doth work in them. A ..- \\ill run in a natural way, tinprim
t tli" power
1 -
. the spirit that now worketh la the children of dift-
< f t
: .St., it hath - double meaning. Either spirit is
EPH. II. 2.J TO THE EPHESIANS. 57
taken here pro spiritu spirante, tliat is, the spirit that brcatheth ; or pro
fipiritit spirato, that is, tlie spirit that is breathed into men. That is, it is either taken exegetically for the words before, the power of the air, that is, those lesser devils that are under this great devil, that are his spirits, and that go and work in men by his directions, he being the prince of them, and
ordering them so to do, or else it is taken for that common joint gale that these devils have in the hearts of wicked and carnal men, especially those that are eminently the children of disobedience. He is the prince of both these spirits.
First, I say spirit is either taken for the devils themselves, that are under
this great prince, whom he setteth on work. And so the Apostle cxplaincth what he meant by the power of the air ; they are spirits, saith he, sent out by the great devil to work in the hearts of the children of disobedience. And they are called spirit in the singular number, as they were before
called the power of the air in the singular number, because they are united into one body, they do join with one force under this great devil ; they work one way and as one spirit, especially in respect of a common spirit, of which we shall speak anon, that they breathe into the hearts of the children of disobedience ; they carry things on by a common design. And that spirit is taken thus in the singular number, although there be many of these
devils, is clear from Matt, viii., and Mark v. from ver. 7 to 14, and Luke
viii. 29. When Christ cast out a whole legion of devils for so many they were out of one man, yet that whole legion speaks in the singular number unto Christ,
* Torment me not, ver. 7. And Christ speaks in the singular number to him, after he had told him they were many, Come out, thou unclean spirit, ver. 9 ; and, ver. 10, He besought him that he would not send them away; he and them. Though they were many, yet still they were called one spirit. And therefore this is one meaning of it, that there are a world of devils here in the air, which are spirits who join all together in one body under this great prince, and work in the children of disobedience. If you would know, saith the Apostle, what I mean by the
< power of the air, I mean the spirits which are called spirit for the reasons I told you of that do now work in the children of disobedience.
But there is a second interpretation, which indeed, for my part, I rather think is the meaning of this place, although we need exclude neither, for both senses are fully taken in. When he saith, he is the prince of the
spirits, or of a spirit, that now worketh, &c., he doth not mean only by
spirits, the devils, that work as spirits in men ; but he meancth that
infusion, that spirit, as I may so call it, that general, common, special spirit, for I may call it both special and common, that the devils do raise up in wicked men against Christ and against God; a common active principle which the devils do all raise, whereof Satan, the prince, is the ^Eolus, the god of all these winds he letteth loose, and they all blow one way : and that common gale that comes from them all, and that by the great prince s direc
tion, that is said to be the spirit that worketh. The Syriac doth father this
interpretation, for it putteth in the word and, and of the spirit, that is, 1 the prince of the power of the air, and of the spirit that worketh, &c. Now I shall shew you, both that spirit is so taken in Scripture, and that
it seems to be taken so here too.
1. It is so taken in Scripture, Gen. xli 38. There Pharaoh, speaking in the language of his conjurers that dealt with the devils, whom they took for gods, saith, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the spirit of God is ? And, Dan. iv. 8, 9, Nebuchadnezzar useth the same word of
AN* EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [Sl-llIMOX IV.
Daniel : A man, saith he,
* in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; that is, he hath the infusion, the inspiration of the gods, which indeed were their
devils, who were then the gods of the world, and wrought in the soothsayers and in their sibyls, as amongst the heathens they did. Both 1 huruoh, you see, and Nebuchadnezzar use the same language, and there spirit is put for the infusion of the devils in them. So now that spirit that breatheth in a man, that givcth him understanding, it is called a spirit, Job xxxii. 8, There
is a spirit in a man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth under
* The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. He means not the Holy Ghost only, but a prophetic gift inspired by the Holy Ghost. So here, by spirit is not only meant the devils that breathe, but that common spirit spiritus spiratus, as I may call it that the devil ruiseth up in the hearts of men, and putteth into their spirits, and transfornieth them to.
standing. And so in Rev. xix. 10,
Now, that which makes me think the Apostle had this in his eye is this, because he doth put two articles, and not only so, but he addeth the word now. And the Apostle seems to point at some more eminently wicked. That you may know, saith he, that men are under the power of the devil, do but observe now, now in this age ; do you not see what a spirit works in men that are eminently wicked, the children of disobedience? Although you do not see it in all unregenerate men, yet you may, saith he, see it in some evidently to be the devil, by the spirit that worketh in them, because the stream riseth higher than the fountain, beyond reason, beyond the spirits of men ; for so their rage against Jesus Christ and his saints in those primi tive times, the spirit that then wrought, was beyond the spirits of men : there could be no reason, no account given of their persecuting those that
professed Christ; for they persecuted the Christians, and did not understand what they were, but the devil did. He raised a mighty spirit, a general stream, whereof some eminent men that were children of disobedience were the ring leaders that carried on all the rest. The devils went, by a common blast that
they breathed into men, and carried the world before them, against Christ and against the apostles and saints ; you may see how it works, saith he. And so now, my brethren, in the first words, when he saith,
* ye walked
according to the prince of the power of the air/ he meaneth the ordinary sinfulues.s that is in all unregenerate men, being under the power of Satan. But in these latter words he meaneth a special spirit, that is yet a common and general spirit, that workcth in the children of disobedience, which is set up against Jesus Christ and the purity of his worship, as then it was, and
against the commandment of the Lord Jesus. This same special spirit, that
yet is one gale in the hearts of men, Satan is the prince of it, and your leaser devils go all one way, and under that persecute the saints, having direction from this great devil ; therefore he is said to be the prince of tin:
spirits. And the Apostle brings it in to this end and purpose, to let them
see, though they were now converted, yet, saith he, had you lived in your former condition, this spirit would have breathed in you ; you may even sec what manner of men you would have been, how the devil would have jaded you, by the spirit that now worketh in the world : you would have been acted by the same spirit ; for whilst you were und _<lom
t have been raised up though all mm have been raised up to the same height that he now worketh in them.
hy that t: infused, this raised spirit in should not !): iiu ant h-re ; and r ti<>n. I will give .n answer to it, and shew you that both may very well be int. nded,
EPH. II. 2.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 59
so come to observations. This latter interpretation is Zanchy s, though he
expresseth it only in general, a flatus, an inspiration, or the breath of Satan. But Piscator s objection against this interpretation is this. That cannot be
meant, saith he ; for the spirit here i said to work in the children of dis obedience ; therefore the spirit here must be meant a person or persons, and
therefore the devils themselves only. And he backs it with this, because
in 1 Cor. xii. 6, speaking of the Holy Ghost as a person, he is said to work
all in all, which argueth him to be the Third Person in the Trinity.
For that I answer, that this hindereth not but still by spirit here may be meant that raised spirit that is from the devils themselves, that inspiration of them, and infusion of them ; because I find that the same word that is used here of working, is applied to other things than persons, that is, to
spirits too, infused. 2 Thess. ii. 7, The mystery of iniquity now worketh ;
it is the same word. What was this mystery of iniquity ? You shall find
t The spirit of Antichrist, saith he, whereof you have heard that it should come, and even now is come into the world. That is, the
in 1 John iv. 3 :
truth is, saith he, the devil beginneth to raise up the beginnings of that
spirit of Antichrist amongst Christians, which shall one day work up to a
height ; it worketh now, saith he. And indeed it may be that this very
spirit was one part of the Apostle s meaning that he points at. Look out,
Christians, saith he ; see what a spirit there is among them, making way for
corruption in the worship and truth of God ; look among the heathens, see what a mighty spirit there is, the devil in both, he is the prince of both
these. Now, in Rom. vii. o, likewise, because you will say it is not said
to work in us ; yea, but there it is said that the motions of sins, snqgyeTro, did work in our members ; it is the same word that is here. It is applied
then, you see, to other things than to persons. Therefore, I say, that is no
objection but this latter should also be meant. For my part, I say, I take
in both the one as the cause, the other as the effect. He is a prince of a
company of devils that are spirits, and work as spirits in the children of dis obedience ; and they raise up a common spirit. And that you may know the devils work, saith he, Do but see now how they work in the children of
disobedience, and such would you have been, if God had not freed you ; you would have had the same spirit they had, and been led by him more or less. This is the Apostle s scope. The like phrase of speech you have in 2 Cor. iv.
13, We have received the same spirit of faith. What means he by spirit of
faith there ? He means both spiritual spirantem, the Holy Ghost that puts faith into me, who is called therefore the Spirit of faith ; and he means also the grace of faith, the infusion of the Holy Ghost, whereby I do actually be
lieve. Many like instances may be brought to prove that spirit implies both ; therefore, for my part, I take in both, the one and the other. So now you have these three parts of the words. First, you have here a
spirit that works, whereof he is the prince, taken both for his devils, that are
spirits and work by him ; taken also for that common infusion which his
devils breathe into men. Secondly, you have the time ; that now worketh.
Thirdly, the persons in whom; in the children of disobedience. Now, I
shall give you some observations, if you take either one sense or the other ; for both are intended, the one as the cause, the other as the effect, and as a demonstration of the misery of man by nature, which these Ephesians them
selves may see in those that are eminently the children of disobedience, in whom the devil raiseth such a spirit.
Ols. First, If you take it for his being a prince of spirits that thus
worketh, I shall give you these observations, which shall further explain it.
60 AX EXPOSITION OP THE EPISTLE [SKliMON IV.
First, that it relates to their manner of working, that they work as spirits in men. And the Apostle doth insinuate this for two ends : the one, to shew
the manner of their working ; the other, to shew the advantage of their
working. They work as spirits, for the manner of their working, in the
children of disobedience ; and for their advantage, they have mighty ad
* We
vantage upon it, and therefore to shew it, in Eph. vi. 12, he saith,
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickednesses, that is, wickednesses that are spirits. I shall explain it to you by de
grees. God did make man under angels, as he hath made other creatures under man ; though not in the like inferiority, yet in a proportionable dis
tance. Now, this is a certain rule, amongst all God s works, take the whole
chain of them from first to last, that in the subordination of several creatures, the higher one creature riseth above another it is able to do all that is below
it, all that is excellent, yea, and hath a power to do more ; as now, all the
senses that a beast hath, man hath, and he hath reason besides. Then for
the manner of their working, which is the point I would explain
: the angels
beinir spirits, all the ways which one man hath to work upon another, the
angels have the same, and more. What are the ways that a man hath to work upon another ? He can do it by speech, and he can do it by present
ing objects externally ; and he can do it by threatening, or by punishment, or the like. But the devil can do all this and more. He can appear as a man doth, and convey liimself unto a man by speech ; and not only so, for
this is but working upon a man, this is not working in him, but the devil
can creep into the fancy, he can creep into the humours, and into the passions of a man s body, which depend much upon his humours, and can act them; therefore he can work in us. My brethren, one angel cannot work in another; one devil doth not possess another. Why ? Because they are creatures of a
like rank. And therefore as one man communicateth his mind to another, and cannot creep into a man to suggest it secretly and indiscernibly, because man and man are creatures of a like rank ; so arc angels. Michael and the
devil disputed indeed about the body of Moses, as one man doth with
another ; but one angel cannot undiscernibly work in another. And there
fore there is this difference between the devil s working in us, and that which
one man worketh upon another. One angel may work upon another, and
persuade him thus and thus, but he cannot work in him ; but the devil,
being an angel, and an angel being a superior creature to man, hath a way of communicating himself to man which one man hath not to another. Yet
lie hath not that way that God hath, for he doth not know the heart ; but
he can work upon the fancy and upon the passions. The will is joined to
the affections and passions, and he can work upon them. The understanding
is joined to the fancy ; he can work upon that, and so work upon the under
standing. He can work in us ; yet, notwithstanding, it is not as God doth.
If you ask me, what it is he can do in us ? I will answer in a word, be
cause it hath been spoken to heretofore He can, first, undiscernibly, as a spirit, put into you what thoughts he wilt,
suggest anything; he can imprint it upon the fancy, and the ondentand-
* put it
ing will take it off presently. In John xiii. 2, it is said, the devil
into the heart of Judas to betray Christ ; lie wrought in him. He can take
away thoughts, and put in thoughts; he can take them away, for Inran divide
h .ughta. In Luke viii. 12, the devils are compan-d to fowls a//
>.<>yo that take away, that snatch away violently the seed that is .^>\\n ;
ri,
1..- will i il th"-]ii away, but doth it violently; divide the th.i;
<-f a man at a sermon, and make him think of somewhat else. And he is
EPH. II. 2.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 61
the envious one that soweth tares in the night, and undiscernibly ; as seed, you know, is sown in the ground undiscernibly, especially in the night. He can put into us what he will. And, my brethren, let me add, he would not have power to work in us, unless we had sinned. If he had been perfect, and we perfect, he might have wrought in us, and suggested to our spirits
v undiscernibly ; but, as I take it, this same working in us is not only a note of difference from what one angel can do to another, but it is a note of dif ference of what Satan, being fallen, could have done to Adam, or to Christ
himself, who were perfectly holy. He could not come to Eve, though he was a foul unclean spirit, and work in her, he could not put a thought in her
undiscemibly, for that had been his best way; and he could not then take the shape of a man or a woman to talk in, because the image of God was not yet defaced in man, and therefore he comes and talks to her in the shape of a serpent ; and she knowing the nature of that beast, knew that he was next door to reason, and so he might speak, and that deceived her. And so for Christ himself, he comes and makes visible apparitions, but we read not, nor do I know any good warrant or ground for it, that that unclean spirit should come and work in him. But now, we being sinners, he can, especially those that are his own, work in them undiscernibly, put in any thoughts, or take any thoughts out of their minds.
He can, in the second place, when he sees that that thought which he hath put in doth take, that a man s will doth a little come off to it, he can
then, and he doth, and God permitteth him to do it to ungodly men, enter into them, and possess them, as a man dwelleth and possesseth his own house ; for so the comparison is, Luke xi., that he dwells there as in his own castle. And as he entered into the body of the swine and carried them headlong into the sea, so he entereth into men, and doth possess their spirits ; and he
joineth with their spirits, and strengtheneth all those consents to sin in them.
He is only said to enter into Judas, Luke xxii. 3, for though he was in Judas
before, yet when he cometh to put a man on upon any great sin, he is said to enter into him, as he did enter into the swine, for it is the same word. because he joineth with his spirit to carry him on in it, as if another soul should come into a man.
And not only so, but he is able to Jill a man s Jieart, as Acts v. 3, as wine
filleth a man s veins, and giveth him new spirits and strength ; or as wind doth fill the bagpipe
: for the hearts of unregenerate men, they are, as I may call them, the devil s instruments in this respect, he breathes into them, and blows them up. He cannot, indeed, put affections into them, but he can blow them up when once consent is given. You may read of a good angel in Dan. xi. 1 ; saith he, I am with the king of the Medes, to confirm and strengthen him in his purpose to deliver the Jews : both these words are used. So can Satan, when he hath put in a temptation to a man, you see he is able to suggest it, being a spirit, when he hath put in his suggestion, then he entereth, especially when a man is his own, and giveth place to him. If a man be a saint, he hath leave to enter for that time, and he can confirm and
strengthen that resolution, and hold him in it, and join with him, and so the man shall have a superadded strength, another spirit in him beside his own. Therefore in Mic. ii. 11, speaking of false prophets, he saith, they do walk in the spirit, and lie. It is the same phrase that is used of a man s walking in the Holy Ghost, when the Holy Ghost strengthened him. And the devil did use to come into Ahab s prophets ; he was a lying spirit in them ; they walk in the spirit, and lie. I speak it for this, that he can thus blow up and fill up a man s spirit. I should have added a middle, between entering
62 AN EXPOSITION OP THE EPISTLE [SEi: V
. .\ ! V.
and putting into the heart, that is, he can provoke men, inflame them. The tongue, saith James, is set on fire of hell;* and it is sni.l expressly of David, in 1 Chron. xxi. 1, that Satan provoked him to number Israel. And not only this, but he can effectually prevail. He can by all these means work in us ; first, work indiscernibly in a man ; secondly, having right, as in wicked men he hath, he can enter and dwell there, as in his house or castle; thirdly, when he hath provoked and stirred up the affections and passions, when the will hath consented, he can strengthen that will, and so strengthen it that he shall prevail and work effectually ; for so the word here implies. In 2 Thess. ii. 10, speaking of Satan s working upon the learned part of the Popish party that know the truth, and hate it, his com
* is with all deceivableness of unrighteousness, that they might all lie damned. The doctrine is so laid to men s corrupt hearts, that it deceiveth them, and deceiveth them effectually. Therefore in 2 Chron. xviii. 21, it is said there by God himself, Thou shalt go and entice him, and thou shalt prevail. And you know, he was presently a lying spirit, and prevailed over all Aliab s prophets, and over Ahab himself. And he doth it with a kind of command, for he is a prince too; therefore they are said to be taken captive at his will. And so much now for the manner of his working, which this phrase, he worketh in them, implieth; and what I have said is necessary to open it. Now, the Apostle s scope is likewise to hold forth all the advantages he hath as a spirit. He is an active spirit ; for spirits are active. The horses of Egypt are not flesh but spirit. I shall not now stand to open the ad
ing, saith he,
vantages, for time would fail me.
The observation I shall make from hence is this : That though the devil worketh in men thus, and works effectually, yet so as all their sins are their own still. Why else are they called children of disobedience ? He work
eth, saith he, in the children of disobedience ; and they walk in sin, though the devil thus work, and doth work in all the sins of men. For that which we translate our life is a continual warfare/ the Septuagint renders it a continual temptation.
The reason why, though the devil thus work, yet it is all our sin, is this : because that the devil doth not thus enter into us or join with our spirits to confirm us, till our wills are come to a consent; we give place first. And then when he doth confirm, still the will of a man is free, he is but strength ened in it ; he may cause the waters to swell, but he cannot turn them back. It ia evident in Ananias, Why hath Satan filled thine heart? You will
say, Did not Satan work in him ? How could he help it ? Yet it is made his sin, for that he gave way to the devil ; for he gave way at the first, and then the devil entered in and filled him. Another instance for it is that in 2 Tim. ii. 26 ; he saith, we are taken captive alive, sguyewiw, as the wnnl
is derived from thence ; the meaning is this, they are alive when they are
taken, and they are taken willingly by him ; though at his will, yet with their own will too. They are not moved as dead stocks, but they are moved as having a living active principle in them, their own will. No man sinncth, my brethren, because Satan commandeth him ; for we do not sec that Satan commandeth us, for he works undiscernibly, but we sin because of what is
j-n "pounded to us: as no man doth sin because God dcrrors him to sin, no man can excuse himself with that; so no man can excuse him self with thK that Satan work.-th in him. id
.-< iniu-h now for that 1 fan, that lu-n-. 1-y .-;./>#, is meant th> work in tip rhiMrcn of disobedience.
EPH. II. 2.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 63
I come now to a second interpretation, which is taken for the effect of these devils, that common spirit that they raised in those times in the children of disobedience, which the Apostle bringeth as an instance, that themselves might see how it wrought. Do not you see, saith he, how it worketh, what a
spirit there is working in men against God, and against Christ ? The devil
is the prince of it. I opened it before, I shall now give you some observa tions about it.
Obs. The first is this : That besides the common ordinary walking of men in their particular lusts, walking in sin, according to their prince, the
devil, their king, for in every sin that a man ordinarily committeth, he walketh according to this prince, and his mind and will he doth, besides
that, I say, there is a special spirit, which yet is a common spirit in another
sense, that is, because it breatheth in a general way in men ; yet I call it
special, because it is superadded, over and above the natural inclination that men ordinarily have to the ways of sin, there is a special spirit, raised up by the devils in the children of disobedience.
I shall make this evident to you by parts. I take these Ephesians for an
instance, for to me the Apostle seems to point to that spirit that wrought among them. In Acts xix., when Paul was at Ephesus, you shall find there what a spirit was raised, all the whole city upon a sudden were gathered together, and were all filled with confusion, and the text saith, the greater part knew not wherefore they were come together. They would have haled Paul before the judgment-seat, and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, hisCompanions, they rushed with one accord into the theatre ; and all this while they knew not for what. And then, for the space of about two hours, they all with one voice cried up their goddess Diana, and cried out against Jesus Christ ; alas ! they knew not Jesus Christ. But why did they cry up their goddess thus ? Why, the devil was in it. Do not you see, saith the
Apostle, how the spirit works 1 If you read the Apologies of Tertullian, and others that wrote in the primitive times, you shall still find them telling the heathens thus : Why do you persecute us ? What is the matter ? "You understand not our way. You can let other sects alone, why do you meddle with us ? It is nothing but a name you persecute, you know no more. Yea, but, my brethren, the devil knew more, and so raised up a common spirit amongst them against the Christians.
The devil doth raise up in several ages that should have been , another part of the observation a several kind of spirit, yet still the same devil. Do you not see, saith he, the spirit that now worketh ? Why, the spirit of heathenism wrought then in a bitter opposition unto Christ ; and the spirit of Antichrist wrought then. The spirit of Antichrist is now in the world, saith John. And these both wrought in one, wrought against Christ. The devil had then two strings to his bow. Among the heathens he had a spirit that wrought to advance his kingdom, and to keep him up as long as could be as the god of the world ; and if that failed, then he had the spirit of Anti
christ, that was then a-working too : and many of the Christians themselves, that were good, understood not this, for it was a mystery. And, my breth
ren, such is his cunning still, if the scene alters, he alters his spirit that he breatheth into men ; he will breathe in new principles, such as the world shall close withal ; and he will be still sure so to state the quarrel as that he may vent his malice against many of the saints, if he cannot against all. He made way, through I know not how many errors, that if the world should happen to turn Christian, he might raise up such a persecution against those that would oppose those corruptions, more or less, as possibly could be.
64 AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE [S, KMoN IV.
Therefore in Rev. xii., when he was thrown down from heaven to earth, as he was when heathenism was gone, he found a way to persecute those that kept the commandment of Christ and the testimony of Jesus ; for there was then so much corruption brought in and found in the churches by the working of this spirit, that God stirred up some or other still, in their several
ages, to bear witness against it : and against these the devil raised a spirit, as being the witnesses of Jesus and such as kept some of the commandments of God, which others did not. The apostle John, in the place I qu even now, saith, the spirit of Antichrist is now in the world, 1 John iv. 3. Paul saith, it was a mystery ; the apostle John, that he is to come into the
world, nay, that even now he is in the world. I see his horns are buddinjr, saith he ; and that spirit that breatheth now in heathenism shall work up to the very same, when the world shall turn Christian, in Antichrist. Now, this was a mystery, yet the devil knew what he did, he drove it on, and carried on this common spirit, and that among Christians themselves in those
primitive times, even when the heathens did oppose them. So now, as it is said of the Holy Ghost, in 1 Cor. xii., that he hath variety of gifts, but there is one spirit, that worketh all in all ; so in several ages there are several spirits infused, and principles that men are led by, but yet so as still
they shall be against some part of the commandment of Jesus ; and it is the same spirit that still worketh all in all. And why is such opposition called a spirit ?
Because, my brethren, things are carried with spirit oftentimes more than with reason. Saith Paul,
4 1 was exceedingly mad against the saints/ Acts xxvL 11. And I think there are few that are mad but there is some kind of possession or obsession of Satan. I was mad, saith he, and madness, you know, is to go in a thing against reason, and beyond reason, beyond the nature of the thing itself : and that is, because the devil is in it ; for he
carries it as a prince, and therefore he carries it as by a spirit that he stirreth
in them.
And it is called a spirit, too, because it is active, and high, and violent. In Rev. xvi. 1 3, speaking of those emissaries of Rome, that, when Antichrist
is brought to his last throw for his subsistence, and if he loseth that, he is
gone, he sendeth out, (the devil and Antichrist together, for they are said to come out of the mouth of both,) he calls them spirits ; they shall be nimble agents, that should have a world of zeal. What is the reason ? They are said to be spirits of devils, and were therefore more active than men of themselves would have been. And Satan was the prince of them, for
they came out of the great dragon; and they go forth to all the kings of the earth, to gather them to the battle of that great day. And how nigh it
is, God knows.
Now as it is a special spirit, thus raised, I have shewn you that it is
called a spirit, and a spirit that altcrcth as the scene altereth, so it is a
general spirit, a common spirit, wherein, saith he, the children of disobedience do agree. The reason, my brethren, why his kingdom is a monarchy, and why they have one prince, by what the Scripture seenuth, both in this and other places, to hold forth to me, is this. Because time is one great devil, that is the old serpent; he hath the great head, the irreat wit, and inventcth what to do still, in all the turns and agitations and nmtinns <>f the
world, and accordingly directs. As Pharaoh who was a
typ<- of the great
<h-vi. iii .n.-iivliy. and tinIvjyptians anthe littl-- . as they
>aith d-;il wisely
leoountel,
< "ine/
;s, as it were, the great d nla take from
El II. II. 2.] TO THE EPHESIANS. 65
him what he doth judge, and breathe a common spirit into men in whom they work. And therefore he is said here to be the prince of a spirit. The reason why it is one spirit is, because there is one prince of them that doth
guide and direct all the other spirits to go thus one way, and to make one common gale in the hearts of men. In that llev. xvi. 13, 14, they are said to be three spirits ; yet all agree in one, they all came out of the mouth of the dragon too, for he was the prince of them, the great devil ; for by the
great dragon there, I take it, the great devil is meant, for the little devils are in that phrase,
* he and his angels. And a breath came from this prince, and the other devils, he saith, were three ; that is, many, or more than one, men acted by the devil : yet they all agreed together in one project and
design, which was, to go forth to the kings of the earth, and of the whole
world, to gather them to battle against Christ. For when Antichrist shall be put to it, he will get the assistance of heathens, and Turks, and all ; all shall join together against the battle of the great day. When our Lord and Saviour Christ was crucified, it is clear, then he breathed a common breath. Herod and Pilate were one against another, yet conspired in crucifying of Christ. Why 1 Because there was a prince in the