³⁵ In answer to that question, the words in Ephesians 2:1-5, written to converted Christians, tell us: “You were dead, through the crimes and the sins in which you used to live when you were following the way of this world, obeying the ruler who governs the air, the spirit who is at work in the rebellious.

36. According to some Bible translators, the “spirit” spoken of in Ephesians 2:2 means what, and under whose rulership is it?

³⁶ Who is that “spirit who is at work in the rebellious”? He is the original rebel of all rebels against Jehovah God, namely, the Devil, “the original serpent.” But here we should remark that, in Ephesians 2:2, the word “spirit” is viewed by some Bible translators as meaning something impersonal. They view it as an invisible active force that is under the control of the “ruler who governs the air” and that is operating within those who are disobedient to Jehovah God. For example, Young’s translation of Ephesians 2:2 reads: “in which once ye did walk according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” (See also Rotherham’s translation.) Such an impersonal “spirit” would be under the rulership of the wicked user of the “air.” It would energize those who are conducting themselves “according to the system of things of this world,” disobeying God.