Cheryl Schatz

Mark you said:

Now Cheryl claimed that no such ‘additional grammar’ in Eph 2 shows that Paul means a past condition. However in verse 2 is a very clear grammatical feature- ‘tote’ (once). Paul is saying you were ‘once’ like this (dead in sin), “in which you once walked”-verse 2) but are now like this (alive in Christ).

Mark, you made a mistake again. The term is not ‘tote’ but ‘pote’ and it means formerly. The term “formerly” does not refer back to “being dead” but it refers directly to the words around it “in which you walked”.

ephesians 2:2 (NASB)
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.

You can’t attach the “pote” with “being dead” since it is rightfully connected to the Greek term for walked “peripateo” thus “formerly walked”. In fact this is the only place of contrast. We are dead to the very things that we formerly “walked” in.

SO yes there is an explicit grammatical word talking about a past situation- “once”

Honestly I can’t see how you could bypass the fact that “formerly” attaches to “walked” not to “being dead”. Did you think that no one would notice?

There are also numerous other grammatical features showing the contrast (besides the present participle). There is the contrast between following satan (verse 2) and Jesus.

Once again I must remind you that a present participle does not imply a contrast and I have given a commentary quote to show that. Also the contrast is to the “formerly walked” that is attached to the power of sin from satan. It is this contrast that makes the power of God which has placed sin under our feet to show the overwhelming power of God compared to the helpless power of satan to hold us in the way that we once walked.

This is expoused by the ‘sun’ compounds and ‘en christo jesou’. Also in verse 4 we get the ‘But God’ (o de theos) and then the three aorist and perfect of the verb forms in 5,6 which all underline the break between a past and a present situation.

Ephesians 2:3–6 (YLT)
3 among whom also we all did walk once in the desires of our flesh, doing the wishes of the flesh and of the thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath—as also the others.
4 And God, being rich in kindness, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even being dead in the trespasses, did make us to live together with the Christ, (by grace ye are having been saved,) 6and did raise us up together, and did seat us together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Here the “And God” is stating God’s power in contrast to what we were which has now been subjected as our old sin having been placed under our feet and at the same time as we”being dead to sin” we are raised up with Christ and seated in heavenly places. The connection to God’s resurrection power in contrast with the old sin which is under our feet flows through our postion with Christ in the heavens. The break with the past and present are with the power of the old sin that is now under our feet as we are “in Christ” and have all things subjected to us.

Although you have tried hard to make the grammar come against my view, the grammar is on my side not yours and your grammar errors show to me that you don’t really know very well what you are trying to communicate.

To be continued…