Ephesians 4:18-19

4:18

They – In v. 18, Paul starts referring to Gentiles as a group other than the Gentile converts. These are non-believers hopelessly confused by their pointless mindset.

are – present tense, current condition

darkened – unable to see, stumble around, bump into this and that

in their understanding – mindset, thought patterns, don’t know or can’t see where their thought patterns are taking them

and – there is a short series of characteristics describing the Gentile, i.e., unbelieving world: (1) darkened understanding; (2) separated from God ([a] ignorance, [b] hard hearts); (3) given to sensuality (because of insensitivity); resulting in (4) impurity and lust

separated – apart, cut off, alone, lonely; I associate separation with hurt; enmity; confusion

from God – contrast: with God or pursuing God or in God

because of – reason for separation

the ignorance – willfully turning a blind eye to God and Truth, choosing darkness rather than light; NLT: “closed their minds”

that is – present, current condition

in them – residing there, part of their essence

due to – while ignorance produced the separation, something else gave rise to the ignorance:

the hardening [of their hearts] – brittle, easily broken or difficult to break; in either case not open, but closed to other influences, stubborn, self-sufficient, self-satisfied, self-centered

[the hardening] of their hearts – center of will, desire, purpose. Their will has hardened to the point of being closed, steeled, against any softening influence. Hard heart causes ignorance which results in a life separated from God.

4:19

Having lost – At one time in the past, they had some…

all – complete; everyone

sensitivity – awareness, responsiveness, conscience; their inner prompting that holds us back from doing the worst offenses. Losing sensitivity indicates becoming numb to any warning signs.

they – “Gentiles,” non-believers; writing in generalities. Clearly, there were then and are now, non-believers who live according to an admirable code of ethics. But the society—then and now—seems increasingly characterized as Paul describes it here.

have given themselves over – present perfect, happened in the past and continues to the present; surrendered, gave up trying, completely yielded to, consumed by

to sensuality – living for the purpose of pleasing the physical senses; seeking ever greater physical thrills—whether pleasure or pain. For some this will exhibit as sexual indulgence. But given that there are five senses and multiple means of titillating each, then this pursuit of sensory stimulation can take many different routes, not just sexual expressions. Interesting: lost sensitivity...given to sensuality; sounds little like how drug addicts are described, i.e., needing ever increasing dosages to experience the sensation. Looking at this phrase as a whole: because they became numb they sought greater stimulation, which resulted in...

so as – in order to, or for the purpose of

to indulge – excess, put up with; we indulge a baby or a senile adult; but in myself, I make excuses for bad behavior

in every kind – the full spectrum

of impurity – While sensuality can exhibit in a variety of forms, the sexual element remains the strong, underlying motif. “Impure”: unclean, dirty—not because it has to do with sex, but because the sexual style of choice becomes increasingly over the limits. Whatever society deems the limit of propriety, the sensualist will push that boundary, just for the thrill of experiencing the taboo. If society moves the boundary, the sensualist will generally change his fetish. This may well happen because often the thrill comes from breaking the taboo, doing what society deems horrible or abhorrent, rather than coming from the deed itself.

with a continual – ongoing, non-stop

lust – again this does not have to be restricted to sexual expression. Lust is really the urge to satisfy or please or stimulate ones own physical desires. It is the selfish drive to please self. At the same time, while it does not have to be restricted to sex, it clearly includes that realm as the major ingredient.

for more – and more and more; lust is never satisfied