the Week of Proper 20 / Ordinary 25
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The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible
Ephesians 2:3
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Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
among whom we all also formerly conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
But the truth is, all of us used to act like that. We only followed what felt good at the moment. We thought we were doing what we wanted, but we were being guided by the devil. Because of this, it's no wonder we were destined to be punished by God.
Among whom we all at one time were living in the pleasures of our flesh, giving way to the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and the punishment of God was waiting for us even as for the rest.
among whom *we* also all once had our conversation in the lusts of our flesh, doing what the flesh and the thoughts willed to do, and were children, by nature, of wrath, even as the rest:
We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.
among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
in the desires of the flesh, doing the will of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the others.
Among them all of us also formerly passed our lives, governed by the inclinations of our lower natures, indulging the cravings of those natures and of our own thoughts, and were in our original state deserving of anger like all others.
Among whom also we all had our conuersation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the minde, and were by nature the children of wrath, euen as others:
among whom we also all conducted ourselves in times past in the lusts of our flesh, doing the things willed of the flesh and of the understanding, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as the rest.
amonge whom we also had oure conuersacion in tyme past in the lustes of oure flesh, and dyd the wyll of the flesh and of the mynde, and were naturally the children of wrath, euen as well as other.
of which number we all have formerly been, leading our dissolute lives in gratifying the desires of our sensual imaginations: and were indeed obnoxious to the divine displeasure, as other. Gentiles were:
Among these [unbelievers] we all once lived in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by the sinful self], indulging the desires of human nature [without the Holy Spirit] and [the impulses] of the [sinful] mind. We were, by nature, children [under the sentence] of [God's] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind].
among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:—
Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
amonge which we also had oure conversacion in tyme past in the lustes of oure flesshe and fullfilled the will of the flesshe and of the mynde: and were naturally the children of wrath even as wel as other.
among whom we also all once lived in the desire of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:-
Among whom also we all had our manner of life in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
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,
In the past all of us lived like them, trying to please our sinful selves and doing all the things our bodies and minds wanted. We should have suffered God's anger because we were sinful by nature. We were the same as all other people.
among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest…
Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.
Indeed, we all once lived this way — we followed the passions of our old nature and obeyed the wishes of our old nature and our own thoughts. In our natural condition we were headed for God's wrath, just like everyone else.
among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Among whom we also had our conuersation in time past, in the lustes of our flesh, in fulfilling the will of the flesh, and of the minde, and were by nature the children of wrath, as well as others.
In those very deeds in which we were also corrupted from the very beginning through the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the wills of the flesh and of the mind: thereby we became completely the children of wrath, even as others.
among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
Indeed, all of us once behaved likelived among">[fn] them in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of our flesh and senses. By nature we deserved wrath,were children of wrath">[fn] just like everyone else.Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12,14; Galatians 5:16; Titus 3:3; 1 Peter 4:3;">[xr]
in those works in which we also walked from the first in the lusts of our flesh, doing the will of our flesh and of our mind, and were the sons of wrath fully as the rest.
in which deeds we also, formerly, were conversant, in the cravings of our flesh; and we did the pleasure of our flesh, and of our mind, and were altogether the children of wrath, like the rest.
among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else.
At one time all of us lived to please our old selves. We gave in to what our bodies and minds wanted. We were sinful from birth like all other people and would suffer from the anger of God.
among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:—
All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else.
Among whom also, we all, had our behaviour, at one time, in the covetings of our flesh, doing the things desired by the flesh and the mind, and were children, by nature, of anger - even as the rest, -
In which also we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
among whom also we all formerly lived in the desires of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of the mind, and we were children of wrath by nature, as also the rest of them were.
Among whom we all had our conuersation also in tyme past in the lustes of our flesshe, fulfyllyng the wyll of the flesshe, and of the mynde, & were by nature the chyldren of wrath, euen as other:
In the past all of us lived like that, trying to please our sinful selves. We did all the things our bodies and minds wanted. Like everyone else in the world, we deserved to suffer God's anger just because of the way we were.
Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest.
Actually all of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires, doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds. In our natural condition we, like everyone else, were destined to suffer God's anger.
in which also we `alle lyueden sum tyme in the desiris of oure fleisch, doynge the willis of the fleisch and of thouytis, and we weren bi kynde the sones of wraththe, as othere men;
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
we: Isaiah 53:6, Isaiah 64:6, Isaiah 64:7, Daniel 9:5-9, Romans 3:9-19, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Galatians 2:15, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 3:22, Titus 3:3, 1 Peter 4:3, 1 John 1:8-10
in times: Ephesians 4:17-19, Acts 14:16, Acts 17:30, Acts 17:31, Romans 11:30, 1 Peter 2:10, 1 John 2:8
in the: Ephesians 4:22, Mark 4:19, John 8:44, Romans 1:24, Romans 6:12, Romans 13:14, Galatians 5:16-24, 1 Timothy 6:9, James 4:1-3, 1 Peter 1:14, 1 Peter 2:11, 1 Peter 4:2, 2 Peter 2:18, 1 John 2:16, Jude 1:16 -18
fulfilling: Romans 8:7, Romans 8:8, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Galatians 5:19-21
desires: Gr. wills, John 1:13
by: Genesis 5:3, Genesis 6:5, Genesis 8:21, Job 14:4, Job 15:14-16, Job 25:4, Psalms 51:5, Mark 7:21, Mark 7:22, John 3:1-6, Romans 5:12-19, Romans 7:18, Galatians 2:15, Galatians 2:16
children: Ephesians 2:2, Romans 9:22
even: Romans 3:9, Romans 3:22, Romans 3:23, 1 Corinthians 4:7
Reciprocal: Leviticus 11:16 - General Numbers 17:10 - rebels Deuteronomy 1:39 - which in 1 Samuel 26:16 - worthy to die 1 Chronicles 17:9 - the children Nehemiah 1:6 - both I Job 11:12 - man be Psalms 14:3 - all gone Psalms 58:3 - estranged Psalms 102:20 - those that are appointed to Proverbs 21:8 - way Proverbs 22:15 - Foolishness Ecclesiastes 7:29 - they Ecclesiastes 11:9 - walk Isaiah 48:8 - a transgressor Isaiah 57:4 - are ye Jeremiah 9:14 - walked Jeremiah 31:19 - Surely after Jeremiah 32:36 - now Ezekiel 16:3 - Thy birth Ezekiel 16:63 - when Matthew 3:14 - I have Matthew 7:13 - for Matthew 7:14 - and few Matthew 11:11 - born Matthew 23:15 - ye make Luke 1:35 - that Luke 10:6 - the Son Luke 15:5 - when Luke 15:15 - to feed John 3:6 - born of the flesh John 9:34 - wast John 13:2 - the devil Romans 3:12 - They are Romans 6:19 - for as ye Romans 7:5 - in the flesh Romans 9:11 - the children Romans 9:23 - he had afore 1 Corinthians 3:3 - and walk 2 Corinthians 10:2 - we walked Ephesians 5:6 - children Colossians 1:13 - and Colossians 3:6 - children James 1:17 - good 1 Peter 2:12 - your conversation 1 Peter 4:6 - but 2 Peter 2:14 - cursed 1 John 4:19 - General
Cross-References
And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made them.
Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed.
Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it branched into four headwaters:
The name of the first river is Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
And the gold of that land is pure, and bdellium and onyx are found there.
The name of the second river is Gihon; it winds through the whole land of Cush.
The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it runs along the east side of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past,.... What the apostle says of the Gentile Ephesians before conversion, he says of himself and other Jews; and this he does, partly to show that it was not from ill will, or with a design to upbraid the Gentiles, that he said what he did; and partly to beat down the pride of the Jews, who thought themselves better than the sinners of the Gentiles; as well as to magnify the grace of God in the conversion of them both: the sense is, that the apostle and other Jews in the time of their unregeneracy, had their conversation according to the customs of the world, and to the prince of the air, and among unbelievers, as well as the Gentiles; and that they were equally sinners, and lived a like sinful course of life:
in the lusts of our flesh; by "flesh" is meant, the corruption of nature; so called, because it is propagated by natural generation; and is opposed to the Spirit, or principle of grace; and has for its object fleshly things; and discovers itself mostly in the body, the flesh; and it makes persons carnal or fleshly: and this is called "our", because it belongs to human nature, and is inherent in it, and inseparable from it in this life: and the "lusts" of it, are the inward motions of it, in a contrariety to the law and will of God; and are various, and are sometimes called fleshly and worldly lusts, and the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life: and persons may be said to have their conversations in these, when these are the ground of their conversation, when they are solicitous about them, and make provision for the fulfilling of them, and constantly employ themselves in obedience to them, as follows:
fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind: or the wills of them; what they incline to, will, and crave after: various are the degrees of sin, and its several motions; and universal is the corruption of human nature; not only the body, and the several members of it, are defiled with sin, and disposed to it, but all the powers and faculties of the soul; even the more noble and governing ones, the mind, understanding, and will, as well as the affections; and great is the power and influence which lust has over them:
and were by nature children of wrath, even as others: by which is meant, not only that they were wrathful persons, living in malice, hateful, and hating one another; but that they were deserving of the wrath of God, which comes upon the children of disobedience, among whom they had their conversation; and which is revealed from heaven against such sins as they were guilty of, though they were not appointed to it: and they were such "by nature"; really, and not in opinion, and by and from their first birth: so a Jewish commentator s on these words, "thy first father hath sinned", Isaiah 43:27 has this note;
"how canst thou say thou hast not sinned? and behold thy first father hath sinned, and he is the first man, for man
מוטבע בחטא, "is naturally in sin";''
or by nature a sinner, or sin is naturally impressed in him; and hence being by nature a sinner, he is by nature deserving of the wrath of God, as were the persons spoken of:
even as others; as the rest of the world, Jews as well as Gentiles; and Gentiles are especially designed, in distinction from the Jews, the apostle is speaking of; and who are particularly called in the Jewish dialect אחרים, "others"; Isaiah 43:27- :.
s Kimchi in loc.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
We all had our conversation - see the notes at 2 Corinthians 1:12; compare 1 Peter 4:3.
In the lusts of our flesh - Living to gratify the flesh, or the propensities of a corrupt nature. It is observable here that the apostle changes the form of the address from “ye” to “we,” thus including himself with others, and saying that this was true of “all” before their conversion. He means undoubtedly to say, that whatever might have been the place of their birth, or the differences of religion under which they had been trained, they were substantially alike by nature. It was a characteristic of all that they lived to fulfil the desires of the flesh and of the mind. The “design” of the apostle in thus grouping himself with them was, to show that he did not claim to be any better by nature than they were, and that all which any of them had of value was to be traced to the grace of God. There is much delicacy here on the part of the apostle. His object was to remind them of the former grossness of their life, and their exposure to the wrath of God. Yet he does not do it harshly. He includes himself in their number. He says that what he affirms of them was substantially true of himself - of all - that they were under condemnation, and exposed to the divine wrath.
Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind - Margin, as in Greek, “wills.” Complying with the wishes of a depraved nature. The “will of the flesh” is that to which the flesh, or the unrenewed nature of man, prompts; and Paul says that all had been engaged in fulfilling those fleshly propensities. This was clearly true of the pagan, and it was no less true of the unconverted Jew that he lived for himself, and sought to gratify the purposes of a depraved nature, though it might manifest itself in a way different from the pagan. The “will of the mind” referred to here relates to the wicked “thoughts and purposes” of the unrenewed nature - the sins which relate rather to the “intellect” than to the gross passions. Such, for instance, are the sins of pride, envy, ambition, covetousness, etc.; and Paul means to say, that before conversion they lived to gratify these propensities, and to accomplish these desires of the soul.
And were by nature - Φύσει Fusei. By birth, or before we were converted By conversion and adoption they became the children of God; before that, they were all the children of wrath. This is, I think, the fair meaning of this important declaration. It does not affirm “when” they began to be such, or that they were such as soon as they were born, or that they were such before they became moral agents, or that they became such in virtue of their connection with Adam - whatever may be the truth on these points; but it affirms that before they were renewed, they were the children of wrath. So far as This text is concerned, this might have been true at their very birth; but it does not directly and certainly prove that. It proves that at no time before their conversion were they the children of God, but that their whole condition before that was one of exposure to wrath; compare Romans 2:14, Romans 2:27; 1 Corinthians 11:14; Galatians 2:15. Some people are born Jews, and some pagan; some free, and some slaves; some white, and some black; some are born to poverty, and some to wealth; some are the children of kings, and some of beggars; but, whatever their rank or condition, they are born exposed to wrath, or in a situation which would render them liable to wrath. But why this is, the apostle does not say. Whether for their own sins or for the sins of another; whether by a corrupted soul, or by imputed guilt; whether they act as moral agents as soon as born, or at a certain period of childhood, Paul does not say.
The children of wrath - Exposed to wrath, or liable to wrath. They did not by nature inherit holiness; they inherited that which would subject; them to wrath. The meaning has been well expressed by Doddridge, who refers it “to the original apostasy and corruption, in consequence of which people do, according to the course of nature, fall early into personal guilt, and so become obnoxious to the divine displeasure.” Many modern expositors have supposed that this has no reference to any original tendency of our fallen nature to sin, or to native corruption, but that it refers to the “habit” of sin, or to the fact of their having been the slaves of appetite and passion. I admit that the direct and immediate sense of the passage is that they were, when without the gospel, and before they were renewed, the children of wrath; but still the fair interpretation is, that they were born to that state, and that that condition was the regular result of their native depravity; and I do not know a more strong or positive declaration that can be made to show that people are by nature destitute of holiness, and exposed to perdition.
Even as others - That is, “do not suppose that you stand alone, or that you are the worst of the species. You are indeed, by nature, the children of wrath; but not you alone. All others were the same. You have a common inheritance with them. I do not mean to charge you with being the worst of sinners, or as being alone transgressors. It is the common lot of man - the sad, gloomy inheritance to which we all are born.” The Greek is, οἱ λοιποί hoi loipoi “the remainder, or the others,” - including all; compare the notes at Romans 5:19. This doctrine that people without the gospel are the children of wrath, Paul had fully defended in Rom. 1–3. Perhaps no truth is more frequently stated in the Bible; none is more fearful and awful in its character. What a declaration, that we “are by nature the children of wrath!” Who should not inquire what it means? Who should not make an effort to escape from the wrath to come, and become a child of glory and an heir of life?
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Ephesians 2:3. Among whom also we all had our conversation — We JEWS, as well as you Gentiles, have lived in transgressions and sins; ανεστραφημεν, this was the course of our life; we lived in sin, walked in sin, it was woven through our whole constitution, it tinged every temper, polluted every faculty, and perverted every transaction of life. The lusts - the evil, irregular, and corrupt affections of the heart, showed themselves in the perversion of the mind as well as in our general conduct. The mind was darkened by the lusts of the flesh, and both conjoined to produce acts of unrighteousness. It was not the will of God that was done by us, but the will of the flesh and of the mind.
And were by nature the children of wrath — For the import of the phrase, by nature, φυσει, Galatians 2:15, and Romans 2:14. To what is said on those passages, I may add, from Dr. Macknight: - "Nature often signifies one's birth and education, Galatians 2:15: We, who are Jews BY NATURE. Also, men's natural reason and conscience, Romans 2:14: The Gentiles who have not the law, do BY NATURE the things contained in the law, c. Also, the general sense and practice of mankind, 1 Corinthians 11:14: Doth not even NATURE itself teach you, that if a man have long hair, c. Also, the original constitution of any thing, Galatians 4:8: Who are not gods BY NATURE, Also, a disposition formed by custom and habit thus Demetrius Phalereus said of the Lacedemonians: φυσει εβραχυλογουν λακωνες. The Lacedemonians had naturally a concise mode of speaking. Hence our word laconic a short speech, or much sense conveyed in a few words." The words in the text have often been quoted to prove the doctrine of original sin, but, though that doctrine be an awful truth, it is not, in my opinion, intended here; it is rather found in the preceding words, the lusts of the flesh, and the desires of the flesh and of the mind. The apostle appears to speak of sinful habits; and as we say HABIT is a second nature, and as these persons acted from their originally corrupt nature - from the lusts of the flesh and of the mind, they thus became, by their vicious habits, or second nature, children of wrath - persons exposed to perdition, because of the impurity of their hearts and the wickedness of their lives. Here we see that the fallen, apostate nature produces the fruits of unrighteousness. The bad tree produces bad fruit.
Children of wrath is the same as son of perdition, son of death, c. i.e. persons exposed to God's displeasure, because of their sins.
