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.
Ephesians 2:3
There are three reasons why we were once under God's wrath before our salvation. This is the fallen state of all humanity right now. FIRST REASON: We were sons of disobedience living a life that dishonored God. That is the "among whom" of the first part of verse three. It comes from the last part of verse 2... sons of disobedience. Living disobediently from God's holiness is the essence of the fallen nature of mankind. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and now we all do so naturally. No one has to be taught to sin. It is what we do and who we are.
SECOND REASON: We lived by fleshly passion. Our instincts are selfish, sinful, and driven by our own wants and not by God's desires. We lived solely in this selfish way before Christ saved us. And this fleshliness marks human society blatantly flaunting the Creator.
THIRD REASON: We did only what our minds and bodies desired. Trapped by sin, we cannot serve anything bigger than ourselves. And that degeneration leads to a fallen world that Paul has already said follows its own course directed by Satan (Ephesians 2:2). Could anything be any more accurate in describing the world outside of Christian community?
Thank God that Jesus breaks through all this so that we are no longer wrath's children!
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