Paul the
apostle told the Ephesian church members God has made them “alive”
who were “dead in trespasses and sins” which in their
former lives they had lived “according to the course of this
world” and “the prince of the power of the air”
which is “the spirit that now works in the children of
disobedience”. In chapter two and verse three of his letter,
Paul continued his writing about the Ephesian's past lives as he
shared about their “former way of living” where we read:
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.
The
verse begins, “Among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh,...” Paul
began with the words, “Among whom” which
refers to “with, by, which and before God” “also we
all” or “each, every,
any, the whole, everyone, all things and everything”
“had our conversation” which
means “way of living, conduct or behavior of one's self and life”
“in times pasts”
or “once, formerly, aforetime and at some time” “in
the lusts” which means “within
the desires, cravings and longings for what is forbidden” “of
our flesh” which refers to
“the soft substance of the living body, which covers the bones and
is permeated with blood and the sensuous nature of man which is prone
to sin and opposed to God”. The Ephesians and Paul lived in their
pasts before God according to their fleshly desires.
The
verse goes on to say, “...fulfilling the desires of the
flesh and of the mind;” Paul added, “fulfilling” or
“producing, constructing, forming, fashioning, making ready and
preparing” “the desires” which means “will, choice,
inclination and pleasure” “of the flesh” or “he soft
substance of the living body, which covers the bones and is permeated
with blood, the sensuous nature of man which is prone to sin and
opposed to God” “and of the mind” which refers to “the
faculty of understanding, feeling, desiring, way of thinking whether
good or bad”. The result of these “fleshly desires” was
“fulfilling” their “lusts” which were according
to their “flesh” and “thinking”.
Finally
the verse says, “and were by nature the children of
wrath, even as others.” Paul
finished the verse with the words, “and were”
or “in the past and formerly” “by nature”
which means “a mode of feeling and acting which by long habit has
become the sum of innate properties and powers by which one
person differs from others, distinctive native peculiarities, natural
characteristics: the natural strength, ferocity, and intractability
of beasts” “the
children” or “the offspring”
“of wrath” which
means “anger, temper, movement or agitation of the soul, impulse,
violent emotion and indignation”, “even as others”
which refers to “in the same manner as those who remain and are
distinct”. The former way Paul and the Ephesians lived was a
natural way for those who are opposed to God. These have the distinct
title of being “the children of wrath”.
When
we consider these words of Paul, he referred to the way he and the
Ephesians lived before they knew Jesus Christ as their personal Lord
and Savior. It is natural to live according to the “lusts”
of the “flesh and mind” when we do not know Jesus Christ,
however, when we accept Him and His forgiveness of our sins, we begin
a new life and live according to His Spirit rather than ours. This
allows us to leave the label of “children of wrath” to
become “the children of His grace”. May the Lord Jesus through
the Holy Spirit help us to understand the place of “wrath”
we have without Jesus, and the place of peace we have with Him.
Next
time Paul shares about God's “rich mercy and love”
, so read ahead, and
we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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