Spiritual Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: about 1 truth
Servings Per Verse: Unknown

Text: Ephesians 2:3

ESV:

.. . . . among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

*ETS:

when we look at the world and worldliness around us, in many ways, we must truly say, "been there, done that."

*DTFTD:

Prior to being saved every Christian lived as salve to sin - understanding worldly ways, thinking worldly thoughts, and participating in worldly deeds without restraint or conviction. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). In essence, when it comes to living as a child of wrath, every Christian has been there and done that. When it comes to unrestrained sinful living every person on the planet is part of the "been there, done that" family. Paul's use of the words "children of wrath" is a reference to two specific ideas. First, the word "children" in the Greek is from the root that means "to give birth to." Paul is reminding us that all of humanity is born with the exact same sin nature. Second, Paul's use of the words translated, "of wrath," is his way of reminding us that all were born with a nature that stands in opposition to holiness and invites the wrath of God. All have the same sin nature, all have sinned, but not all have come to realize their sin nature invites the wrath of God. When a person realizes the fact of sin's death grip, and the certain pending wrath of God, he or she will greatly appreciate the next six words in Paul's letter, "but God being rich in mercy" (v4). From wrath to riches, praise God, what a story! Is it your story?

*EDS:

We all understand the sin nature, and we all need the grace of God for forgiveness and salvation.

INGREDIENTS: We were sinners in the hands of an angry God, but God who is rich in mercy changed the ending of our story. Word Study: The word "desires" is thelema, "desires that come from the emotions. Thus the life of the unsaved is swayed by the emotions rather than reason" (Wuest Word Studies, vol. 1).

*ESV- English Standard Version; ETS- Essence of the Text in a Sentence; DTFTD- Devotional Thought For The Day; EDS- Essence of the Devotional in a Sentence.