AMONG THEM WE TOO ALL FORMERLY LIVED IN THE LUSTS OF OUR FLESH: en ois kai hemeis pantes anestraphemen (1PAPI) pote en tais epithumiais tes sarkos hemon: (Is 53:6; 64:6,7; Da 9:5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Ro 3:9-note, Ro 3:10-note, Ro 3:11-note, Ro 3:12-note, Ro 3:13-note, Ro 3:14-note, Ro 3:15-note, Ro 3:16-note, Ro 3:17-note, Ro 3:18-note, Ro 3:19-note; 1Co 6:9, 10, 11; Gal 2:15,16; 3:22; Titus 3:3-note; 1Pe 4:3-note; 1Jn 1:8, 9, 10)(Ep 4:17-note, Ep 4:18-note, Ep 4:19-note; Acts 14:16; 17:30,31-notes; Ro 11:30-note; 1Pe 2:10-note; 1Jn 2:8)(Ep 4:22-note; Mark 4:19; John 8:44; Ro 1:24-note; Ro 6:12-note; Ro 13:14-note; Galatians 5:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24; 1Timothy 6:9; James 4:1, 2, 3; 1Pe 1:14-note; 1Pe 2:11-note; 1Pe 4:2-note; 2Pe 2:18-note; 1John 2:16; Jude 1:16, 17, 18)

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Among (1722) (en) refers to the "children of disobedience".  Paul says "we" were once numbered among them (in their midst).

We - note change of pronoun. Paul is saying that the Jewish believers were once no better off than the Gentile believers. We all, both Jews and Gentiles, walked as dead men in the "clammy (spiritual) atmosphere" of this godless world.

All (3956) (pas) means all without exception so that all people were in that same sinful condition. All of us were really like them, like the people who disobey God (not referring to the powers and rulers in the air).

Formerly (4218)  (pote) is a generalization concerning time and means at some time and when referring to past time as in this verse means once or at one time in the past.

Lived (390) (anastrepho from aná = again, back + strépho = turn) means literally to turn back and forth or to and fro and hence to conduct or behave one or act in accordance with certain principles. To order one’s behavior. Thus, the saints at one time ordered their behavior or conducted themselves among the sons of disobedient (unpersuadable), in the (in the "atmosphere" of the) lusts of their flesh.

Lusts (1939) (epithumia from epi = at, toward {the preposition "epi-" in the compound is directive conveying the picture of "having one’s passion toward" } + thumos = passion. The root verb epithumeo = set heart upon) is a neutral term denoting the presence of strong desires or impulses, longings or passionate craving (whether it is good or evil is determined by the context) directed toward an object.  In this verse epithumia clearly indicates it is an evil craving that originates from from the godless flesh.

Flesh ethically refers to that part of man which, because of the fall, is opposed to God and to holiness.

Flesh (4561) (sarx) (Click word study on sarx) refers to the totally depraved nature as dominating the unsaved individual and represents the entirety of one's being orientated away from God and towards selfish interests.

The flesh is the source of those strong desires just described. Flesh as used in this context refers to that entity which is inherited from Adam, is present in every human being and which is centered upon self, prone to sin, and opposed to God The flesh is the ugly complex of human sinful desires that includes the ungodly motives, affections, principles, purposes, words, and actions that sin generates through our bodies. To live according to the flesh is to be ruled and controlled by that evil complex.

Synopsis of "The Flesh"...

Flesh is the root of man's problems - Satan's appeal is to "be like God" and he appealed to Eve's flesh Genesis 3:5

Flesh then becomes the carrier or bearer of sin Sin dwells within - see notes Romans 7:5; 7:17;  7:23

Flesh is the instrument of sin - see note Romans 6:13

The mind/heart is a part of the flesh Mt 15:18-20, see notes Galatians 5:19; 20; 21

The world's or devil's foothold comes by means of flesh

Flesh is the base of all enemy operations

John Piper writes that flesh...

is the old ego that is self-reliant and does not delight to yield to any authority or depend on any mercy. Flesh craves the sensation of self-generated power and loves the praise of men....in its conservative form it produces legalism -- keeping rules by its own power for its own glory.... (in its more liberal form) produces grossly immoral attitudes and acts (see notes Galatians 5:19; 20; 21) The Flesh is the proud and unsubmissive root of depravity in every human heart which exalts itself subtly through proud, self-reliant morality, or flaunts itself blatantly through self-assertive, authority-despising immorality. (from his sermon Walk By the Spirit!)

INDULGING THE DESIRES OF THE FLESH AND OF THE MIND: poiountes (PAPMPN) ta thelemata tes sarkos kai ton dianoion: (Romans 8:7,8-notes; 2Corinthians 7:1-see note; Galatians 5:19, 20, 21-notes)(John 1:13)

Indulging (4160) (poieo) means doing with the implication of the context being not only performing of these desires but the accomplishment of them also! The present tense pictures this indulging as their way of life.

Wuest writes that...

The participle is present in tense, thus, durative in action. It speaks of the habitual performing of acts that satisfy the desires of the evil nature and of the evil thoughts, thus a fulfilling of those desires. We went the limit in sin. The evil nature had full sway. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

Desires (2307) (thelema from thelo = to will) refers to the "wishes" or the desires that come from one's emotions. Thelema emphasizes strong will-fulness, wanting and seeking something with great diligence. The life of the unsaved is swayed by emotions rather than reason and those emotions emanate from the fallen flesh nature, that evil disposition which is opposed to God.

Thelema means what one wishes or has determined shall be done or that which is desired or wished for. As noted above, thelema refers to a desire which proceeds from one’s heart or emotions. This term expresses the result of one’s purpose or desire. Thelema has both an objective meaning (“what one wishes to happen”) and a subjective connotation (“the act of willing or desiring”).

Mind (1271) (dianoia from dia = denotes separation + noeo = to think over) describes the mind as the faculty of understanding, feeling, desiring and in the plural as in this verse, refers to the thoughts (especially understanding regarding morality according to Vincent), specifically evil thoughts. Dianoia refers to not simply intellectual faculties but that which guides and directs conduct.

Dianoia does not mean only the mind but includes the plans and projects it entertains with uncontrolled, evil abandon. Paul says that the unsaved (natural) man is altogether at the mercy of the harsh taskmaster self (flesh) and its rash impulses. He is saying that when were without God in the world, we did whatever our bodies wished or whatever our minds imagined!

Illustration of Indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind - At the start of last year’s Christmas shopping season, a woman was trampled by a crowd intent on grabbing DVD players on sale at a Florida Wal-Mart. She was the first person in line, but when the store opened the other shoppers rushed forward and knocked her to the ground. When paramedics arrived, they found her unconscious. Only a few people had tried to help her--most continued their “urgent business” of buying a DVD player.

AND WERE BY NATURE CHILDREN OF WRATH, EVEN AS THE REST: kai emetha (1PIMI) tekna phusei orges os kai oi loipoi:  (Genesis 5:3; 6:5; 8:21; Job 14:4; 15:14, 15, 16; 25:4; Psalms 51:5; Mark 7:21,22; John 3:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Romans 5:12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19-see notes; Ro 7:18-note; Galatians 2:15,16)(Romans 3:9-note, Ro 3:22,23-notes; 1Corinthians 4:7)

Were is imperfect tense, which speaks of continuous action or state of being. Our totally depraved condition before salvation was a continuous one, from birth on without a cessation of that condition.

By nature (5449) (phúsis from phúo = to bring forth) (note contrast with "by grace" in Ephesians 2:5) refers to that which is  innate and implanted in one by nature. It refers to our natural condition and means that we didn’t have to develop to become children of wrath. “By nature” denies any process of development so that we were born with the destiny of children of wrath.

Spurgeon once said

“He who doubts human depravity had better begin to study himself.” (Comment: Or simply look in the mirror each morning!)

What natural condition is Paul referring to here? In Romans he explains that...

Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) Sin entered into the world, and death through Sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned (Ro 5:12-note) (Comment: Every person ever born, except Jesus, is by birth a "little sinner". Our spiritual father was the first sinner, Adam. If follows that in this state all men stand condemned to eternal death, experiencing forever the wrath of God.)

Children (5043) (teknon from tikto = to give birth to) is a word for children that emphasizes the birth relationship. Paul's point is that we were born children having Adam's depraved nature and were thus fully deserving of the wrath of God.

Children of wrath could be rephrased "children destined for wrath." We were worthy of and subject to God's wrath. Jesus declared...

"He who believes in the Son has (right now! the moment of belief in Jesus) eternal life; but he who does not obey (Disbelief is regarded in its active manifestation, disobedience) the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36) (Comment: Marvin Vincent writes that "Abides is present tense. As the believer has life, so the unbeliever has wrath abiding on him. He lives continually in an economy which is alienated from God, and which, in itself, must be habitually the subject of God’s displeasure and indignation." This picture reminds one of Jonathan Edward's text "their foot shall slide in due time" in his famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God)

Paul later reiterates these truths writing...

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (see note Ephesians 5:6)

Illustration - The Hindenburg was a German airship that arrived in America on May 6, 1937, after cruising across the Atlantic. It was coming in for a landing at an airfield in New Jersey at 7:25 at night, and it was a thrilling sight, three football fields in length, held aloft by 7 million cubit feet of hydrogen. It could fly 84 miles an hour. It was luxurious, with a dining salon, lounges, and staterooms. Gigantic Nazi swastikas were painted on its tail fins. Hundreds of people gathered to watch it land. Suddenly a lapping tongue of fire appeared near the stern, and within a few seconds the Hindenburg exploded in a huge ball of fire, falling tail first with flames shooting out the nose. In one moment, the wonder and excitement and beauty was turned to fire and terror and destruction. Without Christ all of us are passengers aboard the Hindenburg. We may be enjoying ourselves to the fullest, but we don’t realize that the next moment is going to bring us to judgment for without Christ we remain "children of wrath".

Wrath (3709) (orge from orgaô = to teem, to swell) (Click word study of orge) is God's holy hatred of sin representing His essential divine antagonism against everything that is evil. Orge is derived from the idea of a swelling which eventually bursts, and applies more to an anger that proceeds from one’s settled nature. (See Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermon Eph 2:3: The Wrath of God)

In Romans Paul said that...

the wrath (orge) of God is revealed (present tense = continually)  from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, (see note Romans 1:18)

Rest (3062) (loipos from leipo = to leave or to lack) refers to that which remains over. Here Paul's reference to "the rest" is meant to include the Jews not just the Gentiles to whom he was writing.

Wuest explains that this verse means...

that in their pre-Christian life those meant by the "we all" were in the condition of subjection to the divine wrath; and that they were so not by deed merely, nor by circumstance, nor by passing into it, but by nature. Their universal sin has already been affirmed. This universal sin is now described as sin by nature. Beyond this, Paul does not go in this present passage. But the one is the explanation of the other. Universal sin implies a law of sinning, a sin that is of the nature; and this, again, is the explanation of the fact that all are under the divine wrath, for the divine wrath operates only where sin is. Here is the essential meaning of the doctrine of original sin.” (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

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Illustration -  A Real Threat - A. B. Earle, a nineteenth-century evangelist, insisted on preaching the judgment of God against sinners. He did so, he said, because people have to see themselves as lost before they seek salvation. They won’t escape from the wrath to come until they believe it exists. Two hurdles must be overcome in convincing people that God is angry with unrepentant sinners. One, the very idea that God has communicated with humanity is unacceptable in “sophisticated” company. They feel that we are nobodies who came from nothing; the little whimper left from the Big Bang. How could nobodies need to repent? Two, human pride resents being called sinful. In this regard, the apostles had an easier task, as C. S. Lewis said. They preached to a people aware of their sins, while we preach to a people adamant in their self-righteousness..(Hurley, V. Speaker's Sourcebook of New Illustrations Dallas: Word Publishers)

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A devotional from Our Daily Bread entitled "It All Makes Sense"

On the campus of Ohio State University stands an intriguing building known as the Wexler Arts Center. Ravi Zacharias, a Christian lecturer, described it as a notable example "of asymmetrical random design, with staircases that go nowhere, and pillars that do  not join two levels but stop in midair."

Why would anyone build something that embodies such absurdities? Zacharias explained that the building is symbolic of reality as godless people see it -- irrational and disjointed.

Without faith in God and the knowledge of His design  as revealed in Scripture, life can indeed seem meaningless. It is, as Shakespeare expressed it in Macbeth, "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

But when we view history and our own experiences from a biblical perspective, life begins to make sense. A divine blueprint becomes evident as the Grand Architect unfolds His purpose, both in the world of nature and in the construction of His church (Eph. 1:3-3:19).

As we follow Christ and read God's Word, we get a glimpse of His redemptive design of wisdom, love, and power. We may not understand everything, but  we can be sure it all makes perfect sense in His eternal plan. -- VCG  (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

We comprehend Him not,
Yet earth and heaven tell
God sits as sovereign on the throne
And ruleth all things well.-- Gerhardt

God can use earth's worst
to achieve heaven's best.