🛡️WEB · Ephesians 2:3
What does Ephesians 2:3 mean?
"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."
— Ephesians 2:3 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins,
in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience;
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.
But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Explanation
Ephesians 2:3 sits in the middle of Paul's description of what humanity was like before encountering the grace of God in Christ. In plain language, the verse says that all people, without exception, once lived under the control of their sinful desires — not just physical urges, but also the thoughts, ambitions, and inclinations of the mind. Because of this, humanity as a whole stood under God's just judgment, described here as being "children of wrath" by nature, meaning that this condition wasn't an occasional lapse but a fundamental orientation of human life apart from God.
The letter to the Ephesians was written by the apostle Paul, likely while imprisoned in Rome, to the church in Ephesus and possibly to other surrounding congregations, since the letter has a somewhat general, circular tone. In chapter 2, Paul is reminding his readers — both Jewish and Gentile believers — of their shared spiritual condition before salvation. Verses 1-2 describe them as spiritually "dead" in trespasses and sins, walking according to "the course of this world" and under the influence of "the prince of the power of the air" (a reference to satanic influence). Verse 3 then universalizes this description: Paul includes himself and his fellow Jewish believers ("we also") among "the rest," meaning the Gentiles. This is significant because it removes any sense of ethnic or religious superiority — Jew and Gentile alike were equally under sin's dominion before Christ.
Theologically, this verse teaches the doctrine of total depravity — not that people are as evil as they could poss
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