All of us also lived among them [our sins] at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature. Ephesians 2:3 (NIV)
The first three words of Ephesians 2:3 are crucial to our understanding of the pervasiveness of sin in all human beings, “All of us…”
Notice how Paul moves from you in verse 1 to us in verse 3. “You were dead in your transgressions and sins” (2:1). “All of us also lived among them [i.e., the sins mentioned] at one time” (2:3). So, Paul includes himself in the group of sinners he is addressing.
Paul was about as religious, conservative, moral, and disciplined as it is possible for a person to be. For years he had thought of himself as righteous. But when he came to know Christ, he discovered how far from righteous he really was. His religion had blinded him to his own sin. But when Christ opened his eyes, he realized for the first time how lost he really was.
Have you come to the place of confessing that apart from Jesus Christ there is absolutely no hope whatsoever for you, even at your best? This is what a true Christian believes. And unless you see this fact about yourself, you will never come to Christ for salvation. Jesus says in Matthew 9:13, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
When did you see for the first time that you really are a sinner by nature and practice? Is it clear to you now?
