Among whom also we all had our conversation in times
past,
&c.] What the apostle says of the Gentile Ephesians before
conversion, he says of himself and other Jews; and this he does,
partly to show that it was not from ill will, or with a design to
upbraid the Gentiles, that he said what he did; and partly to
beat down the pride of the Jews, who thought themselves better
than the sinners of the Gentiles; as well as to magnify the grace
of God in the conversion of them both: the sense is, that the
apostle and other Jews in the time of their unregeneracy, had
their conversation according to the customs of the world, and to
the prince of the air, and among unbelievers, as well as the
Gentiles; and that they were equally sinners, and lived a like
sinful course of life:
in the lusts of our flesh;
by "flesh" is meant, the corruption of nature; so called, because
it is propagated by natural generation; and is opposed to the
Spirit, or principle of grace; and has for its object fleshly
things; and discovers itself mostly in the body, the flesh; and
it makes persons carnal or fleshly: and this is called "our",
because it belongs to human nature, and is inherent in it, and
inseparable from it in this life: and the "lusts" of it, are the
inward motions of it, in a contrariety to the law and will of
God; and are various, and are sometimes called fleshly and
worldly lusts, and the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life: and persons may be said to have
their conversations in these, when these are the ground of their
conversation, when they are solicitous about them, and make
provision for the fulfilling of them, and constantly employ
themselves in obedience to them, as follows:
fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the
mind:
or the wills of them; what they incline to, will, and crave
after: various are the degrees of sin, and its several motions;
and universal is the corruption of human nature; not only the
body, and the several members of it, are defiled with sin, and
disposed to it, but all the powers and faculties of the soul;
even the more noble and governing ones, the mind, understanding,
and will, as well as the affections; and great is the power and
influence which lust has over them:
and were by nature children of wrath,
even as others: by which is meant, not only that they were
wrathful persons, living in malice, hateful, and hating one
another; but that they were deserving of the wrath of God, which
comes upon the children of disobedience, among whom they had
their conversation; and which is revealed from heaven against
such sins as they were guilty of, though they were not appointed
to it: and they were such "by nature"; really, and not in
opinion, and by and from their first birth: so a Jewish
commentator
``how canst thou say thou hast not sinned? and behold thy first father hath sinned, and he is the first man, for man (ajxb ebjwm) , "is naturally in sin";''or by nature a sinner, or sin is naturally impressed in him; and hence being by nature a sinner, he is by nature deserving of the wrath of God, as were the persons spoken of:
even as
others;
as the rest of the world, Jews as well as Gentiles; and Gentiles
are especially designed, in distinction from the Jews, the
apostle is speaking of; and who are particularly called in the
Jewish dialect (Myrxa) ,
"others"; (See Gill on Luke
18:11).
F19 Kimchi in loc.