2:3
“Among whom we all once lived”. None of us were any different. We all lived according to the flesh. We carried out teh “desires of the body and the mind”. Everything we did was ultimately governed by the flesh, this includes overtly sinful actions (sexual lust, violence, lying, hatred etc), and living according to our own strength. We were “by nature children of wrath”. We like to think of ourselves as quite nice really, but this is not the Biblical picture. We were creatures deserving of God’s judgement.
2:4
It is our nature to want to deny that we are “children of wrath”, and we do so out of pride and fear. Pride in that we don’t like being told that we need God and need forgiveness, we think we can manage without God. Fear in that if it is true that we are children of wrath, then God’s judgement is coming our way. God, however, has a very different approach. Our “solution” is based on a lie and doesn’t work. God’s solution is based on truth and does work. “But God, being rich in mercy”. God is very different from us. He is rich in mercy. “Because of His great love ...” God acted out of love. This love is not based on a lie, nor on overlooking the truth, but is fully aware of the truth, and takes full account of the truth.
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