Ephesians 2:3

New International Reader's Version

At one time we all lived among them. Our desires were controlled by sin. We tried to satisfy what they wanted us to do. We followed our desires and thoughts. God was angry with us like he was with everyone else. That’s because of the kind of people we all were.

Cross References

Genesis 5:3

When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son who was like him. He named him Seth.

Genesis 6:5

The Lord saw how bad the sins of everyone on earth had become. They only thought about evil things.

Genesis 8:21

The smell of the offerings pleased the Lord. He said to himself, “I will never put a curse on the ground again because of human beings. I will not do it even though their hearts are always directed toward evil. Their thoughts are evil from the time they are young. I will never destroy all living things again, as I have just done.

Job 14:4

Who can bring what is pure from something that isn’t pure? No one!

Job 25:4

How can human beings be right with God? How can mere people really be pure?

Psalm 51:5

I know I’ve been a sinner ever since I was born. I’ve been a sinner ever since my mother became pregnant with me.

Isaiah 53:6

All of us are like sheep. We have wandered away from God. All of us have turned to our own way. And the Lord has placed on his servant the sins of all of us.

Mark 4:19

But then the worries of this life come to them. Wealth comes with its false promises. The people also long for other things. All of these are the kinds of things that crowd out the message. They keep it from producing fruit.

John 1:13

To be a child of God has nothing to do with human parents. Children of God are not born because of human choice or because a husband wants them to be born. They are born because of what God does.

John 8:44

You belong to your father, the devil. You want to obey your father’s wishes. From the beginning, the devil was a murderer. He has never obeyed the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his natural language. He does this because he is a liar. He is the father of lies.

Acts 14:16

In the past, he let all nations go their own way.

Romans 1:24

So God let them go. He allowed them to do what their sinful hearts wanted to. He let them commit sexual sins. They made one another’s bodies impure by what they did.

Romans 11:30

At one time you did not obey God. But now you have received mercy because Israel did not obey.

Romans 13:14

Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ as if he were your clothing. Don’t think about how to satisfy sinful desires.

Romans 2:14

Gentiles do not have the law. Sometimes they just naturally do what the law requires. They are a law for themselves. This is true even though they don’t have the law.

Romans 5:10

Once we were God’s enemies. But we have been brought back to him because his Son has died for us. Now that God has brought us back, we are even more secure. We know that we will be saved because Christ lives.

Romans 5:9

The blood of Christ has made us right with God. So we are even more sure that Jesus will save us from God’s anger.

Romans 6:12

So don’t let sin rule your body, which is going to die. Don’t obey its evil desires.

Romans 7:18

I know there is nothing good in my desires controlled by sin. I want to do what is good, but I can’t.

Romans 9:22

What if God chose to show his great anger? What if he chose to make his power known? But he put up with the people he was angry with. They were made to be destroyed.

1 Corinthians 4:7

Who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you brag as though you did not?

2 Corinthians 7:1

Dear friends, we have these promises from God. So let us make ourselves pure from everything that makes our bodies and spirits impure. Let us be completely holy. We want to honor God.

Galatians 3:22

But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin. It does so in order that what was promised might be given to those who believe. The promise comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:2

You used to live as sinners when you followed the ways of this world. You served the one who rules over the spiritual forces of evil. He is the spirit who is now at work in those who don’t obey God.

Ephesians 4:22

You were taught not to live the way you used to. You must get rid of your old way of life. That’s because it has been made impure by the desire for things that lead you astray.

Colossians 1:21

At one time you were separated from God. You were enemies in your minds because of your evil ways.

1 Thessalonians 4:13

Brothers and sisters, we want you to know what happens to those who die. We don’t want you to mourn, as other people do. They mourn because they don’t have any hope.

1 Thessalonians 5:6

So let us not be like the others. They are asleep. Instead, let us be wide awake and in full control of ourselves.

1 Timothy 6:9

People who want to get rich are tempted. They fall into a trap. They are tripped up by wanting many foolish and harmful things. Those who live like that are dragged down by what they do. They are destroyed and die.

Titus 3:3

At one time we too acted like fools. We didn’t obey God. We were tricked. We were controlled by all kinds of desires and pleasures. We were full of evil. We wanted what belongs to others. People hated us, and we hated one another.

1 Peter 1:14

You should obey your Father. You shouldn’t give in to evil desires. They controlled your life when you didn’t know any better.

2 Peter 2:14

They stare at women who are not their wives. They want to sleep with them. They never stop sinning. They trap those who are not firm in their faith. They have mastered the art of getting what they want. God has placed them under his judgment.

2 Peter 2:18

They speak empty, bragging words. They make their appeal to the evil desires that come from sin’s power. They tempt new believers who are just escaping from the company of sinful people.

1 John 2:16

Here is what people who belong to this world do. They try to satisfy what their sinful desires want to do. They long for what their sinful eyes look at. They take pride in what they have and what they do. All of this comes from the world. None of it comes from the Father.

1 John 2:8

But I am writing what amounts to a new command. Its truth was shown in how Jesus lived. It is also shown in how you live. That’s because the darkness is passing away. And the true light is already shining.