Ephesians 3&4
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I have loved studying the book of Ephesians! Each chapter is incredibly rich. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed reading it in your quiet times as well. I’m just going to touch on each part because I don’t want it to be overwhelming but I do want us to walk away with some main ideas together. You could spend weeks on each chapter. There is an incredible amount of great stuff in Ephesians.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Eph 1:
One Body
Eph 3:3-7 One Body
It’s such a blessing that we can all be part of one body together because of Jesus. Not about us belonging on our own but that Jesus gave us access to the body through his death.
When I think about Paul preaching this it must have been so radical because for so many generations it was only about the jews. There had always been separation so Paul calling them to be one was very exciting.
Eph 1:7-
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
Vs 7 When Paul became a servant of the gospel, God gave him the ability to share effectively the gospel of Christ.
Vs 7 When Paul became a servant of the gospel, God gave him the ability to share effectively the gospel of Christ.
What opportunities have you been given to share with others about Christ.
Do you make yourself available to God? Do you listen to the holy spirit?
I’ve started putting business cards in my money clip right next to my debit card. It has helped me to think about sharing my faith more. When I pull out my card to pay for gas or groceries or a coffee it’s right there. It’s helped me be way more consistent in sharing my faith and to listen to the spirits promptings.
I’ve had some super deep talks with people that I’m not sure I would have been able to have because we don’t live next door to each other and our kids are very different ages. I’ve loved getting to share my life and the gospel with them. Be praying that they come to the marriage retreat or the women’s retreat.
Vs 8 Paul describes himself as “less than the least of all God’s people,” he means that without God’s help, he would never be able to do God’s work. God chose him to share the gospel with the gentiles and gave him the power to do it.
How does God want to use you? Draw on his strength, his power and do your part. We need to be intentional and not wait for someone to ask us to serve in some way.
Teens you too should be serving- what gifts do you have that you could be using in the church.
The “rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” are either angels who are witness to these events or spiritual forces opposed to God.
Vs 12 because of Christ we can enter directly into God’s presence through prayer. We don’t need to be afraid of God. Talk with him about everything. He is waiting to hear from you.
Vs 13 Why should Paul’s suffering make the Ephesians feel honored (which are your glory)? If Paul had not preached the gospel, he would not be in jail - but then the Ephesians wouldn’t have heard the Good news and been converted either. Paul endured the pain of persecution in order to bring new believers to Christ.
Obeying Christ is never easy. He calls you to take up your cross and follow him. To be willing to endure pain so that God’s message of salvation can reach the entire world. We should feel honored that others have suffered and sacrificed for us, so that we might be saved.
What am I willing to suffer for sharing the gospel with others?
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
2. Deep Love
Vs 14, 15 We are all a family because we have the same Father. Every family in heaven and on earth derives its’ name from God.
He’s praying that we will be strengthened with Christ’s power through the Spirit in our inner beings. We need to be praying this same prayer!
Vs 17-19 Gods love is complete. It reaches every corner of our world, and it reaches out to the whole world. God’s love is long -it continues the length of our lives. It’s high -it rises higher than we can imagine. His love is deep -it reaches to the depths. Discouragement, despair and even death.
Vs 19 -the fullness of God is fully expressed only in Christ.
With Christ and through his empowering spirit we are complete.
We have the fullness of God available to us through the Spirit
Eph 3:
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
A prayer of praise to God.
He’s so powerful! He can do more than we can imagine. His power is at work within us… we don’t always see it but we should be watching.
Eph
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
4:1-6
3. Great Unity
Vs 1-2 God has chosen us to be Christs representatives on earth.
Paul challenges us to live lives worthy of the calling we have received. The awesome privilege of being called Christs’ very own.
Live a life in response to being forgiven.. That we don’t take our lives forgranted. That we live with purpose.
We need to be humble, gentle, patient, understanding and peaceful.
People are watching your life. Can they see Christ in you?
There is one body- unity does not just happen; we have to work at it. Often differences among people can lead to division, but this should not be true in the church. Instead of concentrating on what divides us, we should remember what unites us: one body, one spirit, one hope, one lord, one faith, one baptism, one God.
Vs 2 we must accept one another in spite of their faults. Be patient with each other, pray for people that are challenging.
EX: of someone who is tough…?
?Sister who whatever I did for her it was never enough. I’ve gotten with her, texted her… elders and elders wives have gotten with her. She’s going through a hard time but it’s helped my heart to pray for her. To pray for unity to dig deep and try and empathize with her
We’ve all had people in our lives that are hard to love. Do you see God’s heart here that we need to work hard to be unified? To be one body?
Praying for people that are hard for you to get along with. Helps your heart soften and to really want to be united with them.
Vs 4-7 All believers in Christ belong to one body. All are united under one head. Each believer has God-given abilities that can strengthen the whole body.
What ways are you giving to the body?
(Cards to others? Write a note to someone in your community group that you think needs some encouragement)
Vs 6- God is over all -this shows his overruling care. He is our father…the perfect father
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” 9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Eph 4:7-13
Vs 8 Paul tells us that Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection gave us victory over sin. We get grace because of Jesus. It’s been given.
Vs 9 where it says “lower, earthly regions” may be the earth itself, the grave or Hades. Christ is Lord of the whole universe, past, present, and future. Nothing and no one is hidden from him. The Lord of all came to earth and faced death to rescue all people. No one is beyond his reach.
That’s so powerful.
God gave each of us talents and abilities to be used for him. He wants us to all equip people for works of service. He want the church to be built up by each of us.
Vs 11-12 Our oneness in Christ does not destroy our individuality. The Holy Spirit has given each Christian special gifts for building up the church. We have these gifts, and it is crucial to use them.
Are you spiritually mature, exercising the gifts God has given you? If you know what your gifts are, look for opportunities to serve. As you begin to recognize your special area of service, use your gifts to strengthen and encourage the church
Vs 12-13 God has given his church an enormous responsibility to make disciples of every nation. This is a group effort: some of us can do one task and some can do another.
Who are you studying the Bible with? Who could you ask to study the Bible with? Let’s love people enough to open our mouths.
Together we can obey God more fully than any of us could alone. It is a human tendency to overestimate what we can do by ourselves and to underestimate what we can do as a group. But as the body of Christ we can accomplish more together than we would ever dream possible working by ourselves. Working together, the church can express the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Eph 4:
We should be maturing in our faith so the different trials or temptations of satan don’t toss us back and forth and make us question if God is at work or if he’s good.
Satan is crafty. He wants to pull us away from God and from the church. He doesn’t want us close to other people. If we’re alone we are much easier to pull away.
How are you doing at fighting Satan? How are you doing with being vulnerable with your temptations and sin? Don’t allow yourself to be easy prey.
Speaking the truth in love is not always easy, convenient, or pleasant, but it is necessary if the church is going to do Christ’s work in the world. If we are to mature we need to be vulnerable with each other so that we can mature.
EX: something with me? Something with a fight with Ann?
Frank discipling me on something?
vs 15-16 How can we grow up into Christ? The answer is that Christ forms us into a body-into a group of individuals who are united in their purpose and in their love for one another and for the Lord.
If an individual stumbles, the rest of the group is there to pick her up and help her walk with God again. If an individual sins, she can find restoration through the church even as the rest of the body continues to witness to God’s truth.
As part of Christ’s body, do you do “your work”? Do you feel responsible for your brothers and sisters? We need to each be putting in effort and not waiting for someone else to take the first step.
How are you doing with your 1 in 5?
It’s been encouraging to talk with people I don’t normally get to talk to. Or leaving a message for someone just to say hi.
Eph 4:17-
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
4. Be Light
Paul here is calling us to live a different life than the world.
I think it’s important to acknowledge that we can be darkened in our understanding and separated from the life of God if we allow our hearts to be hardened.
I think one of Satan’s biggest tools is deceiving us.
Ex: car and when not paying attention can slow down. Have taken our foot off the gas and then we wonder how we got stopped. We need to be diligent in fighting for a soft heart.
Vs 17-24 People should be able to see a difference between christians and non-christians because of the way we live. We are to live as children of light. Paul told the Ephesians to leave behind the old life of sin, since they were followers of Christ.
Living the Christian life is a process. Although we are a new creation, we don’t automatically think all good thoughts and express all right attitudes when we become Christians. But if we keep listening to God, we will be changing all the time.
As you look back over last year, do you see a process of change for the better in your thoughts, attitudes and actions? Although change may be slow it comes as you trust God to change you.
20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Vs 22-24 Our old way of life before we believed in Christ is completely in the past.
Vs 22-24 Our old way of life before we believed in Christ is completely in the past.
This is both a once-for-all decision when we accept Christ’s gift of salvation and also a daily conscious commitment.
We are not to be driven by desire and impulse. We must made new in the way we think.
What do you allow your thoughts to dwell on? Are you thinking about good things or negative things?
We need to be striving to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
We need to remember we are the light to the people around us and how we speak to each other is important.
We need to remember we are the light to the people around us and how we speak to each other is important.
Vs 25- Lying only disrupts unity and creates conflict and destroys trust. It tears down relationships and leads to issues within the church. It’s sin.
Vs 26-27 The bible doesn’t tell us that we shouldn’t feel angry, but it does point out that it is important to handle our anger properly.
If we give into anger it can hurt others and destroy relationships. If bottled up inside, it can cause us to become bitter and destroy us from within. Paul tells us to deal with our anger immediately in a way that builds relationships rather than destroys them.
If we entertain our anger, we will give Satan an opportunity to divide us.
Are you angry with someone right now? What can you do to resolve your differences?
Don’t let the day end before you begin to work on mending your relationship.
EX: We love getting with couples to help them in their marriages. We’ve had couples call us at 11:00 fighting and wanting to get together because they’ve been fighting for hours. The sun has already gone down. Don’t keep fighting for hours because you think you have to get it resolved before you go to bed. Pray and send a message to someone so that you can talk the next day and get help. Sometimes when you’re really tired you say stuff you don’t really mean.
Eph 4:29-
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
We need to watch what we say if we’re going to be a light to others.
We need to watch what we say if we’re going to be a light to others.
We should be focused on what builds others up not whatever bad attitude we have.
What we say should benefit those that are listening.
As women we can sometimes give into our emotions and not stop and think about our words and they have an impact on others.
When we are starting to feel emotional we need to stop and pray. Then we need to think is this helpful for building up others.
Vs 29-32 We can grieve the Holy Spirit by the way we live. Paul warns us against unwholesome language, bitterness, improper use of anger, brawling, slander, and bad attitudes towards others. Instead of acting that way , we should be forgiving, just as God has forgiven us.
Are you grieving or pleasing God with your attitudes and actions?
Act in love toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, just as God acted in love by sending his Son to die for your sins.
Vs 30- The Holy Spirit within us is a seal of guarantee that we belong to God.
Get rid of bitterness
Get rid of rage and anger,
Get rid of brawling and slander
Get rid of every form of malice
Be kind and compassionate to one another-
How do you treat the people in your family?
How do you treat the people in your community group?
We need to be praying for each other and thinking about how we can show kindness, and compassion towards one another.
Vs 32 -This is Christ’s law of forgiveness as taught in the Gospels. God does not forgive us because we forgive others, but solely because of his great mercy. As we come to understand his mercy, however, we will want to be like him.
Having received forgiveness, we will pass it on to others.
The main things we can learn from chapters 3 and 4 are
We are one Body Deep love Great Unity We need to be the Light
Discussion Questions
How’s your evangelism? Who are you sharing your faith with?What has God put on your heart to do in the church? How are you serving in God’s church currently?How are you doing in the Unity in your community group? In the church?Who has God put on your heart to be vulnerable with and to call to be vulnerable with you?How are you at watching your words with others?