3. Lesson 3 Ephesians Chosen to know Chapter 1 verses 15 to 23

Church of Christ Dapto The letter to the Church in Ephesus Lesson 3 Chosen to know Ephesians 1:15-23      Evidence of faith is love Ephesians 1:15-16 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. The reason for the thanks Ephesians 1:13-14 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit The reputation of the Church at Ephesus was widespread and had been related to Paul by other witnesses. They were in Christ. They showed their faith. Their faith was evident to all those who knew them. It was a faith of action, not feeling. They showed their faith by showing God’s love to all the members of that Church. They showed they were Jesus’ disciples in the way He had commanded. The love they showed was His love, not their own. They also showed love to all the saints, not just the members of their own church. The love to all the saints had to be shown by the giving of the Church in Ephesus to the needs of the saints in other Churches. Their faith and love caused Paul to be thankful to God for what He had done in them, and through them. Their faith and practical love brought blessing and encouragement to Paul. Paul sought God’s action in giving a blessing back to the Church in Ephesus. Know Him better Ephesians 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. Paul’s prayer was that God would give them the gift of the Spirit of wisdom. They already knew Christ, and knew Him well. Their relationship was already good as evidenced by their actions of faith but Paul was praying that they be willing to continue to grow in their faith and relationship to Christ. He was praying that they progress in their Christian lives, not remain at the same level, as regards knowledge of Christ, as when they were first saved.      He chose us in (Christ) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. Ephesians 1:4 Dapto Church of Christ Sermon Series The Letter to the Ephesians—Lesson 3 Chosen to know October 6, 2019 Page 2 Chosen to know Ephesians 1:18-19 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. A request to God Paul could only make a request like this for those who had the gift of the Holy Spirit living within. This request is for those God has chosen. 2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. It is impossible to be enlightened until you are saved. Ephesians 4:18 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. The members of the Ephesian Church were full of faith, but there was still more that they needed to know. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened Paul asks for God to act in their lives so that they may see the full blessings God has given. Paul is not asking God to add anything to their lives, but rather that they learn to use what they have been given. How can you have eyes in your heart? The eyes of your heart The heart is “the core of life”, and the fountain of the thoughts; (so the words) “the heart” in Scripture includes the mind, as well as the inclination. Its “eye,” or inward vision, both receives and contemplates the light. The eye is the symbol of intelligence.1 enlightened Matthew 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” What does it mean to know? We cannot know anything about God by study, intelligence, or even copying others. We learn about God because God reveals Himself to us through His Spirit and His Word. Without His Spirit, the Bible is just another book even if you think it is an important book. With His Spirit, the Bible is the Word of Life, leading you to Christ and leading you to live as Christ. In being chosen to have Christ’s Spirit within, we are chosen to be among those who know. 1 Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 343). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. He chose us in (Christ) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. Ephesians 1:4 Dapto Church of Christ Sermon Series The Letter to the Ephesians—Lesson 3 Chosen to know October 6, 2019 We are chosen to know the hope Page 3 Ephesians 1:18 in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, We are to know what this hope really is. What God has chosen us to hope for in its detail and glory. This hope is to motivate us, give us joy and cause us to persevere in our faith. When it does that, we truly know this hope. We are to know that we are called to hope It is a special hope not given to all mankind. We are to know the riches we are to hope for That you may understand what is the glorious abundance of the spiritual things to which you are entitled, in consequence of being made children of God; for if children, then heirs, heirs of that glorious inheritance which God has provided for the saints - for all genuine Christians, know the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,2 How rich is our inheritance 1 Peter 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. We are to know his incomparably great power for us who believe. We are chosen to know the power of God in Christ Ephesians 1:19-21 That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. God showed some of the extent of His power and authority when He raised Christ from the dead. This action showed that God, in Christ, has power and authority over death. Death was not strong enough to prevent God acting as He wished. God further showed that He is the supreme authority and ruler of all the universe when He made the decision to seat Christ at his right hand, as an equal position to God to rule the universe. There was no-one with the power or authority to challenge God’s decision, and there was no-one with the greater power to stop God carrying out His decision. God set Christ far above any other power and authority in the whole universe in a position that will never be surpassed by any other being because He alone could do that. These actions were not the limit of God’s power, but just a demonstration of its strength. The strength of God, shown in His actions to Christ, is the same strength and power He uses for us and in us. There is no-one with greater power and strength, yet we have His power and strength within us. 2Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Adam Clarke, LL.D., F.S.A., (1715-1832) He chose us in (Christ) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. Ephesians 1:4 Dapto Church of Christ Sermon Series The Letter to the Ephesians—Lesson 3 Chosen to know October 6, 2019 Page 4 We are chosen to know that Christ is the Head Ephesians 1:22-23 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. All things are focussed in Christ and are under His power and authority. Christ is the Head of all things. He is the Head of all things for the Church. His power is working for the benefit and blessing of the members of His Church. The Church is the Body of Christ. The Body functions for the benefit and glory of the One whose body it is. The Church shows everything about Christ and everything that Christ is. The Church shares everything that Christ is and everything that Christ is given. He fills all things. He fills this world. He fills this Church. He fills you.      He chose us in (Christ) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. Ephesians 1:4 Dapto Church of Christ Sermon Series The Letter to the Ephesians—Lesson 3 Chosen to know October 6, 2019 Page 5 What does this verse mean for your life? You can know because God wants you to know. God gives you the means to know Him and His work through His Spirit He has placed within us. His Spirit speaks to you through God’s Word to confirm to you that all God said is true, all God did in Christ is effective, and all God’s commands, when obeyed, bring blessing to your life. What God wants you to know is for your blessing, to strengthen your faith, to increase your perseverance, and always to glorify Him. God is not hiding anything from you except fine details of the future, and that is because of His love for you. Ecclesiastes 8:8 no one has power over the day of his death. God, through what Christ did for you, has given you the hope of a real eternal future in Him. God, through His Spirit in you, wants you to know how real and powerful that hope is and allow it to rule your life. God, through His Spirit in you, wants you to know how He has made you His heirs to inherit all that He gives to Christ and understand how rich that inheritance is. If you know this inheritance it should be the standard by which you measure all the things of the world which try to possess you. God, through His Spirit within you, wants you to know of the depth and greatness of His power which surpasses any other power in this world, or in the world of the spirit. God, through His Spirit within you, wants you to know that He uses His power for you! So now that you know you were chosen to know, what will you do with what God has chosen you to know? If you really know, then your life is founded on that knowledge of Him.  Next Lesson: Chosen by Grace Focus Verse: Ephesians 2:4,5       Ephesians 2:1-7        He chose us in (Christ) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. Ephesians 1:4