5. Lesson 5 Ephesians Chosen to do good chapter 2 verses 8 to 22
Notes
Transcript
Church of Christ Dapto
The letter to the Church in Ephesus
Lesson 5—Chosen to do good
Ephesians 2:8-22
I was saved by grace
Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.
I am saved from wrath by God’s grace. It is the gift He gave which I did not earn or deserve.
I am saved through the faith I have in Him and His promises.
I am not saved by my faith, I am saved because I have faith in Him.
John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at
the last day.
God gives me the gift of being able to believe. I must use the gift as I act on this faith.
God gave forgiveness and eternal life in Christ to me, I did not earn it or cause it.
I cannot claim any credit for my salvation and forgiveness of sins because it was an unearned gift.
I was chosen to do good
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in
advance for us to do.
I am God’s workmanship
God made me in my first birth.
God recreated me in my second birth in Christ.
Ephesians 4:24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Since He is greater than all things, He is the greatest workman.
What He makes is perfect and pleasing to Him.
What He makes is good!
I was created in Christ Jesus
God made me a new person in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come!
Only in Christ is it possible for me to be new and be given a completely new start.
Now that I have a completely new start in, and because of, Christ, I can do everything in my life in a different
and perfect way.
I could not do this without being made new in Christ.
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 5 Chosen to do good
October 20, 2019
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I was chosen to do good works
Nothing I can do is good if it is done outside of God.
Anything that I do at God’s command and in His power is good!
Good works achieve what God wants, because God is good, and have an eternal effect because they are His
works.
All that I do in obedience to Him, to show my love for Him, is good, even the trivial things of life.
The good works I am to do, do not earn my salvation, or make me more acceptable to God.
The good works I am to do can only be done because I am already saved and already a citizen of Heaven.
Good works are evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit in my life, not a proof that I am a good person.
What do good works look like?
I need a new mind to see my good works from God
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good,
pleasing and perfect will.
The works are God’s purpose for my good
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have
been called according to his purpose.
The works are always founded in Faith in Christ
John 6:28-29 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered,
“The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
The works are always founded in Truth
John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.
The works show my obedience to God
Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence,
but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and
trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
My works mean using my Spiritual gifts
Romans 12:6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let
him use it in proportion to his faith.
My works may be different to others and are for the benefit of others
1 Corinthians 12:5-7 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of
working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of
the Spirit is given for the common good.
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 5 Chosen to do good
October 20, 2019
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What do good works look like?
The works are not a burden for me
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for
your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
My good works require perseverance
Galatians 6:9-10 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if
we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to
those who belong to the family of believers.
My good works are to be rich and generous
1 Timothy 6:18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to
share.
My good works are to be done without favour or thought of reward
Luke 6:33-35 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even
‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that
to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners’, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do
good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be
great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
My good works are done even for those who hate me
Romans 12:20-21 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him
something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome
by evil, but overcome evil with good.
My good works are not done to make my life easier
1 Peter 4:19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their
faithful Creator and continue to do good.
My good works are a pleasing sacrifice
Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is
pleased.
My good works are service to God
Luke 17:10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are
unworthy servants; we have only done our duty”.
The test for good works
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think
about such things.
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 5 Chosen to do good
October 20, 2019
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God prepared these works in advance for me to do
God planned everything, including my life, before the world was created.
He set up a list of good works for me to do at that time.
Now that I have been born, and born again, I am to complete this list of good works as per God’s plan.
John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that
will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
I need to seek His guidance as to what they are, I need to seek His guidance in doing them.
I need to remember that my completion of the good works He has prepared for me are being done for His
glory, not mine, so it is important how they are done.
I was without hope and without God
Ephesians 2:11-12 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by
those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)-- remember that at
that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants
of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
I need to remember what my past life was like, not so that I can still be a slave to it, or use it as justification
for my failures but to remind me of how grateful I must be to God because of how much He has done for me
and what He has brought me out of.
I should also remember exactly what God has given me in Christ.
Christ brought me near to Him
Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of
Christ.
Although I was once a complete stranger to God, He knew me, but I ignored Him, He has now brought me to
be near Him and be one of His children through Christ’s blood shed for me.
Christ made me part of His body
Ephesians 2:14-16 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the
dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His
purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to
reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
Christ has united all those who are saved by Him, whatever their culture, race, background, religious past.
All His people are equal in His eyes, and in their place in the Church.
This unity is a demonstration of His power and authority and a reason for Him to be praised and glorified.
What great benefits He has given me by this new unity in His church.
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 5 Chosen to do good
October 20, 2019
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Christ revealed God’s peace
Ephesians 2:17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
The message that I can be at peace with God and not fear His wrath or judgement ever again was the same
message given to everyone in the world.
Those who responded to the message come from all races, nationalities and languages and all stand equal
before Him.
Christ gave me access to God
Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
I am to be united with all members of the church because we all have the same Spirit within us, through
Christ, and we are all equally able to seek God.
Christ made me a citizen
Ephesians 2:19-20 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and
members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself
as the chief cornerstone.
I am no longer an alien to God but a citizen of His household.
All that Christ has done for me was revealed by, and prepared for, in the prophets and the apostles.
Christ is the foundation of this House.
Christ is the centre of everything in my life
Ephesians 2:21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
If I am in Him, then I am growing in Him so that I play my part in building His Church as His temple on
earth.
Christ puts me in my God-appointed place
Ephesians 2:22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
I am being built into a Temple of God as I allow the Spirit of God to guide me to the works I am to do, and in
doing them, reveal the truth of the Gospel to the world.
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 5 Chosen to do good
October 20, 2019
Page 6
What does this verse mean for your life?
My life has all been planned before I was born.
God chose me and saved me because of His grace.
God gave me a completely new and eternal life when He saved me in Christ.
I did not earn this new life, nor can I ever earn it.
In this new life I am to do all the good works that God has prepared for me to do.
I am not to live by my own plans or to fulfil my own ambitions, but His.
All that I am to do should be good, or it will not glorify God.
I am not to sit and wait for the good works to appear, I am to commit myself to doing good and thus fulfil God’s
plan.
I am to avoid doing those things which are not good in God’s terms, because they are not what I was saved to do.
I am to know that my good works are a sacrifice, and may not be popular with the world, but I am to seek God’s
approval, not the world.
My good works do not earn my salvation or God’s gratitude.
My good works are to be at His command and in His plan, so He is the One to be glorified by them.
These good works show that I am saved because it is impossible to do good without Christ Jesus.
These good works are the part I play in building the Church of Christ Jesus into a Temple for God.
These good works complete the image of my life which is to be exactly like Christ Jesus.
I am His servant.
Next Lesson:
Ephesians 3:1-11
Focus Verse:
Ephesians 3:10
Chosen to share
He chose us in (Christ) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. Ephesians 1:4