Ephesians - week 1 - Logos Sermons

INTRODUCTION: Tonight we are kicking off a series that will carry us through the rest of the semester. We are going to walk through the book of Ephesians. We call it a book, but its really a letter.

IMAGE: Have you ever had a friend or family member tell you about something like it was the greatest thing in the world? You know, really hyped it up? And usually you think to yourself, it can’t be that great, or maybe some of you aren’t as skeptical as I am…I’m usually like, yeah that’s great and all but I ain’t bout that life…

For example, many of you have seen (hype pictures, end with frozen) and for years I just didn’t know what the fuss was about…I was like people…let it go already…

I’ve always said I hated this (Brussels sprouts), I’ll show you in a minute, but then I tried it and I actually liked it! (picture of Brussels sprouts) offer some to a kid.

NEED: Tonight we are going to see Paul open up this passage with overflowing blessings of God. Paul is serving sort of as a hype man in some of this text and it's natural to ask why. Honestly, the section we are going to study tonight is usually the part we skim and dismiss looking for the ‘meat’ of the Scripture.

But when we have a more developed understanding about what God has done for us in Christ, we understand that knowing God is so much more than just not going to hell it's about God restoring all things to Himself.

SUBJECT: Our response to what God has done for us and how it affects the way we live our lives.

CONTEXT: Paul is in prison writing this letter to encourage and instruct believers in Ephesus, this is the opening where Paul lays out a brief history of what God has done and how it should impact our lives.

PREVIEW: Paul wrote this letter and sent it to Ephesus, this is likely a circular letter that went to a lot of different churches, but we know that it at least went to Ephesus. In , we get a preview of what life in Ephesus was like, lots of idol worship, confusion as to who God is, and a lot of people who make a lot of money selling idols. The purpose of the letter was to instruct and encourage believers in their faith. In the opening passage we see Paul remind the believers what God has done and provide an example of how that should affect our lives.

TEXT:

Ephesians 1:1–14 NIV

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 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. 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, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus [by] the will of God, To the saints who are [in] Ephesus, and are faithful [in] Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace [from] God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us [in] Christ [with] every spiritual blessing [in] the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us [in] him [before] the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless [before] him. [In] love 5 he predestined us [for] adoption [to] himself as sons [through] Jesus Christ, [according] to the purpose of his will, 6 [to] the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us [in] the Beloved. 7 [In] him we have redemption [through] his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, [according] to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished [upon] us, [in] all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, [according] to his purpose, which he set forth [in] Christ 10 as a [plan] for the fullness of time, to unite all things [in] him, things [in] heaven and things [on] earth[]. 11 [In] him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined [according] to the purpose of him who works all things [according] to the counsel of his will, 12 so [that] we who were the first to hope [in] Christ might be [to] the praise of his glory. 13 [In] him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed [in] him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance [until] we acquire possession of it, [to] the praise of his glory.

PREVIEW: Paul wrote this letter and sent it to Ephesus, this is likely a circular letter that went to a lot of different churches, but we know that it at least went to Ephesus. In , we get a preview of what life in Ephesus was like, lots of idol worship, confusion as to who God is, and a lot of people who make a lot of money selling idols. The purpose of the letter was to instruct and encourage believers in their faith. In the opening passage we see Paul remind the believers what God has done and provide an example of how that should affect our lives.

BODY:

1 His Plan (7-10)-

a. Redeem and Reconcile all things to His design and purpose. God spoke into the void and created all we see and know. He formed humans out of the dust and set them in His garden.

b. But they were given a choice, allow God to define good and evil, or define good and evil for themselves. They chose to define good and evil for themselves and God’s relationship to man was fractured.

c. But He promised that it wouldn’t always be that way, a seed would come from the woman and He would make all things right.

d. God chooses Abram and makes a covenant with him, He promises him that his descendants will out number the stars…and to we get to join that party through Jesus.

2. Our Purpose (4)-

a. Our job is to be holy and blameless, can we do that on our own? No. Then how do we do it?

b. When we place our trust in Christ we are made positionally right with God, we aren’t holy and blameless in our actions but God has made peace with us through Jesus.

c. We can’t be holy on our own, but when we know Jesus we have a responsibility to live like we know Jesus. We have done nothing to earn His forgiveness, He gives it freely.

d. Our motivation for obedience should be love, not fear. When we grow in our understanding of what God has done our desires change. We move away from legalism that says ‘I can’t because God might get mad and take something away from me’ to ‘I don’t want to because God has been so good to me I don’t want this to get in the way of my relationship to Him.’

3. The Point (3-6)-

a. The end game for us is to understand what God has done and in return live a life that pleases Him as our act of worship. We praise Him because He gave us what we couldn’t have earned and don’t deserve, at HIs own expense, and He’s not done yet. We praise Him because He didn’t have to do any of it. But He chose to…in love, so we respond in love…because He first loved us.

b. It's so important, that Paul starts the letter with blessing God and continues to circle back to remind his readers to remember the grace of God!

c. Never forget that God doesn’t owe us anything, but He gave us everything we could hope for in a relationship with Him.

QUESTIONS:

Have you ever felt like something was over hyped? What was it, and why?

Are you more likely to have an open mind when people share things they like with you? Why or why not?

Discuss a time when you ignored they hype but later gave in and actually enjoyed it? (food, movie, game, etc.)

What does praise look like for us, can we worship God without singing? How?

Do we praise God when life isn’t what it “should be?” When bad things happen? Why?

CONCLUSION:

God’s plan is to reconcile all things to Himself, our job is to live like we know Him. And as you grow in your faith and understanding of who God is and what He has done for us, it should evoke praise. Because the more you understand who you are, the more you realize how much you need Him. And the amazing thing is, He is bigger than we could ever imagine and you’ll never figure Him out completely. There will always be something new to learn about Him, no matter how much you know - so if you’re truly seeking Him, you’ll never get bored with God because you can always go deeper.

And the reason Paul is able to write about the extravagant grace and love of God, while chained to an imperial guard in Rome, is because Paul knows that no matter what happens in this life, God will redeem it. In this life or the next, God will redeem it. He has the final word. So even when you don’t feel like praising Him, if your circumstances are so hard that you can’t find a song or a reason to sing. Remember this, a day is coming where He will wipe away every tear, He will make all things new, He will dwell with His people and He will be all we need. So when life has you so beat up that you can’t look up, remember that God Himself will wipe away your tears…and that is a reason to sing…

Ephesians - week 1

​