Intro into Ephesians
Intro of Ephesians
Written for
believers who are rich beyond measure in Jesus Christ but are living as beggars
as they are ignorant of their spiritual wealth as they are yet to accept and
understand it
What does the scripture teach us about the wealth that God has given to us and
how do we learn to lay hold of that? It can all be found in the book of Ephesians.
The huge
usage of “In Christ” statements throughout the book shows Paul emphasizing the
richness of Christ in this book.
1)
Chap 1-3: Position in the Heavenly places
(Doctrine)
Adopted
into the family of God/ Accepted in Him/ Redeemed us/ Fully forgiven us of our
sins/ Wisdom in Christ/ Inheritance in Christ/ Sealed w the Holy Spirit of
Promise/ Recipients of God’s Glory and grace/ Heavenly citizenship. These are
Spiritual Blessings
Spiritual
Blessings that we have received à Resources we need for living à God’s desire for us is that we
display and manifest the Glory of God and that we walk in the resources that He
has given to us. Chap1:3
Chap 4-6: Our practice in this earth (Application)
Spiritual Walk that is rooted by spiritual
wealth. We are His workmanship. We have been created in Christ Jesus for good
works.
The application can only be done if we are
rooted by the doctrine in Chap 1-3
2)
Background
of the epistle
Prison
epistle: Paul’s Roman’s imprisonment.
Preventive
epistle: Not written to correct the church (as compared to other epistles) but
to prevent problems in the church by encouraging the body of Christ to mature
in Him.
Make
believers more aware of the position in Christ.
3)
Purpose of Ephesians: Primary purpose: Motivate believers
to draw upon that spiritual source in their daily living.
Connection
between the 2 parts (Doctrine and Application).
Ephesians 4:1
Chap 1-3:
No imperatives/ commands in the first 3 chapters. Why? Because these are God’s
gifts given to us and there is nothing we can do to make those things happen.
Chap 4-6:
There are 35 imperatives/commands. The principles are timeless and are relevant
to our lives then and now.
4) Quick
run through of the book of Ephesians
DISCUSSION:
Split the small group into 6 different groups and allocate 1 chapter for them
to summarize and then present their summary to the whole group.
The summary I have below is just a general guide so
feel free to add on any points if they missed out any.
Ephesians
Chap 1
Ephesians
1:3-14 à ‘Hymn’
to God’s Grace.
Trinitarian
approach:
-
Praises
the Father for choosing us (v3-6) à Work of the Son in redeeming us
(v7-12) à
Work of the Holy Spirit in applying the redemption in sealing us (v13-14)
-
Praise
of his glorious Grace [The Father (v6), The Son (v12), The Spirit (v14)]
V15-23:
Prayer of Revelation. Prayer of Spiritual illumination
Ephesians
Chap 2
The Power
of God’s Grace: Former position of separation from God vs Present spiritual
life in Christ. Salvation by divine grace (v1-10)
Jews and
Gentiles are now together in the body of Christ (v11-22). Mystery of the church
Ephesians
Chap 3
Revelation
of this mystery to God’s holy apostles and prophets (v1-13)
Prayer –
v16 (v14-21)
Ephesians
Chap 4
Behavior does
not determine blessing but blessing should determine behavior (Romans).
V16- Growth
and maturity comes from the effective working of every part doing its share.
The unity in the Body of Christ
Emphasizes
the exercise of spiritual gifts and to do them in love
Put off the
old man and the new man (v22-24)
Ephesians
Chap 5
Maintain
the Walk of holiness as a children of light be it Husband, wife, slave etc.
Every relationship must be transformed by the new love and their new life in
Christ.
Ephesians
Chap 6
Spiritual
Warfare and putting on the Armor of God
--
Interesting
and good to apply:
2 out of 4 Life
changing prayers of Paul: These prayers can be transformative on our inside.
Not prayers for head knowledge but prayers for heart/relational knowledge.
Moving from the head to the heart requires the Grace of the Spirit of God.
First
prayer: Ephesians 1: 17-19
-
Wisdom
and Revelation
-
Eyes
of your heart be enlightened
-
His
inheritance, His power, His calling
Second
prayer: Ephesians 3:14-21
-
Knowledge
that goes beyond our intellect and moves into a deeper spiritual knowledge
The other 2
prayers are in Philippians 1:9, Colossians 1:9-12.
Done by: Rayner
If you are interested, I got the material from this link https://bible.org/seriespage/ephesians
If you are interested, I got the material from this link https://bible.org/seriespage/ephesians
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