The primary objectives of these studies are a) to get you to read the Bible and b) to take in what you have read. At the end of each page of studies (normally a chapter) there will be a 'Recap' to remind you of what you have read. At the end of every 'set' (see the front Contents page) there will also be a 'Summary' and a 'Conclusions' that cover the pages in that set.

INTRODUCTION to Ephesians

A. Who, When and Where?

This letter was written by the apostle Paul (1:1), probably between A.D.60-63, from prison (3:1)

B. Why Written?

The purpose of writing is not clearly stated but within it certain themes stand out which may help us:

1. The Wonder of the Church

- perhaps to contrast the religion of Artemis (see Acts 19) and encourage the new believers

2. The Unity of the faith

- perhaps to counter any division between Jewish and Gentile parts of the church

3. Holiness of Living

- perhaps to counter casual and unrighteous living

C. What we may get from it

As the sub-headings above indicate, this letter from Paul provides, without any doubt, the most wonderful descriptions of the true nature of the church found anywhere in the New Testament. Only here will we find such clear and concise information about its origin and its destiny.

As well as the detailed doctrine in the first part of the letter, there later comes much practical instruction on what is to be avoided in the Christian life. If only this were picked up by the modern church across the land and applied in the nation, we would have such a different country in which to live!

PART 1 : "The Riches of God's Grace"

As we embark on this first Part we will need to pray and pray again for revelation to take in the incredible things that Paul says in this letter. In this first chapter there is so much information that it is almost impossible to take it all in, and yet it is of such value that if every Christian in the land would meditate on this chapter the church in the land would be transformed! Pray, read, study, praise and worship!

Chapter: Ephesians 1

Passage: Ephesians 1:1-5

A. Find Out:

1. Where has God blessed us? v.3b

2. With what has He blessed us? v,3c

3. When did he choose us? v.4a

4. To what end did he choose us? v.4b

5. What was His aim in predestining us? v.5a

6. What were His guide lines? v.5b

B. Think :

1. What, here, is the source of every spiritual blessing?

2. What are we told about the nature of the will and purpose of God?

3. What does it tell us is God's intention for our lives?

C. Comment :

Mind blowing! There is so much in Ephesians we will leave out comment on the greeting in verses 1-3.

First, note the HEART of the will of God : it is Christ, he is the means of our salvation and our ongoing blessing. Outside of him there is no salvation and there is no ongoing blessing. Christ was to be the means and the door to our blessing, for God saw what the need would be and so provided His Son as the means of the needed salvation.

Second, note the WISDOM of the will of God , that was expressed in respect of us BEFORE the world was made, decreed even before God brought this world into being. God saw that we would fall and would need to be reclaimed, and provided the means for that to happen, and knew WHO would respond, even before it happened!

Third, note the FRUIT of the will of God : it is that human beings can be made holy and blameless and can be adopted and called God's sons. That is the amazing goal of the sovereign will of God, that we come into relationship with the One Holy God, to be decreed as holy, like Him.

D. Application?

1. God chose you, if you are a Christian, BEFORE He made anything of the

world. You are no accident!

2. He saw you would respond to Jesus Christ, and that was the one criteria

for His choice.

Chapter: Ephesians 1

Passage: Ephesians 1:6-8

A. Find Out:

1. What, about God, is thus praised? v.6a

2. How was it expressed? v.6b

3. What do we have by him? v.7a

4. What does that involve? v.7b

5. What was the source of that? v.7c

6. In what measure was that given? v.8

B. Think :

1. What has God done for us, as shown in the verses read yesterday?

2. Of what is all that an illustration?

3. How was it actually put into action?

C. Comment :

Above we read how God has chosen, predestined and adopted us, all through Jesus. Now we see that this is all because of His wonderful grace.

Grace is defined in the dictionary as "divine favour" and what it is is God's free, unearned, desire to bless and bless His creation.

First we see HOW it was given: FREELY (v.6) in the form of Jesus. We didn't have to earn it, we didn't deserve it, it just came easily out of the Father's heart for us. It also came LAVISHLY (v.8), it didn't "just about do the job", it fully and utterly resolved the whole issue of our sin.

Second, we see WHAT it did: it redeemed us, bought us back from the place of slavery to sin, Satan and self. Where we deserved to be destroyed for our godlessness and unrighteousness, to have our blood shed, Jesus shed his blood instead and took the penalty for our sin and purchased us back. Our sins were forgiven because they were all dealt with by Jesus on the Cross.

Yes, this was all in the mind of God before He made the world, executed in Jesus nearly two thousand years ago, and now fulfilled in us today, and we could do nothing to earn it or achieve it. It was ENTIRELY the work of God!

D. Application?

1. Grace is God's free, unmerited, undeserved, unearned love poured out for us in abundance!

2. All we can do is receive it and be thankful.

Chapter: Ephesians 1

Passage: Ephesians 1:8-10

A. Find Out:

1. What was part of the grace that came? v.8

2. What did God make known? v.9a

3. How was it expressed? v.9b

4. When was it put into effect? v.10a

5. What was it to achieve? v.10b

B. Think :

1. Of what had God given understanding to Paul?

2. Why had it been a mystery?

3. What in this passage is in the future?

C. Comment :

Paul has been speaking about the wonder of God's grace which had been lavishly poured out on them, and comments that it came with wisdom and understanding, i.e. He helped them understand and realise what the purpose of God was all about.

Note first, that it had previously been a mystery; it had been declared in the Old Testament but the complexity of information provided had left them wondering quite what it was all about. They had understood a Messiah was coming but the detail of his coming was shrouded in mystery.

Note second, that the revelation is that this mystery is all about the coming and work of Christ. The gospel is entirely focussed on him.

Third, note the ultimate fulfilment of the purposes of God: to bring everything under the rule of Christ. Everything but everything will ultimately come under the total rule of Christ, whatever it is (see this also in Philippians 2:9-11 and 1 Corinthians 15:24 ). This is the wonder of the purpose of God previously declared throughout the Old Testament and now brought into being in the New, that Christ is the one before whom all must bow and Christ is the one before whom all WILL bow, for thus he was sent by the Father, to become the focus of our worship, submission and adoration. This WILL be in the fullness of God's timing.

D. Application?

1. The Old Testament will of God is now seen as to bring Christ.

2. Christ WILL be the head of all things!

Chapter: Ephesians 1

Passage: Ephesians1:11-14

A. Find Out:

1. Why were we predestined? v.11b

2. How does God work? v.11c

3. Why were we chosen? v.12

4. When were the Ephesians included? v.13a

5. How were they sealed? v.13b

6. Of what was that a guarantee? v.14

B. Think :

1. What does this passage tell us about the will of God?

2. What does it tell us about the purpose of our salvation?

3. How is our future assured?

C. Comment :

First observe the will of God. Every Christian can say they have been predestined, chosen according to the eternal will of God. That will of God governs EVERYTHING that happens in existence, everything comes under His scrutiny and is subject to His oversight.

Second, note the things about our salvation: it is when we hear the word of TRUTH, facing the truth about ourselves and about what Jesus has done, and our response to that, that is the Gospel. It is also placing our HOPE in Christ: we are placing all our future aspirations in him, trusting in him to save us for the days to come. It is also to bring PRAISE to God: our lives that are being changed, when saved, are to glorify God.

Third, note what happened to us when we were saved, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit; he was placed in us and apart from the power that gave us, it acted like a seal on an old document, it was the sign of the finality or sureness of God's decision to save us. The Spirit is also a DEPOSIT, a starting off down-payment from God, of all the blessings to come on the earth, until the time when we are taken to glory to be with Him for ever.

D. Application?

1. My life is subject to God's plan and purpose and for His praise.

2. The Holy Spirit in me not only tells God I am His but reassures me of

His presence and love for me.

Chapter: Ephesians1

Passage: Ephesians 1:15-19

A. Find Out:

1. What 2 things had Paul heard about? v.15

2. What had he done as a result? v.16

3. What had he asked God to give them? v.17b

4. For what reason? v.17c

5. What also did he ask would happen? v.18a

6. In order to know what 3 things? v.18b,19

B. Think :

1. What had motivated Paul to pray?

2. What sort of prayers are mentioned here?

3. What did he want for them?

C. Comment :

We must be brief, there is so much here! Paul is a praying person and so when he hears of the Ephesians testimony he prayed for them, THANKING and ASKING.

First he GIVES THANKS for the level of their Christian experience that he hears about, their faith. Then he gives thanks for the love he hears they have flowing between them

Next he ASKS for them, he wants them to grow and the heart of the Christian life is about wisdom , knowing how to live on a daily basis, and revelation , being given understanding more fully of God and His purposes.

Now, as a further expression of this, he also prays that their inner heart experience will be enlarged so that they may know:

a) the hope to which they are called, the certainty of their future

assurance, and

b) the glorious inheritance that is theirs now, what it fully means to be a

Christian, all that is theirs from knowing Christ, and

c) the power that is now theirs.

We should note that these are all things that come by faith when we turn to God, things that are not naturally revealed and understood but things that the Holy Spirit will reveal. We really need to meditate fully on each one of these things mentioned for many today have little understanding of their hope, their inheritance or the power available to them.

D. Application?

1. The Christian life is all about wisdom and revelation, from God.

2. Our future is wonderful, think on it!

Chapter: Ephesians 1

Passage: Ephesians 1:19-23

A. Find Out:

1. Who & what is Paul talking about? v.19

2. How was that seen? v.20a

3. Where did he put Christ? v.20b,21

4. What did God also do? v.22a,b

5. Why did he do that? v.22c

6. How is the church described? v.23

B. Think :

1. How was God's power used to produce Christ's position today?

2. Read Psalm 110:1,2 / 1 Peter 3:22 / 1 Corinthians 15:24-28

    What is Christ's position and purpose?

3. Why is the description of the church significant in the light of

     this?

C. Comment :

In this passage there are three distinct links: power, rule and church.

Let's first consider the power. Paul says that power is for believers, and it's the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

Not only that, that power raised Jesus up to sit at his Father's right hand in heaven to rule; it put him there and he exercises it now with EVERYTHING under him as he rules.

So how does he exercise that rule? In two ways: sovereignly and in co-operation with his church. Sometimes Jesus moves sovereignly with no human contact, he is just God moving in power. More often he moves through his body which is made up of all the born again believers on earth.

This body is to do the same things (and more) that he did when he resided in one single body (see John 14:12 ), this body is to be the expression of his rule here on earth today, and that takes us full circle to the power again. That power is not ours but his in us, not ours to use as we will but his to use through us, as he is able to lead us and direct us in service for the Father, all to His glory.

D. Application?

1. God's kingdom is not just talking but is power in operation (see 1

    Corinthians 4:20 )

2. God's church is to express the will of Jesus on the earth, to the glory of

     the Father.

RECAP: "TheRiches of God's Grace" Ephesians 1

SUMMARY :

In these first 6 studies we have seen:

  - the plan and purpose of God revealed

    - centred on Christ, before the world was made

    - to purchase us by Christ's blood

    - to bring all things under Christ's rule

    - to equip us with His Holy Spirit

  - the prayers and petitions of Paul

    - for the Ephesians to know God better

    - for them to be enlightened

  - the place and power of Christ today

    - seated at his Father's right hand

    - with all things under his feet

COMMENT :

What an incredible chapter, perhaps the most information-packed in the whole Bible! Here is an incredible overview of the whole plan and purpose of God. But it is not something abstract and obscure. It is directly applicable to us and is clear and concise and understandable by the person of faith.

LESSONS :

1. God's plan for us was ordained before the world was made.

2. We are what we are all because of Christ.

3. We are what we are by God's grace alone

4. I need revelation and wisdom from God every day.

5. Christ is ruling with his Father today.

PRAY :

Praise and worship God for the wonder of what we have been reading in these studies.

PART 2 : "Alive and made One"

In the next Part we will see Paul showing us how we were dead but have been made alive and how this applies to both Jew and Gentile, who both come the same way to God and are receivers of the wonderful inheritance He has made for all who come to Him through Christ.