Ephesians 1(Devotional)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will:
To the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus.[a]
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens. 4 For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight.[b] In love[c] 5 He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will, 6 to the praise of His glorious grace that He favored us with in the Beloved. 7 We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His 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 that He planned in Him 10 for the administration[d] of the days of fulfillment[e]—to bring everything together in the Messiah, both things in heaven and things on earth in Him. 11 We have also received an inheritance[f] in Him, predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will, 12 so that we who had already put our hope in the Messiah might bring praise to His glory.  13 When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 14 He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession,[g] to the praise of His glory.  15 This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,[h] would give you a spirit[i] of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. 18 I pray that the perception of your mind[j] may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength.  20 He demonstrated this power in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens— 21 far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given,[k] not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put everything under His feet[l] and appointed Him as head over everything for the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way.

God:
Do you know that I love you? Don't you know that i chose you to be with me before the beginning of the world? Why don't you trust me? Why do you reject my love by acting like we're not together? Don't you remember that I loved you so much that I died for you? Don't you remember that I took your place and received the punishment you deserve? Why do you choose to live like a beggar and in the rags and filth you have when I've given you so much more? Don't you know how much it hurts me when you reject my gifts to you? Don't you know that when you reject Me you dishonor Me in front of everyone. If you're going to be in a relationship with me then show me you love me. I know you still encounter pain, i know that doing life with me is still difficult. That's why I gave you the Holy Spirit to give you hope. I gave you the holy Spirit so you would know how serious I am about our relationship. Be a person known for your love. Be a person known for loving me. Trust me and walk with me if you do you will be filled with my Spirit. Depend on Me and I will give you everything you need. I love you and I have called you! Take joy in that, focus on Me, know who I Am and you will know who you truly are.

Me:
God forgive me for not trusting you. Forgive me for living like we're not in a relationship. I have been ashamed of You and have rejected You and shown that to other people by how I live. I'm sorry I haven't demonstrated a trust in you. I'm sorry I haven't remembered what you've given up for me and what I deserve.

Ephesians 2:1-18

Ephesians 2:1-18

Key Points:

1. I was an enemy of God destined for destruction and without hope.
2. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, his shed blood on the cross, I have the grace and mercy of God and am now His friend.
3. God has saved me so that my life can bring Him glory by being a witness of God’s abundant grace and mercy through Christ.  

Key Themes:

1. Before God we were all dead in sin and enemies of God(1-3)
2. Because of God’s mercy and love we have the opportunity to experience God’s grace by coming to life through Christ.  (4-5)
3. Through Christ, his followers share in Jesus glory as a testament to the grace of God shown in His Son.  (6-7)
4. Every Christ follower is saved through faith in the grace of God and created and saved to bring glory to God. (8-10)
5. Paul reminds the Philippians that as Gentiles they and all other Gentiles were excluded from the promise of God’s covenants  and without hope. (11-12)
6. All people can now have peace with God because of the sacrifice of Jesus which reconciles God with Man.  (13-16)
7. The good news of Christ is that we have peace with God and commune with God through the Spirit. (17-18)

Reflective Discussion Questions:

1. Why does Paul tell the Philippians they were without life?

1. How do our trespasses/sin lead to death?
2. How does vs 3 describe the behavior of a person walking toward death?

2. Who does Paul say is the one who brings the dead to life?

1. According to vs 4 what are the reasons why God brought the dead to life?
2. What is the relationship between God’s grace, love, and mercy in His interaction with us? Do one of these elements receive more focus than the others?
3. How does over-stressing, to the detriment of the others, one of the elements in vs 4 negatively affect our understanding of God’s redemptive plan?

3. Why does Paul say we have been seated with Christ in the heavens?

1. How does your understanding of why you are alive affect your life priorities in how you: spend your time or choose your career?

4. What does Paul say we are saved by in vs 8?

1. Whose grace and whose faith is Paul talking about?
2. What is faith? What are the evidences of faith placed in God’s grace given through Jesus?
3. Why does Paul say no one can boast in their salvation? How do people attempt to boast in their salvation?
4. How does the sacrifice and work of Christ affect the way you understand vs 10?  What needs to change in your life so that you can walk in the works God prepared for you to do?

5. Why would Paul remind the Philippians that they were without hope and excluded from the promises of God?

1. How were the Philippians without hope before Christ came? What does citizenship in Israel have to do with having peace with God and being a recipient of the promise?
2. How does vs 11-12 affect your view of being a witness of Christ and participating in global missions?
3. How does reflecting on who we were before Christ bring God honor?

6. How does Paul say we have been brought near to God?

1. How does vs 14 affect your perspective on people who are without God? Do you think most people view themselves as being enemies of God apart from Christ?
2. How does your understanding of vs 14 add depth to what Paul describes Christ did in vs 15?

7. What is the good news of the gospel according to vs 17-18?

1. Who is eligible for the peace Jesus Christ brought? (17)
2. What habits can you cultivate that will help you follow Christ in proclaiming the good news of peace to the lost in your life?

Individual Challenge:

Write down a specific spiritual discipline you’d like to cultivate in your life and the steps to carry that out.  Share your written plan with another believer and ask this person to prayerfully keep you accountable.  

Ephesians 6:10-24

Key Points:
1. Depend on God to face spiritual warfare.
2. Stand and persevere with fellow believers to advance the gospel

Key themes:
o Paul exhorts the Ephesians to depend on the Lord(10)
o Paul instructs the Ephesians to arm themselves with God's might to stand against the Enemy(11,13)
o Paul reminds Christians that we are in a spiritual war and our true enemies are not people, so be prepared(12-13)
o The weapons of a believer are truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, our salvation, and the Word of God. (14-17)
o Paul reminds believers to stay in constant communication with the Lord(18)
o Paul ask believers to pray for all believers to stand against the enemy and have boldness to present the gospel(18-20)
o Paul sends Tychicus to encourage the Ephesians(21-22)
o Paul reminds the Ephesians to continue trusting God and to let His peace remain in the body as they love one another. (23-24)

Reflective Discussion Questions:
1. Who does Paul tell the Ephesians to be strengthened by in vs 10?
a. Why does Paul remind the Ephesians of God's great strength?
b. How does knowing that God is immensely strong affect how you face difficulty?
c. What keeps you from being strengthened by the Lord?
2. Why does Paul tell us to put on the armor of God?(11,13)
a. How would the understanding that you are in a spiritual war change the way you live? Priorities? How you handle issues?
b. How does Paul's assertion in vs 12 affect how you view relationships with people? How you view politics local/global?
c. What are some practices a person can cultivate to be ready to fight in spiritual battles?
3. Why does Paul associate the tools God gives us to fight spiritual warfare with specific parts of Roman Armor? (14-17)
a. How does the image of a belt help us understand the role of truth in our lives?
b. Breastplate and righteousness?
c. Shoes and the gospel of peace?
d. Shield and Faith?
e. Helmet and Salvation?
f. Sword and the Spirit?
4. What do we understand about offensive spiritual warfare from vs 17 and the sword of the Spirit?
a. Who does the actual attacking in spiritual warfare?
b. What is the responsibility of the believer in spiritual warfare according to vs 14-17?
5. Why does Paul emphasize the need to be in constant communication with God?(18)
a. How does our constant communication with God affect the way we view our role in spiritual warfare?
b. What is the relationship between individual believers in spiritual warfare according to vs 18-19?
c. How can this knowledge change the way you relate to other believers and face difficulty?
6. Why does Paul send Tychicus to the Ephesians?
a. How does Paul's intent in sending Tychicus relate to everything else in Ephesians?
b. How does vs 23 serve as a synopsis for the book of Ephesians?


Individual Challenge:
Would you commit to contacting two Christian friends and asking how you can pray for them this week? Would you commit to praying for them everyday? How would your priorities and attitude to life change if you interceded for someone else everyday? How would your relationships with Christian people change? What would the impact be on your relationships with the lost?

Community Challenge:
How would our community change if everyone in our group regularly contacted each other and prayed for each other? How would this affect the way visitors feel coming into our group? What would the testimony of our group be to the lost in our community?

Ephesians 6:1-9

Key Points
1. Honor the authority God places in your life
2. We honor God by honoring the people He places in authority over us
3. The way we live as Christians bears testimony to God's sovereignty and grace

Key Themes
o Children submit to your parents as because you respect and fear the Lord(1)
o God promises that children that revere their parents will have prosperous and long life (2)
o Parents don't provoke your children to anger, guide them to follow the Lord(4)
o Workers/Employees submit to your masters to show honor for Christ(5)
o Work wholeheartedly with integrity as for the Lord(5-8)
o Work for the reward of the Lord by working heartily in everything you do(6)
o Masters treat the people that work for you with respect and grace(9)
o Masters remember that Christ is a generous and good master, imitate him(9)

Reflective Discussion Questions
1. Why does Paul tell children to obey their parents?(1)
a. What is the promise God gives to children that honor their parents?
b. Why would an obedient child receive the promise God talks about?
c. How does this theme of submission in familial relationships relate to what Paul talked about in the previous chapter?
2. What does Paul tell Father's not to do in vs 4?
a. Is this a command that only applies to fathers or does it extend to other people?
b. What are the ways a parent stirs up anger in their child?
c. How is the command not to incite children to anger related to the command to bring up children in the instruction of the Lord?
e. What is the successful family dynamic contingent that Paul talks about in the previous chapter? (5:21)
3. How does Paul instruct servants to serve their Masters?(5-8)
a. How does Paul instruct Masters to treat their servants?(9)
b. What prevents Christian Bosses from treating the people they supervise the way Paul instructs?
c. What prevents employees from treating their master's with respect?
d. Should a Christian treat or work for their employer differently if they don't follow the guidelines listed in Ephesians 6?
4. How does the way people treat each other in these relationships glorify/honor God?

Individual Challenge
How would your attitude change towards people in positions of authority if you knew that honoring them meant you honored God? How would this perspective affect the way you treat people in authority over you? How would this affect your relationships with co-workers and family?

Community Challenge
How would our church change if people honored the leaders God has placed in positions of authority in the church? How would this affect our testimony in the community? How would our changed attitude and behavior impact our secular community?

Ephesians 5:15-33

Key Points
1. Live a Spirit led life.
2. Submit to the Spirit and allow Him to lead you into righteousness
3. Christians are of one body and are one with Christ.

Key Themes
o Be sober and intentional in how you live(15)
o Walking as a Child of God takes deliberate and intentional action(15)
o Live your life on purpose knowing there is not time to waste because life is short(16)
o Don't be ignorant of God's plan and purpose, live life on mission(17)
o Don't be guided by your passions and lust, allow God's Spirit to fill you and guide you(18)
o A life guided by the Spirit produces a life characterized by thanksgiving, humility, and worship(18-21)
o Husbands and Wives submit to each other in reverence/fear for the Lord(20-28)
o Wives show respect and give honor to your husband as the church shows respect and gives honor to Christ(22-24)
o Husbands exhibit selfless love for your wife the way Christ did for the church(25-30)
o Husbands bear patiently with your wives putting their welfare above your own(25-28)
o Just as a Husband and Wife are of one flesh so we the church are One, what affects one affects all(29-33)
o Christ gave himself up so that the Church would exist and be sanctified, this is why the Church honors Christ and brings Him glory(24-33)

Reflective Discussion Questions:
1. How does Paul tell the Ephesians to walk? (15)
a. Why does Paul stress this theme of how a person walks so often in chapter 5?
b. What is the reasons Paul gives for the Ephesians to be wise?(16)
2. How does Paul characterize someone that is foolish? (17-18)
a. How do Christians act foolishly?
b. Can people that engage in ministry activity be living foolishly?
c. How do we deter ourselves from living foolishly and filling our schedule with reckless and fruitless ministry?
3. What does Paul tell us to be filled with instead of wine? (18)
a. How does the comparison of being filled with the Spirit and being filled with wine affect our view of the way the Holy Spirit works in our life? (18)
b. What are the behaviors that flow from a Spirit filled life? (19-21)
c. What is a characteristic attitude or perspective of someone that is led by the Spirit? (19-21)
d. How can these characteristics become more dominant in your life?
e. What are the factors that contribute to you not living a Spirit filled life?
4. How does the Spirit filled life affect interpersonal relationships between believers?(21)
5. What is Paul comparing the image of husband and wife to Christ and the Church? (21-33)
a. How does this image affect interpersonal relationships between believers? (21)
6. Does Paul's instruction in vs 2 mean that women are to yield and submit to every man?
a. How is a married woman to submit to her husband? (22)
b. How does this passage affect a single woman? Who is she supposed to submit to? (22)
7. How are husbands supposed to treat their wives? (25, 28)
a. What is Paul's standard for how a husband expresses his love for his wife?
b. How do these passages on husband and wife relationships become distorted in secular and Christian culture?
c. What element of the husband and wife dynamic is Paul emphasizing to illustrate the relationship between Christ and the Church?
8. What are the implications of vs 24-28?
a. How does the analogy Paul uses in vs 22-30 relate to being led by the Holy Spirit?

Individual Challenge
What are the things that keep you from Trusting God and being led by the Spirit? How would your life change if you had the confidence to Walk in the Spirit? How would submission in your life look in your relationship with God? With your spouse? With people in spiritual authority over you?

Community Challenge
How would our community change if we recognized that mutual submission to one another builds the body and honors Christ? How would the relationships in our church change? How would this affect visitors perception of our church?

Ephesians 5:7-14

Key Points:
1. Expose secret sin to the Truth of Jesus Christ.
2. The Truth of Jesus Christ allows us to experience grace and live life as a child of God.

Key Themes:
o Don't participate in doing evil(7)
o Don't yoke yourself to people disobedient to God(7)
o You are called to be witness to those in the dark(8)
o Walking as a child of the light produces good fruit(8-9)
o Children of Light have lifestyles that bring pleasure to God(9-10)
o Children of God can discern what is pleasing to God and what is evil through the life of Jesus and the testimony of the Holy Spirit(10)
o Participating in sin and turning a blind eye to it produce guilt and shame(11-12)
o The Word of God helps God's Children know the Truth(13)
o Don't hide sin, expose it to the light(11-14)
o Wake up to the life God intends for you to live, life apart from God is death(14)

Reflective Discussion Questions:
1. Why and What does Paul instruct the Ephesians not to become partners with? (7-8)
a. What does Paul say will be the fruit of walking as a child of light?(9-10)

2. Why does Paul instruct the Ephesians not to participate in the fruitless works of darkness? (11)

a. What does Paul exhort the Ephesians to do instead of participating in the deeds of darkness?(11)

3. What does Paul mean when he says it is shameful to mention the sinful practices done in secret? (12)

a. How does Paul's command to expose the deeds of darkness relate to what Paul says in verse 12 and 13?

b. Is the command to expose the deeds of darkness something meant as a personal or communal imperative?

c. If this command is carried out in community what instructions has Paul given to govern how sin is exposed?(4:25-32, 5:1-2)

4. How does exposing sin to the light make things clear?

5. What does verse 14 mean?
a. How does the Messiah shine on you?
b. How does the Messiah bring someone dead to life? Or wake someone that is asleep?

Individual Challenge:
How would your life change if you were willing to expose the deepest darkest sins of your life to the Truth and find help to overcome it? Would you pray and ask God to give you the courage to seek help and to confess your shameful sin to a trusted and mature follower of Christ this week? How would letting the cat out of the bag free you from the burden of guilt and free you to begin walking in grace?

Community Challenge:
How would our community change if we were a people that could be trusted with the deepest darkest sins of others because we were up front and honest about ours? How would letting go of the facade that things are all good affect the relationships in our church? How do you think this openness allow the church to be more effective in doing ministry? How would this affect the world's view of Christians being hypocrites?

Ephesians 5:7-14 Leaders Guide

Key Points:
1. Expose secret sin to the Truth of Jesus Christ.
2. The Truth of Jesus Christ allows us to experience grace and live life as a child of God.

Key Themes:
o Don't participate in doing evil(7)
o Don't yoke yourself to people disobedient to God(7)
o You are called to be witness to those in the dark(8)
o Walking as a child of the light produces good fruit(8-9)
o Children of Light have lifestyles that bring pleasure to God(9-10)
o Children of God can discern what is pleasing to God and what is evil through the life of Jesus and the testimony of the Holy Spirit(10)
o Participating in sin and turning a blind eye to it produce guilt and shame(11-12)
o The Word of God helps God's Children know the Truth(13)
o Don't hide sin, expose it to the light(11-14)
o Wake up to the life God intends for you to live, life apart from God is death(14)

Reflective Discussion Questions:
1. Why and What does Paul instruct the Ephesians not to become partners with? (7-8)
o Paul instructs the Ephesians not to become partners with people that are disobedient and people that engage in sinful practices. Paul tells the Ephesians not to engage in sinful practices because of what he says earlier in chapters 2 and 4. Christ has died and has allowed us to put off our identity as enemies with God and become Children of God. Because of this we should no longer work as Children of the darkness and now as Children of the Light. This is what Paul explains in the following verse and expounds on the result or fruit of living out an identity of child of light.

a. What does Paul say will be the fruit of walking as a child of light?(9-10)
o Paul tells us that the fruit of walking as a child of light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. He goes on to say that it produces discernment about knowing howto do what pleases the Lord.

2. Why does Paul instruct the Ephesians not to participate in the fruitless works of darkness? (11)
o Paul tells the Ephesians not to participate in the the deeds of darkness because they are fruitless and produce things that only set us in opposition to God. It is also a reference to what he says earlier in vs 5 when he says that people that walk as children of darkness have no inheritance in the kingdom of God. The pursuit of sinful desires and practices only produce distance between God and the rest of the family of God and will result in fruitless/pointless suffering.

a. What does Paul exhort the Ephesians to do instead of participating in the deeds of darkness?(11)
o Paul exhorts the Ephesians to expose the deeds of darkness rather than participate in them.

3. What does Paul mean when he says it is shameful to mention the sinful practices done in secret? (12)
o People that are wrapped up in sin don't want people to find out about their deepest darkest sins. They know what they are doing is wrong and would rather keep sinful behavior secret. If people were to find out about their vice they'd be put to shame and feel embarrassed.

a. How does Paul's command to expose the deeds of darkness relate to what Paul says in verse 12 and 13?
o Paul instructs the Ephesians to expose shameful sin to the light because as long as it remains a secret the sinner remains enslaved to sin and can't experience the freedom and joy found in Christ. We only experience God's grace when the truth of our depravity drives us to our knees and we recognize our need for Jesus. This command is something that needs be done regularly so that sin is never allowed a foothold in our life. When we allow sin to pervade our life we allow sin to rob us of joy found in the grace of God. 

b. Is the command to expose the deeds of darkness something meant as a personal or communal imperative?
o The command to expose sin to the light is both a personal and communal imperative. This command follows on the heals of Paul's teachings of how individual followers of Christ are joined together and one body. If one part of the body is affected with sin then it affects the rest of the body. However the body doesn't cut out and discard the body part that is affected, it works together as a unit to fight off the infection so that the body can work together in harmony. So the command carries both individual and communal implications. The individual needs to seek reconciliation through the power Jesus Christ and the support and encouragement given through the body. The community needs to be ready to support and encourage individuals to seek repentance.

c. If this command is carried out in community what instructions has Paul given to govern how sin is exposed?(4:25-32, 5:1-2)
o Paul begins the chapter by instructing the Ephesians to imitate God and to walk in love as Jesus did. He qualifies the way Jesus walked in love by citing his unselfish sacrifice. This should clue us in on how the community is to expose sin. The Church must remember that all Christians are part of the same body so restoration and reconciliation is something we should always seek. When we begin thinking about how we can leverage the exposure of someone's sin to our benefit this becomes sinful and no longer helps build the body. Moreover, the instructions Paul gives in chapter 4 apply to how we expose sin. He clearly says that we are to stop lying and to speak the truth. This relates to the shameful sin we keep from each other that also separates and divides the fellowship of believers. The speech we use when exposing sin isn't malicious but good for building up others in need. We are to be kind and compassionate when someone's sin becomes exposed to the light because we are aware of the sin that is in our lives and that Christ forgave us for. If we are the grieved party then we should also forgive and be reconciled because Christ forgave us, but also because there should be no division in the body. 

4. How does exposing sin to the light make things clear?
o Exposing sin to the light helps us face the reality of our depravity. When a person is in the throes of sin shame drives us to denial and justification. We begin to lie to ourselves about the reality of our situation and become more and more entangled by our sin. Once we start down this road it becomes more and more difficult for a person to break free of the lies he tells himself. Jesus tells us that if His Word remains in us then we will know the Truth and the Truth will set us free(Jn 8:31-32) This applies in the how we interpret Ephesians. Like a surgeon doing exploratory surgery the true roots of our ailment and issues are only seen when we expose ourselves to the sword of the Spirit and allow the light of Christ to free us from sin.

5. What does verse 14 mean?
a. How does the Messiah shine on you?
b. How does the Messiah bring someone dead to life? Or wake someone that is asleep?
o The Messiah helps us recognize that apart from Him we are dead in our trespasses but that through Jesus Christ we can awaken from the darkness and begin living true and fruitful life in the Spirit.
Individual Challenge:
How would your life change if you were willing to expose the deepest darkest sins of your life to the Truth and find help to overcome it? Would you pray and ask God to give you the courage to seek help and to confess your shameful sin to a trusted and mature follower of Christ this week? How would letting the cat out of the bag free you from the burden of guilt and free you to begin walking in grace?

Community Challenge:
How would our community change if we were a people that could be trusted with the deepest darkest sins of others because we were up front and honest about ours? How would letting go of the facade that things are all good affect the relationships in our church? How do you think this openness allow the church to be more effective in doing ministry? How would this affect the world's view of Christians being hypocrites?