Ephesians 2:11-22

Key Points:

1.  We submit to the authority of Christ by allowing the Spirit to shape us and use us to build the Church.

2.  We surrender ourselves to God because Christ died for us to give us peace.

3.  We were enemies of God destined for destruction.  

Key Themes:

o  All non Jews were without hope excluded from the promise of hope in God's Messiah(11-12)

o People have been brought into the family of God through Jesus sacrificial death(13)

o Christ makes peace before men and God and between the Chosen People of Israel and the Gentile believers (12-16)

o Christ reconciles us to God gives us access to the Father.  (16)

o Everyone that is in Christ is in the same family regardless of past or background(19)

o God shapes and places individual members of the body to build the Church. (21)

o The Spirit of God dwells among His people (22)

Reflective Questions:

1.  What does Paul tell us to remember in vs 11? (1-10)

a.  Why would Paul command believers to remember their sin and Christ's sacrifice?

2.  What does Paul contrast in vs 12 and 13?

a.  How does the contrast make vs 13 good news?

b.  What does this teach us about sharing the gospel with both believers and the lost?

3.  Why would Jesus have to make peace for us? (14)

a.  Who make up the two groups that Christ joins together? (14)

b.  How does the knowledge of Christ dying to 'make the two groups one' affect your understanding of unity in the  Church?

c.  What are some things that cause disunity in the Church?

d.  What causes individual people to be out of fellowship with the Church?

e.  What's the effect of Church disunity with an individual believer's relationship with God?

4.  How does Christ's sacrifice abolish the law?

a.  How does Christ's sacrifice re-frame the way a believer perceive the law? 

b.  What keeps people from having peace with God and His law? 

c.  According to vs 14-16 what is the key to maintaining the peace Christ has created through His sacrifice?

5.  What does vs 17 say Jesus did when he came?

a.  What is the 'good news of peace'?  

b.  How does the good news of Christ affect your perspective on life and priorities?

c.  Is the 'good news' of Christ something worth sharing with others?

d.  How do you share the 'good news of Christ' and what do you share?

6.  What do we learn about how we tell the good news from Christ's example of proclaiming to those both far and near? (17)

7.  How does vs 18 shape our understanding of how a person receives salvation?

a.  How does it affect the way we respond to other people's claims of how to receive salvation?

b.  How is the body of Christ built? (19-22)

c.  Who is responsible for building up the body?

d.  How does this affect our view of leadership in the church?

Individual Challenge:

How would your life change if you shared the good news of Christ's salvation?  How would it affect the tone of your conversations with believers?  How would it affect your unbelieving friends perception of God?

Community Challenge:

How would our community's perception of God change if we all talked more about the good news of Christ's salvation?