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?
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?
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