I Keep Asking

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May 10, 2009 - Ephesians 1:15-23 ⁽¹⁾

Open It

1. How do you celebrate Thanksgiving Day?

2. For what do you thank God on a daily basis?

3. How do you show that you are thankful for those around you?

Explore It

4. What motivated Paul to pray for the Ephesians? (1:15-16)

5. What did Paul ask God to give to the Ephesian Christians? (1:17)

6. What is the purpose of having wisdom and revelation? (1:17)

7. Why did Paul ask that the Ephesians' hearts would continue to be enlightened? (1:18)

8. What kind of help is available to all Christians? (1:19-20)

9. How is God's power at work in all creation? (1:21)

10. How does God's power reach across time? (1:21)

11. What did God place under Christ's control? (1:22)

12. What appointment did God give Christ? (1:22)

13. What is the church's relationship to Christ? (1:22-23)

Get It

14. How did Paul support the Ephesian Christians?

15. How can you encourage growth in other Christians?

16. The Ephesians showed faith in Christ and love for one another; what qualities distinguish your Christian walk?

17. How do you know that Christ's power is sufficient for your life?

18. How does the knowledge of God's authority and control make you secure?

19. When did you last express a prayer of thanks for other saints?

Apply It

20. Since God's power is available to you, what do you need to do to take hold of it this week?

21. What people in need could you remember in your prayers this week?

Notes ⁽²⁾

1:16, 17 Paul prayed for the believers to know God better. How do you get to know someone? By reading biographical information or historical data about him? That will help you know a lot about that person, but it won't enable you to actually know him. If you want to get to know someone, you have to spend time with that person; there is no shortcut. The same holds true with God. Reading the Bible, great works of theology, and devotional material is wonderful, but there is no substitute for knowing God personally. What about you? Do you really know God, or do you just know about him? The difference is in spending time with him. Study Jesus' life in the Gospels to see what he was like on earth two thousand years ago, and get to know him in prayer now. Personal knowledge of Christ will change your life.

1:19, 20 The world fears the power of the atom, yet we belong to the God of the universe, who not only created that atomic power but also raised Jesus Christ from the dead. God's incomparably great power is available to help you. There is nothing too difficult for him.

1:20-22 Having been raised from the dead, Christ is now the head of the church, the ultimate authority over the world. Jesus is the Messi2h, God's anointed one, the one Israel longed for, the one who would set their broken world right. As Christians we can be confident that God has won the final victory and is in control of everything. We need not fear any dictator or nation or even death or Satan himself. The contract has been signed and sealed; we are waiting just a short while for delivery. Paul says, in Romans 8:37-39, that nothing can separate us from God and his love.

1:22, 23 Christ fills the church with gifts and blessings. The church should be the full expression of Christ, who himself fills everything (see 3:19). When reading Ephesians, it is important to remember that it was written primarily to the entire church, not merely to an individual. Christ is the head, and we are the body of his church (Paul uses this metaphor in Romans 12:4, 5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; and Colossians 3:15 as well as throughout the book of Ephesians). The image of the body shows the church's unity. Each member is involved with all the others as they go about doing Christ's work on earth. We should not attempt to work, serve, or worship merely on our own. We need the entire body.

Our True Identity in Christ

Romans 3:24 We are justified (declared righteous).

Romans 8:1 No condemnation awaits us.

Romans 8:2 We are set free from the power of sin that leads to death.

1 Corinthians 1:2 We are sanctified (made holy) in Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:30 We are pure and holy in Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:22 We will be given new life at the resurrection.

2 Corinthians 5:17 We are new persons.

2 Corinthians 5:21 We are made right with God.

Galatians 3:28 We are one in Christ with all other believers.

Ephesians 1:3 We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Ephesians 1:4 We are holy and without fault.

Ephesians 1:5, 6 We are adopted as God's children.

Ephesians 1:7 Our sins are taken away, and we are forgiven.

Ephesians 1:10, 11 We will be brought under Christ's authority.

Ephesians 1:13 We are identified as belonging to God by the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 2:6 We have been raised up to sit with Christ in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 2:10 We are God's masterpiece.

Ephesians 2:13 We have been brought near to God.

Ephesians 3:6 We share in the promise of blessings through Christ.

Ephesians 3:12 We can come boldly and confidently into God's presence.

Ephesians 5:29, 30 We are members of Christ's body, the church.

Colossians 2:10 We are made complete in Christ.

Colossians 2:11 We are set free from our sinful nature.

2 Timothy 2:10 We will have eternal glory.

1.¹Life Application Study Bible, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1988), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 1998-2001.

2.²Adult Questions for LESSONMaker, (Austin, TX: Wordsearch, 1992), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "Thanksgiving and Prayer - Ephesians 1:15-23".

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