Ephesians 1

Study Guide 142: Ephesians 1-2 ONE PEOPLE Overview Ephesians was written by Paul to a congregation established on one of Paul’ s later missionary journeys (Acts 19:1-41). It was written from Rome, probably in a.d. 62 or 63. The theme of Ephesians is the church as a living organism, the actual body of the living Christ. It is a key book for understanding our personal relationship with Jesus, and how to live with our fellow Christians in a nurturing, ministering relationship. Ephesus was “ the” religious center of the province of Asia. The great temple of Artemis there drew tourists and worshipers, and served as a giant bank from which cities and nations as well as individuals applied for loans. This highly successful institutionalized religion is the backdrop against which Paul gives us a vision of the church of Jesus Christ. This church is no institution: it is a body, a family, a holy but living temple. It reveals a glory in the living personalities of its members which far outshines the glory of the stone temple of Ephesus, even though that temple was four times the size of the Parthenon of Athens. This book is an important one for Christians to study today. It helps us not to think of our own churches in institutional terms — as buildings and programs and activities alone. It helps us to see ourselves, and one another, as living expressions of a Christ who still expresses His glory in human lives.

Commentary When we skim the first two chapters of Ephesians, one brief paragraph stands out. In it, Paul expressed a prayer for the assembled believers in Ephesus. When we read that prayer today, we see again the theme of knowing Christ personally, and the desire for a daily experience of the divine power. We become aware that Paul included us in his sweeping request that all God’ s people might experience Him as present, filling “ everything in every way” (Ephesians 1:23). Look at that prayer now, and visualize Paul praying for you and those you teach. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be Head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way. Ephesians 1:17-23LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Ephesians contains two powerful prayers that Paul prayed for young believers. This is one; the other is in Ephesians 3:14-21. Ask each group member to silently read one or both of these prayers. Say: “ Imagine that Paul, or a parent or spouse or close friend is praying that prayer for you now. Which part of the prayer is most important to you, personally?” After group members have read the prayer and marked the most important parts, share. Which part seemed most important to each person, and why? Then point out that during the study of Ephesians each will learn truths that will help that prayer be answered in his or her life.

Grasping the Hope Helen hung up the telephone. “ O Lord,” she whispered, “ give me strength.” Lucille, an older friend from her Thursday evening Bible study, had asked for Helen’ s help. “ You’ re the only person I know who cares,” Lucille had said. “ I can talk to you.” Last week their study group had met at Lucille’ s home, and Helen had stayed after the others left. She’ d listened as Lucille, a divorced woman with two grown sons, told of her husband’ s unfaithfulness and desertion. She shared how her sons blamed her; she described her loneliness and her struggle to get in touch with God. In tears, Lucille said how grateful she was for Helen. Helen really seemed to care. But caring wasn’ t easy. Helen had grown up believing she was inadequate and unable to love. Her sense of inadequacy had led to a series of choices that turned her away from others. Now, at 37, it was almost impossible for Helen to reach out. It had been easier that night after the Bible study. She was already at Lucille’ s house. No choices had to be made. There was no time to think about a coming confrontation; no time to worry about what she’ d say or do. No time to feel the tension grow and the perspiration come cold and clammy. But to choose to visit Lucille, to get into the car and drive the dozen miles across town to where she lived, that would take time. As the days passed, as fear gripped her each time she thought of Lucille, the strength never seemed to come. How different Helen’ s hesitation is from Paul’ s prayer. Helen asked for strength. Paul asked that you and I might grasp the power that is ours. Helen was asking for something she already possessed! Having failed to grasp the hope of Christ’ s calling, she was living in unnecessary defeat. Paul’ s vision of the present power of Jesus is one of the most striking emphases of this Christological epistle. Even the word “ hope” takes on special meaning in the New Testament. We say, “ I hope,” and mean “ I would like, but am uncertain about.” New Testament hope has no note of uncertainty. It is a term of expectancy. “ Hope in God” (Psalms 42:11) is a call to an active faith which expects God to act. Paul’ s prayer is that you and I might grasp all that we confidently expect, as God’ s new people. For we are a people in whom God’ s own incomparably great power is even now at work! If the “ working of His mighty strength” is available to us now, how inappropriate are the desperate, hopeless prayers we so often utter. How tragic Helen’ s cry, begging for a power to act that has been her heritage ever since she was “ included in Christ.” And how important these first chapters of Ephesians, for they help Helen — and us — realize just who we are as a people of God through Jesus Christ.

An Overview: Ephesians 1-2 There is nothing more influential in shaping our actions than our self-image. That is, how we see ourselves, how we feel about ourselves. A person who sees himself as capable will act confidently. A person who sees himself as weak, and unable, is all too likely to refuse to try. In our spiritual experience too our image of who we are plays a significant role. And it is to just this issue that the first two chapters of Ephesians are addressed. They help us to develop a vital, correct sense of our identity in Christ. They help us understand who we really are as Jesus’ people, and thus help free us from our bondage to old frustrations and inabilities. The Godhead (Ephesians 1:3-14). In these powerful verses Paul drew past, present, and future together. He looked at the work of each of the Persons of the Godhead as it relates to you and me. God the Father, in eternity past, chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless. He predestined us to be adopted as sons, pouring out His grace on us in Christ. God the Son, in history past, redeemed us through His blood, bringing us forgiveness and lavishing on us gifts of wisdom and understanding. Even now we are “ included in Christ,” and looking forward to the complete fulfillment of God’ s plan and the glory that fulfillment holds for us. Now too we have been sealed by God’ s gift of the Holy Spirit, the living guarantee of our inheritance to come. What stunning truths! Somehow you and I, with all God’ s people, have been the focus of His concern from before the Creation of the universe! Each person of the Godhead — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — has been involved in bringing us the grace in which we now stand. In view of all this, there is no way that a Christian can see himself or herself as insignificant, unimportant, or ineffectual. The focused energies of God have been spent on our redemption because in Christ we are significant to Him. We are important. And, with God’ s Spirit present in us, we have the power to live “ to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:14). Prayer (Ephesians 1:15-23). Paul desired, then, that we might enjoy a full experience of our position in Christ. We have a new identity now — we are “ saints” and we experience “ His incomparably great power for us who believe.” And it is His power: the power of a Jesus who is now raised from the dead, seated at the Father’ s “ right hand” (the ancient place of authority), far above every competing natural or supernatural authority. Perhaps most significantly, Jesus is Head “ over everything for the church, which is His body.” This theme, that we are members of a living organism over which Christ is the living Head, is a theme Paul picked up in later chapters of this powerful little book. Alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1-10). God is fully aware of who we were. We were “ dead in . . . transgressions and sins” and we used to follow “ the ways of this world.” We were dedicated to “ gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature.” So in affirming our new identity in Christ, there is no question of misunderstanding. God knew full well what we were. But it is were. We are no longer what we were! Now we have been “ made . . . alive” in Christ. His grace has been poured out on us and we were “ raised . . . up with Christ,” recipients not of a reward but of a gift. Who are we now? “ We are God’ s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God knows who we were: it is up to you and me to take Him at His word about who we now are! We can no longer think of ourselves in the old way, or burden ourselves down with past guilts. In Jesus we are renewed: we are His own fresh creations, shaped by the divine hand for the good works He calls us to do. One in Christ (Ephesians 2:11-18). Another aspect of our new identity has a direct impact on our relationship with other Christians. We once defined our relationships with others on the basis of the things that made us different, even as Jew and Gentile were aware of the cultural and religious gap that not only separated them, but also made them enemies. But now in Christ the gap has been closed, and Jesus has made peace. From even such hostile elements God has made “ one body.” By being reconciled to God, we are at the same time reconciled to one another. Family of believers (Ephesians 2:19-22). The “ one body” theme is important, for the new identity we are urged to grasp is not found in isolation. We are to see ourselves as “ fellow citizens with God’ s people” (Ephesians 2:19). As members of God’ s household, we are “ being built together [italics mine] to become a dwelling in which God lives.” This last theme is one that Paul developed carefully in both Ephesians and Colossians. We have been given new life, and have been given power to live it. But we do not live isolated lives. We grow to full stature in Christ as members of a household. It is in the fellowship of other believers that individuals are formed into a living, growing organism that “ rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21). This focus on the community of faith gives us a new perspective on personal growth and identity. It also gives us a new perspective on Christ. In Ephesians we no longer see Jesus primarily in relationship to the believing individual. We see Jesus as Head of a living body. We see God’ s intention to: bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one Head, even Christ” (Ephesians 1:10); place “ all things under His feet” and appoint “ Him to be Head over everything for the church, which is His body” (Ephesians 1:22-23); and set Christ Jesus Himself as the chief Cornerstone. “ In Him the whole building is joined together” (Ephesians 2:21). As we read on in Ephesians we will see Christ pictured more and more as Head of the body. In the first two chapters, however, Paul focused on our identity. What does it mean for us to be “ in Christ” ? What does it mean to have been snatched from death and given life? Just why was Paul so sure that our daily lives will be transformed if we grasp the hope of our calling, if we know what we can expect as members of Christ’ s body? One way to help our group members build a picture of our new identity is to read and reread these first chapters of Ephesians, noting what Paul says we have in Christ, and what God has done for us. How rich to realize that, now, what we do have in Christ includes redemption. Power. Life. Peace. Membership in the family. Christ Himself to guide us. And how wonderful to realize what God has done for us in Christ. That He has chosen us to praise Him. That He has adopted us as sons, and reshaped us. That our personalities now bear the mark of His workmanship. As we explore these chapters, the wonder grows. In Christ we truly are a new people! We have a new identity now, individually and together. With the newness that being in Christ brings, we shrug off forever the bondage of past hopelessness. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Divide into pairs. Give each member a NEW IDENTITY chart. Each pair is to find in Ephesians 1:1-23 and Ephesians 2:1-22 evidence of what God has done, and of what we now have and are in Christ. When the passages have been studied, each should individually write out which of the findings seem most significant to him or her and why.

My New Identity Portrayed in Ephesians 1:1-23 and Ephesians 2:1-22 What God has doneWhat we now have Ephesians 1:5 - Ephesians 1:6 - Ephesians 1:8 -Ephesians 1:7 - Ephesians 1:13 -Ephesians 1:9 - Ephesians 1:13 -Ephesians 1:13 - Ephesians 2:5 -Ephesians 1:13 - Ephesians 2:8 -Ephesians 1:19 - Ephesians 2:13 -Ephesians 1:23 - Ephesians 2:19 -Ephesians 1:23 - Ephesians 2:22 -Ephesians 2:4 - Ephesians 2:5 - Ephesians 2:13, Ephesians 2:18 - Ephesians 2:14 - Ephesians 2:16 - Ephesians 2:19 - Ephesians 2:20 - Ephesians 2:22 - Record above your own discoveries of your own identity in Christ. After your research, write below which of your findings seems most significant to you and why:

In the Spirit of Worship We would miss the tone of these early chapters if we failed to note that Paul’ s great affirmation of our hope is framed in liturgy. Many commentators see major blocks of these two chapters as early church hymns; credal confessions used regularly in the worship of the first century. These liturgical elements are found in Ephesians 1:3-12, Ephesians 1:20-23 and in Ephesians 2:4-10, Ephesians 2:14-18. Each lifts our hearts to the person of Christ, to appreciate all God has done for us and for His own glory. Worship was important in the life of the early church, and it is important now. Not only is worship vital because God merits our praise; it is important to the worshiper. Only when we shift our gaze from ourselves and our inadequacies to God and His power of endless life can we believe that we too have been “ raised up with Christ and seated . . . in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 2:6). Worship is not selfish; we do not worship God because of the benefits we receive. Yet in losing ourselves in praise and adoration, we discover more of who God is. And an adequate view of God will free us from the bondage of our own inadequacies. This emphasis on worship helps us remember something else. In the early church, gatherings of the church body were not just to hear a sermon. The life of the church was focused on reaffirming community by a liturgy of Communion and the Word. Justin Martyr, writing his First Apology about a.d. 150, gave two accounts of worship in the early church. On finishing the prayer, we greet each other with a kiss. Then bread and a cup of water mixed with wine are brought to the president of the brethren, and he, taking them, sends up praise and glory to the Father of the universe. . . . When the president has given thanks and the whole congregation has assented, those whom we call deacons give to each of those present a portion of the consecrated bread and wine and water. And on the day called Sunday there is a reading of the Apostles, or the writings of the Prophets are read as long as time permits. When the reader has finished, the president in a discourse urges and invites us to the imitation of these noble things. Then we all stand up together and offer prayers. And, as said before, when we have finished the prayer, bread is brought and wine and water, and the president similarly sends up prayers and thanksgivings to the best of his ability, and the congregation assents, saying the “ Amen” ; the distribution and reception of the consecrated elements by each one takes place and they are sent to the absent by the deacons. Those who prosper, and who so wish, contribute, each one as he chooses to. What is collected is deposited with the president, and he takes care of orphans and widows, and those who are in want on account of sickness or any other cause, and those who are in bonds, and the strangers who are sojourners among us, and briefly, he is the protector of all those in need. Robert Webber, a professor at Wheaton College and author of a number of books on worship, notes that early church worship services had this general form:

Liturgy of the WordLessons from Old and New Testaments Sermon Prayers Hymns Liturgy of the EucharistKiss of peace Offering of bread, wine, water Prayers over elements Remembrance of Christ’ s death Amen, said by all Communion Sharing of material possessions In this structure, worship — focused on Christ through Word and Communion — marked the gathering of the local congregation. In the reading, the prayers, the responses, and the sharing with one another, the body of Christ came together to focus shared praise on her Lord. Paul reflects this same kind of service briefly in Colossians 3:16. As we read Ephesians, we again sense that worship was the heartbeat of the early church. We find hope by grasping who we are in Christ. But hope becomes a reality when we confess Christ with other believers. The better we come to know God through worship, the more clearly our astounding new identity becomes real to us. For Christ is the source of our reality. Apart from Him, we are nothing. In Him, we experience the fullness of the one Person able to fill us in every way. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Reproduce the liturgical elements in Ephesians 1:1-23 and Ephesians 2:1-22 on a single sheet or overhead. Distribute to teams. Each team is first to make a list of “ what we learn about worship.” Then half the teams should focus on how to apply what is learned to personal worship. The other half should seek to apply them to church worship services. The goal of each is to come up with realistic suggestions for strengthening private or public worship.

Teaching Guide Prepare Pray Paul’ s prayer in Ephesians 1:1-23 for your group members daily as you prepare and teach Ephesians.

Explore

1. Ask each person to imagine Paul is praying his Ephesians 1:1-23 prayer for him or her, and to determine which request would be most important. See “ link-to-life” above.
2. Or tell the true story of Helen (above). Ask your group members to predict. Will she go see her friend, or won’ t she. Each must explain why he or she made the prediction.

Expand

1. Do the chart study of Ephesians 1:1-23 and Ephesians 2:1-22 in class, to help your group members develop a sense of their new identity in Christ. See “ link-to-life” above.
2. Or do the liturgical study suggested in “ link-to-life” above.

Apply

1. In fact, Helen did not go see Lucille. Ask your group members to select one of the truths from Ephesians 1:1-23 and Ephesians 2:1-22 that might have freed her to respond. Go around the circle and let each express the truth chosen, and share why he or she sees it as a freeing truth.
2. Or ask for volunteers to plan a worship service for your next social gathering that will use group suggestions to enrich corporate worship.