Ephesians - Lesson 1

LESSON 1 - HANDOUT

Ephesians 1:3-14

Structure: (This follows the NIV except for minor changes to heighten awareness of the Greek structure and the occasional improvement) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ in accordance with the fact that he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight in love. Who has predestined us to be adopted as children through Jesus Christ in accordance with his good pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace which he has freely given us in the One he love sin him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us in all wisdom and understanding. Who has made known to us the mystery of his will in accordance with his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment -to bring all things under one head in Christ, the things in heaven and on earth in him in him we were also chosen, having been predestined in accordance with the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we might be for the praise of his glory,we who were the first to hope in Christ. In him you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation. In him, when you believed, you were marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of his Glory.

Praise God from whom all Blessings Flow. Ephesians 1:1-14

Objectives:

The student can state why the original destination of the letter is unknown (optional).
The student can list the three issues that Paul will deal with in the letter (power,placement, and purity).
The student can explain that the godly life is predestined and not the salvation of individuals.
The student can identify the primary goal of the godly life as bringing glory to God.

Preparation:

Have enough of the handouts to distribute to each class member. (The handout can be found on the last page of this lesson.)
Have someone appointed in advance to lead singing at the end of the class period.The person needs to be familiar with the song "Doxology."
Have someone appointed in advance to lead prayer at the end of the class period. The person needs to be committed to voicing a prayer containing just praise to God (i.e., it needs to avoid some of the traditional prayer language that tends to focus on what we want rather than on what God has done; there are other times and avenues for those types of requests).
Bibles and pens as needed.

Theme:

The only appropriate response to our immeasurable blessings from God is to bless(praise) God, especially in those times when we are plagued with concern and self doubt.

Lesson Plan for Conducting the Class

Introduction:

Call the roll or have someone check it. (It is very important to know who is present so someone can check on those who are absent.) Introduce and welcome visitors, take prayer requests, and make any necessary announcements.
Prayer and songs as desired. For this week in particular a period of praise would be important, whether at the beginning, end, or interspersed throughout the class. Most appropriate would be the song "Doxology" (Praise God from Who All Blessings Flow).
Preview the letter to the Ephesians. (This section is optional. The teacher could easily move to points 3b and c or the "Learning Experience" below. For many Bible classes the information which immediately follows would not be pertinent.)
1. Q: First, ask whether or not there are any footnotes to Ephesians 1:1 in the students' Bibles. A: Some will find a note explaining that the best and earliest manuscripts lack the phrase "in Ephesus."
  1. Despite the missing text, the Greek requires that some place name stood there. So why do the earliest manuscripts leave it blank? Perhaps this was a "circular letter," that is, a letter sent to more than one church. The addressee was left blank so that each congregation could "make it their own." (This also explains why Paul does not include the typical greetings at the end of the letter. Paul spent a long time in Ephesus, so one would expect him to have greeted many brothers and sisters as in Romans 16. If intended to circulate among many churches, then the abrupt ending of Ephesians makes more sense.)
  2. The early church knew this letter under two different titles, the Letter to the Ephesians and the Letter to the Laodiceans. Although the latter might have been a guess made from Colossians 4:16, the mention of these two cities might indicate that the letter went at least to churches in the Lycus valley of Asia Minor (roughly the same churches addressed in Revelation 2-3), although Paul might have intended it to circulate among a wider audience. For simplicity's sake, we will speak of "the Ephesians" or "those in Asia Minor" when referring to the original readers of the letter.
2. Second, note that Paul does not open the letter by addressing the immediate problems. This occurs primarily because the problems the Ephesians face are perceived rather than real. Paul begins, therefore, with an emphasis on what is true, or actually who is true. The Ephesians need to focus on the God who is single-mindedly devoted to them.
3. To do this, Paul begins with praise! He starts with a blessing towards the God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Paul basically opens the letter with "praise God from whom all blessings flow."

Learning Experience:

Background
1. Paul writes primarily to Gentiles in the Ephesian churches. They apparently have two issues.
  1. The first concerns a fear of placement. As a result of two things, they felt out of place.
    1. The Gentiles, whose inclusion among God's people seemed to have arrived rather late in history (i.e., only at the cross), questioned their importance. One could easily (but mistakenly) conclude that God added them only as an afterthought.
    2. Additionally, they lacked familiarity with the practices and demands of scripture, something already familiar to the core of Jewish believers. The Jews knew the Bible with its moral and ethical requirements, but pagan religions had no such expectations. No direct correlation existed between religion and morality, worship and life, outside of Judaism and Christianity in the first century.
  2. The second concerns a fear of power. The fear of the unseen spiritual forces dominated pagan life. To be safe in the pagan world, one added religions as needed. Every family had a god, every profession had a god, every city had a god, and the Roman Empire had its gods. To be exclusive to one deity was to be an "atheist" (the word used ironically in 2:12). Even after conversion, Gentile Christians would not have been able to drop all of their past beliefs quickly. Furthermore, outsiders would blame any tragedies or calamities (whether to the family, a profession, a city, or the empire) on those not properly worshipping "the gods." This, of course, meant the Jews and Christians. As a result, many Gentile Christians felt powerless.
2. Paul attempts to show the Gentile believers that these are really misperceptions rather than issues. However, self-doubt influences lifestyle. (Q: One could take a little time here to discuss how this is true. How does self-doubt affect one's life? A: A number of responses would be appropriate here. Many of the "Makeover" shows today play off of the low self esteem some people have and the results of such thinking. Clothing, hairstyles,homes, and cars can all become representations of how one feels about oneself. When the means are available, people often tend to use things to overcompensate for where they feel weak. Just think of how many advertisements are geared towards "good looks.") The Ephesians lack confidence in Christ which then impacts their lifestyles. A potential problem, therefore, proves to be purity. Paul fears the Gentile Christians will slide back into a life of sinfulness if their doubts remain unchecked. To correct this, Paul focuses their attention away from themselves and onto God, their benevolent Creator. (Note: In order to remind the teacher of these three themes throughout the letter, they will be marked with bold face type in all the lessons.)
The prayer: power and placement
1. Paul usually starts his letters with a prayer of thanksgiving. Paul will include such a prayer in verses 15-23, but he first begins with a blessing. Q: Why might Paul start this letter with a blessing, a prayer of praise directed to God? A: Any number of answers could be considered correct to some extent, but keep attention on the perceived problems of the Ephesians. Why start by praising God? Because they need to keep their eyes on Him! He alone provides their every need.
2. Verses 3-14 constitute one sentence in the original Greek. Q: Why write all of this in such a long sentence? A: The focus remains on God and Paul thus connects all the spiritual blessings to the one God through Christ in the Spirit.
3. The handout contains a translation based on the New International Version with minor alterations made for better preserving the original structure. Have the class answer the following questions based on the problems of placement and power already mentioned and the structure of the prayer as given on the handout. (The teacher may use some or all of the questions provided below.)
  1. Q: What impact might Paul be trying to make upon the recipients with the three occurrences of "who has" (verses 3, 5, and 9)? A:"Predestined" refers to placement; we are God's children. "Made known" refers to power; we who are in Christ are above all other things in heaven or on earth. "Blessed" encompasses both.
  2. Q: What impact might Paul be trying to make with the multiple occurrences of "in accordance with"? A: Nothing happens apart fromGod's will. Gentile believers were never an afterthought of God; rather we stand at the climax of His plan of salvation.
  3. Q: What impact might Paul be trying to make with the multiple occurrences of "in him"? A: Salvation (both power and placement) is found in Jesus Christ alone. For Paul, "in him" also designates a sphere of existence. So long as Christians live "in him," they live pure and holy lives. Thus "in him" or "in Christ" solves the perceived problems of power, placement, and purity.
  4. Q: What impact might Paul be trying to make with the mention ofFather (v. 3), Son (v. 5), and Spirit (v. 13)? A: The gentile believers command the attention of God in His fullness!
  5. Q: What impact might Paul be trying to make with the progression from past to present to future? A: What God has accomplished for us in the past and what He does for us in the present assure good things for the future.
  6. Q: What other things have you noticed that address either of the two problems of placement and power?
The Prayer: purity
1. The focus of the prayer, though, addresses the third issue, that of purity. Paul makes it clear that God's intentions in Christ were to create a people (placement) with the strength (power) to live lives worthy of their calling (purity).
2. The language of predestination occurs with this theme in verses 4-5 and 11.
  1. Note that Paul in no way indicates that God predetermined some individuals for salvation and others for condemnation. This Calvinistic doctrine, although intended to preserve the sovereignty of God, fails to account for the clear teachings of scripture and precisely the fact that God willingly limits Himself for a relationship with us. (Perhaps no greater proof of this exists than the incarnation where an eternal and spiritual God takes on flesh and dies.)
  2. It is clear that Paul speaks here of God's prior intentions that we be "holy and blameless" (v. 4). He also speaks of us being "called" (v.11), a term in Ephesians which refers specifically to living holy and blameless lives.
  3. As with all of Paul's prayers, he fleshes out the opening themes later in the letter. Thus, what gets summarily introduced here will be explained elsewhere in the letter. But for now, note that 2:10 speaks of our being predestined for good works and that 4:1-6:9 speaks to the hope of our calling. In other words, God did not choose salvation for me against my will. He has chosen a life (of purity) for me in accordance with His will, should I so choose it (through faith). That Paul must write this letter at all shows that salvation remains within the power of the believer to accept or reject.
  4. Thus God predestines the plan of salvation and the righteous life for those who believe, not who will and will not believe.
The Prayer: praise. The result of all of this activity should be "the praise of His glory" (verses 6, 12, and 14). We are called to a life of worship, but the purity of our lives determines the quality of that worship. (This point often gets overlooked.)
Paul significantly begins and ends his letter with prayer and with a note of victory. As Paul will argue throughout the rest of the letter, humans win spiritual victories on the battlefields of their lives. They need not worry about the demonic realms: God has that taken care of. His people must concern themselves with being "holy and blameless."

Application:

Sometimes the events that surround us tend to draw attention away from the good news that we belong to God and that He is in control. One of the greatest things about Sunday morning is that together we come into contact with reality. Worship realign sour thinking with God's will. But Sunday's worship establishes a pattern for living the rest of the week.
1. Challenge the students to make an effort to include moments of praise in the coming week, especially at those moments when one seems to be at a loss for words. Ask them to be prepared next week to relate how regaining focus in this way affected their work week.
2. Just like the Ephesians, sometimes we forget what truly belongs to us. Have the class members keep a list this week of the spiritual blessings God provides for them. Inform them that they should be prepared to share some of these at the next class period.
The most appropriate way to make immediate application would be to devote specific time for praise at the end of class. Sing "Doxology" and have some prayer time devoted solely to the praise of God for all of His blessings. (There are other times when we can pray for our needs, but this prayer should be restricted to the praise of our heavenly Father.) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ in accordance with the fact that he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight in love. Who has predestined us to be adopted as children through Jesus Christ in accordance with his good pleasure and will grace which he graced to us in the One he loves in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of his grace which he lavished on us in all wisdom and understanding. Who has made known to us the mystery of his will in accordance with his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ,to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment -to bring all things under one head in Christ, the things in heaven and on earth in him in him we were also called, having been predestined in accordance with the plan of him who works out everything in accordance with the purpose of his will, in order that we might be, we who were the first to hope in Christ In him, also having heard the word of truth,the gospel of your salvationIn him, also having believed you were marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession.

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Lesson 1 Handout

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