Ephesians 1

Day 1

Who wrote Ephesians?

When was Ephesians written?

Why is the author writing this?

What is the setting/background during this time?

Day 2

Read Ephesians 1

How does knowing the background of this book help you understand this chapter? 

Day 3

Read Ephesians 1:1-6

Write about your initial thoughts and feelings about these verses. Does anything jump out at you?

We don't really write letters anymore, so how could we express to other believers the same sentiment of Paul's greeting to the Ephesians (v. 1-2)? 

How do you interpret verse 5? Pay attention to the word "predestined." 

Day 4

1:7-10

"In Him we have redemption through His blood..." This is powerful. Here's an Eden Gate-y question for you: How does this make your life different? What does redemption look like for you? 

The Greek word for redemption comes from the word apolutrosis. The apo- denotes separation, departure, cessastion, completion, reversal, and the word as a whole means ransom in full. Look up the definition for redemption & write it out. 

Why do you need redeeming? (this can definitely be a private question that we don't have to share at Bible study) Sure we are all sinners and everyone needs redemption but why do you specifically need redemption? 

Day 5

1:11-14

Below is The Message's translation of our verses for today. While I wouldn't center my Bible study around The Message translation, I think it is a great tool. When I was reading these 4 verses, I was struggling at the overall message Paul was trying to convey. Reading this translation helped me. Read today's passage in several different translations (biblegateway.org is a great resource and allows you to compare 2 versions side-by-side). 

I think all of you are still in your twenties. Well, I spent most of my twenties acting like a fool, and I certainly wasn't finding out who I was in Christ. I was trying to figure out Casey through the eyes of the world. So now I am excited and hopeful that we can go through this journey together as we discover our Christ-given identity. Figuring it out sooner than later is always better. Arrive at your 30s being awesome in Christ! Write out who you think you are in the world vs. who you think you are in Christ.

How does this different perspective change the way you live your life? 

Are you comforted knowing that God "had his eye on us" all along? 

How do you think your past can help frame your future? 

What does it mean to you to be sealed by the Holy Spirit? 

Ephesians 1:11-14

The Message (MSG)

^11-12 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

^13-14 It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.

Day 6

1:15-23

I love what Paul writes to the Ephesians here. First, he is lets them know that he is grateful for them, but what he prays is what I love the most. Sometimes I struggle with knowing what to pray for my fellow Christian brothers and sisters. This is a great example. Pray that God would give the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him and that their eyes of their hearts would be enlightened so that they would know of the hope that He has called us to (that's the Casey paraphrase of v 17&18). 

If someone asked you, "how can I pray for you", what would be your response? What do you think you need specific prayer over? 

At the end of this chapter Paul writes about how the church is Christ's body. What do you think this means? 

We've all had our share of problems with the universal Christian church as well as specific local churches. What can we do specifically to be a positive change in our churches and the big church as a whole?