Ephesians 1:15-19 Questions & Discussion

1. Pastor Ryan mentioned that Paul's prayer is linked to the previous context by "for this reason".  In light of 1:13-14, Paul said that all believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit when they believe the gospel of their salvation, that they might be to the praise of God's glory. Paul's prayer is thus ultimately for God to be glorified in His people as the Holy Spirit enables them to live in light of all the Spiritual blessings they have in Christ. God has elected, predestined, adopted, redeemed, & sealed us for one ultimate reason: "to be to the praise of the glory of God's grace." Now Paul prays that the Holy Spirit they received would illuminate them to understand this essential truth, and live in light of it.  How often do we as believers pray "big prayers" like this? Is there any prayer request more important than this? If not, what do we need to do in order to change our prayer lives? (get insanely practical here! For example, disciplining ourselves to actually pray everyday is a good start. Or meditating on Scriptures that remind us of God's great end to glorify Himself.)

2. Paul does not pray for the believers to know God better.  That is the end or desired result of his prayer.  But what does Paul first pray for?  Or, what (better, Whom) is the means of this prayer being answered? How often do we pray for the Spirit's divine ministry of illumination in our lives? Is it then possible to get to know God better apart from the work of the Holy Spirit?  In light of this, how should our prayer lives be changed? Have there been "dry" times where Bible reading seemed "dark"? Have we simply memorized facts "about" God, without ever growing closer in our relationship "to" God? Have we been guilty of Galatians 3:3? Do we need to repent? Would it be helpful for us to acquaint ourselves with 1 Cor. 2:6-13 often? Again, what can we begin to practically start doing TODAY? Do we need to do a study on the role & ministry of the Holy Spirit? What can we do to remind ourselves of the necessity of praying for Spiritual wisdom (i.e. putting the gospel into everyday practice) & revelation, whether before we do our devotions, or gather to hear the Word preached on Sunday?

3. How is understanding the hope of our calling practical in real life? Does Paul think it's practical for the church, who according to 3:10 have been called to reveal God to the cosmos, to live in light of this hope? (read 4:1-4). What are hoping in today? Is the hope we've been saved to what occupies our mind, or do we hope in accumulating more things in this world, which on the outside may appear glorious, but will ultimately one day rust? Is it helpful to note that most contexts in the NT that mention hope are in the context of severe persecution for the gospel? Why or why not? (related to question #6)

4. Is understanding the wealth of the glory of God's inheritance in His people practical in real life? Pastor Ryan showed that the culmination of this glory that God's people will bask in is the ultimate of hope of God's people/inheritance. What is "the glory" we set before our eyes day to day? Does constantly setting this wealth before us (instead of the world's 'wealth') actually do anything? Read 2 Cor. 3:18. We will only set this before our eyes when the Spirit shows us the wealth of this glory we will share in fully on that day!

5. Does understanding the immeasurable greatness of God's power at work in us and for us seem practical?  Why, in light of the context (again, remember 1:6, 12, 14) has God given us this power?  Is it to glorify ourselves, or is it to perhaps glorify God by working out our salvation with fear and trembling (i.e. become "holy and blameless before Christ in love")? Some churches boast of God's power at work in them to do "the miraculous." But in context of Ephesians, it seems more probable that they needed to be assured that as God's treasured inheritance, God would give them the power to persevere to the end, or, as we have seen, to attain fully the hope of their calling (i.e. "glorification", Rom. 8:30). Does it help us to know that God has given us infinite power to accomplish His eternal purposes, especially when we are afraid to share the gospel with others, or when we feel ensnared by an apparently unbreakable sin-habit? Does Phil. 4:13 help?

6. Does it help to understand that Paul wrote to the Ephesians while in prison for the gospel, knowing that the Ephesians were being persecuted for the gospel? Imagine one the one hand a beleaguered, weary soldier in the heat of battle, and on the other hand, a comfortable G.I. back at home in a hammock.  To whom would Paul's words be more beneficial to?  Which "soldier" NEEDS to hear this? Is the reason we so often seem indifferent to these glorious truths simply that we have removed ourselves from the battle, so that we really, practically speaking, don't need to be reminded of these truths?  If so, do we need to repent, and get back into the battle?  I am certain that if you begin sharing the gospel with others, which Jesus guarantees will be attended by persecution in time, these truths will become more and more glorious to you, whereas if you continue to isolate yourself & remove yourself from the battle, you will grow in your indifference to them, which in this context is ultimately an indifference to God

Ephesians 1:5 Community Group Questions

1. Does the concept of adoption strengthen or weaken the concept of God's unconditional election of us? For e.g. does the adopted pick the parent, or vice versa? Is it unjust for God to adopt some but not all?

2. John Piper has written a book entitled, "God is the Gospel."  In light of this morning's message, would you agree that the greatest treasure of the gospel is God Himself?  That we are saved, as Eph. 1:5 (KJV, NASB) says, "unto Himself"?

3. Have you ever considered that our forgiveness of sins is but the prerequisite for God's eternal purposes of adoption as sons into God's household?  Eph. 1:4-5 say that the Father chose us & predestined us ultimately for adoption.  Does Galatians 4:4-5 confirm this? How about Romans 8:29?

4. Review: What roles do each of the members of the Trinity play in our adoption?

5. The doctrine of adoption is meant to destroy the legalism that so easiliy creeps up in our Christian walk (i.e. "do in order to be accepted by God"). But does adoption give excuse for lawlessness? (i.e. "well, I'm a son and so I can sin, knowing God will forgive me).

Of the 5 usages of the Greek word huiothesia, 2 are in Romans 8 (8:15, 24). In light of the the beginning of the chapter, do we who have the Spirit of adoption "get to do what we want?"  If so, what is it that regenerate sons ultimately want?

1 John 3:1-4 also shows us that those whom God adopts, God gives the desire to become "holy & blameless before Him" (Eph. 1:4), that is, to be made into the image of God's Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

How does meditating upon the glorious doctrine of adoption enable us to "do sanctification" in our everyday life?  What are some practical ways we can implement this doctrine into our daily lives, that we may be conformed from one degree of glory to another?

Ephesians 1:4-6 Community Group Questions

1. According to v.4, what is the first reason Paul gives for blessing, or giving praise to God the Father?  Is this something that Christians do often? Is it something you do regularly? How do many Christians often respond to the idea of God's unconditional election, or of His sovereign choice of individuals to salvation?

2.What is the significance of Paul telling us that God chose us in Christ "before the foundation of the world"?  Does referencing Romans 9:11 help clear this up? Does this validate the Reformed notion that God's election is unconditional? That is, that His choosing of us unto salvation is not based on any of our own merit or good works or worth? Also see 1 Corinthians 1:27-29; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; Thessalonians 2:13 (see variant reading); 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:1-2

3. According to v. 4, what is the reason that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world? How does understanding the "now/not yet" help us with our assurance (i.e. that God will ultimately present us holy & blameless on the last day, cf. Eph. 5:27; cf. Philippians 1:10), while at the same time not giving us an excuse to live unholy lives in the present (Leviticus 11:44; Deuteronomy 7:1-6; 14:1-2)? Does Philippians 2:12-13 help resolve this apparent tension? How does God's objective declaration of us being holy help us in our subjective fight to become holy in practice? This is important to understand, as Paul doesn't start his commands until chapter 4, where we see how we are to live in a holy and blameless way, in love. That is, God's divine indicatives precede His imperatives.

4. According to verse 5, what is the second reason we are to praise God? Put another way, what is another one of the Spiritual blessings we have in Christ? Just as Paul says that God chose us "in Christ", he now says we are predestined "in" something. According to the ESV translation of 1:4b-5a, what is God's motivation for predestining us? Does translating Romans 8:29 as, "those whom He foreloved He also predestined" strengthen this idea of love being the basis of God's predestinating purposes for His elect? (most NT scholars translate God's "knowing" us as something intimate, that is, not just a cognitive knowledge of facts). Does Deuteronomy 7:1-4 help this?

5. Just as God had a purpose for our being chosen in Christ (namely, "to be holy & blameless before Him), what is the purpose of God predestining us? What is the significance of being adopted as a son in Paul's time?

6. According to verse 6, what is the grand purpose of this section? According to this section, what is the primary reason Paul elaborates upon the doctrines of unconditional election, predestination and adoption?

7. As always, how are all of God's Spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms mediated to His people? Or, better, in and through Whom are they (verse 6b)? Is it significant that in every verse of this section where Paul explains why God the Father should be praised that Jesus is also referenced? Is it then safe to say that God the Father is to be praised by His elect for the grace which He shows us in Christ? Is it also safe to say that God's glory is best revealed to us through the grace He has given us through Christ? If this is true, shouldn't we seek to behold more of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:4-6)? If this is true, shouldn't we with Paul endeavor only to testify to the gospel of the glory of God in Christ (Acts 20:24)?

Remember, orthodoxy produces doxology, which results in orthopraxy.