We are set to get into the book of Ephesians by looking at the first six verses this week. I encourage you to follow the prayer plan of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. After you pray, take time to read through the passage slowly, taking notes on what God is teaching you through His Word, and answer the questions.
Let’s dig into the Word and see what God has to teach us!
As you read this week's passage, look for these words or phrases: grace, peace, spiritual blessing, chose, holy and blameless, predestined, and praise.
Passage for the week: Ephesians 1:1-6 (NASB)
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love,
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
6 To the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
DIGGING DEEPER
Monday:
In verse 1, who does Paul say that he is writing to (try to recall what you read last week in Acts 19)? What is significant about these people (hint: see the last 5 words of this verse)?
How does Paul greet these believers in verse 2? What is grace and peace? Explain your answer.
Explain how comforting it would be to know that grace and peace come from God the Father and Jesus Christ. How does God's grace and peace help you in your life?
Wednesday:
What are the spiritual blessings that Paul is referring to in verse 3? What has God blessed you with personally? What are some practical ways that you can praise God for these things on a regular basis?
What are the heavenly places in Christ referring to in verse 3?
According to verse 4, what is the end result of God saving us? In other words, what kind of Christian does He want you to be?
Friday:
How did God adopt us into His family according to verse 5?
According to verse 6, how should we be living our lives?
CHEW ON THIS:
These verses are a HUGE source of encouragement for us as believers! These verses tell us about how much the Lord has done for us and how He has given us so many wonderful blessings. We can also find assurance in the salvation God has given us since He Himself secured our adoption into His family. But it does not stop there. The Apostle Paul tells us that we have been chosen by God to be holy and blameless, to the praise of His grace. And, all of this has taken place as a result of the “kind intention of His will.” We have so much to be grateful for in the blessings God has given us and for His gracious salvation that He has so freely given us. We were not seeking Him, but He sought us and made us His children by the power of His grace! Spend some time reflecting on that grace today and embrace the life of righteousness that God has planned for you.
For His Name,
Pastor Stephen
