Category: Ephesians

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What truths from Ephesians 4:1-6 impacted you most this week? 

Consider talking or meeting with somebody you trust to discuss what you’ve learned this week and how it’s helping you to grow emotionally and spiritually. 

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Think about this: If you were to write out your top one or two values in life and highlight specific ways you live out these values, what would you write? 

In her book Dare to Lead, Brené Brown provides an exercise to help the reader discover their highest values and identify specific ways they can live out those values. For example, for Brown’s value of Faith she notes that she applies it by living out of the following behaviors:

• I will find the face of God in everyone. 
• I will not use any dehumanizing language. 
• I see you. I hear you. I may not have all the answers but I’m going to keep listening.

On an individual level, following through on this exercise to identify your values is very challenging and may take months to peel back layer after layer. On a corporate level, there are some values that we as followers of Christ all have that are essential to the faith. But we must ensure that the values that really matter most are the ones we adhere to. When we place too high a value on non-essentials of the faith, disunity occurs.

READING & PRAYERS:

     EPHESIANS 4:1-6

Have you ever taken the opportunity to think through your highest values? If so, what are they?  

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I confess that sometimes I get frustrated or angry with others because I have a different viewpoint or perspective than they do. Help me to set aside petty differences and remain focused on the things that really matter most to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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One theme that was a regular for the Apostle Paul was the theme of unity. He knew the people of God had to work together and strive together for the Gospel to penetrate into the minds of hearts of people within every culture. The importance of unity can be observed by paying attention to the number of times Paul uses the word one in this passage… 

Ephesians 4:3-6 (NLT) reads, Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.

The weight in which Paul addresses unity here, and elsewhere in Ephesians, is an indication that a spirit of disunity may have been at work in the hearts and minds of God’s people. Though we live in a different culture and time period, we are just as susceptible to disunity. As followers of Christ, we must remain diligent and continually remember that Christ has broken down the walls of hostility that separate us (Ephesians 2:14).

READING & PRAYERS:

     EPHESIANS 4:1-6, 1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-26

Who is somebody you’d be uncomfortable inviting over for dinner? What is the wall or barrier that is keeping you separated from living in unity with them? 

What may God be inviting you to do in order to recognize He has torn down this barrier?  

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I recognize there are people in which I struggle to have a deeper relationship with and/or experience unity. Continue to open up my eyes, mind, and heart so that I may not give into the temptation to live in disunity. Instead, help me to fully grasp that the walls of hostility have been broken. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Do you ever pause to consider what may be at the root of some of the cultural changes we’ve experienced over the previous 40-50 years? While many may try to boil it down to one or two things (technology, education, etc.) there are often other factors that aren’t as noticeable.

For example, a researcher named Bill Bishop discovered that in 1976, the majority of Americans lived in very diverse communities. Most Americans lived in communities with people of different race, political ideologies, spiritual beliefs, and so on. As a result, only 25% of Americans lived in an area in which the presidential election results from within their community was a landslide. 

But from 1976 onward, people started living in communities with much less diversity. As a result, in 2016, 80% of Americans lived in an area in which the presidential election results from within their community was a landslide.

As followers of Christ, we must strive to understand and appreciate the perspectives of others who may think differently than we do. As brothers and sisters in the family of God, we must strive to live in unity with one another. 

READING & PRAYERS:

     EPHESIANS 4:1-6 (also read the commentary notes in your study bible of choice)

Ephesians 4:2 highlights five qualities needed for unity. These include humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and love. 

How may God be inviting you to grow in humility? Gentleness? Patience? Forbearance? Love?

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I recognize that there is always room for me to grow in the areas of humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and love. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed just thinking about how little of these I have in my life. Continue to help me grow and live out of the integrity and character You intend for me. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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If the first half of Ephesians (Chapters 1-3) focuses on who the people of God are, the second half (Chapters 4-6) focuses on how the people of God are to live. As Paul begins this section of the letter, he focuses first on his own status as a prisoner. It’s a way for Paul to emphasize that nothing ought to prevent God’s people from living out the calling God has for them. 

Admittedly, some Greek scholars note that some of the language used in the first few verses of Chapter 4 are difficult to translate into English. Paul isn’t using soft words of encouragement, but strong words to will the people of God to take initiative to live out their calling. In the Message Bible, Eugene Peterson spells out Ephesians 4:1-3 like this:

While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline…pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

READING & PRAYERS:

     EPHESIANS 4:1-6

Are you walking (or running) on the road God called you to travel? If so, where is this road leading you? If not, what steps may you need to take to rediscover the road God called you to travel? 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, today I simply pray that You will continue to reveal the purpose and calling You have for me. May I not run or hide from Your purpose, but continually run on the path You have for me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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What truths from Ephesians 3:20-21 impacted you most this week? 

Consider talking or meeting with somebody you trust to discuss what you’ve learned this week and how it’s helping you to grow emotionally and spiritually. 

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A lot of people may believe that the opposite of love is hate. But the Scriptures speak much more about fear than hate. And honestly, fear is a major barrier to trusting that God will accomplish immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine within us. Just think of some things we may be afraid of if we have more trust in God than in ourselves…

• We’re afraid to give up control. 
• We’re afraid that by fully trusting Him, He may ask us to do something outside our comfort zone. 
• We’re afraid that by trusting His work within us, we may discover something about ourselves we don’t like.
• We’re afraid that we’re not good enough, or significant enough, or worthy enough, or successful enough to be rooted in His love.
• We may even fear that we’re going to do something that’s going to bring His wrath and judgment upon us. But God’s wrath and judgment for us was already poured out on Jesus Christ. And by trusting in Him, we are now In Christ and we can trust that He has and will continue to accomplish immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine within us.

READING & PRAYERS:

EPHESIANS 3:14-21

What would you say is your greatest fear to fully trusting God in every area of your life? Where do you think this fear comes from?

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I am reminded today that the number one command spoken by Jesus was “Be not afraid.” Continue to help me remember that I do not to be afraid to trust You and to experience Your grace, love, and mercy in my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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What does the world see when it observes Christians today? 

In 2005, Ron Sider published a book titled The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscious: Why are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World? The following is a small portion of statistics he shares about the lives of Christians in our culture today: 

• Church members divorce their spouses as often as their secular neighbors. 
• Church members beat their wives as often as their neighbors. 
• Church members’ giving patterns indicate they are almost as materialistic as non-Christians. 
• White evangelicals are the most likely people to object to neighbors of another race.

Nearly twenty years later, and many of these statistics haven’t changed. The question is, why? The answers to this question may be broad, but the root issue inevitably comes down to heart change. Many Christians use our own willpower to try to make behavioral changes to our lives, but don’t dig beneath the surface to experience real, transformational heart change.

READING & PRAYERS:

     EPHESIANS 3:20-21

As followers of Christ, we ought not live in fear of what others think about us. At the same time, Jesus stated that the world will know we are His disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35). Do your non-Christian friends see you as judgmental, un-empathetic, and/or angry? Or do they see you as a safe, giving, loving person who is continually experiencing real heart change? 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I know that inspiration and transformation are very different. And I confess there are certainly moments when I want to be inspired but not transformed. Today, I’m grateful for the reminder that Your desire or me is real, deep down, transformation. Do this work within me so that others may see Your grace and love in all I do and say. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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As the Apostle Paul finishes his prayer from Ephesians 3:14-21, he writes something that may be initially glossed over. Ephesians 3:20 (NIV) reads, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…

Many read this text and acknowledge that yes, God is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine. And yes, this statement is absolutely true. But read the entire verse again. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine… within us…

Writing to the Christians in Ephesus, Paul was sure to emphasize that God is at work within His people and that He can do immeasurably more within His people than we could ever ask or imagine. 

Looking back through all of Ephesians 1-3, one way to summarize this half of the letter is to say that God has already accomplished, and will continue to accomplish immeasurably more than you could ask or imagine within His people. We simply need to trust Him as He as working within us. 

READING & PRAYERS:

     EPHESIANS 3:14-21 (also read the commentary notes in your study bible of choice)

Review Ephesians 1-3. In what ways has God already accomplished immeasurably more than you could ask or imagine within you?

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that if I answer the above question it will take pages and pages of notes to answer in full. Sometimes I may not even have the words to acknowledge what you have accomplished within me. Today, may I be regularly reminded that You have accomplished great things within me and will continue to do so. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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A. W. Tozer once wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Just think about the implications of that statement. What comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you. 

Not your spouse, your kids, your friends, your job, your home, or anything else. But what you believe about God is the most important thing about you. 

If you continue to boil it down, it all comes down to trust. Do you trust God? Fully? Wholly? Unconditionally? 

For those who have professed faith in Christ, we would like to say that we do trust God. And there are moments in our lives when we do have absolute trust in Him. 

But there are other moments when we may not have full trust in God. Moments when we want Him to to accomplish our will instead of us fulfilling His will. Moments when we want God to intervene in others’ lives, but not in our own. Moments when we may be afraid of what could happen if we give Him control.

READING & PRAYERS:

     EPHESIANS 3:20-21

Is there any area of your life right now in which you’re not trusting God? Take the opportunity today to release it over to Him. 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I confess there are moments when I want You to fulfill my will instead of me being willing and open to live out Your will. This week, may I open my life completely to You, trusting You to accomplish within me immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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