Ephesians

.... God’s Best and

In this study, "Discipleship Course, # 2" we are desirous that you will enter into a wonderful study of the Book of Ephesians. This will bring great blessing, joy, strengthening, and maturing to your life.

We will be weaving together two things: a study outline of the book itself as we cover it section by section, and questions for you to fill in as you go through the study. Read the text that applies, many times, as you do the questions.

It is very important that you read, and read, and reread the book of Ephesians. In fact, you will get out of this exactly what you put into it. If you will read the book of Ephesians carefully, every week, and work on the study regularly, you will find benefit beyond your fondest expectation. No one can do for you what you must do for yourself. Put as much into this study as anything you ever did in your life and the book will live for you.

She was eccentric, certainly, and maybe even a bit crazy -- but nobody could prove it. She is an example of many Christian believers today. They have limitless wealth at their disposal, and yet they live spiritually like paupers.

Paul wrote to the saints about their wealth in Christ Jesus! One of Paul’s primary purposes of writing this epistle was to acquaint the saved of their spiritual wealth in the Savior’s finished work on the Cross.

Of all Paul’s epistles, it is in Ephesians that we find the highest spiritual truths concerning the Christian life. The letter abounds with spiritual riches and yet at the same time it is intensely practical. The first half of the letter reveals our life in Christ to be one of union with him in the highest heavens. The second half shows us in very practical terms how such a heavenly life is to be lived by us down here on the earth. We will not study the letter in great detail. We shall, however, touch on many principles that apply to our lives.

Chapters one through three deal with our wealth,

Chapters four through chapter six, verse 9 deals with our walk,

Chapter six, verse 10 through verse 24, deals with our warfare.

Another way of outlining the book is based on: Key Words in Ephesians:

1. Our Position in Christ -- Sit -- (2:6)

2. Our Life in the World -- Walk -- (4:1)

3. Our Attitude to our Enemy -- Stand -- (6:11)

In the first number of chapters we will see that we are to sit, or enter into the secret of wealth that is ours as a saint of God. As we sit at a table to partake of food, we are to sit at God’s banquet table of permanent spiritual provision. God has made us to sit with Christ in the heavenly places, and every Christian must begin his spiritual life from that place of rest. (1:3, 2:6)

In the second main part of the book (and a number of lessons we will study) we will look at the walk of the Christian, our expression of life in the world as a child of God. We will be challenged to display our Christian walk as a conduct that is in keeping with our high calling in Christ Jesus.

In the last part of the book we find the key to our attitude towards the enemy contained in the words, stand, and having done all to stand, to stand therefore. (6:10-13) This is an expression of our triumph in our position in Christ and his victory over Satan for us.

__________________________________________________________________

Memory verse: "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." (1:4)

PRAY it in! (Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you.)

WRITE it down! (That is how this kind of study will help you so much.)

1. To whom was the epistle written: "to the _________ which are at ________ and to the ___________ in Christ Jesus." (1:1) Written by whom? ________

2. What two things did Paul want them to know? (1:2) ____________ and

___________ These came from whom? ____________________________

3. God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ has "blessed ______ with all

_____________ blessings IN ______________ places in Christ." (1:3) What do you think this means to you?_____________________

_____________________________________________________________

1. We are called ___________, (1:1) meaning to be set apart from sin and this evil world system.

2. He has "__________ us up together and made us sit ___________ in heavenly places in Christ" (2:6).

3. This is true because "There is therefore now __________________

_________________________________________" (Rom. 8:1a).

4. "All ________________ blessings" belong to the child of God. (1:3)

2. As His chosen ones, we were set apart from this evil world system and sins’s condemnation. (II Cor. 5:21; II Cor. 5:17)

3. We were chosen that we might be "holy and blame before Him ____ _______." (1:4)

4. To be holy means in Christ our sins are _________ away (See I Cor. 6:11.), and we are made blameless as a position because "we are made the __________________ of God in Him." (See II Cor. 5:21.)

5. Because of His love, he has predestinated us "unto the _____________

of children, by __________ Christ, to ___________." (1:5) This He did according to the _________________________________. (1:5)

________________. (1:6)

7. What does it mean to you to be accepted in Christ, to be chosen, and to be placed in His family like an adopted child? ________________________

_____________________________________________________________

8. Should this have an effect on your daily life? _________ If so, how?

_____________________________________________________________

1. To be redeemed means we are set free from the _____________ of the law, (Gal. 3:13), as He ____________ us from the present evil world, (Gal. 1:4),

and becomes our new Master, for He died, rose and revived that He might be _________. (Rom. 14:9)

2. We have the "forgiveness of _____________________________________

___________________." (1:7b) To forgive means total pardon, removal of

the condemnation of all our sins, sins blotted out, to be remembered no more. (Write out Isaiah 43:25 below, and see Isa. 44:22.)

______________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________.

1. Verse eight is connected to the last phrase of verse seven, for by His grace,

He "hath ___________ toward us in all ________ and __________."

2. In His wisdom He has made known unto us "the ___________ of His

in Himself." (1:9)

3. What does this mean to you personally? ___________________________

_____________________________________________________________

4. For by His grace He will (in the dispensation of the fulness of times)

"gather ____________ in ONE all __________ in Christ, both which are in

heaven and which are on earth: ________ ____ _______." (1:10)

We are valuable to Him; He will lose none of His own. (See John 6:37-40.)

1. We have "obtained an ________________ in HIM, because we were

2. According to 1:12, His final purpose is "that we should be ______________

3. God the Father and Christ Jesus the Son will work out their eternal plan perfectly. It will not fail!

4. How can you BE to the praise of His glory in every day life? ______________

_____________________________________________________________

5. What does the phrase according to good pleasure that He purposed in

Himself mean to you personally? ___________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

6. Did you see how God will work out His will in this section of verses

seven through twelve? What does that mean to you and your personal

life? _________________________________________________________

1. "ye were _____________ with that Holy Spirit of _____________." (1:13)

2. At the time of our salvation we received the Holy Spirit for He took up

residence in us. (See I Cor. 6:19-20.)

3. The Holy Spirit seals us which is a sign of ownership and security.

4. What do you find about His sealing work in the following verses:

a. Eph. 4:30 __________________________________________________

b. II Cor. 1:22 _________________________________________________

5. This sealing is "the ____________ (or down payment) of our inheritance unto the ___________ of the purchased possession." (1:14)

1. What does this sealing bring to your life? ___________________________

_____________________________________________________________

2. What does this sealing guarantee? ________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Write in your own words the truths you gleaned from this study as to the:

1. Work of the Heavenly Father.

2. Work of the Christ Jesus, the Savior.

3. And the work of the Holy Spirit.

____________________________________________________________________

Memory Verse: "And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power." (1:19)

Paul is a tremendous example of a prayer life. (Read his prayers as found in

Philippians 1:9-11, Ephesians 3:14-21 and Colossians 1:9-12.)

The early church was made up of people who prayed earnestly and they became aware that the "effectual, _____________ prayer of a ________________ man availeth much." (Read James 5:16.)

Can you make this truth yours? _______ How? __________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Do you pray daily? _______ Do you pray fervently, with strong desire? _______

What is God’s promise? ______________________________________________

A. Paul was moved because "of their ________ in the Lord Jesus,and _______ unto all the saints." (1:15)

1. Paul gave thanks for their faith. (See Rom. 1:8; Eph. 2:8; Rom. 10:17.)

2. We are to walk by faith, trust God by faith, and have expectation of answered prayer by faith. What does the Word of God say about faith in Heb. 11:6? ____________________________________________________

3. Why is trusting so important? _____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

B. Paul ceased not to give thanks for the Ephesians, making _________

of _____ in our _________. (1:15-16)

1. Consider the great need of love, for we are -- (Find the phrase or word

that goes with the word love in the following references.)

b. we are a product of His __________, (2:4),

c. we are to be __________ and _____________ in love (3:17),

d. we are to know the ________ of Christ, (3:19),

f. we are to __________ the truth in love, (4:15),

g. and, we are to ________ in love, (5:2).

2. With all of this in mind, Paul __________ for them. (1:16)

3. What do you need to change in order to have a life that shares much love?________________________________________________________

4. What does the Lord want you to do to make the above list real in your

personal life?__________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

5. Will the truths above cause you to change things in your life? If so, how?

_____________________________________________________________

There are three distinct things Paul wanted them to know. They are found in points B-C-D below!

1. God wants us to _________________________________________.

(Psa. 119:18)

2. He desires we will __________, (Matt. 13:9) and not be dull of hearing.

3. God wants us to __________ and see that the Lord is gracious. (Psa. 34:8)

4. That we might ______________ upon His Word and truths. (Psa. 1:2-3)

5. What do you think the above verses are saying to you personally? _______

_____________________________________________________________

B. Paul wanted them to know the "hope of His ____________." (1:18)

1. What do you find concerning this calling in the following verses?

a. Gal. 1:15 ___________________________________________________

b. II Tim. 1:9 __________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

c. What is the result of your faith as found in I Peter 2:9? ______________

___________________________________________________________ d. By God’s divine power He "has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath _____________ us to glory and virtue:" (II Peter 1:3)

e. How will this truth (d, above) change your life? ___________________

___________________________________________________________

2. It is the hope of His calling, what do you find about hope in --

a. I Jh 3:2-3 ___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

b. Rom. 8:24-25 _______________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Memory Verse: "For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" (2:8)

Sin is like a fire for it burns and destroys; it is like rust for it corrodes; it is like drugs for it stupefies, it is like poison for it kills. Sin earns wages, is pays wages, it insists on paying and sin pays wages in kind. (Gal. 6:7-8). Sin pays in installments, it pays in full, and is self executive, for it pays its own debts.

Even after we are saved, sin has its power, it is in you, it will strive to reign. It will remain as an outlaw, hiding away in the heart for we will always have the sin nature. Sin is like a plotter, planning your overthrow; it is an enemy, warring against your life; it is as a tyrant, oppressing the new nature of the saved; it blights, hurts lives, breaks homes, clouds the reason of people, slays the body and damns the soul.

A. We deserved condemnation as those who are "dead in sins." (2:1)

1. To be "dead in ______" means to be dead spiritually toward _________.

2. We were at home in sin, living and walking in the practice of sin.

3. We were "all under _______," (Rom. 3:9) "As it is written, there is ______ righteous, no not _______." (See Rom. 3:10; then read

3:11-18,20)

4. Our condition was, we were "dead in ______________and in ______." (2:1)

a. What do you think the word "trespass" means?____________________

___________________________________________________________

b. Sin is an outward fruit of an inward condition! We naturally sin!

c. What does God say about the heart in Jer. 17:9? ___________________

___________________________________________________________

d. What can a dead person do for himself?___________________________

e. God has proven that all are "under ______"-- under its power, control,dominion, and judgment. (Rom. 3:9)

f. God says also we are "without __________." We are ungodly!

(Rom 5:6)

g. What does God say about the natural man in I Corinthians 2:14?

___________________________________________________________

h. In our sin we missed the mark (Rom. 3:23) of God’s ___________.

B. We walked "according to the _________ of this world." (2:2a)

1. We were, in our sinful state before salvation, conformed to the customs, values and priorities of this world. What does that mean to you? ________

_____________________________________________________________

Unsaved people have a "herd mentality" for they follow the fashions of the world, heed the advice of the world, following the wisdom of the world, and are concerned about the acceptance of the lost people of the world.

2. What does walk mean in 2:2? _____________________________________

C. We walked "according to the _________of the power of the air, the spirit that now ________ in the children of ______________." (2:2)

1. What does God teach us in I John 5:19? _____________________________

_____________________________________________________________

2. What is God’s warning to us in Eph. 4:27? ___________________________

3. The unsaved are largely under satanic control and are not even aware of

it. Who is the "god of this world"? ___________

4. If someone is in Satan’s kingdom, they are his ____________. (Rom. 6:16)

C. We had our manner of life, in times past, "in the ________ of the flesh and of the ____________." (2:3a)

1. We had a corrupt nature, a depraved mind, and an unsurrendered will.

2. Our world is a cesspool of corruption as people live to fulfill the desires

of their sin nature. This was our state before we were saved.

3. We "worked things out to _____________ the _________ of the flesh and the _______." (2:3)

4. What does it mean that people are sensual, or live to fulfill the appetites of

the senses? ____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

E. We were "by nature the ______________ of ___________." (2:3c)

1. To what degree do people allow their personal anger to control them? ________________________________________________________________

2. What do you think this teaches about our sin nature?__________________

_____________________________________________________________

3. How do the above truths (2:1-3) apply to you?_______________________

_____________________________________________________________

4. Should we allow our sin nature to continue to control us? ______________

_____________________________________________________________

Christ died to save us from this horrible condition as seen in Ephesians 2:1-3. He paid for our wicked past, for our devilish conduct by His own blood as a ransom for us. Eternal punishment (death) was passed on to us, but HE paid for that judgment of death. (See Romans 5:12,19; 6:23.)

We were in the misery of sin, in its destructive force, polluted by sin, robbed by it, and wallowing in our acts of sin. But God came to our rescue! We are saved by:

A. God, "who is rich in _________." (2:4a)

1. What is mercy and how is it exhibited? _____________________________

_____________________________________________________________

2. God’s mercy was at whose expense? ________________________________

B. "For His _________ love wherewith He loved Us!" (2:4, 5a)

1. What do we know about God’s love in Rom. 5:8? ______________________

______________________________________________________________

2. What does I John 4:9 teach us? ____________________________________

______________________________________________________________

3. God loved us when we deserved His wrath; we were lost, alienated, dead in sin, corrupt, and totally depraved. How wonderful that love! (2:5a)

4. How will this truth bring change to your life? _______________________

C. Saved because of His grace (2:5b-7)

1. By His grace, "when we were _______ in sins, (He ) hath __________ us together with Christ." (Quicken means to make us alive spiritually.)

2. How would you explain quickening from the story of Lazarus and his

being raised from dead as told in John 11? ___________________________

______________________________________________________________

3. How would you describe grace? ____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

4. Spiritually He "raised us up together, and ______ us ___ together in

heavenly _________ in Christ Jesus." (2:6) This means that we are IN

Christ, in whom every need is supplied right now. (See Romans 8:15-17.)

5. His desire for those "seated" in Christ Jesus is: "in the ages to come He might shew the ____________ riches of His _________ in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." (2:7)

D. Saved by faith alone! (2:8-9)

1. What does putting faith in Christ as Savior mean? (See if you can finish

this words.) rely _______, rec________, acc_____, dep_____ upon, tr_____.

2. What does Hebrews 11:6 teach us? ________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

3. Grace is whose part? ____________ 7. Finish this acrostic:

4. Salvation is"not of ____________" ? FORSAKING

(2:8) Why?_________________________ A____

_______________________________________. I

5. Why is salvation a gift? _______________________ TRU_____

________________________________________ HI__

6. Would man boast if he could work his way to heaven? If so, why? (2:9)

_____________________________________________________________

1. What does it mean to be created in Christ Jesus? _______________________

2. In what different ways should we be an exhibit of His workmanship?

_____________________________________________________________

3. What does Philippians 2:13 mean to you? ___________________________

_____________________________________________________________

4. What does II Corinthians 5:17 mean to you? _________________________

_____________________________________________________________

B. We are His workmanship. . . unto good works . . . through us!

1. What does the Bible teach us about good works in the following verses?

Acts 9:36 _____________________________________________________

Col. 1:10 ______________________________________________________

II Thess. 2:17___________________________________________________

Titus 2:14 _____________________________________________________

Titus 3:8, 14 __________________________________________________

2. What does it mean that we are ordained unto good works? ______________

_______________________________________ what does it mean that you are to walk in them? ____________________________________________

Are you wearing grave clothes as Lazarus did after being raised from the dead? Are you victorious in Christ or still bound in the cords of sins? Are you doing His will or our will? Is your life truly different? Do you love to serve Him?

____________________________________________________________________

Memory Verse: Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God."

Most peace missions will fail; but God’s peace mission will never fail! Mankind has made covenants without end and breaks every one of them! God’s eternal covenant will last and has lasted since the saved have been made one in the eternal God, saved by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and sealed and secured by the work of the Holy Spirit.

It is this peace mission that Paul writes about in this portion. God’s mission is to make one all who are saved, both Jew and Gentile.

Three words could summarize this great work: separation, reconciliation, and unification.

A. The condition of the Gentiles before salvation. (2:11-12)

Eight things are true of the lost Gentiles prior to salvation:

1. We were Gentiles in the ___________. vs 11

2. "who were _________ uncircumcision" -- which was a name of contempt and derision by the Jews. vs 11

3. "That at that time ye were ____________ Christ" we had no claims on the Messiah at all as Gentiles. vs 12

4. "being ___________ from the commonwealth of Israel," and so without the right of citizenship among God’s people. vs 12

5. "___________ from the covenants of promise," we, as Gentiles, are outside the special covenants God had made with the Jews. vs 12

6. "having no ________," that is, no Messianic hope and no hope for the

future.

7. We were "without _________in the world" for we were ungodly.

(Rom 5:6)

8. For we were "far ______" , with no proximity unto God. vs 13

9. What do these facts mean to you? __________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

B. Those who were distant are made "_______ by the blood of Christ."

vs 13

1. His _________ brought us to the fold and to the family of God.

2. His shed blood purchased our _________________. (I Peter 1:18-19)

3. His shed blood made possible _________________ of sin. (Eph. 1:7)

4. His shed blood brings us power to _________ ___________. (Rev. 12:11)

5. We are made "nigh by the blood of Christ." vs. 13 What does that mean? _______________________________________________________

6. Share what the blood of Christ shed for sin means to you? ______________

______________________________________________________________

7. How have these truths brought change to your live? __________________

______________________________________________________________

There is a list of things that took place so that God could remove the wall between the Israelites and the Gentiles. As God removed this wall, all the saved whether Jew or Gentile could become one in Christ --placed in the family of God which is the bride and body of Christ.

A. Consider this list of things God did! (2:14-15)

1. We were made "_______ " by being placed IN Christ. vs 13

2. "For _____ is our ___________," The Greek word from which the word peace comes means to join. Man is joined together with God and man is joined together with man through this peace in salvation, in Christ.

(vs 14)

3. Prejudice is overcome in Christ for sin separates, for He "hath broken

_________ the middle wall of _____________ between us." vs 14

4. There were many things between Jew and Gentile, including: no intermarriage, dietary laws, rite of circumcision, dress codes, religious laws, etc. God "abolished ... the enmity, even the ______ of command-

ments ______________ in ordinances." ( See vs 15. Thus Old Testament Jewish laws were put away by the finished work of Christ.

Col. 2:13-15.)

5. How do you think this applies to you personally? _____________________

_____________________________________________________________

B. Consider what God was bringing about! (2:15-18)

1. God was making something new, "for to make in Himself of twain (two)

one ______ _______, so making peace." vs 15 (He was thus forming the church, all the saved into one body, His bride, the church.)

2. His purpose was to "reconcile both unto God in one ______ by the _______ having slain the __________ thereby." vs 16

3. God’s desire to bring _________ to all who were afar off, and for those who

were nigh. vs 17

4. Glory! "For through Him we both have ________ by one Spirit unto the Father." vs 18 What does it mean to you to have access to the Father? _______________________________________________________

5. How will these truths bring change in your life?______________________

______________________________________________________________

A. We are no longer "______________ and foreigners," vs 19

1. What is significant that we (saved Gentiles) are now "___________ citizens with the _________ and of the household of God?" vs 19

2. Do all have equal rights, privileges and position now? __________

3. What does it mean that we are part of the household of God? ____________

_____________________________________________________________

B. The saved are "built upon the ______________ of the apostles and the

_____________," vs 20

1. Christ Himself is the "_______ corner stone." vs 20

2. What do you find in I Cor. 3:11? ___________________________________

___________________What does that mean? ________________________

3. Since salvation brings reconciliation, do you seek to live at peace with

others, and to bring about reconciliation when needed? _________ How?

_____________________________________________________________

C. The saved (Jews and Gentiles) are like a "_______________ fitly framed ____________. . . growing unto an _________ temple in the Lord." vs 21

1. Are you growing into a HOLY temple in the Lord? _______ If so how?

_____________________________________________________________

2. How does this truth apply to you?__________________________________

________________________________________________________________

D. We are being "builded together for an _________________ of God...." vs 22 You do have the Holy Spirit!

1. Does He have control of your life?__________________________________

2. Do you apply I Corinthians 6:19,20 to your daily life! _______ How? _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

3. What does reconciliation mean to you as it applies to salvation? _________

_____________________________________________________________

4. What does reconciliation mean to you in your relationship to others?

_____________________________________________________________

5. How should we manifest oneness in Christ in the local church?___________

_____________________________________________________________

6. Since, in salvation, you are a part of God’s household, how should you

live from day to day?____________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

In this study we have noted the theme of separation from God and the wonderful reconciliation that is brought by grace. At this point read II Corinthians 5:18-20. This reconciliation is first personal. It is as if, when Jesus was on the cross, He took man by one hand, and the Father by the other hand and bridged the mighty chasm that had separated them. Being reconciled, we have all the blessing and joys that God provides. (Note Ephesians 2:13.) It was the blood that satisfied the just demands of God’s law and made this reconciliation possible. The faith that appropriates salvation (Ephesians 2:4-8) must be focused on that blood. (Romans 3:25).

The key word in Ephesians 2:14-16 is "enmity." We were actually at war with God, rebels against Him and His plan. And how was peace obtained? Verse 14 gives us the answer: "For he is our peace." Jesus Christ made peace. He abolished in his flesh the enmity. He satisfied the justice and mercy of God. At the crucifixion, when Jesus gave up His life, the veil of the temple was torn from the top to the bottom, symbolizing the fact that a way was now made possible for man to approach the most Holy God. The veil -- the entrance -- now becomes His body, broken for us. (Read Hebrews 10:19-22.)

Through all of this there is no longer enmity between the Jew and Gentile,

or man and God, to those who have experienced the peace that comes through faith in that blood. The enmity was contained in the "law of commandments," but Christ satisfied that law and fulfilled it by His death. Because of this finished work of Christ on the cross, God has given us a new nature, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and all that we need for godliness and living. (Read II Peter 1:3-4.) We are not under the Old Testament law but are under a high standard through grace. And the saved are united in the Church to labor for His glory and honor.

____________________________________________________________________

Memory Verse: "That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:" OR "In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him." (3:6 and/or 3:12)

Here is a continuation of the thoughts of chapter two. There we saw the Jews and Gentiles in times past were in enmity with one another. God abolished the enmity and brought peace through the blood of the cross. Now He is building something new, the Church, His Bride, and Body. It is framed together as it is made up of Jew and Gentiles. The old distinctions have been replaced with oneness in Christ.

God is pleased to reveal His grace unto Paul (vs 2) and explain the mystery. In the Bible the term mystery describes a divine truth which had previously not been understood, but now has been revealed by God in His time and plan. The word mystery is used frequently in Ephesians (1:9; 3:3, 4, 9; 5:32; 6:19). Many mysteries are revealed in the Word of God. We share them at the close of this study. The mystery here is: The Gentile believers are added to the Jewish believers into one body.

In this passage before us we have the mystery of the church as God brought about the reconciliation of the Jew and Gentile. The frequent use of the term mystery in the book of Ephesians takes place because this book unfolds the truth about the church as no other book of the Bible.

A. A Prisoner Suffering for God, vs. 1a, "prisoner of _______ Christ for you..."

1. Paul considered himself a prisoner for the __________. (See Acts 26:13-18)

2. Paul was willing to "___________ all things for the _______ sake."

(See II Timothy 2:10.)

3. Paul also called himself "an __________________ in bonds." (6:20)

B. A Privileged Servant of God, 3: 2, for he shared about the "dispensation

of the _________ of _______ which is given." vs 2

1. This mystery included the fact that in this dispensation, Jews and Gentiles

would be joint-______ of all that we have in Christ. (3:6a)

2. All of this takes place because of the _________of God. (3:2)

C. A Praying Steward of God, (3:14) "bow my knees." Of all the apostles,

_______ was indeed a praying man of God.

D. A Properly Equipped Servant of God, 3:7, "made a ___________, according to the ______ of the grace of God...by the effectual working of His _______."

1. All that we have comes by God’s gift of ________ and __________. (vs 7)

2. Our part is to claim these things by ___________. (See Heb. 11:6)

3. Paul was an apostle to the __________. (3:8) (See Rom. 11:13;

I Tim. 2:7)

A. The Church was Foreknown, but Not Understood: vss. 3-4

1. The mystery of the church was made __________ to Paul. vs. 3

2. It was now known by _____________ from God. vs. 3,

The Church was not seen in the Old Testament, neither did the Word of God there prophesy about it existence. The full truth about the church (doctrines, organization, etc.) was not fully given in the gospels either. It is a new work of God, the truth of which was especially given by revelation to Paul to be shared with us in this Epistle. Paul was uniquely a channel of this truth. (3:2-3).

B. The Church was Divinely Foreshadowed. (3:5)

Paul states the fact that the church made up of saved Jews and Gentiles, was revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the ________ Spirit. (3:5) (See John 14:26.)

C. The Church was Divinely Communicated. (3:3)

God wants us to be aware of the great importance of the church which is made up of all that are saved. The Bible puts emphasis upon a local church, in a local place, doing God’s will, for God’s glory, in God’s way.

1. What does the local church mean to you? ___________________________

______________________________________________________________

2. Since Christ died for the church (5:25) should we sacrifice for the work of

the local church? _________ If so, why?____________________________

_______________________________________ In what better way could you labor in the ministry of Riverview Baptist Church? _______________

_____________________________________________________________

D. The Church Has Distinct Features: (3:6)

1. Jews and Gentiles are _____________. (3:6a)

2. Jews and Gentiles are "of the __________ body" (3:6)

3. They are together "partakers of His ______________ in Christ by the

___________." (3:6) (In the church there is neither Jew nor Gentile.)

About one body, read: Eph. 4:4; II Cor. 12:12-14

about inheritance read: Eph. 1:18 Heb. 9:15; Eph. 1:14

about being sealed, read: Eph. 1:13-14.

A. The Servant Engaged, vs. 7

1. Paul was made a "minister, according to the_____ of the _______ of God."

2. Paul was to receive and write this revelation about the Church.

3. This was given unto him "by the effectual working of his (God’s) ______." This grace and power is available for us today for our bold witness.

B. The Subject Given, vss. 8a - 10

1. Paul preached, among the Gentiles, as the "least of all ________." vs 8

2. He declared the "__________________ riches of Christ;" vs. 8

3. How can we have a part in sharing these unsearchable riches in Christ?

4. This again was done only by this ________ given (of God). vs 8

5. God wants all the saved to know the "fellowship of the ___________, which from the beginning of the _________ hath been hid in God." vs. 9

6. God desires people to know of the importance of a church! How can you

have a part in this? _____________________________________________

7. God, who created all things, planned for the church from the beginning of

the world. vs 9 The local church is extremely important to God!

Is it to you? ____ Why? ________________________________________

8. Verse 10 speaks of the church knowing the "manifold __________ of God."

C. The Strength Given, vss. 11 - 13

1. It is fulfilled by the "eternal ____________ which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." vs. 11 The Church is God’s eternal purpose for today.

2. "In _________ we have ______________ and ________ with confidence by the faith of him." vs. 12 (We have a message to give as Paul did. We have access to His power through us, as Christ works His boldness in us.)

3. God‘s strength is ours in the midst of persecution and difficulty. We may have many ______________, but need not faint because of them. vs 13

_________________________________________________________________

A mystery if not something eerie or unknowable, but rather a truth that was hidden by God in times past and is now revealed to those who are in His family. A mystery is a sacred secret that is unknown to unbelievers, but understood and treasured by the people of God.

When God saved Paul, He deposited with him the precious treasures of Gospel truth. (I Tim. 1:11). Paul in turn committed these truths to others, exhorting them to commit the truths to faithful men who would guard them and share them.

( II Tim. 2:2). God’s church is not to be shackled by culture, class, or any other physical distinction. How glorious the mystery of the church.

Paul began his ministry in a local church in the northern city of Antioch that was composed of both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 11:19-26). When the council was held at Jerusalem to determine the status of believing Gentiles, Paul courageously defended the grace of God and the unity of the church. (See Acts 15, Gal. 2:1-10.) Paul was called the apostle to the Gentiles. (See Rom. 11:13; 15:15-16; I Tim. 2:7; Eph. 3:8)

To Paul it was indeed very important to share God’s plan for the church. It was Paul’s focus to share God’s secret and mystery, and to fulfill God’s will. This brought much persecution to Paul from the unsaved religious Jews who constantly stirred up trouble for Paul. They hated him for he was bringing together both Jew and Gentile into the church. Paul called himself a prisoner as well as a minister for he sacrificed as a bond-slave and spent much time in prison. (3:1, 3:7)

1. Reception of the Word, mystery of the Kingdom Matt. 13:11-13

2. Rejection of Israel, Gentiles grafted into the church Rom. 11:23-26

3. At the return of Christ, we shall be changed I Cor. 15:51-52

4. Relation of Christ and the Church Eph. 5:30-32

5. Revelation of Christ, mystery of godliness I Tim. 3:16

6. Rebellion of the Antichrist, mystery of iniquity II Thess. 2:7

7. Religion through the ages, mystery of the seven

stars, the churches in His hand Rev. 1:20

8. Reactions to Babylon, the great, the mother of

harlots, mystery of the woman Rev. 17:5, 7

Memory Verse: "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." (Eph. 3:20)

1. Do you feel great limitations, experience defeat, and feel powerless?

2. Do you feel greatly discouraged and of little strength?

3. Have you thought about what the early church suffered? They did not have the completed printed Bible as we have. They did not have all the books, tapes, videos, and a multitude of things to help them in their Christian walk. Paul was greatly burdened for their needs.

4. How does Paul’s prayer relate to the previous study concerning the Church

and the enmity abolished between the Jews and Gentiles? __________________

_________________________________________________________________

This was Paul’s second prayer for the Ephesians and, of course, it applies to us today as well. In Chapter 1:15-23, he prayed for their enlightenment; but in this prayer the emphasis is put upon enablement. Paul desired that they would understand their wealth in Christ, embrace the truth of it, and live a victorious life because of it. He wanted them to know they were able to live the Christian life!

A. His prayer was selfless! vs. 13

1. He was not concerned about himself. He was burdened that "ye ________

not at my tribulations for you," You would think that Paul would be the one who might faint since he was in prison. How do you think the believers would respond if they were to faint at Paul’s tribulations? (3:13) _____________________________________________________________

2. In what way was Paul’s tribulations working for good? (Read Phil. 1:12-14 for an answer.) ________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________ (vs. 13)

3. Paul was concerned they could (and would) endure the persecutions and

hardships they were experiencing. What does God want to do through

our testings? (See James 1:1-3)___________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

B. His prayer was genuine! vs. 14-15

1. Paul "bowed his __________ unto the Father..." This gives us an understanding of his sincerity, burden, heart-cry, and compassion he had for the early church. (Compare with Gal. 4:19.)

2. A father has a very special kind of love. God is a real Father, the pattern

Father. What does Matt 7:11 teach us? _____________________________

_____________________________________________________________

3. What is God called in II Cor. 1:3? __________________________________

C. He prayed for their spiritual strength! (vs. 16)

Carefully consider the things Paul prayed for! What should it mean to you?

1. What does Paul say about God’s riches as found in Christ through grace?

"That he would _________ you, according to the riches of his grace."

vs. 16

What does he say about this grace in the following portions in Ephesians?

a. 1:7 ________________________________________________________

b. 1:18 _______________________________________________________

c. 2:4 ________________________________________________________

d. 2:7 ________________________________________________________

e. 3:8 ________________________________________________________

Daily, by God’s grace they were to have spiritual strengthening. And YOU?

2. The presence of the Holy Spirit becomes a reality when we are saved.

We are " to be _______________ with _________ by His _________ in the inner man." (vs. 16b) The power of the Holy Spirit makes us able to live the Christian life. Consider the following:

a. Did Christ depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit? (See Luke 4:1,14.) _______ What did Christ pray for as found in John 14:16?

______________________________ Why? _______________________

b. Who was sent in Christ’s name? (Read John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7.)

_______________ Why?_______________________________________

D. He prayed for the Ephesians’ spiritual depth. vs. 17

Paul uses three pictures to convey this idea of spiritual depth.

1. "That Christ may _________ in your hearts by _________:" To dwell means "to settle down, to be at home at, to feel at home." We are saved by faith, by trusting in Him, and that only.

2. "that ye, being ______________..." Our spiritual roots are to be deep in the soil of the Word of God, which brings stability, and nourishment. (Read Psalm 1:1-5.) Do you want to prosper, to be fruitful? ___________

3. "and _____________ in love." Grounded speaks of the foundation upon

which we are to build. (See Colossians 2:6-7.) What are you doing to be

grounded upon Christ? _________________________________________

E. He prayed they would comprehend (understand) the love of God.

vss. 18-19

1. He desired they would grasp or lay hold of the greatness of God’s love for them. God’s love is precious and wonderful . "We are to know the _______ of Christ that passeth ____________________." (vs. 19)

2. Paul wanted them (and it is ours as well) to comprehend the dimensions of this love. (vs. 18) (Read verses 17,18,19, for they are tied together!)

a. That they might comprehend the ___________ of it -- boundless!

b. They might comprehend (know) the ___________ of it -- endless!

c. They might comprehend (know) the ___________ of it -- fathomless!

d. They might comprehend (know) the ___________ of it -- measureless!

3. In what way (or ways) is the love of Christ known, embraced, and controlling your life? ____________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

4. How is the power of God seen in your present daily life? vs. 19b

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Paul had deep convictions; he knew God’s power in his life through personal, daily experience. He also wanted the believers to know God’s power in their lives in a practical way.

A. About God’s Power: vs. 20

1. Power shortage is not something known to God.

2. Paul uses many superlatives to try and get across to us the availability of God’s power for our personal lives.

3. The Holy Spirit led Paul to write:"Now unto him that is ______ TO DO _______________ abundantly ________ all that we ask or think,"

4. God is ABLE to DO -- not just above, but exceeding abundantly above

all we could ever pray for. Above what we could ask or even think possible.

5. It is based on what we ask for or pray for by __________. (Hebrews 11:6)

6. What does God teach us about faith in Romans 10:17? _________________

_____________________________________________________________

7. What do the words -- all, above, abundantly, exceeding mean to you

personally in your daily life? _____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

8. This is all limited by or "according to the ____________ that worketh in us." vs. 20b

a. This word power is the Greek word dunamis, or the dynamite of God,

meaning the energeia or energy found in God’s ability. (Read 1:11, 19; 2:2; 3:7; and 4:16.) Is this personal? Do you live by His power?

b. God’s energy is effectual, working in us and through us as we allow Him to work His will, plan, and way in our lives.

c. The only limit is the limit we put upon God’s right and control in our lives. Consider how you might be limiting God? ___________________

___________________________________________________________

B. About God’s Glory in the Church: vs. 21

1. God only should receive the praise, glory, and honor. (See Rev. 5:12)

2. The Spirit of God works to bring _________ to Christ. (See John 16:14.)

3. Our purpose ought to be to bring glory to God "in the _________ by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without _______."

4. We are to do that as a "spiritual household and ________________ of God through the Spirit." (See Ephesians 2:21-22.)

5. Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, calls us: (See I Peter 2:9.)

a. a ____________ generation, "That we might show forth

b. a _____________ priesthood, His praises, who called us out

c. an holy _____________, darkness unto His

d. a ____________ (or special, set apart) people. marvelous light."

1. What are the priorities of your life, what do you live for? ___________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. How important is the local church to you? (give your testimony or thoughts about this) ________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

3. What are you trusting God for as you bring your requests to Him? ___________

__________________________________________________________________

4. Find the four petitions that began with the word, that. What were they?

____________________________________________________________________

Memory Verse: "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." (4:1)

The first three chapters of Ephesians dealt with the wealth of the Christian. Chapter four deals with the walk of the Christian. In this section, along with chapter five, Paul deals with the walk as it relates to the Church as well as to our personal daily life and relationships with others in various aspects of our daily life.

Chapters 1-3 teach us doctrine; chapters 4-6 teach Christian duty. It is very important that we establish our behavior on the basis of beliefs (doctrine) rather than establish our beliefs on the basis of behavior. Either our theology (doctrine) will dictate our lifestyle, or our lifestyle will dictate our theology. Paul, therefore, first establishes Biblical theology, and then proceeds to teach Christian behavior which results from understanding of our Biblical position in Christ.

Remember that the Church, including the Church Age, was the mystery that was revealed by God through Paul. In the last study we noted Paul’s prayer and his deep concern for the local church and its power, fulness, and enablement through God’s provisions. The Church, as the mystery of God’s doings revealed in this age, must also be a healthy body. Remember the Church is set forth as the bride of Christ, His body, and His building. And the local church is the visible manifestation of this body, bride, and building.

Here we will study Paul’s God-given burden as he deals with the Christian’s part in helping to build a healthy body -- a healthy church. God is engaged in building a healthy, spiritual church and we are involved in making this possible as a part of that church. (Note Ephesians 2:21-22.)

A. Preserving the Church’s Unity vss. 1-3

The resounding theme of chapter four is unity (vss. 3-6, 13, 16, 25). He is not speaking of the ecumenical unity of all faiths or beliefs, nor is he advancing the idea of unity of all religions. Instead, he teaches the unity of the Spirit which is to be evident among the true believers in the Body of Christ. (vs. 3)

1. Paul’s general burden: "we are called unto unity"

a. Paul was burdened that the Christian "walk _____________ of the vocation wherewith ye are ___________." vs. 1

b. What does that mean to you in practical application? _______________

___________________________________________________________

c. Paul wrote often about our walk! (Walk denotes direction, movement,

action, purpose, and is a good word to describe how we are to live our daily life. Write a phrase from the following portions as to our walk.)

• Eph. 4:1 _________________________________________________

• Eph. 4:17 ________________________________________________

• Eph. 5:2 _________________________________________________

• Eph. 5:8 _________________________________________________

• Eph. 5:15 ________________________________________________

d. Have you considered that YOU are called? What does the call of God

mean to you? _______________________________________________

_______________________________ (4:1)

What do the following teach?

• Rom. 11:29 _______________________________________________

• II Tim. 1:9 ________________________________________________

Paul could have approached this issue of godly living by giving harsh commands. However, he exhorted the Christians in love. His message was a heart-to-heart pleading (beseech YOU, vs.1) that they would perform what he taught them.

e. The goal of this holy walk will be "endeavoring to keep the ________

of the ________ in the bond of peace." (vs. 3) The word, endeavor,

(Greek, spoudazo) means to make haste, to be eager. And the word,

keep means to watch over, to preserve. We should be eager to preserve

the unity that God’s Spirit will give to those who are at peace with God.

2. Paul reveals HOW this unity is kept. vss. 2-4

a. By a walk in low_________! (vs. 2) The Greek word for lowliness is

actually a compound of two words -- low degree or brought low, and

the second, of mind.

• How did Paul serve? Acts 20:19? _____________________________

• What do we read about Christ’s self-humbling in Phil. 2:5-11?

_________________________________________________________

• Give the admonition as found in Philippians 2:3. _________________

_________________________________________________________

• Humility should lead us to a b______ of p________. (Eph. 4:3c)

• True humility will bring about submission and cooperation.

b. By a walk in m_____________! (vs. 2) Meekness is the inner spirit in which we accept God’s dealings with us as good and therefore without disputing or resisting.

We practice meekness by our surrender. (See Romans 6:16,19.)

Many Christians are confused about rights! We have no rights to do as we please for we were created by God, and purchased by Christ’s blood. All our rights must be yielded to God -- that is true meekness.

c. By a walk of long_____________! (vs. 2) (See Gal. 5:23) It is strength under control. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s control of our lives.

d. By a walk of "for__________ one another in ________." (vs 2) Literally, this word means to endure! It also means to hold up or to sustain!

• How does Galatians 6:2 relate to this? _________________________

_________________________________________________________

• What does Colossians 3:13 teach us about forbearing?_____________

________________________________________________________

There will be times when we are offended by the word, attitudes, and actions of others. But if unity is to be attained, we must learn to endure and forgive one another. This is accomplished in love. Our purpose is to restore, and not to condemn and judge others.

B. Perceiving Its Unity (vss. 4-6) (Again read this portion a number of times.)

It is important that we note some of the texts where the word body is used in the New Testament as it relates to the Church. (Study the following: Ephesians 1:22-23; Romans 12:4-5; I Corinthians 12:12-31.)

There is a seven-fold unity that is needed in the Church.

1. One ________ (vs. 4) Christ is the head of this body. (4:15; Col. 1:18)

It is the head that is responsible for the nourishment of the entire physical man. the head gives orders to eat and drink. In similar fashion Christ nourishes His body, the Church, through the joints of supply.

(See Eph. 4:16 and Col. 2:19.)

a. It is the h______ that dir______ the actions of the body.

b. What happens if some part of the body is hurt? Does it affect us?

___________________________________________________________

c. Believers are ___________ of Christ’s body. (See I Cor. 12:27.)

Even as the temple of God (the physical body) is a growing temple, so the Body of Christ is a growing body. (Eph. 4:16)

2. One _________ (vs. 4) The Holy Spirit came as the Comforter to minister

to the saints and to baptize them into that one body (I Cor. 12:13 ;

Eph. 2:18-22) One Spirit ind_______ the individual and that is the Holy Spirit. (See I Cor. 6:19-20.)

3. "even as you are called in ONE _________ of your calling. (vs. 4)

There is one hope! (Consider the following verses, fill the blank.)

a. The hope of the ___________________ of the body. (Acts 23:6; 24:15)

b. The hope of the ___________. (Col. 1:23)

c. The hope of ___________ with the loved ones in Christ. (I Thes. 4:13-18)

d. The hope of _____________ in all its fullness. (I Thess. 5:8)

e. The hope of ___________________. (Gal. 5:5)

f. The hope of ___________ to be revealed in us. (Rom. 8:18)

g. The hope of ____________ life. (Titus 1:2)

h. The blessed hope of ___________ return. (Titus 2:13)

4. One _________ (vs. 5) Recognition of the lordship of Christ builds ________ among God’s children. When we all seek direction from Him, we will all walk in fellowship. (See I John 1:7.)

5. One __________ (vs 5) Jude 3 reminds of us of "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." This faith comes by ___________ the Word of God. (Rom. 10:17) If we are to have unity among the saved, the inspiration and infallibility of the Word of God must be taught, and

embraced. It must be our only authority for faith and practice.

6. One __________ (vs 5) Without doubt he is writing of the baptism of the

_________ as found in I Corinthians 12:13. Spirit baptism is that work of

7. One _______ and ____________ of _______, who is __________ all, and through all, and ______ you all. (vs. 6) This completes the unity because this work of unity is only through God.

• We saw God the Spirit in verse 4,

• God the Son in verse 5, and now God the Father, the sovereign in verse 6.

• God is called __________to emphasize the family unity of believers.

(See Eph. 2:19; 3:15.)

A. All of God’s abundant, abounding ________ is available. (vs. 7)

God has made abundant provisions for the building of the church. Grace is desire and ability to do God’s will and work. (Phil. 2:13) Christ unifies His people by giving them His grace. We are the recipients of the resources we need, and each of us is equipped adequately to do his own job for God. We have the right quality and quantity of spiritual resources because it is according to the measure of the gift of Christ. (vs. 7)

B. Christ "gave _______ unto men." (vs. 8-11)

Christ unified believers by leading captive a multitude of prisoners. (vs 8)

Through His death, Christ defeated the forces of Satan. This important passage describes His descent into hades to set free a multitude of captives. Christ took the saved to heaven (who had died in faith as Old Testament saved people). These had been in Abraham’s bosom. There was a part or area in hades, a place where souls waited until the resurrection. Christ was victor over death, and took these saved to be with Himself in glory. As our victor He was crowned with glory and honor. (Read Eph. 4:8-10; Phil. 2:9-11; Heb. 2:7, 9.)

1. Christ equips His Church. He gave "__________ unto men." (vs. 8)

2. Those gifts were people whom He called to further the ministry of the

gospel, through the Church.

a. "He gave some, _____________, and some ____________, and some ______________; and some _____________ and ______________. (vs. 11)

b. Which ones are gifts still given today? _____________, ____________,

and ______________.

c. Examine Romans 12:6-8, what do you find there about gifts?

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

The purposes for which these gifted men were given to Christ’s body are stated in Ephesians 4:12-16. Basically, they were given to preach, teach the Word, and to exhort and encourage the saints to serve God. The saints are thus equipped for service. These gifted men (vs 11) are the spark plugs to fire up the saints to work for Christ, with the result that the Body of Christ grows.

A. To equip the saints.... "_______________ of the saints." (vs. 12)

1. There should be no comma in the text between saints and for the work of the ministry. God desires saints be perfected for their work of ministry.

2. Leaders (as listed above) are to labor to equip the saints "for the __________ of the (their) ministry.

3. The word equip means "to outfit, to put in order, to arrange."

a. Are you ready and willing to be equipped, outfitted, prepared for

greater service? __________ How? ______________________________

b. Are you willing to follow leaders as they seek to equip you? _______

B. To encourage the saints... "for the work of the _______________." (vs. 12)

1. What does God want according to II Tim. 2:2? _______________________

_____________________________________________________________

2. Spirit-led believers will naturally submit themselves to godly men whom

Christ has given to them as His gifts.

3. What does Hebrews 13:7, 17 teach us? _____________________________

_____________________________________________________________

C. To edify the saints. . . "edify of the body" (vs. 12)

1. The purpose is "for the ______________ of the body of Christ:"

(vs. 12)

2. This means certain things: (for growth -- numbers, strength, in love)

a. "til we all _______ in the unity of the faith, and of the _____________ of the Son of God..." (vs. 13)

b. "unto a ____________ (complete, mature) man, unto the __________ of the stature of the __________ of Christ." (vs. 13)

3. This necessitates both evang________ and disc____________ in the local church. Are you involved? ________ If so, how? _________________

_____________________________________________________________

D. To fulfill the purposes God has given!~ (vss. 13-16)

1. That the saints might be conformed to Christ. God desires that we might have "_______________ of the Son of God and come to the measure of the ___________ of the fulness of Christ." (vs. 13)

a. Are you growing unto that fulness? _______ How? _________________

___________________________________________________________

b. What would this fulness bring in your life? _______________________

___________________________________________________________

2. That the saints might: (vs. 14)

a. "henceforth be no _________ children, __________ to and fro,

b. "and _____________ about with every wind of _____________,"

c. "by the ____________ of men, and _______________ craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to ___________." (vs. 14)

d. Are you applying doctrine, (teaching) when it is given at church services, Sunday School, and various studies? _______ Do you take

notes on messages?________ And do you review those notes? ________

e. How can you better apply God’s Word? __________________________

___________________________________________________________

a. "Speaking the truth in love" means to watch over our tongues, (and

thoughts) that we do not speak ______ to others or to ourselves.

b. Note verse 25 ! What does it teach you? __________________________

___________________________________________________________

c. Verse 15, speaking the truth in love, is the first principle of good

communication in the home and all other relationships. We must --

• speak -- not clam up, be unwilling to talk; we are commanded to

speak.

• the truth -- not denying, or speaking falsely, but truth speaking.

• in love -- not hateful, hurting others, but edifying them.

4. That the saints might " be fitly __________ together." (vs. 16)

a. We are to be to others what the joints of our body are to us. We are

to supply the needs of others, "according to the __________ of every part..." Or according to our gifts and God-given abilities. (vs. 16)

b. God wants us to complement one another, contributing to the ministry

as we have part in "making increase of the _________ unto the edifying of itself in ____________." (vs. 16c)

The health of the body of Christ, (the local church) depends upon every saved person. Each member has a work to perform, a ministry to fulfill, and a Savior to glorify. Building the local church is not the job of pastor-teachers or evangelists, but the work of every saint of God.

1. What are you doing to bring unity?____________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. How are you a gift to others in the church?______________________________

_________________________________________________________________

3. What are you doing to equip (or be equipped), to help build the body?________

________________________________________________________________

Memory Verse: "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Eph. 4:24

Warren W. Wiersbe titled this portion, Taking Off the Grave clothes! There is a reason for this. It is God’s will that our walk be a walk in purity. In order for this to take place, we must remove the grave clothes of our past. Grave clothes speak of the things of death, corruption, and/or the things of the old nature and the practice of sin. We are to walk in the victory that is in Christ Jesus. Grave clothes bind, enslave, and represent our sinful habits and practices of the past from which Christ came to set us free. (Gal. 1:4; Rom. 8:37; II Cor. 1:14)

In this portion we will see that a great emphasis is put upon our thoughts. Our actions spring from our thoughts, for as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. (Prov. 23:7) And our thoughts are built around what we believe about the world about us. We easily build a belief system about many things which can be totally contrary to what the Word of God teaches.

What the unsaved live (their walk) is based upon what they believe, and thus what they think. Our thoughts have far greater impact upon our actions than we realize. Christ said, "ye shall know the truth (what you think upon, have in your heart) and the truth shall set you free." (John 8:32)

I. The Wrong Walk -- Eph. 4:17-19 (Read, reread, and ponder the text)

A. The Error of Their Thinking! vss. 17-18

1. The natural man darkens his mind! "having the _________________

darkened." (vs. 18) This is a deliberate choice. The word, understanding

means "to think through." They reject truth and so are blinded.

a. The unsaved are "alienated from the ______ of God through the ______________ that is in them." (vs. 18) And they cannot think about and understand spiritual things and see God’s truth.

(See I Cor. 2:14.)

b. Alienated means to be estranged or shut out from one’s fellowship.

c. There is a pattern of decay that takes place and permeates every area of

man’s existence. (See Romans 1:8-32.)

d. The truth of the Word of God is called ___________. (Psa. 119:130)

e. Satan seeks to __________ mankind so they don’t come to Christ.

(See II Cor. 4:3-4.)

f. God’s purpose for preaching and teaching is to bring light to

darkened _________. (Acts 26:18)

g. What has God done for you in this area since you were saved? ________

___________________________________________________________

2. The natural man dulls his mind! It is because of the "blindness of _______ heart." (vs. 18) This blindness literally means to cover with a callous.

a. Unsaved people have deliberate _____________ of heart. (Heb. 3:8, 13)

b. They reject the Word of God and become more blind.

c. What if, after salvation, you become hard of heart, will you gradually

become blind to your real needs? _________ What should you do?

___________________________________________________________

It is the ignorance and rejection of liberating truth of the Word of God that causes man to walk in darkness and failure. When the mind’s focus is self and not God, we will live for materialism, and all that the world offers of sin and self-indulgence -- poverty, crime, violence, and every kind of wick ness becomes the norm. The man who continues to allow (chooses) his mind to be darkened will find it hard to have any spiritual conviction.

B. The Results of Their Thinking: vs. 19

1. The natural man delivers his mind over to lasciviousness. vs. 19

a. "Who being past __________ have given themselves over unto

b. They become past feeling, or insen_______ to spiritual things. They give themselves over to deliberately work wickedness in their own lives. c. When a person rejects God’s truth, he does not free himself to do as he

wants; he is imprisoned to his own deceitful __________. (vs. 22)

d. Lasciviousness means "to stir up sensual and sexual desires." This

practice brings a complete surrendering of restraint and a loss of

conscience. (Compare Romans 1:24-28 with Acts 24:16.)

e. Is a pure mind important? ________ What are you doing to maintain

purity of thought life? ________________________________________

_____________________________________ (Consider Psa. 119:9,11.)

2. The natural man works all "uncleanness with ____________." vs. 19

a. Selfish, sinful, immoral lusts dictate the actions of his life.

b. Having given himself over to a lustful mind the outward actions, deeds,

thoughts, and motivations of the __________ become decisions of

uncleanness with utter abandonment.

But we have not "so ___________ Christ, if so be that ye have __________ him, and have been __________ by him, as the truth is in Jesus." (vs. 20,21) What a contrast between the mind controlled by God, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the mind controlled by the lustful, wicked, sinful heart and nature of an unsaved (unregenerated) person.

A. The Saint’s Mind vss. 20-24

1. The mind is motivated by what we have learned and been taught.

(vs. 20-21)

a. To "learn ________," means to have a personal relationship with Him.

b. By the study of the Word of God, we have heard and been "tau______

by him, as the ________ is in Jesus." Christ changes our minds, our

outlook, and character as we obey the Scriptures.

c. What are you doing to make obedience of the Word of God easier? ____

__________________________________________________________

2. The mind not occupied with Christ is usually corrupt! (vs. 22)

Everything outside of Christ is dying, in the state of death, or becoming corrupt!

a. We are commanded to "________ _______" the works of the old man

(sin nature).

b. The word conversation is an old English word meaning "manner of life." Our life style should be transformed.

c. The manner of life and deceitful ______ comes from a mind controlled

by the dictates of a sinful nature. (vs. 22)

d. To what extent do you feel you are allowing the Lord to change your

thinking, your life style? ______________________________________

___________________________________________________________

3. The renewed mind is a mind controlled by Christ, by the Word of God

through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. (vs. 23)

a. Conversion is a crisis that leads to a process of ___________ as we renew

our minds with the Word of God daily. (See Rom. 12:2; Psa. 1:2-3.)

b. God wants to bring "transf__________ in our lives" as we apply the Word of God. Only then can we prove out in daily life "what is that good, and _____________, and __________, will of God."

(See Romans 12:2.)

c. We are "sanctified through __________"...God’s word.

(See John 17:17.)

4. The mind occupied with Christ will bring true holiness. (vs. 24)

a. We must "______ _______ the new man," or the new nature which is given of God. (vs. 24) (See II Pet. 1:4) God imparted this to us!

b. This new nature is the work of God in us, given us at the time of our

salvation, "for of His own free will ________ He us with the ________ of truth." (See James 1:18.)

c. The following verses prove the impact of the mind or thoughts on the

"put off and put on" process. (Prov. 23:7; Jh. 8:32; Matt. 12:35-36;

II Cor. 10:3-5)

d. It is a process, whereby we have a change of thinking as we more and

more think God’s thoughts as we put forth the effort for His Word to

permeate our minds. How are you applying this principle?

B. The Saints Walk (vss. 25-32)

Paul has given three very important principles -- put off, put on, and be renewed daily in the spirit of the mind. Now he applies these principles. He names sins and the importance of the put off and put on process in order to have change.

Fundamental Christians have often been accused of being negative, of teaching a system of don’ts and thou shalt nots. This accusation is not true to Scripture. For every sin that God commands us to surrender, God gives us a positive action to fill the vacuum. This replacement principle is important for us to practice. Those Christians who try to put off the old man, but never put on the new man, will find themselves falling into deeper sin.

A. We are to put off: We are urged to put on the opposite:

"___________" (vs 25) "speak, every man __________." vs. 25

"___________" (vs. 26) anger dealt with before dark, vs. 26

"____________" (vs. 28) "rather let him _________, working

with his _______ the thing which is ________, he may have to give to him that ________." (vs. 28)

"___________ speech" (vs. 29) "but that which is _______ to the use

of _____________." (vs. 29)

"bitterness, wrath, _________, "And be ye __________, tenderhearted,

clamor, evil ________." (vs 31) _______________ one another." vs. 32

B. Some thoughts to consider about the above list:

1. It is easy to allow anger to leave in the soul an irritation or bitterness which lingers on. This attitude will give "place to the _________."

(vs. 27) For Satan will then have an advantage we have given him.

2. A man who steals must do three things to conquer his sin: (vs. 28)

a. "rather let _________," He must find a job.

b. "work with his _________" in an honorable work,

c. "_______to him that is need, or give to others of the fruit of his labor.

3. Edifying others is defined as "ministering ________ unto the ________." (vs. 29)

Our words ought to be gracious as they encourage others.

C. Lets consider a bit of the meaning of words in verse 31.

Paul here writes of those things we are to put off.

1. ______________ means resentfulness held on to tenaciously.

2. ________ means a violent outburst of anger, like boiling water, exhibited

in many outward ways that hurt, destroy, and bring anguish to others.

3. ___________ involves a settled state of mind, holding on to hostilities.

4. _______ ___________ is slanderous speech.

5. ___________ is the outworking of bitterness seen in holding on to ill will

and wicked intent. There is a desire for revenge.

_________________________________________________________________

1. How active are you in putting off and putting on the things God desires for you

to change? ________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

2. Write a list of things to put off from Colossians 3:8-9. _____________________

_________________________________________________________________

3. Write a list of things to put on from Colossians 3:12-14. (We do this as His

elect, holy, and beloved.) ___________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

4. This is the practice of the principle of replacement - replacing the walk of the old man with the walk in the new man (the new nature). This necessitates our

breaking old ha_____ and replacing the sinful practices with god___ habits.

5. All of this has to do with the walk of the Christian. We are in a walk -- there is

progression, direction, and a destination even in the walk of the saved person.

6. Walking denotes a goal, an aim, and an effort to achieve the walk God desires.

7. The Christian is to manifest surrender to the Holy Spirit of God. We are to walk

so as to not "___________ the Holy Spirit, whereby ye are __________ unto the day of redemption." (vs. 30)

8. We can only do this as we constantly allow Him to control our minds as we fill our minds with truth, which is God’s Word -- memorized, meditated upon, loved, and then lived out in daily life.

____________________________________________________________________

Memory Verse: " Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light." Eph. 5:7-8

When one sits in a dark room for a while, he gradually gets used to the darkness. He eyes focus upon the dimly outlined objects in the darkened surroundings and he thinks he is seeing! But let someone step to the door and flip on the light switch and he will soon realize there were endless details that he was missing in the room.

In much the same manner, God warns us against getting used to the darkness around us. It is easy to do. We live in a world that abides in the darkness of sin, ignorance, and rejection of God and His Word. It is easy to walk as the unsaved do, with a darkened mind - thinking and living as they live - in the darkness of sinful practices. We all too easily get used to the dark. If it is our habit to watch a lot of TV, we will gradually lose our convictions about sin and find compromise a way of life. We will allow darkness in our own souls!

A. Seek to Be a Follower! (vs. 1)

We have all heard of or seen a little boy try to walk in his father’s footsteps. This is what God is asking us to do. To walk as He walks. The boy reaches to step in his father’s very footsteps, so may we endeavor to walk pleasing to Him.

1. "Be ye ____________ followers of God, as ________ children." vs. 1

2. He says "therefore", why does he say this? Because of what he had just

written in Ephesians 4:17-32. Therefore because of the foregoing -- walk!

3. The word, "follower" is taken from a word closely akin to "mimic." It

means to be an imitator!

a. We are to make a conscious effort to act like God _________.

b. We are to develop godlike character qualities. What are you doing to make this a reality in your life? __________________________________

____________________________________________________________

4. We all learn from models; we all are imitators. Who are you patterning your life after, or who has the most influence on you?_________________

Why? ________________________________________________________

5. Who do your children (or teens) have as heroes? Parents____, admired

peers ______, rock stars _____, TV celebrities _____, great missionaries ____, Bible characters _____, Others ______? (Put a check in right place.)

B. Seek to Follow as "dear" children: (vs. 1)

1. Do you act as His child, or a child of sin or of Satan? ___________________

2. We are very dear to our Heavenly Father, and this term is a term of the "affection of a loving parent."

3. Do you reject His love, direction and admonitions? ________ If so, why?

_____________________________________________________________

4. We must walk with God -- practice His presence -- fellowship from Him!

C. Seek to be a Follower In Love! (vs. 2)

1. "And ________ in _________, as Christ also hath loved us."

2. If we imitate God, we will walk in love as His "___________________."

3. The very love He commands, He first demonstrated (Rom. 5:8; I Jh 4:9,10)

4. We can’t find this love in ourselves, but through Him whom we imitate.

5. It is the love that caused Him to give Himself, "hath given Himself for us

for an _________ to God for a sweetsmelling savour (sacrifice)." vs 2

6. Christ, our model -- emptied Himself, humbled Himself, and offered Himself for our sins. (See Phil. 2:5-11.)

D. Seek to Shun Filthiness! (vss. 3-4)

1. The alternative to "walking in love" is adopting the world’s brand of "love." What is your practice of love like? ___________________________

_____________________________________________________________

2. This is described in verse three as living a life of "fornication, and all

3. The opposite of godly love is that which is found in popular TV soap operas, and lewd magazines, of which there are many.

4. What the world calls love God calls l______!

5. Fornication comes from a word like our word, "pornographic," and means"illicit sexual intercourse."

6. "Covet____________" is the most frequently denounced sin in the New Testament. Does that surprise you? ________ Why do you think this is so?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

7. What does God say about these things in verse three? "let it ____________

8. In verse four we read, "Neither _______________, nor ___________ talking, nor ________,which are not convenient, but rather _________ of thanks."

9. The sins mentioned here are sins of a corrupt society. We hear much filthy talk, that is empty of any good, and often jesting over filthy jokes.

a. filthy means "basedness or dishonor, to disfigure, dishonor or cover with shame."

b. foolish talking is translated by one author as "foul-mouthed abuse."

It means godless discourse or speech.

c. jesting here refers to "impure speech, immortal pleasantry, sharing that which is evil in implication!"

d. These are not convenient; there ought to be a "giving of ________." vs. 4

Light and darkness are used throughout the Scriptures to demonstrate the contrast between good and evil. God wants His children to have discernment about the difference and to have a heart after godliness. We must be motivated to separate ourselves from the world in our behavior. (Consider II Cor. 6:14-18.)

A. Characteristics of the "children of _________________." (vss. 5-6)

1. A changed life is an evidence that the Gentiles believers of Ephesus were truly saved and possessed the "riches of the __________ of his inheritance in the saints." (Eph. 1:18)

2. "For this ye ________, that ____ whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor _____________ man, who is an idolater, hath ______________ ____________ in the kingdom of Christ and of God." (vs. 5)

The doctrine of eternal security used to be called "the perseverance of the saints." It was said that if a person were genuinely converted, one could tell it by watching the consistency of the life of the "convert". If his behavior remained consistent with the Bible standards, it was evidence he was a true believer. (That is the thought of Ephesians 5:5. Read it and think about it.)

3. We are saved totally by ________ and God’s _________ alone. (Eph. 2:4-9)

a. We are not saved by refraining from evil practices listed in verse 5

but by salvation through the blood of Christ alone. (I Pet. 1:18-20)

b. But if we are saved we won’t want to live these evil practices!!

4. What will bring the wrath of God upon us? (5:5-6) ___________________

Disobedience in what? ___________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

5. A false idea of grace is that we can ______ all we want to! (See Rom. 6:1-2)

6. Some may think we have a license unto ___________ to do as we please since we are saved. (See Gal. 5:1, 13.) Is this true? ______

There are false teachers of grace who promote a false concept of grace that teaches a person’s behavior is not an issue with God. These teachings are deceitful and they will bring the "wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." (Read I John 2:1-6.)

B. Walk as Children of Light - (vss. 6-8)

1. As children of light we should not want to behave as "children of disobedience." God sounds a stern warning in verse 6 that this is to be heeded in this lawless age.

2. "Be NOT ye therefore ______________ with them." vs. 7

3. We used to walk in ____________, but now "are ye __________ in

the __________: walk as _____________ of light." vs 8

4. How did people know that Zaccheaus truly was saved and a change had

taken place in his life? (Read Luke 19:1-10.)

5. We cannot walk darkness and light at the same time. Note the contrasts given in II Corinthians 6:14-18.

a. 6:14 "what fellowship ______________________________________?"

b. 6:14 "and what ____________________________________________?"

c. 6:15 "and what ____________________________________________?"

d. 6:15 "or what part _________________________________________?"

e. 6:16a "and what agreement ________________________________?"

6. On the basis of what Paul wrote in II Corinthians 6:14-16, what does God

command us in 6:17? ___________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

7. What does God promise us in II Corinthians 6:16 and 18?

a. "I will _____ ____ _______, and walk_____ ________, I will be their ______, and they shall be my __________." vs. 16

b. "And will a ___________ unto you, and ye shall be my ________ and _____________, saith the Lord Almighty." vs 18

We are to be separate and distinct -- shining as lights in the darkness around us. The character of the Lord Jesus should be seen in us!

____________________________________________________________________

Memory Verses: "For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord." (Eph. 5:9-10)

Queen Victoria of England made an unofficial visit to one of England’s large mills. As she was conducted to the rag room, she was appalled at the mountain of filthy rags brought from throughout the kingdom. They were using a chemical process by which the color and filth was removed. Later she received lovely white linen stationery embossed with an emblem of the queen. She was amazed at the beauty that came out of rags. God is at work in us to make something lovely out of our lives.

God’s will is for us to be fruitful. We are to be like a fruitful tree. (See Psalm 1.) The focus of our lives ought to be on fruitfulness, upon producing rather than on obtaining. Our focus ought to be on giving rather than on receiving from the world around us.

In John fifteen, Christ took up the subject of fruit-bearing with His disciples. He reminded them that the secret of fruit-bearing is to abide in Him, and to allow His Word to abide in us. Christ spoke of three levels of fruitfulness -- fruit, more fruit,

and much fruit. Largely, fruitfulness depends upon us.

The fruitfulness God desires is possible because of the great change that God has brought about in our lives. It is as dramatic as the transformation of the worst, filthy rages into the most exquisite stationery. As filthy scraps of cloth can become lovely stationery, so God can take our filthy, corrupt, sinful lives and make them into lovely fruit-bearing saints for His glory. (Compare with Isaiah 64:6.)

Christ said, "By their _________ ye shall know them." (Matthew 7:20) There ought to be a great number of distinctions between the saved and the lost around us. We were in darkness, but now we are light in the Lord!

A. Fruit of the Holy Spirit’s working should be evidenced in the life.

vss. 9-10

Orange trees do not grow apples. If you watch a fruit-bearing tree long enough, you will be able to tell what kind it is by its fruit. The same is true of a life.

A person can pretend for a while, but if you watch long enough, you will be able to tell what sort of life the person lives by his fruit. Spiritual life will bear spiritual fruit.

1. The Holy Spirit produces "good________!" vs. 9

a. Goodness is l_______ in action. (I Cor. 13:1-4) Goodness rules out

selfishness of any kind. Goodness springs from what we ______ not just

what we do!

b. It comes from a godly inner life in which the Holy Spirit is in control

of the inner character. (Read I Corinthians 13:1-8.)

2. The Holy Spirit produces "right_______________!" vs. 9

a. This is moral straightness that produces a conscience "_________ ___

offense" (Acts 24:16) and a life that avoids the appearance of evil.

b. "...He that doeth ________________ is righteous...." (I John 3:7b)

c. He seeks to remain consistent and does not change his actions to fit

the circumstances. (See I John 2:3-6.)

3. The Holy Spirit produces a walk in, or a practice of "___________!"

See vs. 9. (Truth is never relative; it is objective and absolute.)

a. Truth is the opposite of walking in a false way. (See Psalm 119:128.)

b. The application of truth will bring a "hatred of _______ ________

___________." "We will esteem all thy (God’s) ____________ concerning all __________ to be __________." (See Psa. 119:128)

c. God’s truth is never out of season; it never becomes obsolete; it always

is the authority for our faith and ___________, or what we live.

d. In daily life we are to "prove what is ________________ unto the

How can we do that? _________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

e. What are you doing in a practical way that will help you to walk in

truth? ______________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

B. Our walk will be manifested as a walk in ____________! vss. 11-13

What does light do? In this text we see that light reveals, expresses, and exposes! A doctor works in the light!

1. We are to "have no ______________ with the _____________ works of darkness, but rather ____________ them." vs. 11

a. We will remove ourselves from any friendships that causes us to

b. There can’t be any real fellowship with darkness. (See II Cor. 6:14-17.)

2. What does God think about conversations concerning the evil around us?

"For it is a _________ even to _________ of those things which are done of _________ in ____________." vs. 12

a. We must actively reject the sinful actions of evil people. And we are

not to make this the subject of our conversation in our homes.

b. We should be so sensitive to sinful things that we would be ashamed to speak of or talk about peoples’ wickedness.

c. How are you applying this in your home?_________________________

___________________________________________________________

d. Why do you think God gave us this command? ____________________

___________________________________________________________

3. Verse thirteen teaches us that our very life ought to expose the sin and darkness around us. That is, our life style should cause shame on the part of those who practice sin.

a. Do you think this is true of Christians today? _____ Why not or why so?

___________________________________________________________

b. What can we do in a practical way in public (work, etc.) to reprove sin

and yet show Christ’s love? ___________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Fruitfulness goes back to the source, to the Lord Himself! If we are alive from the dead (2:1-4), and walk in the light of the gospel that has shined in our hearts, then we will be different. The Holy Spirit will produce fruit from and in our yielded hearts.

How can we be fruitful? Because of these things we learned in the book of Ephesians. These are wonderful privileges we have in HIM!

1. Blessed privilege -- 1:1-14 2. Personal forgiveness -- 2:1-9

A. The kind of life the Spirit would produce in us. vss. 14-17

1. Wherefore he saith, "__________ thou that ___________, and arise from the dead, and __________ shall give thee light." vs. 14

a. We must awaken from apathy!

b. It so easy for the Christian to become cold of heart, to leave his first

__________, (Rev. 2:4) and to become careless about godly living.

c. How would you apply this to your life? __________________________

__________________________________________________________

2. "See then that ye ________ circumspectly, _____ ___ ________, but as _________." vs. 15

a. This means to walk watchfully, carefully, watching over the heart

b. Read Proverbs 4:23 and write the verse here: _____________________

__________________________________________________________

c. To walk circumspectly is to walk ever so carefully as a cat would on a

high wall between two mean dogs. (See Ephesians 4:26-27, 6:11.)

d. How would you apply this to your life? _________________________

__________________________________________________________

3. We are to live that we might "__________ the time, because the ______ are evil." vs. 16

a. We are to buy up the opportunities to serve the Lord.

b. Evil days necessitate wisdom in the usage of time to reach the ________.

4. We must know the will of God. "Wherefore be ye NOT ____________, but _________________ what the will of the Lord is!" vs. 17

a. We need to be wise, discerning God’s will for our ________.

b. What three things does Proverbs 3:5-6 teach us about finding His will?

"Trust in the ________ with all thine ___________, and

__________ thy paths." (Prov. 3:5-6)

c. God’s will is knowable, do-able and precious. (See Rom. 12:2.)

d. Are you walking in God’s will for you? ________ How do you know?

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

B. The kind of fruit the Spirit would produce in us vss. 18-20

1. The fruit of a controlled life! "And be not __________ (or controlled by

alcohol) with _________, but be ___________ with the Spirit." vs. 18

a. We are to live a life submitted to the Holy Spirit’s _____________.

b. How is the Holy Spirit’s control seen in your life? __________________

__________________________________________________________

2. The fruit of a worshiping heart! "Speaking to _____________ in psalms and __________ and ____________ songs, singing and making ___________ in your __________ to the Lord." vs. 19

a. The Holy Spirit in control in our lives will bring inner rejoicing

which pleases God.

b. We will be meditating on Him and His person, singing praises, and worshiping as a result of the Spirit’s work in us.

c. Is this true of you? _____ When? ________________________________

3. The fruit of a thankful heart! "Giving __________ always for ______

Christ." vs. 20

a. The opposite of thankfulness is griping, grumbling, and ______________

which the Israelites did a lot of. (See I Cor. 10:10.)

b. What was the Israelites’ chief sins? (Read Exod 16:2, 7, 8, 12; 17:1-7)

__________________________________________________________

c. What is God’s will according to I Thessalonians 5:18? _______________

__________________________________________________________

d. How important is thankfulness? ________________________________

___________________________________________________________

e. If you have children, or grand-children, what are doing to teach thankfulness? _______________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Memory Verse: "Nevertheless let everyone of you in particular so love his wife even as himself, and the wife see that she reverence her husband." Eph. 5:33

(Or you might want to memorize 5:22 and verse 25.)

Introduction:

Paul had been dealing in the area of general relationships. Here he states a general principle for maintaining a proper and harmonious relationship with believers in general and especially in the home... "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." (Eph. 5:21)

Submitting one’s self to another is the opposite of self-assertion, of an independent, autocratic spirit. It is the desire to get along with one another, being satisfied with less than what one thinks is his due, and having a sweet reasonableness of attitude... putting others first.

How could an unmarried person like Paul assume he could give advice on marriage? The question arises out of a heresy about life. The perverted view is that in order to know, one must experience. As Eve desired to experience the knowledge of good and evil. The correct view is that you start with truth and then you proceed to experience.

Paul, though not married, was sharing truth. As a Spirit-filled believer, led by the Holy Spirit in what to write, he was able to look at marriage and understand that it is supposed to picture the relationship that exists between Christ and the Church.

If our marriage is to be successful, we must approach it from truth not experience. Marriage can only be what it ought to be when we apply the principles of the thus saith the Lord, even as given through Paul.

Related portions: Colossians 3:12-25; Titus 2:1-15; I Peter 3:1-13

1. What is a wife’s job, or function?

2. What is she doing here on earth? What is her purpose?

3. Has God changed His mind in this age when there is so much emphasis upon women’s liberation, or women’s lib?

4. How can a wife have real liberation? How can she know real freedom from anxiety and frustration?

God’s real purpose for the married woman is for her to function as a lovely, living symbol of another divine institution, the Church of the Living God.

A. A wife’s willing Submission -- 5:21

1. The spirit of the believer is to be one of submission. "submitting to

_____ __________." We are to be first subject unto _________.

a. Every Christian has people to whom he is to submit in daily life.

b. No one can be a spiritual Christian without _______________. vs. 21

c. A husband must submit in order to truly meet his ____________ needs.

2. The spirit of the wife is to be one of submission.

(I Pet. 3:1-6, Col. 3:18)

a. If this is a problem, she probably has not made Christ ________ of her

_______. (See Rom. 14:9.)

b. "...first gave their own________ to the Lord." (II Cor. 8:5) The wife

to be submissive, must first submit to the Savior.

c. A wife who is submissive to God will find it easy to be in _____________

to her husband. (See I Pet. 3:1)

The word, from which subjection is translated as a military order under a commanding officer -- it denoted the subordination of soldiers to those in authority. There also must be a recognition of headship in the home. Subjecting ones self to another militates against the flesh or our sin nature. A strong motive is needed to bring about such an attitude on the part of the wife. Paul says the thing that will do it is a reverential _________, a desire not to displease and dishonoring God.

d. Wife, what are you doing, actively, to be a submissive wife? _________

___________________________________________________________

2. The spirit of the husband must also be one of submission. vs. 21

a. The husband must submit his own w_____, put away his selfishness,

and in the spirit of humility, meet the needs of his w_______.

b. If the husband does not submit to God’s will, nor meet the needs of his wife, he probably will mistreat her and become b__________ towards her. (See Colossians 3:19.)

c. Husband, how are you showing submissiveness in the relationships with the family?_____________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

B. A wife’s total submission is ordained by God. vss. 22-24

1. There is only ONE person to whom she is to submit -- her _____________.

a. God says, "Wives, _________ yourselves unto your ______ husband as ________ the Lord." vs. 22

b. What does "unto the Lord," mean? ______________________________

c. She is to rev___________ and lo____ her husband.

(See Ephesians 5:33 and Titus 2:4.)

d. Her walk with the Lord must be her first obligation. What do you find in Matt. 6:33? ______________________________________________

2. Submission means, "as the _________ is subject unto Christ, so let the

________ be to their own husbands in ________ _______." vs. 24

a. There must be the act______ of submission and the attit_______ of a submissive spirit.

b. This is to take place because "the husband is ________ of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the __________, and he is the savior of the body." vs. 23

c. Wife, how would you apply this to your life? ______________________

___________________________________________________________

d. Is submission something to dread, or dislike, and to seek to avoid?

_____ If not, why not? ________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

1. What would you think of a church exercising authority over Christ?

2. In what ways is the church to be a type of the wife, and the wife to fulfill the

role of the church and its relationship to Christ?

3. Why, in marriage, is the husband to be over the wife? How is this pictured in the relationship of Christ and the Church?

4. Who has the greater responsibility? How does this apply to you? __________

_______________________________________________________________

C. The wife is to submit primarily to her own husband.

1. When a wife is submissive to someone else’s husband in the work place,

and not submissive to her own ___________ at home, this is dangerous.

2. God also states that she is to submit in ev______ ___________. vs. 24

This requires a lot of faith on the part of the wife, but God will honor that.

3. And all of us are under a higher authority than a spouse. Who is that?

(Acts 5:39) __________________________________________________

If an unsaved husband would ask his saved wife to be involved in some sinful act, she must lovingly inform him that she is under God, her higher authority, and she can’t and won’t be involved in the sinful act (s).

D. The wife is to "see that she _________________ her husband." vs 33

1. To reverence means to "admire, to adore, to appreciate, to brag on, the

2. The wife is to fulfill this to her husband as the saved are to admire, adore, worship, exalt, appreciate our Savior and Lord. While it is not the same, there are similarities.

One of the ways God reveals Himself is through His work in creation, This includes His creating man and woman in His image. Eve was taken out of Adam’s side. In the same way the bride of Christ (the saved) owes her existence to the wounds Christ received in His body as His blood was shed on the cross.

God plans for the husband and wife relationship of oneness to be a illustration of the oneness we have in Christ. (Eph. 5:30-32) We are to work at preserving the abiding picture which our marriage is to picture or be an example of -- the oneness we have in Christ.

A. The husband is to manifest a sacrificial love -- vs. 25

1. We husbands are to _______ as Christ loved.

a. The command is "husbands love your __________, EVEN AS _________ also loved the church, and _________ himself for it."

b. This is to be an unconditional love -- giving, serving love that is freely

given by the husband in order to meet needs.

c. To do this the husband must put away his selfish_____, pri_____,

d. Our attit_______ will greatly determine how we treat our wives.

2. We must put away any _________________. (Col. 3:19; Heb. 12:14-15)

a. We could never imagine Christ, in His love to the Church, ever

neglecting, humiliating, brow-beating, or hurting the church in any way. Are you sarcastic, irritable, impatient, or mean-spirited?

b. Why do men get bitter with their wives? ________________________

__________________________________________________________

1. Christ has a sacrificial, ministering love. vs. 25

2. Christ has a sacred purpose in His love, vs 26

3. Christ exhibited a selfless love, vs. 27-28

4. Christ manifested a nourishing love, vs. 29

5. Christ has a cherishing love for us, vs. 29

wives, families? _______ If so, how? ___________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

2. Christ died for the Church. Are we willing to die to self so we can minister to the wife? ______ If so, how? __________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

3. What do you need to change? _________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

B. The husband is to give sanctifying care to his wife! vss. 26-29

Christ has a purpose in His love. He desires to sanctify and cleanse the church (individuals) that He might present the church back to Himself without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. He ministers to the church (to us personally) so that we might be holy and without blemish.

a. The word, sanctify means to "set ap_____" his wife unto himself as a

precious, honored ve________. (See I Peter 3:7.)

b. She is to receive his _______ , respect and __________. (vs. 25,

I Pet. 3:7)

c. He is "to dwell with her __________________ to knowledge."

(I Pet. 3:7)

He is to know her special needs. And in this give her acceptance.

d. The husband is to do this by his godly example, prayer life, and his

spiritual leadership.

2. The husband also is to cleanse his wife. vs. 26

a. The word, sanctify also means to make _________.

b. How can he bring about a cleansing process in her life?

By his studying the Word of God, teaching the Word of God

c. This will bring about a cleansing process as the Scriptures are lived and applied in both of their l________.

3. The husband is also to present his wife. vs. 27

a. He presents her back to himself a glor_______ wife by the way he

treats her. (Like Christ’s ministry to His church.)

b. He helps her become a wife without _______ or _____________ or any such thing. (Thus he seeks to build up his wife in every way.)

C. The husband is to love his wife AS he loves his own flesh! vss. 28-29

Every man cares for his body -- for he protects it, pampers it, feeds it, sleeps it, etc., and in like manner he is to care for his wife. No man hates his own body. Instead, he ____________ and ____________ it like Christ nourishes and cherishes the church. (vs. 29). In reality, a man hates himself when he hates his wife, is bitter, resentful, and/or negligent toward her.

2. ".... he that loveth his ________ loveth ____________." vs. 28

____________________________________________________________________

Memory Verses: "Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart." OR "And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." (Eph. 6:6, or 4)

In the last lesson, we saw how family life should be an enduring picture of some tremendous eternal spiritual truths. Probably, the foremost truth is the need of submissiveness in all our lives.

But it seems like no matter where we look in modern society, we see antagonism, division, rebellion, and strife. Husbands and wives are divorcing each other; children are rebelling against their parents, and employers and employees are seeking for new ways to avoid strikes and keep the machinery of industry running productively. We have tried education, legislation, and every other approach man can think of, but nothing seems to work. Only God has the answer to man’s problems, and his basic one is the recognition of the need of submission to authority and that begins with God’s authority in our lives. The answer begins with regeneration, with salvation in Christ.

In chapter six of Ephesians, we will note the importance of submissive living in the parent/child relationship and the master/servant or boss/employee relation- ship. Also, we will not be an overcomer against our foe, Satan, without constant submission to the directions given in chapter 6:10-18 as we will see in the final lesson of this series.

To begin with, the husband is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the wife is a picture of the church.

1. As such, in their respective roles, the husband and wife are to actively live a submissive life before their children.

2. Parents must model the divine principle of submission to God-given authority.

3. The father does this by his godly leadership as he fairly enforces God’s authority in the home, and

4. the wife does this by her submissiveness to the husband’s leadership.

5. These are principles that must be at work in all of our lives and this will

require our obedience.

Today, people minimize the importance of every kind of authority. We live in a selfish, egotistical, "me’ism age" where the emphasis is upon having your rights, doing your own thing, and protecting yourself against anything that does not fulfill personal desires. God delights in obedience to His authority. First Samuel, chapter fifteen, gives a graphic story of what rejection of authority brings.

1. How will children learn the basic principle of submission to authority without learning to quickly, willingly obey their parents? _________________________

_________________________________________________________________

2. How will children learn to obey God if they have not learned to obey lesser

authorities?

3. What has God promised to those who do obey, honor, and respect their parents?

Why is this so vital, and what are the opposite results? ____________________

_________________________________________________________________

A. Obedience to parental authority! vss. 1-3

1. "Children ______ your parents in the _______: for this is _______."

vs. 1 It is right for children to obey! Parents are required to train their

___________ to obey. They won’t do it naturally.

There are good reasons why children should obey their parents.

a. They are to do it as "in the ________." vs 1 They are Christians!

b. Because it is "well _____________ to the Lord." (Col. 3:20)

c. For "this is ___________" vs. 1 It is always RIGHT!

d. Because this verse is a _______________! And God expects us to

obey all commands. (Read Exod. 20:12; Deut 5:16.)

e. Children must be taught to be lawful and not law______! Children must be taught to obey, respect, and honor if they are to be spared hatred, bitterness, rebellion and violence.

f. Are you biblically directing your children? _______ If so, how? _______

___________________________________________________________

g. Parents, what about your obedience to God as the example?

2. Obedience to God’s command also will bring blessing! "Honor thy father

and __________ (which is the first commandment with promise;) that it

might be _______ with ________, and thou mayest live ________ on the earth." vss. 2-3

a. Children are commanded to show _________ and __________ to their

parents.

b. To "honor" means to place a high val_____ upon someone! It means

to highly regard parents and all God-given auth________!

c. God has placed a high value on parenthood. (Read Matthew 15:4; Matt. 19:19; Mark 7:10; 10:19; Luke 18:20.)

B. Parents’ personal control (dad’s especially) of their lives. vs. 4

1. God commands parents (fathers) not to __________ their children. vs. 4

a. To provoke means to "negatively arouse, to cause children to become

angry, bitter, frustrated and to give up."

b. In Colossians 3:21 we read, "Fathers, ___________ not your children to _________, lest they be ________________."

c. It is true, if children are left to themselves they will be rebels, so they

must be __________. (See Proverbs 22:6), but don’t do it in anger.

1. The father (with the mother, see Prov. 1:8,9) is to nurture them. vs. 4

a. "but bring them up in the __________ ... of the Lord."

b. Dads, we are to "______ them up." This is something very specific, and

demands our time, effort, prayers, wisdom, and Biblical understanding.

c. This phrase - bring them up - is the same word that is translated

"nourish" in 5:29. We nourish by giving love and encouragement.

d. About the development of Jesus, as a boy, we read, "And Jesus increased in _________ and __________ and in _________ with

God and man." (Luke 2:52) Here is balanced growth: intellectual,

physical, spiritual, and social.

e. What is your plan in training your children? _____________________

__________________________________________________________

f. Also the word, "nurture" carries with it the idea of learning through

disc_______. (Read Prov. 13:24; Heb. 12:5-11; Prov. 23:13-15; 29:15.)

2. The father, along with mother, is to bring them up in the ___________

of the Lord." vs. 4

a. The word admonition means "instruction." If you read the first seven

chapters of Proverbs you will find that Solomon wrote many times...

"my son, my son, my son..." Following this was great instruction!

b. To fulfill this command, parents must have a time daily where they

read, and instruct their children with the Word of God.

c. "And these words, which I command thee this ______, shall be in

(Deut 6:6-7)

d. How would you apply the above verses to your home? _______________

___________________________________________________________

A. We are not to serve as men-pleasers. vss. 5-8

1. "Servants, be ____________ to them that are your masters...." vs. 5

a. All who are under masters (bosses) are to serve "with _______ and

b. Singleness means "with sincerity of the heart."

c. The word "servant" means literally "one who is in bondage." And the word "master" means "someone who is in the place of authority."

d. A worker, (servant) is to have a spirit of submission to ____________.

2. Such service (as a worker) is to be carried out "not with _____________,

as men__________; but as _____________ of Christ, doing the will of God from the __________." vs. 6

b. Service (labor, employment) is to be done as doing "God’s will from

the ________!" We are to serve willingly, diligently, being productive.

3. Our work, labor is to be done "with _______ will doing service, as to the

_________, and not to men:" vs. 7

a. Irresponsibility is like a dise_____ of major proportions today.

b. All our labors should be done as if we were doing them for __________,

because we are serving Him.

c. How are you teaching your youth, children these important truths?

__________________________________________________________

d. How are you giving them the example of serving the Lord as we have

read in this verses? ___________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

e. Do your children see you finding ways to serve the Lord? ______ If so,

how? ______________________________________________________

Do they see you reading your Bible daily? _______ If not, why not?

___________________________________________________________

4. What does God promise in verse 8? (Put it in your own words.) __________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

(Compare Eph. 6:8 with Heb. 11:6 and James 1:17.)

B. Those in authority have God’s clear directions. vs. 9

1. "And, ye ___________, do the ________ things unto them, for- bearing ______________: knowing that your Master also is in _________; neither is there _________ of person with Him." vs. 9

2. Doing the same thing refers back to the verse just prior to this, for they

also are to serve as unto ________, doing the will of God from the heart,

and not with eye-__________, but with singleness of heart.

3. In Paul’s day there were many slaves. Many masters, doubtless were cruel, hard-task masters, who made working for them very difficult. Slavery can be a very cruel thing.

4. Bosses are not important just because of their posi______! God is far

more concerned about their cond_____!

5. A good boss will conduct himself in a manner to please the Lord -- that is,

in attitude, actions, manner, and words he will please God.

____________________________________________________________________

Memory Verses: "Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." and "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Eph. 6:10,11

We must learn how to be steadfast in the midst of every kind of pressure, temptation, and testing. In this life, daily we will be faced with spiritual warfare. We can expect Satan to do all he can to defeat us, devour us, sift us, and engage us in an ongoing warfare.

As a seven-month old baby pulls itself up, trying gamely to learn to stand alone, so God’s people must learn to stand, and often we must stand alone. We must stand when there are tremendous pressures to conform, even when all the rest of the people around us are against us. There will be times when standing for the Lord and for right will cost us popularity, fame, or possibly even financial hardship.

There will be constant pressure to conform to the world and its value system, priorities, lifestyle, and interests. The Christian is often bombarded with the world’s advertisement of a lifestyle that is very contrary to what pleases God. There are many pressures to conform to the "belief system" of the world.

We are commanded to stand, and having done all, to stand, therefore! This demands our dedication to the Lord and to His Word. We must stand on His powerful promises and in the position God has given us in Christ. We must stand firm, for this is the only way we can be under God’s authority, protection, and not under the world’s influence.

As Christians, we face three enemies: the world, the flesh (sin nature) and the devil. (Eph. 2:1-3) The world refers to the system around us that is opposed to God, that caters to the "lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." (I John 2:15-17) Society apart from God is simply, but accurately, the world. The flesh is the old nature we inherited from Adam, a nature that opposes God and can do nothing spiritual to please God. By His death and resurrection, Christ overcame the world (John 16:33; Gal. 6:14) and the flesh (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:1-6), and the devil (Eph. 1:19-23). In other words, as believers, we do not fight for victory -- we fight from victory already won by Christ for us. The Spirit of God enables us, by faith, to appropriate Christ’s victory for ourselves.

A. We are in a warfare! vss. 10-11 (See I Corinthians 10:3-5; I Peter 5:8-9)

1. We are commanded "be _________in the Lord, and in the _________ of His might." vs. 10

a. We can be strong because "...in all these things we are _______ than

conquerors through _______ that _________ us." (Rom. 8:37)

b. We can say, "Now thanks be unto _______, which always causeth us to
in Christ...." (II Cor. 2:14)

c. Write out the promise in Philippians 4:13. _______________________

___________________________________________________________

d. We can be strong because of our position in Christ. (Eph. 1:4-7)

e. We can be strong because of His promise in Ephesians 3:20.

f. What are you claiming for your strength in the Lord? _______________

___________________________________________________________

g. Our strength comes from the "power of His might" which is ours by

His grace. (See II Cor. 12:9-10.) Do YOU trust HIS grace?

2. We are commanded to "Put on the _______ armour of ______, that ye

(we) may be ______ to _________ against all the ________ of the devil."

This armour is provided by God, we must wear it! vs. 11

a. Too often, by the use of his _________, Satan can move us to accept, embrace, and practice lies. He is behind all false doctrine, teachings!!

b. Wiles means "cunning, crafty arts, stratagems, devices." (II Cor. 2:11)

c. We need the whole armour that we might stand against Satan’s _______, for "Satan lies in wait to deceive." Satan uses many false human teachers who are masters of deceit who come as angels of light.

1. He is the devil, meaning accuser of the brethren. (Rev. 12:7-11)

2. He is Satan, meaning our adversary, an enemy of God. (Lk 22:31-32)

3. He is called the tempter, murderer, and liar. (Matt. 4:3; Jh 8:44)

4. He is compared with a lion and a serpent. (I Pet. 5:8; Gen. 3:1; Rev. 12:9)

5. He comes often as an angel of light to deceive. (II Cor. 11:13-15

6. He is also called the god of this world (age). (II Cor. 4:4)

B. We face a powerful, organized enemy. vs. 12

1. "For we __________ not against ________ and __________, but against principalities, against ___________, against the rulers of the darkness of this work, against spiritual _______________ in high places."

a. We understand this when we understand that a multitude of angels

fell with Satan. (See Rev. 12:4; Daniel 10:13-20)

b. They are his demons. c. Satan is highly organized.

Where did Satan come from, this spirit-creature that seeks to oppose God and defeat His work? Most Bible scholars believe that in the original creation, he was "Lucifer, son of the morning," (Isa. 14:12-15) and that he was cast down because of his pride and his desire to occupy God’s throne. Many mysteries are connected with the origin of Satan, but what he is doing and where he is going are certainly no mystery. Since he is a created being, and not eternal (as God is) he is limited in knowledge and not all-powerful, or everywhere present. But Satan has many helpers... "principalities, powers, rulers, spiritual wickedness in high places. There are many spirit-forces of this dark world. Our battle is not with people, but with the army of demonic angels who are struggling against God’s angels for control of the affairs of nations, and of the world. A spiritual battle is going on in the world.

a. We do _______ have a battle with people, but with Satanic hosts.

b. Satan (and his host) will seek to use our sinful nature, (the inner

appetite for sin within us) and the world system around us to bring us to defeat.

c. How do all these facts apply to you? _____________________________

__________________________________________________________

c. How do you answer Satan’s temptations? ________________________

__________________________________________________________

A. We must "with________, ...having done all to __________, __________ therefore..." vs. 13

1. Satan is a thief who comes to "steal, and to ______, and to ________."

(John 10:10) He is wise, subtle, and very cunning.

2. We must stand against false doct_______, satanic deception about sin, temptations that he fosters, for we are in a hand-to-hand combat.

3. What are you claiming from God, that you might stand? ______________

_____________________________________________________________

B. What is the means of victory? "Wherefore take unto ______ the whole _________ of ______, that ye may be ______ to withstand in the evil day."

vs. 13 God has provided us with an armor! It is complete! Glory!

First they, and we, are to wear the girdle of truth! The girdle held the other parts of the armour together. Truth is the integrating force in the life of the victorious Christ. A man of integrity, with a clear conscience, can face the enemy without fear. But once we embrace lies, we cannot use the Word of Truth, God’s holy Bible!

1. We are to have our "________ girt about with ___________." vs. 14

b. II Jh. 2 ____________________________________________________

c. II Jh. 4_____________________________________________________

d. III Jh. 4 ____________________________________________________

e. Jh. 8:32 ___________________________________________________

f. Psa. 51:6a _________________________________________________

g. Jh. 17:17 __________________________________________________

Only as we hold on to tru_____, live by God’s Word, think tru___,

and deal with lies, will we have victory, and be able to stand. Surely

2. We have been given the "breast_______ of ___________________." vs. 14

a. This was a piece of armor, made of metal plates or chains, covering the body from the neck to the waist, both front and back.

b. This gave protection for the vital organs, as our righteousness in Christ gives us vital protection by His grace.

c. It symbolizes the believer’s righteousness we have "in __________"

(II Cor. 5:21); this is a positional righteousness through His blood.

d. And then it pictures our righte______ life we are to live in Christ. (Eph. 4:24) This is practical righteousness in the daily life.

• This means right living, doing right, right acting!

• Nothing injures the Christian in battle so much as a violated conscience, a moral weakness, doing wrong against convictions.

The life we live either fortifies us against Satan’s attacks, or makes it easier for him to defeat us. (II Cor. 6:1-10). We are assured of salvation, but it is our walk, our life for Christ that is at stake. (Read I John 1:5-2:2; Titus 2:11-14; II Pet. 1:3-12) )

___________________________________________________________

f. Why is our position of righteousness so important? _________________

___________________________________________________________

3. "And your _______ shod with the preparation of the __________ of

active service. We are far more apt to defeat Satan when we are seeking

b. A victorious Christian is a witnessing Christian!

c. Read Isaiah 52:7 and Romans 10:15, and write about what you found.

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

d. What do we have from the gospel as found in Romans 5:1? __________

___________________________________________________________

4. "Above ____, taking the _________ of faith, wherewith ye shall be

______ to quench ALL the _________ darts of the wicked." vs. 16

The shield was large, usually about 4 ft. by 2 ft., made of wood and then covered with tough leather. It protected the soldier from spears, arrows, the fiery darts of the enemy as he held it before him. The edges of these shields were so constructed that an entire line of soldiers could interlock shields and march into the enemy like a solid wall. This also suggests that we are not in the spiritual battle alone.

b. I Pet. 5:9a _________________________________________________

c. Faith is a defensive weapon (knowing and embracing the doctrines

about our position in Christ, etc.) which protects us from Satan’s fiery darts. (See Heb. 11:6.) We must claim victory by faith!

In Paul’s day, arrows were often dipped in some inflammable substance, and ignited, then shot at the enemy. Satan shoots his fiery darts at our hearts and minds: lies, blasphemous thoughts, hateful thoughts about others, doubts, and burning desires for sin. If we do not quench these darts, they will light a fire within and we will disobey God, fall into wickedness, and experience the horrible results.

a. I think above all else, Satan attacks the mind; that is the way he defeated Eve. (Gen. 3; II Cor 11:1-3) Consider Psalm 1:1-3!

b. The helmet refers to the mind contr_______ by G_____! When God, through His W_______, controls the mind, then Satan cannot lead the believer astray.

c. We need to be "taught by ______ as the ________is in Jesus. (4:21)

d. We are to "grow in ________ and in the ______________ of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (II Peter 3:18)

e. Are you memorizing the Word of God so you can stand? _____ If not,

why not? ___________________________________________________

Is God pleased with your answer? ______, If not, why not? ___________

___________________________________________________________

6. "take..... the sword of the __________, which is the ________ of _______." vs. 17 Here is the last piece of the armor given by God, for us to use! The Roman soldier wore on his girdle a short sword which was used for close-in fighting. The Word of God is this to us in times of battle!

a. Hebrews 4:12 compares the Word of God to a sword, WHY?

• because it is ________, • it is able to __________ the inner man like

the soldiers’ sword pierced.

• It can "cut to the __________." (Acts 2:37; 5:33)

b. Moses tried to conquer with a physical _________, (Exod. 2:11-15) only

to discover that God’s Word alone was more than enough to defeat Egypt. In that contest...it was God’s Word Moses spoke to the Pharaoh.

A physical sword wounds to kill, but the Word of the Spirit wounds to heal and bring life. The Spirit, who lead men to give us the Word of God, wields the Word

as we take it by faith and use it.

Three times Christ said, "It ___ _________." and "Man shall not

_______ by _______ alone, but by every ________ that proceedeth out of the _________ of God." (See Matthew 4:4.)

d. Are you using the Word of God to answer temptations that come? _____

What have you experienced? __________________________________

__________________________________________________________

e. Since Christ, who had no sin, was tempted and answered with the

Scriptures, then how important is memorization and meditation on the

Word of God to you? __________________________________________

______________________ What will you do about this?_____________

___________________________________________________________

f. What did Paul tell the Roman believers to do with the armor?

• Rom. 13:11 _____________ • Rom. 13:12 -- cast off sin and "put on

• We do this by "putting on the ________ Jesus Christ."

(Rom. 13:14)

Watchfulness, vigilance, and prayerfulness are extremely important in our daily battle. Our self-dependence, neglect, and carelessness will make us vulnerable to attacks. Christ is our example as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He taught the apostles to watch and pray! (See Mark 14:32-38; Luke 11:1-13; 18:1-7)

(I Thess. 5:17)

1. Prayer is our greatest need; our great source of stren_____, and our power comes through prayer.

2. Praying always because we are always subject to temptations and attacks.

B. "and with all ________ and ___________________." vs. 18

1. God teaches us to pray with all prayer... supplication... intercession, and

giving of ________________. (Phil. 4:6; I Tim. 2:1)

2. PRAISE changes things as much as _________ changes things!

C. "..... in the __________, and watching thereunto with all ______________ and supplication for ______ __________." vs. 18

1. We are to look to the Holy Spirit to direct, enable, energize in prayer.

2. We are to pray for all saints... intercede for one another!

D. Paul was burdened about his ministry, "that I may ______ my mouth

boldly, to __________ known the mystery of the gospel." vs. 19

1. He needed prayer support as our missionaries do today.

2. He was concerned that "utterance may be __________ to me..."

vs. 19

3. Paul wanted to see many come to Christ. His example of overcoming

power was a great challenge, testimony, and encouragement to the saints

in that day.

4. How does all this apply to your life? _______________________________

_____________________________________________________________

E. Paul gave the saints at Ephesus much encouragement! vss. 20-24

1. He encouraged them by his desire to "speak ___________, as I ought to speak." vs. 20

2. He was willing to be "an _______________ in bonds." vs. 20 Paul’s boldness while in prison must have been a great encouragement to them.

3. He sent ___________ to them to tell them of his affairs, (needs, concerns)

and that he would also ________ their _________. vss. 21-22

4. He closed his epistle (letter to them) with "Peace be to the __________,

and _______ with ________, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." vs. 23

AND "Grace be with all _________ that _______ our Lord Jesus Christ ______________." AMEN! vs. 24

a. In Christ we are rich.. we are "seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

b. ALL that we will ever need is in HIM.

1. In what way are you practicing living victoriously in Christ Jesus? ____________

__________________________________________________________________

2. How could you make Ephesians 6:10 a reality in your life every day? _________ __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

4. How could you improve your burden for the lost around you? _______________

__________________________________________________________________