Ephesians Lesson One:
Theme: Learning to Sit with Christ
The Book of Ephesians was written by Paul while he was in
prison in Rome. He wrote this letter to the church of Ephesus, the capital of
Asia. The city was famously known for black magic and had a strong demonic stronghold
presence in the city. The seven-breasted fertility goddess, Artemis was in
charge of spreading sexuality, homosexuality, prostitution, and cults in order
to ensnare the people. Paul was committed to reaching out the believers in the
city and reminding them to stand firm on the power of Christ. He encouraged
them to find their true identity in Christ and he reminded them that they had
power over the enemy.
In Ephesians 1:4-5, these verses specified that God chose
us and adopted us into His family. He made this decision ahead of time before
He even created the world into existence. He also loved us first and it gave
Him great joy and happiness to include us into His family. We are also without
shame and guilty from our countless sins, that we commit before His eyes. He is
able to forgive us because of the blood of Jesus covering us and making us holy
in His sight. If believers could grasp what this concept of adoption means, our
lives would be radically changed. Picture for a moment that you have no Earthly
parents, and you don’t know who they even are. You feel alone, forgotten,
heartbroken, lonely, and you wonder why you don’t have a parent to love you. You
have never had a day celebrating your birthday and you have been through many failed
foster homes. I hope you realize that this heartbreaking reality is in fact, happening
in the world around us right now. This is why I applauded anyone who has
adopted and included children into your families. Adoption is one thing, I tremendously
hope, I get to do a little bit later in my life. Spiritual adoption is something
that God has chosen to in advance for His children and as believers we are
blessed in the Heavenly realms.
Sue Edwards also suggested to readers in one question to look
at Galatians 3:26-29. This passages reminded readers that we are all children
of our loving Creator and we are a family in Christ. When we accept Jesus as
our Savior, we are no longer our own. We are bought with a price and we are no longer
defined by if we are a Jew, a Gentile, a male, a female, or what color we are.
We are a heir and we are children of Abraham and God’s promise to Abraham is
for us too! If you recall, God promised Abraham that he would be a father of
great nations and that every seed of his would be blessed. In Christ, as a
heir, we get to freely claim this promise! This means our future generations
would be blessed because of Christ’s blessing, love, and infinite power.
Another important aspect that Sue Edwards pointed out was
discovering our true purpose in Christ. I am sure, like me, you might be at
times struggling with what God’s purpose for your life is right now. I’m
currently in College, still trying to figure out what career path, God wants me
in. In Ephesians 1:12, this verse explained that our purpose in Christ was to
trust him and bring praise and glory to Him. This immensely means that
believers must know that their purpose in life is to bring glory to Him through
whatever they are doing. You can bring splendor to God by using your talents
and gifts to further the Kingdom of God. Your purpose might be to be a husband,
wife, stay at home mother, stay at home dad, running a business, being an employee,
serving people in your community, and going on missions. Every single person is
called by God to do a special purpose to bring Him glory. And where and
whatever you are doing is an act of worship to our loving Creator. Not everyone
has to be in ministry and it takes all kinds of kinds to influence the world
and shine the light of Christ in different places.
I intensely hope that you will be joining us in this
wonderful study of Ephesians by Sue Edwards! Together, we can learn more about
Christ and God’s written Word. And also please check back each Friday on my
blog through November 18 for more insights into the amazing study!
“Open Book Promotion/ Kregel Publishers has
provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for this study.”
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Check out Lesson One Video:
Check out Lesson One Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew21ao3ifUA
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