ADULT BIBLE STUDY

In Ephesians 2:11–22, Paul sees the cross of Christ as making a dramatic difference, destroying all barriers, enclosures and walls that would have otherwise made those that have embraced the one true God feel shut out, alienated, and separated.

There’s nothing quite as gripping as a good rescue story, and Paul, in Ephesians 2:1–10, gives us an up-close-and-personal view of the grandest, most sweeping rescue mission of all time—God’s efforts to redeem humanity. The drama of the story is heightened by knowing that we are not mere spectators of someone else’s rescue but witnesses of our own.

Paul prays that Christians in Ephesus will understand that God is the One who gives them strength and might. This strength comes from Jesus. Jesus sends His Holy Spirit to His followers to give them His strength. This strength is more powerful than any jet engine or magic. Four Bible truths in the New Testament help us to understand that God is very powerful. These four Bible truths are: (1) Jesus wakes up from the dead; (2) Jesus sits next to God in heaven; (3) God gives Jesus control over everything; and (4) God makes Jesus the Leader of the church (Ephesians 1:19–23). God does so much to help us.

Paul uses three labels for God’s plan. It is (1) “the mystery of his will,” (2) “his purpose,” and (3) “a plan for the fullness of time” (ESV). What is God’s ultimate, final plan? To unite everything, everywhere, in Jesus. Jesus heads God’s final,eschatological plan. This Christ-centered plan was crafted “before the foundation of the world” and is so broad that it encompasses all time and space (“all things in heaven and things on earth,” ESV). Paul announces unity in Christ as the grand, divine goal for the universe. Paul concludes with the rousing image of the church as a unified army, participating with vigor in waging peace in Christ’s name

In the Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul tells us about the Ephesians themselves. Years after the exciting events of the early days of Christian mission in Ephesus, the Ephesians struggled with the significance of their Christian faith.