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1. Consider Jesus’ teachings on the family (Matthew 12:46-50, Luke 14:25-26, Matthew 10:35-37). Why are his words seemingly so harsh? What is he trying to tell his listeners?

2. Why is it important that Paul was a Pharisee? What does this mean for how he communicates? 

3. Read Ephesians 2:12-22, in light of the larger narrative all throughout scripture, what does this text have to say to us about our identity as members of God’s family?  

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1. Read through Ephesians 1:3-14 with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Remember that this is one long sentence in Greek. Why do you think Paul desired that all this be put into a single sentence for his hearers? How can we be “good tourists” in approaching these texts?

2. What blessings do you see given by God to his church in Ephesians 1:3-14? Spend time identifying them and then discussing what each of them means for how we live in community.

3. Take some time and meditate on Ephesians 1:3-14, preferably with others, asking the question “what does this mean for us as a church family”?

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1. Skye Jethani writes, "A significant amount of the Bible’s teaching makes little sense or can be dangerously misapplied if divorced from a communal vision of faith.” How does this apply to Ephesians 1:3-14? What does it look like to read this text in light of our community?

2. What does it mean to be “in Christ,” according to Ephesians? Why is understanding what it means to be “in Christ” so vital for how we understand our relationship to God and to each other?

3. What comes to mind when you hear the words “chosen,” “predestination,” and “adoption”? How have your faith traditions influenced your understanding of these words? What does Ephesians seem to say about these words in light of the Biblical story?

4. If we have been included into the chosen family of God in order to bless others, what does that look like in our context? How can we bless others in light of how the triune God has blessed us?

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1. Why is Paul thanking God for the Ephesians? Discuss Eph 1:13 and 15 in detail.

2. What is Paul’s first prayer in v. 17? What does Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation mean (see 1 Cor. 2:6–12)?

3. Discuss Paul’s second prayer in verses 18–19. What is the Hope, the Inheritance, and the Power of God Paul want his readers to know? Divide your group in three small groups and in each group discuss one of the above three themes.

4. How does Paul explain God’s immeasurable power working in and through Jesus Christ in verses 20–23?

5. How can we allow the Power of God to govern our lives?

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1. What is the relationship between faith in the Lord Jesus and loving one another (Eph 1:15)? How can we live out our identity as God’s Holy People in our contexts today?

2. What does it mean to “know” God? Considering the Hebrew concept of knowledge (that it is intimate, experiential, and relational), how do we go about knowing God better with the help of the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:17)?

3. If we (the global and historic church) are God’s inheritance, what does that mean for how we should relate to one another? If we have an eternity to spend getting to know each other and God, what can we do to start that good work now?

4. Consider Ephesians 1:21, what is Paul referring to when he writes of the “authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked”? If there authorities are not just physical but spiritual as well, how does that change our understanding of our role as the church today (Eph 1:22-23)?

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1. How do we today, like those in ancient Ephesus, see God as capricious? How can we avoid the mistake of having a transactional or “magical” relationship with God where we feel we can manipulate him or coerce him into doing what we want? How can we resist the lie that, if we don’t do what God wants, he will withhold his love and grace from us, his children? What does it mean to trust in God’s goodness rather than our own formulas?

2. In what ways are the powers and authorities and rulers at work in our world today? How can we avoid the mistake of ignoring their existence/influence? How can we ensure we don’t attribute the work of the evil spiritual forces (Eph 6:12) to God? How does our understanding of God’s will fit into all this? Is everything God’s will? Why or why not?

3. Take some time this week to meditate on, wrestle with, and begin to grasp the power available to us through our belief in Jesus (Eph 1:18-23) and ask how this power should be manifested within the church? Does it mean seeking more influence, success, fame, money, relevance, etc. or is it about using the power subversively (taking up our cross, submitting to each other, loving our enemies, etc.)? Do you know that you are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph 2:6-7)? What confidence should that give us?

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1. Why is it important to read the Bible as “good tourists”? How can we begin to read the Bible as Jesus or Paul would have read and understood it?

2. Read Deuteronomy 32:8-9 in several different Bible translations (NIV, NRSV, ESV, NASB, etc.). Why are they different and what is being communicated in these verses about the rulers and authorities Paul refers to in Ephesians? Consider this quote from Michael Heiser for reference, "In response to the tower of Babel God divided humanity by languages and geographical destiny. By doing so, God allotted them according to the number of the sons of God. God assigned the rule of his human children to other members of his heavenly family. Humanity didn’t want him as their king, so he obliged. Over the course of time the Bible tells us that these sons of God became corrupt, enslaving and abusing their populations. These were the gods worshiped by the peoples of the earth.”

3. Watch the following video on the Divine Council and talk about it in community: https://youtu.be/e1rai6WoOJU?si=FFU2sfee7OfQ_Aq9

4. What did Jesus come to accomplish in relation to the powers and authorities? Consider Colossians 2:8-15

5. In what ways do we recognize and resist the dark spiritual forces of evil? Consider the following quote from Timothy Gombis, “the most deceptive part of all this is that one of the strategies of the powers is to make it seem that destructive corruptions of society are normal, that its just the way things are.” 

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1. How is it that Paul can claim that God has placed all things under the feet of Jesus for the church (Eph 1:22-23) when it so often feels like Satan and sin and death and the powers and the authorities have their way every minute of every day, especially within the church?

2. What do you think Paul and Jesus are talking about when they refer to “this age and the age to come”? How does our exploration of the “Day of the Lord” inform our understanding of their perspective?

3. Do some reading on the “Day of the Lord” in the Old Testament (Joel 2, Isaiah 13, Malachi 4, etc.). How is the New Testament challenging and reframing the belief in an instantaneous shift from the present evil age to the age to come?

4. Consider these descriptions of our identity as the church and how we live into them as people who occupy two worlds, destined to inherit the age to come while still living in the present evil one:

   - the embodiment of a new reality/age

   - a working model of new creation (N.T. Wright)

   - an outpost of the kingdom of God in enemy territory

   
   

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1. How is the New Testament (specifically Ephesians) challenging the traditional “Day of the Lord” expectation?

2. Why is the concept of “Inaugurated Eschatology” important for our understanding of the Bible and what it means to live as Jesus followers today?

3. Read through and meditate on Ephesians 2:1-7. What does this section of scripture say to us about living in the “now and not yet”?

4. How is John the Baptist’s story both an encouragement and a challenge to us today as we both look forward to the age to come while still live in the present evil age? 

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1. What does it mean to be a “Community of Grace” in light of Ephesians 2:1-10? How does the grace described in these verses change the way we should see and treat each other? What does it mean to see each other as gifts?

2. Why does it matter that the grace of God is “incongruous,” meaning we can do nothing to earn or deserve it? What does this reality mean for the way we relate to one another, knowing that we were all dead before being made alive in Christ?

3. Preferably in community, talk about the claim that “the grace of God is unconditioned but not unconditional.” How do you feel about this statement? How does our idea of gift-giving differ from the early church’s context and why does it matter?

4. Meditate on Ephesians 2:8-10. We are God’s handiwork, his work of poetry and beauty. How can we convey grace this week in the good works prepared for us?

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1. What is Paul asking the Ephesians to remember? Why? Discuss Eph 2:11 – 12.

2. Why is circumcision important for the Jews? Read Genesis 17:9–10, 14. Do you think Circumcision created a socio-cultural divide in the Greco-Roman world? List a few main things that cause socio-cultural divide in our world and the community we are a part of today?

3. How will you describe the former condition of the Gentile Christians Paul is addressing? Discuss the spiritual significance of the five points Paul mentions in verse 12.

4. What did God do to break the barriers of oneness? Explain in your own words how Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

5. How can we experience God’s Peace in our personal, family, and corporate lives? What are the ways we can become ambassadors of His peace?

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1. What are some ways we can avoid turning the Bible’s words into cliches? Why does it matter that the words of scripture are living, active, and practical?

2. What is the connection between Hebrews 10:11-22 and Ephesians 2:13-22?

3. What is the difference between exclusivity and distinctiveness? How do we avoid being exclusionary while remaining holy (set apart)?

4. Meditate on Isaiah 56:1-8. How should this passage inform our reading of Ephesians?

5. What is the radical nature of Ephesians 2:18? Why is this statement so important?

6. What does it mean to be fellow citizens, members of God’s household, and part of a growing temple? How do each of these new identities impact the way we practically live both politically and socially? 

7. As part of God’s temple we are the place where heaven and earth meet. What does that mean for our everyday life?

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1. Read Paul’s revelation of Jesus from Acts 9, how did this encounter shape his entire ministry and specifically the letter of Ephesians?

2. Take some time this week to meditate on Ephesians 3:6. How do these identity markers play out in our lives today? What does this verse mean for our understanding of what the Gospel is?

3. Do we consider ourselves “prisoners of Christ Jesus”? How does knowing that "the victory of God is found in the midst of suffering, not in the absence of it” change our view on hardship?

4. Read 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 in light of Ephesians 3. How do we resist the temptation to value power and strength rather than weakness and humility?

5. Do we know the boundless riches of Christ given to us through grace? How have we experienced those riches as a church? Take some time this week to explore God’s goodness towards us. Some suggestions: go for a hike, make a good meal and eat with friends, take a nap, have a long cry, read through one of the Gospels, sit in silence, embrace the slow, small, quiet way of Jesus.

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