Ephesians Curriculum jethrotools.org
Teaching Text: Ephesians 1:15-23
Teacher Study Notes:
Teaching Text: Ephesians 1:15-23
Teacher Study Notes:
- Note the connection between Ephesians 1:3 and Ephesians 1:23. God has blessed the Ephesian believers with every blessing (1:3) and therefore they are full (1:23) of the fullness of Him. They are so full that they cannot get any more.
- Notice that a large portion of this passage is a prayer. Notice Paul’s connection to and passion for the Ephesian believers in verses 15-16. This may be very helpful in developing an application. Paul, being part of Christ’s body the church, cares deeply for the Ephesians who have cared for other believers. Paul is encouraged because he sees that their faith and love are actively working together.
- Think about Paul’s prayer for the believers in Ephesus and the comments that were made by Jesus about the church in Revelation 2:1-7. Paul brings up some key points here that may be part of the reason the church lost its first love. In his prayer Paul requests that the Ephesians know God. This knowledge affected their past, present and future. Paul has a deep passion for these people and God. It is contagious! How can we be the same?
- Attraction of the audience to your Bible lesson with an illustration
Talk about lifting weights.If you lift improperly you can hurt yourself and damage muscles, however, proper exercise will strengthen you for other work. But even the strongest people are only so strong.
Transition by saying...In the Bible passage that we are going to study today we are will see that Paul wants the Ephesian believers to know some important things about God and His all powerful strength that is at work. - Read the Bible passage
Read the Bible passage out loud or ask someone else to read it out loud Open in prayer
Make general important observations about the passage and the context
Briefly review by telling what has been presented up to this point in the book.
Summarize for the group what will be covered in this section. - Examination of the Bible passage with the group
(These questions are to guide your thinking and development of your Bible lesson.) In verse 15 note the words “for this reason.” What is this pointing to?
Who would you summarize verse 15-16?
How does Paul encourage the Ephesian believers?
Note the specific change in verse 17 regarding prayer. Who is involved in verse 17?
Why is this important? How does this connect with the previous verses? What specific things is Paul praying for in verses 18-23?
Look for three things and explain why they are important. - Application of the Bible lesson
Ask yourself... Why is it important for believers to know about God?
How does knowing God help us to live in God’s power?
How do we try to get more of God when we are already filled? Why do we do this?
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