Ephesians 2:1-10 Study Prompts #2

I am currently preaching a sermon series on Sunday mornings at Wildwood Community Church called “Packed” – based out of Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians.  During this series, I am using my blog to post study prompts, devotionals, sermon audio/video, and discussion questions to help facilitate personal or group study of this book.  NOTE: At the bottom of this post, I have a set of links to previous resources in this series.

Ephesians 2:1-10 – Study Prompts #2

1. As you prepare your heart for study, know that God desires to reveal Himself to you, and He has given you His Holy Spirit to guide you into truth.  Before you open in prayer, consider Jeremiah 9:23-24.  “This is what the Lord declares: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord.”  Pray for this understanding and knowledge of God with the Holy Spirit as your guide.
2. Read Ephesians 2:1-10
3. As we saw yesterday, Ephesians 2:1-3 detail the trajectory of a life without Jesus.  Take a moment and summarize the general message of 2:1-3.
4. 2:4 begins with a two word phrase that is perhaps one of the greatest phrases in all the Bible, “But God.”  In other words, WE were dead, following Satan, and giving into our destructive fleshly desires (2:1-3) . . .  BUT GOD ___________________.  According to 2:4-7, what has God done for us (in spite of our brokenness)?
5. STUDY NOTE:  The Greek Word translated “mercy” in 2:4 is the word used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to translate the Hebrew word “hesed.”  This word speaks of the loving commitment of God to help one of His people who are in need.  Knowing this, helps us see why it is God’s mercy that is highlighted in 2:4 as the motivation for His work saving us.  God saves us because He is so lovingly committed to us that when He sees we are in need, He steps in and does what it takes to bring us from death to life.
6. According to this passage, how much hope did humanity have of salvation, forgiveness, and blessing based on our own merits?
7. If our sin made us spiritually dead, “with Christ” we can be made alive spiritually.  To the best of your understanding, what does it mean to be “alive” with Christ?
8. Reflecting on this passage, Warren Wiersbe said, “The unbeliever is not sick; he is dead!  He does not need resuscitation; he needs resurrection.  All lost sinners are dead, and the only difference between one sinner and another is the state of decay.”  Have you stopped lately to thank God for the spiritual resurrection He has offered you in Christ?  If not, take a moment right now to thank God for the spiritual life He has given you.
9. 2:6 indicates that we have been “raised up with Him.”  This speaks to the fact that in Christ, we have a new home.  Though we are currently living out our Christian lives on this earth, our true citizenship (as Christians) has been upgraded (raised) to heaven.  This reminds us that we have a future in eternity with Christ that is even better than our present.  What are you experiencing/dealing with right now that is particularly painful or discouraging?  How does knowing that we are “raised” in Christ help you to have hope in the midst of your current struggle?
10. STUDY NOTE:  2:6-7 also says that we are “seated with Christ,” indicating that by being seated with Christ in His position of honor, we also become the recipients of the “immeasurable riches of His grace.”  The big idea is that we are blessed with immeasurable blessings because of who we are with, not because of what we have done.  Further, this blessing is promised to be never ending since Jesus seat is eternal and we are seated with Him.  That is why 2:7 lets us know that God’s blessing of those in Christ is a permanent display of His kindness for all time.  The universe can see that God is a kind God by looking at they way He treats those who are seated with Christ.

For more resources related to this study of Ephesians click on the following links:

• Packed – Series Introduction
• Eph. 1:3-14 (Study Prompts #1)
• Eph. 1:3-14 (Study Prompts #2)
• Eph. 1:3-14 (Study Prompts #3)
• The “In Crowd” (Devotional/Sermon Preview)
• Packed Sermon Discussion Questions
• Packed #1 Sermon Audio/Video
• Eph. 1:15-23 (Study Prompts #1)
• Eph. 1:15-23 (Study Prompts #2)
• Eph. 1:15-23 (Study Prompts #3)
• It’s a Wonderful Christian Life (Devotional)
• Packed #2 Sermon Discussion Questions
• Packed #2 Sermon Audio/Video
• Eph. 2:1-10 (Study Prompts #1)