Ephesians 3:1-13 Study Prompts #3

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 3:1-13 – Study Prompts #3

1. Take a moment to pray.  Praise God for His Word and ask Him to teach you its truth, just as the psalmist prayed in Psalm 119:12-16, “Praise be to You, O Lord; teach me Your decrees.  With my lips I recount all the laws that come from Your mouth.  I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.  I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways.  I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your Word.”
2. Read Ephesians 3:1-13
3. The name “Paul” means “little” in Latin.  Paul, a Jew by ethnicity but a Roman by citizenship, had a name that meant “Tiny.”  By most all human measurements, Tiny had a gigantic influence on the world.  Paul wrote 13 New Testament books, and a 14th book (Acts) featured Paul as a main character.  Paul was used by God to spread the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire during the middle parts of the first century.  Despite these impressive accolades, however, Paul routinely described himself in humble terms.  Look up the following verses and write out how Paul described himself in each passage: Ephesians 3:8, 1 Corinthians 15:9, 1 Timothy 1:15
4. What do you think Paul meant by referring to himself as the “least of the apostles,” “chief sinner,” and “least of the saints”?
5. We have previously observed (in day 2 of this week’s study), that Paul saw the imprisonment he was enduring as something that would result in benefit to the Gentiles, not himself.  It takes at least two parallel mindsets to achieve this kind of selfless living:  humble and trusting.  Paul had to be humble, not seeing his life and personal benefit as more important than it was, and he had to trust in Jesus to use his life according to his eternal plan (Ephesians 3:11).  Take an examination of your own life.  How humble and trusting are you as you live out your Christian life?
6. How does someone keep a humble mindset?  What are some things you can do to develop and maintain a humble mindset in your own life?
7. How does someone grow in their trust of Jesus?  What are some things you can do to develop and sustain a deep trust in Jesus for the everyday issues of your life?
8. In Ephesians 3:13 Paul talks about the boldness we can have before God, and the access we have to Him.  Based on what you have seen from the book of Ephesians so far, how bold do you think we can be with God?  How much access do we really have?
9. How does remembering the bold access we have with God keep us humble and develop more trust as we experience hardship in life?

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)
• Eph. 2:1-10 (Study Prompts #2)
• Eph. 2:1-10 (Study Prompts #3)
• Unbelievable Offer (Devotional/Sermon Preview)
• Packed #3 Sermon Discussion Questions
• Packed #3 Sermon Audio/Video
• Eph. 2:11-22 (Study Prompts #1)
• Eph. 2:11-22 (Study Prompts #2)
• Eph. 2:11-22 (Study Prompts #3)
• Uncommon Denominator (Devotional/Sermon Preview)
• Packed #4 Sermon Discussion Questions
• Packed #4 Sermon Audio/Video
• Eph. 3:1-13 (Study Prompts #1)
• Eph. 3:1-13 (Study Prompts #2)