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Ephesians 1-6
“Zooming Out”
Do you remember the first time you played with Google Earth? You could look at your house, your neighborhood, or across the world at the Eiffel Tower. But when you started clicking the magnifying glass with the minus, you zoomed out. And out. And out, until you saw the whole earth hanging in space. Zooming out has a way of putting things in perspective. We call it "seeing the big picture," the "forest for the trees."
Let's start these Talking Through Ephesians conversations with a look at the book's big-picture theme. Ephesians shows us where the little dot of our life maps onto the sweeping story of the universe and beyond. The letter zooms in and out from a believer's everyday "walk" (Eph. 2:10; 4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15) to God's "eternal purpose" (Eph. 3:11).
Your choices are central to God's eternal purpose for everything.
THE BIG IDEA
It shows us that today's struggle to deal well with our anger (Eph. 4:26-27, 31) is part of the cosmic battle in the "heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12; cf. Eph. 1:3,20; 2:6; 3:10). What seems bigger than life becomes exactly life-size — your life's size — as the sweeping, eye-opening truths in the book's first half (Eph. 1-3) become painfully practical in the second half (Eph. 4-6).
The apostle Paul writes to "saints in Ephesus" (Eph. 1:1; cf. Acts 18-20)[1], charging them to "stand firm" (Eph. 6:11-14), holding onto the wide lens view of our new identity (Eph. 2:1-22; 4:17-5:2), confident in God's love (Eph. 3:17-19) and power at work in us (Eph. 3:20-21; 6:10).
God could show his wisdom and goodness in so many ways, but he featured the church as his masterwork (Eph. 3:9-10). There we were, swimming in sin, foolish and confused. But he's taken a dead and divided humanity, made one new, living people, and has come to dwell in us (Eph. 2:5, 11-22).
What will you do with your life, knowing there's so much more to it than you can see?
THE BIG QUESTION
[1]: The words "in Ephesus" aren't in all the early manuscripts, so some think it might have been a circular letter. That’s possible, but most manuscripts have it, and even those that don't have "in Ephesus" in verse 1 still label the letter as "To the Ephesians" in the title.
Introduction
See the Big Picture
INTRODUCTION
Launch the study with a CONVERSATION STARTER on the Big Idea.
Read or watch “Zooming Out” (above). What do you take from that Big Idea and Big Question? ICE BREAKER — Get everyone engaged and talking.
Do you have a hard time finding where you are on a map?ACT I
FINDING JESUS — The Book of Ephesians
As you read through the book, what do you learn about Christ?Is there a word, phrase, or passage you really want to meditate on about Jesus?Of all that Paul tells us about Christ’s work and character, what strikes you the most?Why?
ACT II
Flyin’ Through the Book — Ephesians
Ephesians 1:1-14
What’s the main point of this section?
Ephesians 1:15-23
What’s the main point of this section?Ephesians 2:1-10
What’s the main point of this section?
Ephesians 2:11-22
What’s the main point of this section?Ephesians 3:1-13
What’s the main point of this section?Ephesians 3:14-21
What’s the main point of this section?Ephesians 4:1-16
What’s the main point of this section?Ephesians 4:17-32
What’s the main point of this section?Ephesians 5:1-21
What’s the main point of this section?Ephesians 5:22-6:9
What’s the main point of this section?Ephesians 6:10-24
What’s the main point of this section?Main Theme
What stands out as the central idea of the book?ACT III
REACH OUT — Connect with each other with this question.
How would your day-to-day life change if you had a "Gehazi moment" (2 Kings 6:15-16)
to see the unseen?WRAP UP
THE CHALLENGE — Ready to put it into practice?
Invite someone to talk through Ephesians with you over the next few months.REQUEST — Go to God in a closing prayer.
For example: "Lord, help us see your eternal purpose and align our lives with it."
(cf. Eph 3:11)NEXT SESSION — Spiritual Blessings
Prepare by reading Ephesians 1:3-14