At Home with the Saints
Ephesians 1:11-23
Tony’s Overview Video
How to Use
Preparing to teach
- Read the Bible Lesson by Tony Cartledge in this month’s issue of the Nurturing Faith Journal
- Watch Tony’s Video for this session
- Select either the Adult or Youth teaching guide and follow the directions
Click to read the Bible Lesson by Tony Cartledge
Key Text: Ephesians 1:20
“God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places…”
Have you ever gained an inheritance? An inheritance we receive from grandparents or parents can come with mixed feelings, because the gain of money or property comes with the loss of someone we have loved. If you’re the executor or executrix, settling the estate and possibly dividing the inheritance can also be a major hassle.
Our text for the day concerns an inheritance that has no negative aspects whatsoever. It’s an inheritance whose anticipation brings assurance in this life, and joy beyond imagining in the next – or so Paul told the Christians in Ephesus and possibly elsewhere.
Ephesians is one of the more important Pauline letters, distinguished primarily by its focus on the church. It does not deal with local problems, as do most of his other letters, but with big ideas for the larger church.
These and other bits of evidence lead us to think that the letter may not have been directed to Ephesus alone. Paul had lived there for three years and undoubtedly knew and loved many people in Ephesus, but his missive includes none of the personal references common to his other letters.
It is likely that Ephesians was an “encyclical” – a letter intended for circulation among a group of churches, of which Ephesus was probably chief. [DD] [DD] [DD]
We have an inheritance (vv. 11-12)
The text is amazing in its grammatical complexity: verses 3-14 can be read as one sentence in the Greek text, and vv. 15-19 as another. The first chapter is a nearly breathless call for Christ-followers to fill their lives with days of praise as they look forward to the fulfillment of all that God has done.
The letter begins with a reminder of many ways in which God has blessed believers, which Paul stressed had come through Jesus Christ. Throughout the text, “in him” and “in Christ” are key reminders of this.
Paul rejoiced that God had granted “every spiritual blessing” (v. 3) and adopted believers as children through the work of Christ (vv. 4-6). Those who hold a doctrine of predestination depend heavily on this text, believing it indicates that God chose only certain persons to be saved. That view robs the gospel of its missionary imperative, which is much clearer than any suggestion of predestination.
God saves believers not only as individuals, but as a community of faith. Paul was not teaching that God has a checklist of predestined believers, but that God has a place for every person who seeks grace and follows Christ. Those who believe this cannot help but give praise to God.
In vv. 7-10, Paul affirmed that in Christ we have redemption through an amazing grace that is beyond our comprehension. The word used for “forgiveness” (’aphesis) is a technical term that referred to a legal pardon. There are various views of how we should understand the atonement, but all of them lead to the same end: we are forgiven.
Paul next asserted that God not only loves us enough to forgive us and adopt us as children, but has also set aside an incredible inheritance: “In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory” (vv. 11-12).
Paul had grown up in a Jewish family. He would have heard about the inheritance of the land that God had promised to Israel. Now he declared an even greater inheritance, an eternal home for those who trust in God. This inheritance does not come when someone else dies, but when we move beyond the limitations of this world to discover what God has prepared in eternity. [DD]
Paul cited this good news as a motivation for praise to God: “so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory” (v. 12). This was especially true for the first generation of Christian believers. Their lives of praise would set a pattern for others to follow, including us.
If you have ever shingled a roof, you know that the lowest row of shingles becomes a guide for the next row, which becomes a guide for the next, and so on. Just so, every generation of Christians provides a pattern for the next to follow. If we would lead those who come after us rightly, then we will lead them to offer praise to God, not just with words, but with actions.
We don’t just praise God when we sing hymns on Sunday, but when we show love to a child on Monday, when we feed the hungry on Tuesday, when we listen to a hurting friend on Wednesday. We praise God with our lives when we visit the sick on Thursday, repair a needy neighbor’s toilet on Friday, or even when we enjoy family recreation on Saturday. Because Jesus Christ has filled our hearts with amazing grace, we fill our lives with days of praise.
Consider this: in Hebrew, “to worship” and “to serve” are rendered by the same word. What are ways we can offer worship to God through service to others?
We know the Holy Spirit (vv. 13-14)
Some of us, like Paul’s readers, might think: “But I don’t feel so full of praise, and how can I be so sure about this eternal inheritance anyway?” Paul would respond that God offers to us a taste of heaven on earth as we open our hearts and lives to the presence of his Holy Spirit:
“In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory” (vv. 13-14).
Jesus no longer walks with us as he walked with Mary and Martha and Peter and John. Even in Paul’s day, Jesus was no longer present in that physical way. But Paul believed Christ’s promise that he would in fact be present through his Spirit. The touch of the Spirit in this life is the guarantee of God’s embrace in the next.
The Spirit of Christ in our lives works not only as an internal guide to direct our living, but also as an outward mark of our redemption. The Spirit inspires positive changes in our lives that should be obvious to others.
In Jesus Christ we have redemption from our sins. We have an inheritance in eternity. We have a present comforter and guide. We have, in short, all that we need for a life that is filled with meaning and laced with praise.
We know God’s power (vv. 15-23)
Paul concluded this section by thanking God for the Ephesian believers and praying that they might receive deeper spiritual insight though “a spirit of wisdom and revelation” as they grew in their relationship with Christ (vv. 16-17). Such insight would give them a new “heart vision” that would inspire the great hope in Christ Paul wanted them to hold (v. 18). [DD]
That hope, Paul believed, would lead them to experience “the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe” (v. 19). Can you imagine feeling the touch of God’s power? [DD]
God had used that same power, Paul said, to raise Jesus from the dead and elevate him to “the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come” (vv. 20-21).
Notice how Paul emphasized Christ’s elevation by listing four other “powers” that were beneath him. We keep in mind that most new believers and the church had probably come from pagan backgrounds. In Ephesus, especially, Diana was worshiped as a powerful goddess who ruled over spirits and powers.
In the first century, popular thought imagined that there were various levels of spiritual powers or beings who could influence the world. Paul used language his readers could relate to as he posited that Christ alone had supreme authority, and believers relate directly to Christ, not to superstitious spirits or imaginative demi-gods.
Few of us believe that mystic spiritual powers rule various levels of reality. How, then, might Paul’s language speak to us? Some scholars suggest we could think of Paul’s authorities and powers as civil rulers such as kings or presidents or dictators. Perhaps a better view is to think of them as the insidious powers of racism, alcoholism, nationalism, greed, or hate.
Christ has power over all these things, Paul said: God has put all things “under his feet,” probably alluding to Ps. 110:1. To the extent that we know Christ and experience his power, we can overcome these daily temptations to give in to our darker nature.
Christ is “the head of all things for the church,” Paul said, “which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all” (vv. 22-23). We, as believers, are members of the church and thus part of the body. When Christ’s Spirit is present, filling our lives, we become the fullest expression of Christ’s power and presence on earth: the saints.
To represent Christ on earth is an amazing privilege and an incredible challenge. It’s no wonder that Paul prayed for us to receive both insight and power to become who we are called to be. Is there a better challenge for “All Saints Day”?
Adult Teaching Resources
Download the PDF of teaching resources for this lesson.
This PDF contains the Teaching Guide, Digging Deeper, and Hardest Question pages.
Read Scripture online: Ephesians 1:11-23
Youth Teaching Resources
Parent Prep
We want to leave our children off better than we have been able to live our lives. We want to be able to provide opportunities for our students to succeed. But, can we do too much for our students? Can we provide too much to where they don’t have to work? Can we smooth the road too much for them so they have no bumps in the road? How do you know the difference? Start with this question, “Would I do this for someone else’s child or just my own?”.
Additional Links/Resources
Read Scripture online: Ephesians 1:11-23
Download the PDF for youth teaching resources using the button below. This PDF contains the Teaching Guide for this lesson:
Video
Encourage youth to check out this video ahead of the lesson.
“That is My Birthday!” from Mr. Deeds
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