Ephesians: Week 6
From. To. Through.

While Ephesians 1 sees salvation from God’s point of view, Chapter 2 examines salvation more from a human point of view. Chapter 3 will combine both perspectives so that the following chapters (4-6) are very practical in their theology. The truth is we cannot live practically unless we know what we believe; doctrine is important.

• Why is it important to be clear on what we believe about ourselves, God, and the world around us?
• How do our beliefs translate to our actions?

What are we saved from? Our trespasses and sins. Before Jesus’ rescue, we were dead in our sin.

Read Ephesians 2:1-3.
• Sins of omission – God created us to do certain things and we don’t do them (love Him, serve others, glorify Him).
• Sins of commission – When God says “don’t” and we do it anyway.

Because of sin, humanity is broken. Our hope is not to stop committing sins; our hope is to stop being dead.

• Think about your own story…how were you dead in your sin?
• How have you been made alive in Christ?

What are we saved to? The kind of life God wants us to live is an abundant one in which we recognize all that He has given us. We don’t say, “Look how hard I worked to get this; I deserve more.” We instead say, “God, everything I have is from you. How can you use it?”

Read Ephesians 2:8-10.

The word faith in the Bible does not mean mere intellectual belief—it means trust. It has the connotation of resting, where we become a person who can truly rest because we have a peace from God Himself. We stop boasting when we are resting and seeing everything as a gift. Paul says we can experience a life of faith, rest, and grace in Christ.

• What do you tend to boast in? What gives you confidence, worth, and security?
• What would a life of faith, a life of grace, and a life without boasting look like?
• What keeps you from fully boasting in Jesus and His rescue of you?

What are we saved through? Jesus died for OUR sin—including our sinful condition and our life of slavery to sin. This is why the Gospel is good news.

Read Ephesians 2:4-7.

If you were on a battlefield and won a victory, there was an amount of glory attached to it. When you came back home from the battle, to the capital city, you would be given the greatest place of honor possible…the right hand of the throne. When the original hearers of Paul’s words saw that Jesus, because of all He accomplished, was raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of God the Father, they would have recognized the significance. Paul goes on to say He also, “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Note the past tense: we are seated. It has already happened…while we’re not physically seated there, it means we are legally seated there.

• What does it mean to be seated with Christ?
• How does the reality of this seating and standing before God transform your life?

John Stott wrote, “For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man.” In sin, we put ourselves where only God deserves to be. In salvation, God puts Himself where we deserve to be.

• How does Jesus save us from our self-centeredness?
• As you reflect on Jesus’ salvation and raising you from death to life, how do you feel led to respond in prayer?