READ Take some time in advance

to read and consider the Bible

Study questions and come up

with personal examples

to encourage discussion. Read

through the Go Deeper sections

and determine which ones you

will use.

WATCH Make sure everyone can see

the screen and the audio is at a

comfortable level.

PRINTBefore class, make enough

copies of this session’s handout

for your entire group. (The

handouts came with your

download.)

Note: For more detailed information, please see the Note to Leaders document.

LESSON 1

EPHESIANS 1:1–14Quick Start

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OPEN

Can you think of something that’s a regular part of your life, but you really don’t understand how it works?

Leader: This is, of course, a fun question to get people talking—but it also leads into a theme of this lesson. If you need to get the discussion going, consider the following: cars, planes, your credit rating, the electoral college, cell phones.

Does it bother you that you don’t understand it? Does that keep you from using it?

Today we’re going to talk about some even more mysterious things from the Bible. We may have some trouble understanding them, but they’re just as real and even more important.

READ

Read: Ephesians 1:1–14.

Leader: In this first session, you might want to read the passage yourself. Read it slowly and clearly. There are big ideas here.

WATCH

Show Session 1: Ephesians 1:1–14 (14 minutes)

DISCUSS

What did you think about what J.D. Greear had to say? Are there any stories or sayings that stood out for you?

Leader: J.D. focused on the issue of God choosing us “before the creation of the world” (v. 4). Some people in your group may find the issue of predestination controversial, and they might want to engage in a theological debate. Your challenge is to keep the group’s attention on the Bible. What does Scripture say about God choosing especially in this opening part of Ephesians?

What were the last three things J.D. mentioned—three things we can take away from this text?

Assurance: “What God starts, He will finish.”

Hope: “I can bravely face whatever trials come my way.”

Boldness in evangelism: “Obey the revealed thing. Share Christ.”

Let’s take another look at Ephesians 1. As we read through verses 3–10, look for all the things that God does.

[After a slow, clear reading of Eph. 1:3–10] According to these verses, what has God done, what is He doing, or what will He do?

Leader: The following list gives possible answers from the text.

Blessed usChose usPredestined usAdopted usHas given us graceLoves Jesus

Gives redemptionForgives sinLavishes riches on usMade known to us the mystery“Purposed” the mystery, or set forth His planWill bring unity to all things under Christ

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According to these verses, what do we “have”? (Many of the same items apply: blessing, adoption, redemption, forgiveness, etc.)

What blessings has He blessed us with?

What does adoption mean when God is doing it?

How would you define grace?

What “riches” has He lavished on us?

Verse 9 mentions the “mystery” of His will.

What’s mysterious about it?

According verse 10, what is the mystery?

The language is rather thick here, but it seems that Paul is defining God’s secret (mysterious) plan: To unite heaven and earth under Christ’s authority. This will happen at the proper time, when it seems right to God. And we are in the middle of it.

Learn more about God’s choosing in the following set of Bible verses.Deuteronomy 7:7–8; Deuteronomy 9:6; John 6:37–39; John 6:44

According to the Deuteronomy passages, why did God choose the Israelites? Did they “earn” His choosing in some way?

What can we assume about why God has chosen us?

In the passages from John, what does Jesus say about His own work?

How does God “draw” people?

Learn more about the mysteries of God in the following passages:Deuteronomy 29:29; Luke 8:10; Romans 11:33–36; Colossians 1:26–27.

The Deuteronomy verse distinguishes between secret things and things revealed. How should we treat them differently?

J.D. says, “Our responsibility is to receive and believe what is revealed, not to figure out all the mysteries of what is hidden.”

How would that affect the way we handle a controversial (and hard to understand) subject like predestination?

In Colossians, Paul defines the mystery as “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” What does it mean, and how does it compare to the teaching in Ephesians 1?

GO D E E P E R

GO D E E P E R

Peek at the GreekThe word for mystery in Ephesians 1:9 is mysterion. We get our English word mystery from it. Sometimes translated “secret,” it is used 27 times in the New Testament—mostly by Paul—including 11 times in Ephesians and its companion epistle, Colossians. Mysterion has two opposite angles to it: (1) something hidden and unknown; (2) something previously hidden that is now being revealed in an unexpected way, at least to some people.

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Let’s get back to Ephesians 1. As we read through the next section, verses 11–14, look for answers to another question: What does this say about who we are as Christians?

[After a slow, clear reading of Eph. 1:11–14] According to these verses, who are we?

Leader: The following list gives possible answers from the text.

The most important word here is one of the shortest. It’s in verse 12, and you might easily overlook it. The word is “be.” The text is going on about God’s choosing, and His purpose, and He’s working out everything, and why: “In order that we...might be for the praise of His glory.” We exist to bring Him praise.

What does this mean to you? How can we bring Him praise?

If you began to see this as your purpose in life, how would that change things?

One thing to keep in mind here: The word you is plural. That could still mean that all of us as individuals should exist for the praise of His glory. But it might also mean that we together are called to do that. That is, the church, the body of Christ, exists to bring praise to God.

How are we doing with that?

LAST WORD

The idea of God pre-choosing us for salvation, often called predestination, has spawned a lot of arguments among Christians. Often those arguments can distract us from our main purpose—living for the praise of God’s glory.

There are also some unbiblical ideas swirling around the teaching on God’s choosing. Should we stop sharing the gospel because God has already chosen the ones He wants? No, of course not. Should we worry that maybe He hasn’t chosen us, even if we have chosen Him? No, of course not. If we’re trusting Him, the Spirit in our hearts is a guarantee that He has chosen us.

This first chapter of Ephesians is a beautiful presentation of God’s amazing plan. He has chosen to provide redemption and forgiveness, exalting His name forever—and we are right in the middle of it.

Chosen peoplePredestined people“For the praise of his glory”Included in ChristMarked with a sealHeirs, with a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance

Peek at the GreekThe word for deposit in verse 14 is arrabon. It’s a commercial term for a down payment. Two thousand years ago, they had the same sort of arrangement we have now. You could place a deposit—a partial payment—on something you promised to buy eventually. In the same way, the Holy Spirit is a sort of down payment of God’s redemption. We will eventually share in a full inheritance in His kingdom, but meanwhile the Spirit is living in our hearts, guaranteeing that future blessing.

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J.D. suggested three takeaways for us:

1. Assurance. Put your fears aside. Jesus takes care of His own.

2. Hope. Even when things are going badly for us, we know that God is shaping us for greater things.

3. Boldness in sharing the good news of Jesus. Let’s tell the amazing story of the Creator-Redeemer who loves the people of this world. We don’t need to trick people or manipulate them. We just tell the story, and God draws people to Himself.

LIVE IT OUT

Prayer: At least four days in the coming week, thank God that He has included you in His great plan.

Encouragement: If you know a fellow Christian who is going through tough times, offer a word of hope. God has plans for us.

Conversation: Talk with somebody who isn’t a Christian (as far as you know). Ask them about their beliefs. If they ask about yours, be ready to tell them God’s story.

Journaling: Write out the text of Ephesians 1:1–14, a few verses at a time, jotting down your questions and reactions.

Worship: If you exist “for the praise of His glory,” then throw yourself into worship. Take time on your own to sing and dance and pray and shout, but also join with the church or youth group in a gathering of praise.