Ephesians: Queen of the Epistles

By Ralph Robert Gomez

This is a nine-week precept Bible study specifically written for home groups and contains deep theological doctrine and practical application for everyday living. Paul wrote Ephesians about five years after he completed his third missionary journey. It is one of four letters he wrote while imprisoned in Rome for a crime he did not commit. This study will guide your home group through Ephesians, and contains in-depth commentary as well as practical application questions and answers. Any believer at any level can benefit from this study.

Ephesians tackles difficult topics such as the Trinity, adoption, predestination, prophecy, the rapture, the second coming, the mystery of God's plan, spiritual warfare, and much more. Ephesians is considered a how-to manual for Christian living and encourages believers to walk in a manner worthy of being called children of God. A main theme throughout Paul's letter is unity among believers.

Paul planted the Ephesian church during his second missionary journey and knew the Ephesians very well. Near the end of his letter, Paul warned believers to prepare for war. He called this war a spiritual battle between God and Satan. Paul even used military terms to describe this spiritual battle; for example, he told Christians to "put on the full armor of God, so that [they] will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11 NASB).

Get ready to take another adventure with the Apostle Paul as he reconnects with the believers in Ephesus to remind them of their Christian duty and encourage them to keep the faith. The Christian life is meant to have an impact on the world and should not be lived in secret. Not only should the believer's life be evident to all, but their lives should be a spiritual light that leads others to Christ. As Paul said, "Awaken sleeper, and arise from the dead" (Ephesians 5:14 NASB). That's what Christians are called to do today, arise and make a difference in their home, at work, and in their community. Enjoy this journey with the Apostle Paul as he encourages his friends in Ephesus to keep the faith.

Here are some other precept Bible study's written specifically for home groups.

Acts: The Birth of the Church (12 weeks)

Acts: Paul's Three Missionary Journeys (10 weeks)

Acts: Paul's Arrest, Trial and Imprisonment (8 weeks)

Galatians: Oh, You Foolish Galatians (8 weeks)

Ephesians: Queen of the Epistles (9 weeks)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798888513859

Ralph Robert Gomez

Ralph Robert Gomez is a retired software engineer who loves Jesus and came to the Lord later in life. At the age of thirty-nine years old, while attending graduate school, Ralph had a “road to Damascus” experience and has been walking with the Lord since. Ralph is a native of Colorado and has been married to his high school sweetheart since 1975 and has two children and three grandchildren. Ralph has been writing Bible studies for the past twenty years and sharing them with his home group, “The James Gang” and a men’s group called “The Band of Brothers.” In addition, Ralph and his wife have hosted numerous marriage groups over the years and have a passion for helping marriages succeed. At the urging of his friends and family, Ralph assembled his home group studies into a series of Precept Bible Studies that challenge the reader to probe deep into God’s Word (interpret) and to apply it to their daily lives (application), while having fun at the same time! Ralph’s background as an engineer, writing software and technical documents, has uniquely qualified him to use his analytical skills to dissect God’s Word, verse by verse, making it easy and simple to understand. Here are other precept Bible studies available from Ralph Robert Gomez. Acts: The Birth of the Church (ch 1-12) Acts: Paul’s Three Missionary Journeys (ch 13-21) Acts: Paul’s Arrest, Trial and Imprisonment (ch 21-28) Galatians: Oh, You Foolish Galatians Ephesians: The Queen of the Epistles Philippians: Rejoice in the Lord All books are available at www.ralphrobertgomez.com or any book store

Book preview

Introduction

This study guide on Ephesians is one of the four prison Epistles written by the Apostle Paul during his three missionary journeys and is one of Paul’s thirteen Epistles included in the New Testament. There are six chapters in this letter, where the first three are on theological doctrine, and the last three chapters are on practical application. This precept study is rich in theology, and you would be wise to take your time going through it. This is a nine-week study.

How to Use This Study

This study guide is setup for 8–12 people, and each weekly study should take approximately 60–70 minutes to complete. There are two sections in the study. The odd-numbered pages are the study guide, and the even numbered pages contain the answers to the study guide questions. Therefore, you don’t need to be an expert on the Bible to facilitate a group. You just need to have a desire and a willingness to draw closer to God and to other believers. Keep in mind, as the facilitator, your main responsibility is to start and stop the group on time and to keep the discussion on track as well as to encourage everyone to participate.

The study is arranged so that everyone has the opportunity to participate by reading a section and then answering the questions from that section. The end of each section is marked by a solid black line that says:

At this point, the reader can choose to answer the questions or pass. After the reader has answered the questions or passed, the discussion is then opened up to the group. Once the group discussion for that section has completed, the facilitator or reader should read the answers on the back of the next page.

Then the next person reads the ensuing section. This continues in round-robin style until the entire study has been read. The end of the study is designated with "Let’s RE-Read Tonight’s Verses."

In this section, each person reads to the ~~~~~ separator and then rotates readers until the entire chapter has been read. This is a very important step and should not be skipped. It is amazing how the Holy Spirit will bring a new level of understanding after the entire chapter has been studied verse by verse and then re-read in its entirety.

Group Guidelines

Silence all cell phones.

Stay focused and set aside outside factors.

Give the group your full attention.

Encourage everyone to participate and to ask questions.

No one person should dominate the discussion; everyone’s input matters.

What’s said in the group, stays in the group. Confidentiality is a must.

Each group should start and end with prayer.

Have fun!

Week 1, Ephesians 1:1—14

Notes

Let’s Review Tonight’s Study

Ephesians is known as the Queen of the Epistles and was written by Paul to the believers in Ephesus about five years after he completed his third missionary journey. Paul wrote Ephesians while he was imprisoned in Rome, and it is one of the four letters called the Prison Epistles. The other prison Epistles are Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon.

This letter can be divided into two parts. The first three chapters are on the Christian Doctrine, and the second three chapters are on the Christian’s Duty. The first three chapters can be thought of as an instruction manual for Christians. The second three chapters are the how-to manual for putting into practice what you learned from chapters one, two and three.

This map is of the Mediterranean and shows the distance between Rome and Ephesus.

As we said before, Paul was in Rome when he wrote to the Ephesians. Ephesus was a major trade center and was known for having the largest amphitheater in the world. It was also home to the Temple of Artemis, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (Acts 19:35). Paul spent several years in Ephesus during his second missionary journey and knew the Ephesians very well.

(Q) WHY WAS PAUL IMPRISONED IN ROME?

(Q) ANY MORE COMMENTS?

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FROM THE PREVIOUS PAGE

(Q) WHY WAS PAUL IMPRISONED IN ROME?

After Paul returned to Jerusalem from his third missionary journey, he was confronted by the elders about a rumor they heard. The rumor was that Paul was teaching the Jewish believers to abandon their Jewish customs and traditions.

The accusations were false, and Paul denied them.

The elders suggested Paul participate in a purity vow with four other men to prove that he had not abandoned their Jewish customs.

Paul agreed. However, during the ceremony, some Jews from Asia dragged Paul out of the temple and stirred up the crowd with more false accusations.

Paul was brought to trial in front of the Sanhedrin council, where he was falsely charged with

Being a public menace who stirred up dissension,

Being the ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes called the Way, and

Desecrating the temple by bringing a Gentile into the temple.

After several mock trials, Paul appealed to Caesar. Caesar was the highest court in the land and would be comparable to the Supreme Court of today.

Since Caesar was in Rome, the governor sent Paul to Rome.

On the way to Rome, Paul’s ship got lost at sea in a raging storm and wrecked on the island of Malta.

After spending the winter in Malta, Paul was able to travel to Rome, where he was placed on house arrest for a crime he did not commit.

Note: Paul’s trials and journey to Rome can be found in the book of ACTS, chapters 22–24.

Let’s Begin Tonight’s Study

Commentary. Paul began this letter by making three points: (1) he identified himself as the author; (2) he presented his credentials as an apostle of Jesus Christ; and (3) he named the recipients of this letter as the believers in Ephesus. Paul also referred to the Christians as "saints." How is this possible? Isn’t sainthood reserved for special people who performed miracles and lived virtuous lives?

(Q) WHY DOES THE BIBLE REFER TO CHRISTIANS AS SAINTS?

(Q) ANY COMMENTS ON THESE VERSES?

Commentary. Notice that Paul began Ephesians in the same way he did his letter to the Galatians. He started both letters with a traditional Jewish greeting, wishing grace and peace to the believers. Grace means God’s unmerited favor. Peace in Hebrew is shalom, which is a Jewish greeting, meaning may health and prosperity be upon you. In other words, Paul was wishing God’s favor and good health upon the believers in Ephesus from God the Father and Jesus Christ.

God the Father and Jesus Christ are two members of the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity can be found throughout the Bible, starting in Genesis, where God said, "Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness" (Genesis 1:26a). This verse is describing the plurality of God. The Gospel of Matthew also mentioned the Trinity when Jesus told His apostles to "Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). These verses clearly name the members of the Trinity as three separate persons.

There is another belief that some people have for describing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is called Monarchianism, which is the belief that there is one God who can manifest Himself into three different modes. In other words, supporters of Monarchianism believe the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are just different modes of the same God. Whereas, the doctrine of the Trinity believes there is one God in three distinct persons.

(Q) IS MONARCHIANISM BIBLICAL? WHY OR WHY NOT?

(Q) ANY COMMENTS ON THESE VERSES?

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FROM THE PREVIOUS PAGE

(Q) WHY DOES THE BIBLE REFER TO CHRISTIANS AS SAINTS?

The word saint comes from the Greek word hagios, which means set apart for the Lord and is used over sixty times in the New Testament. Saint refers to anyone who has repented and asked Jesus to be Lord of their life. In other words, saint is another name for describing any follower of Jesus Christ.

If you grew up Catholic, this may come as a surprise to you because you were taught sainthood was only for special people appointed by the pope. This belief is in conflict with the Bible, which says that God the Father sees ALL followers of Jesus as saints. The reason is because Jesus paid the sin debt for ALL who repent and call on His name. Therefore, when a Christian stands before God on judgment day, God will see them as sinless, or as Paul said, "As saints."

(q) Is monarchianism biblical? why or why not?

No, the Monarchianism view of God is not supported by the Scriptures.

The Monarchianism view believes Jesus was just a manifestation of God and was not a separate person.

Response: The Bible is full of verses that confirm the distinction between God the Father and God the Son. For example, John 3:16–17 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him."

These verses clearly show that Jesus was a distinct person, separate from God the Father, and He was not a manifestation of God as the Monarchianist’s believe.

The Monarchianism view believe it was God the Father who suffered on the cross in the mode of Jesus. This belief is called Patripassianism, which literally means the Father’s suffering.

Response: If that was the case, then when Jesus was on the cross and cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Who was He crying out to? Himself?

If Jesus was just a manifestation of God the Father, then there would be no reason for Him to cry out because He would have been just another mode of God and not a separate person.

Commentary. This is the beginning of Paul telling the believers about the eight spiritual blessings awaiting them in the heavenly places. Verses 3­–14 were written as one continuous thought describing these spiritual blessings. However, for our study, we will review each blessing one at a time and one verse at a time.

Before we discuss the first blessing, let’s talk about their location. According to these verses, the blessings are located in the heavenly places. The Bible mentions three heavenly realms. The first realm is the physical realm, which consists of the earth, sun, moon, stars (Genesis 22:17; Revelations 21:1). The second realm is the spiritual realm where the angels and demons reside. The third realm is the spiritual heaven, where God resides (2 Corinthians 12:2–4; Acts 7:55).

The second and third heavenly realms cannot be seen by humans.