GOD’S PLAN FOR YOU!
Regardless of how bad we have been, God has a plan for us. His plan for you once was a mystery, but it has now been revealed. What is his plan for us?
In these past 13 weeks, we have studied the Book of Ephesians. This week, we focus on Paul’s central theme for this book: God’s mystery. Paul, using metaphors, symbols, and imagery, reveals that mystery to us in his letter to the Ephesians. In this mystery, God has a plan for us. What is his plan for you?
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Let Us Inviting God’s Presence:
God Almighty, thank you for including us in your plan before the world began. Help us live out your plan for us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
God’s mystery is His plan to reunite us into one body. Before the world was created, giving our foreparents the right to choose life or death, He prepared a plan to redeem them and us from death and eternal ruin. His plan would reunite us back to the body of Christ if our fore-parents failed to pass His test to choose life. His plan has been a mystery to the Israelites (the Hebrews).
But in Ephesians, God reveals the mystery (His plans for us all) to Paul, who was of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew, a Pharisee, a keeper of the law, and a Roman citizen.
Thus, it is God’s desire to unite his people, those who accept Christ into one body, His church. Read what Paul says in Ephesians 3 about God’s church and his people. Is God’s church limited to one race of people (the Hebrews)?
In Ephesians 3, Paul gives a report about the church. Paul starts his report with his prayers for the believer in Ephesus, Gentiles (non-Jews) for whom Paul has become a prisoner, according to Ephesians 3:1
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles- (Ephesian 3:1 NASB)
Also, read Paul’s prayer report for the non-Jewish believers in Ephesus in Ephesians 1:15–23, in which Paul expresses his desire for God’s plan to be fulfilled in them.
But then Paul stops his prayer report, and in Ephesians 3:2–13, he goes into talking about God’s mystery, His plan for the church to be composed of Jews and non-Jews. Then, in Ephesians 3:14-21 Paul finishes his prayer report about his prayers for the Ephesians.
Along the way, as we continue reading Ephesians, we learn many important things from Paul about God’s “plan” or “mystery” for his body of believers (his church).
In eternity past, before time began, before the earth was created, the plan God’s plan for the church was established. This plan included you; it included us. It included all humanity, not just a special group of people. This is why Paul in Ephesians 3:3–5, 9, 11 refers to it as a mystery.
Yet, through the life and death of Jesus, Paul indicates in Ephesians 3:11 that God’s mystery has been revealed and God’s plan has been accomplished.
Ephesians 3:11
11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ephesians 3:11). Read what Jesus accomplished for us in Ephesians 2:11–22.
You see, God gave Paul special knowledge to understand His mystery for the church. God gives Paul the surprising news that the non-Jews, non-Hebrews, are part of His plan. In other words, through Paul, we learn in Ephesians 3:3–6 that God accepts non-Jewish Christians fully as members of His church, the same as Jewish Christians.
3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already,
4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),
5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:
6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel (Ephesians 3:3-6)
You see, God chooses Paul to be the preacher to the non-Jews (the Gentiles).
So, Paul shares this good news in his sermons to the non-Jews. Paul tells the non-Jews “about the “unsearchable riches of Christ,” as expressed in Ephesians 3:8 and 9.
In other words, God’s body of believers, the church, is made of Jews (Hebrews or Israelites) and non-Jews (Gentiles). God’s church is open to anyone and everyone who accepts Christ. This is the mystery.
With different people groups, according to Ephesians 3:10, making up the church, it shows “the manifold wisdom of God” to “the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” It shows God’s wisdom to Satan and his evil angels.
The church united announces to Satan and his evil angels their coming doom. This announcement is a warning to them that they will soon be destroyed. With this assurance, we can do as Paul instructs in Ephesians 6:10–20.
He admonishes us in Ephesians 6:10-11 to be strong and put on the whole armor of God so that we can stand against Satan’s attacks.
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-11)
So God’s mystery, according to Paul in Ephesians 1:10, is to unite all things in Christ. The point is this plan is being carried out before our very eyes.
In other words, it is happening right now. So, Satan and his evil angels don’t have much time left, and he knows his time is short. Therefore, he is pulling out every evil tactic to attempt to keep the church, God’s body of believers, from being united.
Understanding this and God’s plan for the church encouraged Paul to pray for the believers. His prayer is not limited to the believers of just his time, but his prayer is for all believers.
His prayer in Ephesians 3:19 includes you! His prayer is that you will be “filled with all the fullness of God” and that you willingly and humbly participate fully in the amazing, unfolding mystery of a church united that includes both Jews and non-Jews who have accepted Christ.
To accomplish God’s mystery for His church, we must be united in Christ. How can this happen? And what role must you play? To find out, Read Ephesians 4, then continue to Part 5: The Unity of Faith
Ephesians
(Lesson 14)
Ephesians in the Heart
Part 5: The Unity of Faith
To help accomplish God’s mystery for his church, Paul, In Ephesians 4, asks believers to stop doing some things and to be sure to do other things.
Paul starts and ends Ephesians 4 with a call for church members (believers in Christ) to love, care, and forgive each other. He says in Ephesians 4:1–3 and 32
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:1-3, 32)
In between his instructions for believers to love and care for one another, He expresses the need for unity. )
In his strong support for unity among believers, he lists seven “ones” in Ephesians 4:4-6: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord (Jesus Christ), one faith, one baptism, one God and one Father
Although the Bible promises us peace and unity, God wants us to work diligently to have them. Therefore, in Ephesians 4:3, Paul expresses that we always “work hard to live together as one by the help of the Holy Spirit. Then there will be peace” (NLV).
The way this can happen, according to Paul in Ephesians 4:7–16, is by us being a part of Jesus’ body or church. The Holy Spirit gives each of us spiritual gifts. God expects us to use these gifts to help the church be strong and healthy. Notice what Ephesians 4:7 and16 says:
Ephesians 4:7, 16
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4: 7, 16)
Furthermore, all church members of the church benefit from the work of the church, which consist of apostles (church leaders), prophets (special messengers), evangelists (traveling preachers), pastors, and teachers, according to Ephesians 4:11, 12.
Using parts of the body, Paul explains in Ephesians 4:13 and 15 how these different groups are to work together in unity to accomplish God’s work. United in Christ Jesus, who is the Head of the body, the church, these different parts help the church grow strong.
Paul’s point is that the church cannot remain like little children, “The body of Christ must grow so that we will no longer be like children.
We are like children when we keep changing our minds this way and that way all the time.
In other words, we change our minds every time people bring a different teaching. Some teachers teach the lies of men and fool people so that they believe wrong things.
Ephesians 4:14 suggests that church members are in danger of adhering to false teachings.
Therefore, as Paul moves toward his final appeal, he calls for believers to avoid having hard hearts as they did in the past.
He encourages us in Ephesians 4:32 to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.” He also encourages us believers in Ephesians 4:17–24 not to be hard-hearted, callous, and uncaring like we may have been.
Along with this, Paul also tells us to avoid anger and refrain from saying mean and nasty words. He instead advises that we say loving words, kind words, that build each other up, as expressed in Ephesians 4:25–31, and forgive each other, as indicated in Ephesians 4:32, which says
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)
Ephesians 4 is good to read to remind us of how we should be toward one another in times of peace; it is even more significant to read and remember when facing conflict.
We must remember that this is the mystery. This was God’s plan before the earth was created. It is that Christ gave up his life to obtain unity again after sin brought about division.
Paul thus insists that we live out the gospel, the good news about Jesus dying to bring about salvation and the unity of all believers in him.
How do we live out the gospel? To find out, starting with Ephesians 4:32, read Ephesians 5. Then continue to Part 6: We Are Recipients and Givers of Grace
Ephesians
(Lesson 14)
Ephesians in the Heart
Part 6: We Are Recipients and Givers of Grace
How does Paul ask us to live out the gospel in our relationships with our friends, coworkers, and family members?
To fully understand Ephesians 5, we must start with Ephesians 4:32. In Ephesians 4:32, Paul tells us to “be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God forgave us because of Christ’s death on the cross” (Ephesians 4:32, NLV).
Ephesians 4:32 helps us to understand better Ephesians 5, in which we are encouraged to show others the love, mercy, and forgiveness that God shows us. We are to imitate God! Read Matthew 5:43-48
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)
Paul compares our showing people God’s love with the behavior of people who don’t know God at all. Without Jesus, humans can’t love other people as brothers and sisters.
All too often, people use each other for sexual pleasure and then brag about it, as Paul indicates in Ephesians 5:3, 4. Paul in Ephesians 5:5–7 warns that this type of behavior will not be part of the kingdom, His plan for His people.
The point is that believers must stop behaving the way they have lived in the past. They must live holy lives, show God’s love, and “walk as children of light,” as Paul expresses in Ephesians 5:8–10.
Paul warns us in Ephesians 5:11, 12, to put away “works of darkness” and to avoid doing “secret sins.” We are admonished in Ephesians 5:13, 14 to live as Jesus lived.
That means we should not be wasting our time getting drunk (getting intoxicated or high). God expects us to live pure lives instead of wasting our time in drunkenness.
We are urged to redeem the time God has given us by offering thanks to God for His love, as expressed in Ephesians 5:15–21.
The idea of imitating God’s love extends to husbands and wives and their love for one another in marriage.
Paul Ephesians 5:25–33 uses Jesus’ love for us on the cross as an example that Christian husbands must follow.
Moreover, just as the church is loyal to Jesus, Paul indicates in Ephesians 5:22–24 that wives should show respect and loyalty to their husbands.
Furthermore, Paul, in Ephesians 5:28–33, admonishes that Husbands and wives must not use the gift of sex as a selfish tool or use it in other evil ways.
In other words, Husbands and wives should love each other the same as a precious treasure. With God’s help, they are to become one flesh (one body, heart, mind, and spirit).
The main point here is that, as Paul expresses in Ephesians 5:1, we are to “Be imitators of God as dear children,” who are, by God’s grace, called today to live a life of love according to Ephesians 5:2. We are walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (Ephesians 5:2)
In concluding this 14-week series on the Book of Ephesians, be reminded that Paul uses imagery, metaphors, and symbols to explain the work of the church. He describes God’s body of believers as (1) Jesus’ body (Ephesians 1:22, 23; Ephesians 4:11–16), (2) God’s temple (Ephesians 2:19–22), (3) Jesus’ bride/wife in Ephesians 6:10–20 and finally, God’s army in Ephesians 6:10-20 united in Jesus Christ to wage not war, but peace.
With God’s armor, we will win. God goes ahead of us into battle, and He promises us that as we wage peace, we will win this cosmic battle.
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