We’ve been studying Ephesians several months now and we may have lost track of what Ephesians is all about. So, we’ll do a review of the most important passages. Since we’ve been using the NLT version, I’m going to use the NIV this time.
- Ephesians 1
- Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: …
- who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world …
- he predestined us for adoption to sonship …
- In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins …
- he made known to us the mystery of his will to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will …
- When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession.
- Ephesians 2
- …you were dead in your transgressions and sins …
- we were by nature deserving of wrath.
- But … God … made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—
- it is by grace you have been saved. …
- God raised us up with Christ and
- seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus …
- it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. …
- we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. …
- you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s …
- in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
- Ephesians 3
- I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—…
- the mystery made known to me by revelation ...
- the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. …
- This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. …
- this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. …
- I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God….
- Ephesians 4
- … live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
- Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. …
- one body and
- one Spirit, just as you were called to
- one hope when you were called;
- one faith,
- one baptism;
- one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all …
- you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
- put off your old self, …
- to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
- put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness…
- put off falsehood …
- Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
- Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
- Ephesians 5
- Follow God’s example …
- walk in the way of love…
- among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking…
- Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.
- Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them…
- do not be foolish…
- Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery…
- be filled with the Spirit…
- always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
- Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord…
- the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
- Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
- Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy…
- husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies…
- each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
- Ephesians 6
- Children, obey your parents in the Lord…
- Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
- Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear … as slaves of Christ…
- masters, treat your slaves in the same way…
- there is no favoritism with him…
- be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests...
NOTE: Sources and References are on line at:
http://ephesians-blog.blogspot.com/2010/07/ephesians-study-references.html
