FINDING YOUR PLACE IN GOD S TAPESTRY

Transcription

1 FINDING YOUR PLACE IN GOD S TAPESTRY 1

2 From the Author Meet with God an official publication of Back to the Bible Copyright 2007 The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Printed in the U.S.A. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. STAFF: Editorial Assistance: Allen Bean, Ben Zuehlke, Kathy Thorne, Mindy Kroesche, Emily Wurl Design: Brandy Griffin Produced with the assistance of The Livingstone Corporation ( Project staff: Neil Wilson Cover Photo: Meet with God is produced 12 times per year and sent with no obligation. BACK TO THE BIBLE P.O. Box Lincoln, NE This edition of Meet with God begins an adventure in the apostle Paul s letter to the Ephesians. This letter isn t long, but it s packed with spiritual insight. I would encourage you to take 30 minutes and read through the letter. Imagine yourself in a house-church in the bustling city of Ephesus hearing that letter read out loud for the first time. In fact, you may want to read it aloud yourself to get the flavor. It may help you to realize that Ephesians, like many of Paul s letters, can be divided into two balanced and necessary parts. The first part is doctrinal; the second, practical. This doesn t mean we won t find lots of practical insights in the first half of the letter, but the flavor and emphasis is distinctly different between chapters 1 3 and chapters 4 6. In this study, we ll concentrate on the first three chapters, which describe God s design for the Church, the Body of Christ. The beauty and worth of a tapestry come from the design. Colored wool strands by themselves have limited value. Yet weave them together in different shades and hues and a lovely design will appear. Throughout history, God has been weaving a tapestry of intricate and amazing design. He alone knows the pattern. But in places like the letter to the Ephesians, we re given a glimpse of that pattern and an opportunity to find our place in the tapestry. Knowing that God has included us in His plan can give our lives a continual sense of purpose. 2 3

3 The Master Designerg This week, smile when you notice an example of God s design in your life. READIT Ephesians 1:1 14 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3). Most of the first 14 verses of Ephesians are a grand doxology an exclamation of praise to God. When we read the word blessed as in this lesson s key verse, we immediately think of the Beatitudes (see Matt. 5:3 12), but the word Jesus used and the word Paul uses here are different. Matthew s record of Jesus beatitudes uses one word for blessing (makarios), but Paul uses the Greek word from which we get the English word eulogy (eulogetos) a word that means to praise or honor someone. Paul begins his letter by saying something like, I praise God for all the wonderful things He has given us through His Spirit in Christ. Those last two words, in Christ, are crucial in Ephesians. They come up repeatedly in various forms ( in Him, in whom, etc.). In this lesson s passage, the central role of Jesus as Provider, Redeemer, Gatherer and Savior permeates almost every phrase of every verse. Read the passage again, and you ll be struck by the fact that it s all about Christ. Jesus is the design; His Father is the Master Designer. Everything that we are and everything we can be are wrapped up in Christ. In these 14 verses, Paul expresses what he summarizes in Colossians 1:16, For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Whether we re trying to understand our personal lives or the life of the Church, we must begin with Christ. He s at the center. He s at the beginning as well as the end (Alpha and Omega). Why is Christ central? Because God made the decision and created the design. We can cooperate and enjoy the benefits of participation in God s plan, or we can rebel and experience the consequences that come to those who choose to resent the design and fight their role in the tapestry. Paul knew his readers wanted to please the Master Designer. He could assure them that what they had already experienced in Christ was the beginning of God s unfolding design. We can be assured that same design is being worked out with our lives today. That assurance leads us to praise God along with Paul. 4 5

4 and being blessed? understand blessing How do you CONSIDERIT APPLYIT One of the terms used frequently in computer language is default settings. This term refers to the basic way the computer operates. The default settings affect everything else. If the computer gets confused, it s designed to return to its default settings back to basics. Recognizing our place and purpose in Christ is our default setting. Learning to make sure our default setting, Christ s central role, affects every decision in life is part of the adventure of the Christian life! EXPRESSIT Talk to the Lord about what it means to you that you are in Him and that He is in you. Think out loud with Him about how that truth should affect your schedule and relationships today. Tell Him how much you want to cooperate with His Father s design for you today. 6 7 AS YOU READ EPHESIANS 1:1 14, REFLECT ON THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: In what ways do you How does the Holy What does being adopted by God mean to you (v. 5)? see your relationship with God as an inheritance? Spirit fit into God s master design?

5 Targeted Thanksgiving REMEMBERIT 1. To whom in Ephesus is this letter addressed? 2. What were we predestined for in God s love? 3. Jesus offers redemption through what? 4. What things were united in the fullness of time? 5. Who is the guarantee of our future inheritance? SEEKIT GO DEEPER INTO YOUR STUDY OF THIS WEEK S LESSON. God s Graciousness: Exodus 34:1 9 Psalm 116:1 19 Jesus Purpose: John 1:1 18 John 20:30 31 Answers: 1. The saints (Eph. 1:1); 2. Adoption (Eph. 1:5); 3. His blood (Eph. 1:7); 4. All things/things in heaven and on earth (Eph. 1:10); 5. The Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13 14) READIT Ephesians 1:15 22 I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers (Eph. 1:15 16). This week, give thanks to God for at least two fellow believers in Christ. Be specific as to why you re thankful. For many of us, prayer for others tends to be an exercise in spiritual shorthand. We use summary phrases like: Bless him, Lord, Help her, Lord, Thank You for him, Lord. We cover our bases without taking too much time. And, if asked, we also have a good reason we re not trying to tell God how to bless or how to help. But why not? If God has commanded us to pray and encouraged us to pray, why don t we take full advantage and tell God exactly what we want for others? After all, many of us don t hesitate to tell God exactly and emphatically what we want for ourselves. In fact, we never get tired of thinking about ourselves, but we tend to run out of good things to think about when it comes to others. That wasn t Paul s problem. He prayed for others in great detail. Paul not only assured people he was praying for them, he told them what and how he was praying. He didn t think about others 8 9

6 CONSIDERIT AS YOU READ EPHESIANS 1:15 22, REFLECT ON THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: What are your favorite How would you What would it Whom do you know spiritual shorthand phrases? What do they really mean? summarize Paul s thanksgiving prayer in your own words? take for you to pray that way for other Christians? who really prays for you? How have you thanked them? vaguely; he thought and prayed about them specifically! We should do the same. How does prayer touch your life? Imagine for a moment someone you deeply respect approaches you with these words: Hey, I ve been hearing great things about your faithfulness to God! That news makes me so grateful that I ve been praying God will do even more through you. I ve asked God to give you special understanding of life and of Him. I want Him to saturate your life with hope so that His amazing power flows through your life into the lives of people you meet. I know you are walking with Christ. Now, I m asking God to let other people find out through you what a difference Christ can make in their lives! Would a statement like that get your attention? Would it send a shiver through your soul? The people for whom Paul prayed were probably delighted he thought of them, and they must have been overwhelmed to discover how he thought of them. Frankly, we can t control how others are going to pray for us. But we can control how we pray for them. And when we share with them what we re praying and how we re seeing our prayers answered, the chances are pretty good that they re going to be encouraged to return the favor. APPLYIT This week give thanks for at least two other Christians. Using Paul s prayer and your own summary as a model, write out a personalized prayer of gratitude and vision for your two chosen friends. Verbalize to God what you ve written. And make sure you tell those people how you prayed for them. EXPRESSIT Thoughtfully pray through the prayers you created above. Ask God for help in developing a spiritual longhand when you pray for others, targeting your requests and thanks to the needs you take time to identify. Practice eliminating spiritual shorthand from your prayers

7 APPLY IT Most of the physical landmarks that we deal with are part of a long-standing but not eternal creation. But the truth of God s Word stands for time and eternity. The directions God provides (even the painful ones) give us a dependable route and effective rules for living. If we ve got God s eternal landmarks in mind, we ll adopt a pilgrim mindset, never thinking of this world as our permanent home. We will make it a habit to check God s landmark presence every day for correction and encouragement. And we will live by those instructions we find chiseled in the landmark of God s Word. EXPRESS IT Proverbs is filled with short landmark statements that provide us with food for thought and reflection each day. Choose one of the proverbs from today s reading, and express it in a prayer. Ask God to keep bringing His words of direction to mind throughout the days of your journey ahead. REMEMBERIT 1. For what reason does Paul give thanks regarding the Ephesians? 2. Paul prays the Ephesians would receive the spirit of revelation and what? 3. How does Paul describe the magnitude of God s power? 4. Where is Christ now seated? 5. Whose name is far above every other name? SEEKIT GO DEEPER INTO YOUR STUDY OF THIS WEEK S LESSON. Prayer: Matthew 6:9 15 Hebrews 4:14 16 Answers: 1. Their faith and their love for the saints (Eph. 1:15 16); 2. Wisdom (Eph. 1:17); 3. Exceeding greatness (Eph. 1:19); 4. At right hand of God (Eph. 1:20); 5. Christ s (Eph. 1:20 21) 12 13

8 Spiritual CPR This week, meditate on the phrase, I am His workmanship. READIT Ephesians 2:1 22 God even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) (Eph. 2:4 5). People who have near-death experiences get a lot of attention these days. Those who almost die can practically be guaranteed their 15 minutes of fame in front of TV cameras and reporters. Too bad, as Paul points out, that we don t acknowledge often enough that all of us have had a real death experience. Every one of us was spiritually stillborn, born dead in our relationship with God. And there s only One who can give us the spiritual CPR we need in order to live. Though we were dead spiritually, physically we were alive and still able to walk according to the course of this world (Eph. 2:2). In living without a relationship with God, most of our actions simply confirmed and compiled more judgment against us. We could do nothing on our own about our spiritual deadness. Try as we might, we could not make ourselves alive. Looking back, we can see that in our moment of deepest need Jesus arrived on the scene. Romans 5:8 captures the drama and the meaning of the moment in this way: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Christ s emergency intervention for us required Him to give up His own life. But that s how far in His love, mercy and grace God was willing to go. The very moment we fully realized that we were dead and needed rescued became the moment our Rescuer showed up! The One who gave us human life died on Calvary s cross to offer us His life! Human life can only hold off death so long, but Jesus life in us has already defeated death. If our human life ended while we were still spiritually dead, we would be left with nothing but eternal death. But even though we may still experience physical death with Christ, His life gives us hope in eternal life beyond the grave. (See John 11:25 26.) We really are saved from a terrible end! Once we re in Christ, we see that He s been caring and working all along to bring us to Himself. We may have been oblivious to it, but we were always the objects of His love. In ways that take a lifetime to appreciate, we have been His workmanship from the start. He gave us new life for a reason to live in a way that pleases Him and serve Him faithfully with the life we enjoy

9 CONSIDERIT When and how did you realize you were spiritually dead in trespasses and sins? AS YOU READ EPHESIANS 2:1 22, REFLECT ON THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: How do verses How does Christ In what ways do you define your relationship with others whom Christ has saved by grace? as the Cornerstone (vv ) fit with the idea that we are God s workmanship? see God s grace in your life most clearly? APPLYIT When we think of ourselves as a work in progress, it s important to acknowledge whose work it is. We often slip into a mindset that sees us doing the work rather than God working in and through us. Like a small child resting her hands on her mother s while the mother plays the piano, we may feel like we re working very hard to make the music but Mom s really doing the work! We are God s workmanship. EXPRESSIT Begin your prayer time with thanksgiving to God for His workmanship in your life. List some of the examples you recognize of His work. Ask Him for wisdom to see ways you can cooperate more fully with Him

10 The Fullness Prayery REMEMBERIT 1. Who is identified as the spirit at work in the disobedient? 2. By grace we have been saved through what? 3. Who were once referred to as the uncircumcision? 4. The Ephesians are no longer strangers and foreigners but are now what? 5. Who is referred to as a cornerstone? SEEKIT GO DEEPER INTO YOUR STUDY OF THIS WEEK S LESSON. Our Creation: Genesis 1:26 31 Psalm 139:1 24 Jesus Sacrifice: Matthew 26:47 28:20 1 Peter 2:21 25 Answers: 1. The prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2); 2. Faith (Eph. 2:8); 3.The Gentiles (Eph. 2:11); 4. Fellow citizens (Eph. 2:19); 5. Jesus (Eph. 2:20) READIT Ephesians 3:1 21 That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love (Eph. 3:17). This week, practice Paul s prayer for your church each day. Paul sealed his lesson with a prayer. The first three chapters of this letter have been filled with the truth of all we have in Christ. People can create religions based on a system of rules or centered on a sinful human being, but God has offered us a relationship with Him in Christ. Religions always fail; God will not fail us. We who trust in Christ make no claim that doesn t start in Christ. Our salvation is in Christ. Our life is in Christ. And our destiny is in Christ. This is such a profound truth that it fits in the category of mystery. We receive Christ and understand Him, but we never reach the end of all that we have in Him. No wonder Paul comes to this place in the letter and turns to prayer as a way of expressing a glorious hint about all that will always be ahead for anyone who is in Christ. Part of the evidence that we are settling into Christ is our 18 19

11 CONSIDERIT AS YOU READ EPHESIANS 3:1 21, REFLECT ON THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: What are the aspects How do you relate What does rooted What difference of the mystery that Paul describes in this passage? to the mystery? In what sense is it mystery to you? and grounded in love (v. 17) mean in your life right now? does it make to you today that Christ dwells in you? growing sense that Christ is always with us, that He s living His life through us. Paul told the Ephesians he prayed that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Eph. 3:17). Once Christ is in our lives, He wants to be admitted to every area, whether it s big or small. Sometimes even we don t realize how much of our lives we unconsciously declare off limits to the Lord until we discover He s seeking admittance. Christ wants to dwell in us, not just occupy a limited area of our lives. Why would Christ want access to a part of our lives we know He wouldn t like? Because He loves us too much to let us hold on to things that harm us and limit our fellowship with Him! He wants to fill our lives with His love. The fullness of God describes a life brimming with God s love love beyond measure. No matter how we go about measuring, God s love will always exceed our measuring instrument. Whether we think in terms of dimensions or time, what we have in Christ is immeasurable. It stretches into eternity. Having all of Christ means there s nothing we may face that is greater than He is. That truth has to permeate every part of our daily lives. Once we re in Christ, life takes a new direction and new meaning. That s what Paul explores in the next three chapters. APPLYIT It is often said, It s not just what you know but who you know that counts. In no place is this truer than when it comes to Jesus Christ. We can know a lot about Him and still not know Him. The point of Paul s prayer invites us to examine whether or not we have invited Christ in and whether or not we are allowing Him freedom to dwell anywhere in our lives. EXPRESSIT Take Paul s prayer and personalize it for some of the people closest to you. Think about their needs, and pray that Christ will dwell more and more fully in them. Thank God in advance for what will happen as they experience His overwhelming love

12 REMEMBERIT 1. Who was a prisoner for Jesus Christ? 2. What mystery does Paul speak of in Ephesians 3:3 6? 3. What does Paul consider as the Ephesians glory? 4. Paul prays that the Ephesians be rooted and grounded in what? 5. According to Paul, what surpasses all knowledge? SEEKIT GO DEEPER INTO YOUR STUDY OF THIS WEEK S LESSON. Faith: Romans 3: Corinthians 5:6 10 New Creation: 2 Corinthians 5:16 21 Answers: 1. Paul (Eph. 3:1); 2. That the Gentiles are fellow-heirs [with the Jews] in Christ (Eph. 3:3 6); 3. Paul s tribulations (Eph. 3:13); 4. Love (Eph. 3:17); 5. To know the love of Christ (Eph. 3:19) 22 23

13 Find Your Place In God s Family God has a plan. He knows where the world is going, and how each of us plays a part in His master tapestry. Individually we may feel insignificant but together, when we are as God made us to be, we form an absolutely impressive tapestry. In our brand-new Bible study, Ephesians: Life in God s Family, we ll go step-by-step through Paul s letter to the Ephesians as he helps us appreciate salvation, recognize the great love of God and relate to fellow Christians. We ll see how as a family we fit into God s plan. And we ll learn about the benefits we share as members of His family, plus practical ways to live as part of that family. # *Includes shipping. $8.00 (U.S.) $13.50* (Canada) See below for ordering information! Back to the Bible is a worldwide ministry dedicated to leading people into a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. Using radio, the Internet and other media, we share the Gospel message and help Christians grow to spiritual maturity. With broadcasts in 25 languages and an Internet reach to millions, Back to the Bible teaches the Word and touches the world. Contact us for more information: BACK TO THE BIBLE P.O. Box 82808, Lincoln, NE BACK TO THE BIBLE - CANADA P.O. Box 10, Winnipeg, MB R3C 2G