Sunday School Lesson

1. Ephesians 1:1-14
Rejoice
September 1, 2019
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

2. What’s the number one thing?
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3. The Glory of God!
http://www.thecitychurch.org.uk/sites/default/files/glory-god.jpg

4. 1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you
do, do all to the glory of God.
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6. References
•MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Study Bible
(Nashville, Nelson Publishing, 1997).
•Missler, Dr. Chuck, Ephesians, Sessions 1 and 2,
Koinonia House Ministries, YouTube Channel.
•Page, Frank S., Trouble With The Tulip, (Canton, GA,
Riverstone Publishing, 2006).

7. Introduction to Ephesians
•Paul’s letter to the churches in Ephesus and in Asia
Minor.
•Written while Paul was in prison 60-62 AD (Acts 28:16-
31).
•The Gospel was brought to Ephesus by Priscilla and
Aquilla (Acts 18:26).
•Paul was pastor at Ephesus church for 3 years (Acts
19).

8. Outline of Ephesians
•Chapters 1-3:
‒Emphasis on the doctrine of Christianity.
‒What we are in Christ; our position in Christ.
•Chapters 4-6:
‒Our duty and responsibilities of Christian behavior.
‒Our response.
•“We inherit the wealth by faith, and we invest the
wealth by works.”

9. The Parallels Between the Book of Joshua and
the Letter to the Ephesians:
•Joshua:
‒The people of Israel are entering into the possession of
their promised inheritance (the Promised Land).
•Ephesians:
‒Believers are called upon to enter, by faith, into the
possession of their promised inheritance.
‒Your inheritance begins when you put your faith in Christ.

10. Outline of Ephesians 1:3-14
•God’s master plan for salvation in terms of the past
(election vv. 3-6), present (redemption vv. 6b-11) and
the future (inheritance vv. 12-14).
•It can also be viewed as emphasizing the Father (vv. 3-
6), Son (vv. 7-12), and the Holy Spirit (vv.13-14).
•Lesson Today:
‒Study all views of these verses and the message Paul
is presenting about salvation.

11. The theological concepts addressed in
Ephesians 1:3-14
•Blessings: Riches in Christ
•Election
•Predestination
•Redemption
•Adoption
•Will of God
•Mysteries
•Dispensationalism
•Forgiveness
•Inheritance
•Sealing

12. Today’s lesson: Only touch the surface of these
deep theological subjects.

13. Ephesians 1:1-2 NKJV
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
• Verse 1
‒“in Christ Jesus” used 27X in Ephesians and refers to
Jesus’ title as Messiah.
• Verse 2
‒“Grace to you” is a Gentile greeting.
‒“peace” is a Jewish greeting.

14. Ephesians 1:3 NKJV
God has blessed us.
3 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,
•Because the blessings mentioned are not confined to
heaven, a better translation of heavenly places would
be in the heavenlies which is a better description of
everywhere.

15. Ephesians 1:4 NKJV
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love,
• He chose us
‒Election.
‒God chooses us for salvation.
• When?
‒Before creation of earth.
‒Before our conception.
• The elect are those who accept God’s invitation to
salvation and believe in Christ (free will).

16. Election
•Israel was chosen (elected) as God’s people, based on
no merit of their own.
•We are chosen for salvation by grace, based on no
merit of our own.
•The offer of salvation is bona fide to everyone.
•The lost choose to be lost by rejecting Christ.

17. “holy and without blame before Him in love”
•The purpose and result of God’s choosing:
‒Imputation ― The righteousness of Christ is
transferred to the saved and they stand before God
holy and blameless (sinless).
‒Also, their sins were imputed to Christ and He paid
the price through His blood for our sins.
‒God loved us so much that He sacrificed His Son.

18. Ephesians 1:5 NKJV
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus
Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His
will,
•Predestined – To set apart.
‒A definite act in the past.
•Predestination is used in referring to God’s purposes
for His people (those who are saved – the elect).
•Election refers to the people of God.
•Predestination refers to the purposes of God.

19. “predestined us to adoption as sons”
•Adoption – Adoption makes us heirs for the
inheritance from God.
•“as sons” – Application is gender neutral.
•You become a child of God by regeneration (new
birth) and not by adoption.
•Adoption gives standing to claim the inheritance
(rewards) and enjoy spiritual wealth.

20. Sons of God are one in Christ and heirs of God.
•Galatians 3:26-28 NKJV
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ
Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into
Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither
male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

21. Sons of God are one in Christ and heirs of God.
• Galatians 4:1-5 NKJV
1 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ
at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under
guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under
the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time
had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born
under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that
we might receive the adoption as sons.

22. Sons of God are one in Christ and heirs of God.
•Galatians 4:6-7 NKJV
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the
Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba,
Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a
son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

23. Adoption
•In regeneration, a Christian receives the nature of a
child of God.
‒Born again, you take on the nature of Christ through
the Holy Spirit.
•In adoption, a Christian receives the position of a son
of God.
‒Our position as a son is to inherit.
•Both of these are received the moment we believe!

24. Ephesians 1:6 NKJV
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He
made us accepted in the Beloved.
•The ultimate purpose of election to salvation is the
glory of God.
•“by which” refers to the divine grace that has made it
possible for sinners to be accepted by God through
the substitutionary death and imputed righteousness
provided by Jesus Christ (the Beloved).

25. Ephesians 1:7 NKJV
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
•Redemption – To be released or rescued by a ransom
(delivered from our sins).
•Our rescue and ransom was paid by Jesus’ blood.
•In the Roman Empire, one could purchase a slave and
then set him free; that’s what Jesus did for us.

26. “the forgiveness of sins, according to the
riches of His grace”
•“forgiveness of sins” is a fruit of redemption.
•“the riches of His grace” are immeasurable.
•G – God’s
•R – Riches
•A – At
•C – Christ’s
•E – Expense

27. Ephesians 1:8 NKJV
8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom
and prudence,
•The riches of His grace gives us abounding wisdom
and prudence.
•“wisdom”
‒Knowledge that sees into the heart of things.
‒Gives us a kingdom perspective.
•“prudence”
‒Understanding that leads to right actions.

28. Ephesians 1:9 NKJV
9 having made known to us the mystery of His will,
according to His good pleasure which He purposed in
Himself,
•“mystery of His will”
‒A sacred secret previously unknown but now
revealed.
•God shares His plans and purposes with us for the
Church, and the universe.

29. Jesus affirms the ability to comprehend
spiritual truth and mysteries to the elect.
Matthew 13:11 NKJV
11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been
given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven, but to them it has not been given.”
•Jesus taught in parables after this statement.
•Christ has given us the ability to see the great ultimate
truths of eternity and thus properly deal with the
challenges of each moment of time.

30. Some of the mysteries revealed in the New
Testament.
•the kingdom of God – Matthew 13:11
•lawlessness – 2 Thessalonians 2:7
•the Church as one body in Christ– Ephesians 3:4
•the bride of Christ – Ephesians 5:23-32
•the fullness of the Godhead – 1 Corinthians 2:7;
Collisions 2:2,9
•the rapture – 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians
4:13-17
•Israel’s present blindness – Romans 11:25

31. Ephesians 1:10 NKJV
Our Exciting Future!
10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times
He might gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in
Him.
•“dispensation of the fullness of the times”
‒The administration or ordered conditions of
particular segments of time.
•Not the passage of days or months.
‒A time segment.

32. Timeline of Dispensations

34. “He might gather together in one all things in
Christ,”
•At the end of this world’s time, God will gather
believers together in the millennial kingdom, called
the “dispensation of the fullness of the times”.
•After that God will gather everything to Himself in
eternity future, and the new heaven and new earth
will be created.
•The new universe will be totally unified under Christ.

36. Ephesians 1:11 NKJV
11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being
predestined according to the purpose of Him who
works all things according to the counsel of His will,
•Robert J. Morgan – This verse is the heavenly view of
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work
together for good to those who love God and are
called according to His purpose.

37. “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance,”
•“inheritance”
‒A heritage, a private possession to be received.
•Inheritance by new birth in Christ is regeneration
(salvation) which is unconditional and automatic and
cannot be removed or lost – Galatians 4:7.
•Inheritance by faithful obedience are the rewards and
crowns given to believers at the Judgment Seat of
Christ – 1 Corinthians 3:13-15; 9:14.

38. Ephesians 1:11 NKJV
God’s foreknowledge
11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being
predestined according to the purpose of Him who
works all things according to the counsel of His will,
•Omniscience
‒God is all knowing; past and the future.
•Foreknowledge
‒God can choose because He knows how it all turns
out.
‒Not a divine act but divine attribute.

39. Foreknowledge and Predestination
•Predestination
‒Brings to pass whatever was elected.
‒Chosen by God.
•Predestination refers to God’s purposes for his elect.
•The fact of God’s foreknowledge admits that He is
certain of all that will take place, but His
foreknowledge does not determine what will take
place.

40. Foreknowledge and Predestination
•God predestined that all who receive Jesus Christ
would be a part of His elect family.
•God knew in advance those who would accept Jesus
Christ and those who would reject Him.
•Foreknowledge does not imply control.
•God did predestine the how of redemption (process),
but not the who (person with free will)!

41. A Summary of the Theology of Salvation – G-R-A-C-E
G – Given through Christ (election).
R – Rejected through rebellion (resistible grace).
A – Accepted through faith (freedom of will).
C – Christ died for all (unlimited atonement).
E – Everlasting life ― security of the believer
(perseverance of the Saints).

42. Missler’s example of God’s foreknowledge,
election and predestination.
•Humans live in a linear time dimension and can only
remember the past and watch the present and
anticipate the future – like watching a parade.
•God does not live in this time dimension and can see
the whole parade from beginning to end.
•He can choose because he knows the end before the
beginning.

43. God is outside of our time dimension.
• Isaiah 46:10 NKJV
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
• Isaiah 57:15 NKJV
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

44. Ephesians 1:12 NKJV
12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the
praise of His glory.
•“first trusted”
‒A reference to those Jews who, like Paul, had
become believers before many Gentiles had.
•“His glory.”
‒God’s glory is the supreme purpose of redemption.

45. Ephesians 1:13 NKJV
The role of the Spirit
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also,
having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of
promise,
•Verse 13 is a summary of the steps of salvation:
Hearing the Word > Trusting in Him > Believing >
Sealed with the Holy Spirit.

46. “you were sealed”
•An official mark of identification (Ex. wax signet ring).
•Four primary truths signified by the seal:
1.Security – Our salvation is secure. Ephesians 4:30
2.Authenticity – Indwelling of Spirit. Romans 8:9
3.Ownership – We are God’s sons and heirs. Romans
8:16-17
4.Authority – All authority given to Jesus. Matthew
28:18

47. Ephesians 1:14 NKJV
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise
of His glory.
•The Holy Spirit is the security and down payment.
•The Holy Spirit is given by God as His pledge of the
believer’s future inheritance in glory.

48. Why did God save us?
Dr. Chuck Missler
“God saved us for His good pleasure, and for His Glory!
God would not be satisfied until He had surrounded
Himself with sons (believers), conformed to the image
of His only begotten Son, with Him and like Him
forever.”

49. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
John 3:16-17 NKJV
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His
Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved.”
John 14:6 NKJV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through Me.”

50. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 3:23 NKJV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a NKJV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this
life to pay the penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the “second death”
explained in Revelation 21:8.

51. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Revelation 21:8 NKJV
8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral,
sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns
with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
• Anyone who’s lifestyle is one or more of the sins listed in Revelation 21:8,
will experience the “second death” if they do not repent.
• To Repent means to turn around, to go in the opposite direction, to turn
away from sin and to come to Jesus.
Romans 5:8 NKJV
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us.

52. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 6:23b NKJV
23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Revelation 21:7 NKJV
7 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will
be his God and he shall be My son.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explain to us how to be overcomers.

53. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.
Romans 10:13 NKJV
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

54. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Do you have questions?
Would you like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900
or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/