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Ephesians Lesson 6 \u2013 Hope and Riches Eph 1:15-19<\/strong><\/p>\n Theme: God\u2019s grace<\/strong> Discussion Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Paul prays for 3 particular things for the Ephesians. How can we pray these same things for our fellow Christians?<\/b> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 We can pray that Christians will truly have confidence in the promises of God which will fill them with hope, so they may live lives of hope filled people.<\/strong><\/p>\n 2. Is the hope of which Paul speaks here simply wishful thinking? (I hope it rains today) or something else? If so, explain.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 No, this hope is not wishful thinking. It is an assurance of the reality of what we have not fully experienced. It will not disappoint us. WE can be sure because the love of God has already been poured into us through the Spirit. He is the guarantee of our final inheritance.<\/strong><\/p>\n 3. Why is this hope such a priority in Paul\u2019s prayers for believers?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Because how we live the Christian life is in large measure determined by how we view the future.\u00a0 The purpose behind God\u2019s revelation about the future is to transform the way we live in the present.<\/strong><\/p>\n 4. What about the hope of this future, should transform the way we live the Christian life?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The Lord will return in glory and judgment.\u00a0 Knowing that he will come again should lead us to live each day in the light of his return and to treat others in the light of his final assessment of our lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n 5. Has the Church lost this sense of the practical implications of the hope of the gospel? If so, why?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 “Yes, I think so.”, Sinclair Ferguson says.\u00a0 It may be because of too much crystal ball gazing, suspicious of too may maps and charts about \u2018the end times\u2019, uncomfortable with so much speculation accompanied by so little practical life transformation.<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0I would add that many Christians have bought into the \u2018once saved, always saved\u2019, I walked an aisle, said a prayer, signed a card, got baptized, now I just go on living like the world with no life transformation at all. No, fight the fight of faith; laying hold on life, fighting the good fight as Paul speaks of.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a06. <\/strong>Do you think Christians are ‘too heavenly minded to be any earthly good\u2019, or are we too \u2018worldly-minded\u2019, to much like the world to be able to promote transformation?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong>I think for the most part we are too worldly-minded rather then heavenly minded.\u00a0 If we were really heavenly minded, we would have the mind of God himself, and we would love him and our neighbor, transforming the world in his name as many who have come before us.\u00a0 Especially in America, we have fallen in love with the world. It is our idol, comfort, stuff, our rights, the constitution. We Christians are so much like the world, we don\u2019t look any different.\u00a0 Look at the election we just had. Perfect example.\u00a0 We have shamed ourselves and been a bad witness for Christ.<\/b><\/p>\n 7 . What \u2018riches\u2019 was Paul praying for the Ephesians?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong>The riches are God himself. He is our inheritance. This should give us dignity and security.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a08. <\/strong>What example does Sinclair Ferguson give for the Ephesians commitment and hope in the future with Christ and their abandonment of the riches of this world?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong>The burning of the occult literature \u00a0which brought them income.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a09. <\/strong>What sins in your life get in the way of your trusting God\u2019s promise for your future? How can they be rooted out and destroyed?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong>In 1 Tim 6:10 Paul writes that \u2019the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil\u2019. What does that mean? I can think of many sins that have nothing at all to do with money.\u00a0 Does it mean that the sound of tinkling coins or green paper in your pocket is the root of all kinds of evil?\u00a0 I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 What is money, what does it represent?\u00a0 \u00a0John Piper says, \u201cMoney is simply a symbol that stands for human resources. Money stands for what you can get from man, not from God!” \u201cHo everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. He who has no money<\/em> come buy and eat!\u201d (Isaiah 55:1)<\/a>.\u00a0 Money is the currency of human resources.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong>So the heart that loves money is a heart that pins its hopes, and pursues its pleasures, and puts its trust in what human resources can offer.\u00a0 So the love of money is virtually the same as faith in money \u2014 belief (trust, confidence, assurance) that money will meet your needs and make you happy.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Aim: To study Paul\u2019s prayer, and to learn from it how to focus prayer and to grow in prayer.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a01 the hope of the divine calling<\/strong>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02 the riches of God\u2019s glorious inheritance in the saints<\/strong>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a03 the immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe<\/b><\/p>\n