Study: What does it mean that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think? Do you see that power in your life? If not, why not?
Apply: Why is it important always to thank God in prayer for what you have to be thankful for?
Share: Your friend notices that Paul seems to be constantly praying for those he is reaching for Jesus. Your friend asks you how much you pray for those you are reaching for Jesus. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Ephesians 1:17-19. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: Paul prays that the Holy Spirit will bring special insight to believers on what three topics?
Apply: How can you better experience “the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe”? What does this mean in daily life?
Share: Your friend asks, if God’s power is so great, why does it seem like evil is winning all over the world? What do you tell your friend?
Study: Why does Paul seem to be so interested in evil powers?
Apply: What are some present-day manifestations of these same evil forces, and how can we make sure that we don’t get caught up in any of them?
Share: Your friend asks if its possible to think we are fighting against each other when we are really fighting wicked spirits in high places? What do you tell your friend? What are some examples you can give?
Read in Class: Ephesians 1:22-23. Discuss the main idea of this passage.
Study: What benefits does the exaltation of Christ to the throne of the cosmos, and His rule over all things in heaven and on earth, provide for His church?
Apply: What has been your own experience with the power of prayer? That is, not just answered prayers but prayer in general, and how does prayer draw us closer to God and the power offered us in Jesus?
Share: Can you pray the prayer Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:14-21 for someone this week?
When I first became a Bible Worker I began studying with a young woman who went to a Methodist AME Church. She invited me to her church one Sunday so I could hear her sing in the choir. After the choir sang, a lady guest speaker stood up to preach and to this day, that Methodist woman gave the best ever “Adventist” sermon I have heard on the book of Ephesians. She spoke about how the first part of Ephesians begins with us “in Christ.” In Christ is where we find our justification, which is our deliverance from the penalty of sin and is our title to heaven. She then explained how the second part of Ephesians talks about “Christ in us” which is where we find our sanctification, which is our deliverance from the power of sin and is out fitness for heaven.
Let’s take a look at us “in Christ” and see why that is so powerfully important.
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, 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, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 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. 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, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:3-14 NKJV Emphases supplied.
Why is this idea of in “in Christ” so important? Because again our justification is in Christ. We can only be accepted in the Beloved. We can only be saved in Christ. This is why it is so important to appreciate the humanity of Christ.
For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4 NKJV
Jesus took on my flesh so that He could not only die for me, but so He could also die as me. God only has one solution for human flesh. It must be crucified. I have now been crucified in Christ and with Christ. See Romans 6:3-6 and Galatians 2:20. What else has Christ accomplished by taking my humanity?
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17 NKJV
When Jesus went into the water He had taken upon Himself all humanity, and was thus being baptized and repenting for and on behalf of the entire human race. When the Father said “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus was representing the entire human race. Therefore when the Father accepted His Son the Beloved, He was accepting all humanity in the Beloved. See Ephesians 1:6. Jesus repented on behalf of the entire human race and the Father has accepted the entire human race on behalf of Jesus.
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Romans 5:10,12,19 NKJV
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV
All humanity has lived a perfect life in Christ. Romans 5:10.
All humanity is accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:6.
This is how all humanity is predestined to become adopted as God’s children in Ephesians 1:4. However God never turns any of His children into robots and so everyone is free to reject this plan if they choose. Unless they resist or reject this plan they will be saved,
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” John 12:32 NKJV
The sinner may resist this love, may refuse to be drawn to Christ; but if he does not resist he will be drawn to Jesus; a knowledge of the plan of salvation will lead him to the foot of the cross in repentance for his sins, which have caused the sufferings of God’s dear Son.-Ellen White, Steps to Christ, Page 28.
In Ephesians 1 we see that we have been accepted in Christ. Next week in Ephesians 2 we will see how we all sit in heavenly places right now-in Christ Jesus. See Ephesians 2:6.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Apply: What does it mean to you that through Christ’s atoning sacrifice you are forgiven and redeemed? What if you feel that you are unworthy of it? (Hint: you are unworthy; that’s the whole point of the cross.)
Share: Your friend asks you how God’s grace has already transformed your life? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Ephesians 1:9-10. Discuss the main idea of this passage.
Study: What is God’s “plan for the fullness of time,” and how extensive is its reach?
Apply: How can you acknowledge and celebrate that the redemption you have experienced in Christ Jesus is part of something sweeping and grand, an integral part of God’s studied and ultimate plan to unite all things in Christ?
Study: Compare the uses of the idea of “inheritance” in Ephesians 1:11, 14, 18. Why do you think this idea is important to Paul?
Apply: What is the difference between working to get something and inheriting it instead? How does this idea help us understand what we have been given in Jesus?
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, Ephesians 6:17 NKJV
I am so happy we will be studying Ephesians, one of my favorite books of the Bible this quarter. There are many things I love about the book. I love how Paul teaches in Ephesians 1:1-6 that we are accepted in the Beloved and destined by God’s grace to be formed in His image. I love how Ephesians 1:6 and Ephesians 2:6 brings out that we are justified in Christ and how Ephesians 3:14-21 teaches how we are sanctified by Christ being in us. I love how Ephesians 2:1-10 shows how grace saves us from the penalty of sin and the power of sin. I love how Ephesians Chapters 4-6 shows us the obedient lifestyle of a grace filled Christian. I could go on and on but you probably have your own favorite passages in Ephesians as well which brings me to my challenge for all of us this quarter.
Our weekly Sabbath School lessons are designed to explore different ideas in the book of Ephesians as well as covering those same ideas elsewhere in Scripture. This approach is very beneficial. I also believe since Paul wrote this book as a letter, He intended for it to be read verse by verse as a whole and complete message within itself, just like we read a letter today. Therefore I would like to encourage all my friends and fellow Bible students around the world to take some time to read the book of Ephesians from beginning to end just like when you receive a letter today or a personal e-mail. The book or letter is only six chapters and could be read in one sitting but I do not want to encourage you to rush through. Take your time and let Paul’s ideas soak into your mind and heart. I appreciate how our lesson authors have divided the lesson topics, but I also believe a rich blessing is in store for those who read Ephesians verse by verse as a whole passage, just the way it was written.
Will you join me in reading the entire book of Ephesians verse by verse from beginning to end this week?
Main Theme: In the book of Ephesians Paul tells us how God’s grace protects us against the wicked powers in our community.
Read in Class: Acts 19:13-20. Discuss the main idea of this passage.
Study: What strange event leads to widespread reverence for “the Lord Jesus” in Ephesus?
Apply: What did the burning of their own books signify, even at such an expense to themselves? What does that say about a total commitment to the Lord?
Share: Your friend asks why the demons were able to overpower the people using the name of Jesus? What clues from the passage itself can you share with your friend? Also see Matthew 7:21-23.
Apply: At the end of his third missionary journey, Paul meets with elders of the Ephesian church. How would you summarize Paul’s concerns? (See Acts 20:17-38)
Share: After reading these warnings, you friend asks, “What do you think Paul would warn our church today about, and why?” What do you tell your friend?
Study: How does Paul begin and end his letter to the believers in Ephesus? What do we learn about his deepest desires for them? How does Paul worry about the effect his imprisonment will have on believers in Ephesus? See Eph. 3:13.
Apply: How can you use your personal tribulations as a witness to others about the goodness of God?
Share: Your friend says, “I thought the whole point of accepting Jesus as our Savior was so He would bless us and make us prosperous? If we still have tribulations what’s the point of having Jesus in our lives? How has God’s grace protected us from the evil in our community if we still suffer harm?” What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Ephesians 1:9-10. Discuss the main idea of this passage.
Study: How does Paul announce the theme of his letter?
Apply: In the church of which you are a part, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, God is drawing together a transnational, multilingual, multiracial, cross-cultural community (Rev. 14:6, 7) that points the way to the fulfillment of His plan to unite all things in Jesus (Eph. 1:9, 10). How can we work in concert with God’s grand plan?
Share: Can you think of a friend who would enjoy these studies on Ephesians? Can you invite your friend to Sabbath School?
A few years ago I was visiting family and friends in an Adventist community. Various friends and family members attend various Adventist churches in the area. On Sabbath, I decided to join a particular friend at his church. The sermon was on how we are not to judge others. As I sat and listened to the sermon, I could not help, but in my mind think of texts that say we are to judge, Like 1 Corinthians 5- 6. I thought the sermon was very much one-sided. Then I believe the Holy Spirit spoke to me. William there are about 20 Adventist churches in the area God could have sent you to this morning, but I sent you to this church so you could hear this particular message. This is the side of the topic that you need to hear.
Often instead of bringing up opposing views, we need to just hear what the other person has to say. We don’t have to exhaust both sides of the topic in one conversation. Often the person has a single valid point, and we take away from that point by bringing up “the other side.”
For example, suppose I have a friend in New Zealand who has been battling depression, because she misses her home in South Africa. One morning she gets up and is trying to look at the bright side of the situation, so she posts a picture of a beautiful New Zealand sunrise on Facebook, with the message, “New Zealand sure has some beautiful scenery.” Then suppose all of her friends in America and South Africa start commenting back about how beautiful their land is too. No doubt South Africa and America are beautiful too, but wouldn’t that distract from the point that is relevant to my friend in New Zealand? My friend in New Zealand is already aware that America and South Africa are beautiful. But that is not the point. Instead of commenting back with, “True, but…..America is beautiful too!” maybe I should just agree, “Yes! That is a very beautiful sunrise. You live in a wonderful land” and just leave it at that. It is not going to help my NZ friend battle depression by totally exhausting the subject of beautiful places to live on her post. She needs affirmation, not competition. I have an older friend, who told me when she was younger and would get carried away thinking about all the different ways people might be interpreting her actions, her mother would tell her, “stop trying to play every instrument in the band.” Occasionally I will finish a sermon and some “helpful” saint will try to remind me of all the points on the topic that I left out. Fact is I left them out on purpose. Its not that I did not consider them to be true or even important, its just that in a 20 minute, wait who am I kidding? In a 40 minute sermon I can’t play every instrument in the band. I can’t cover every single point of truth in one presentation. Remember we will be studying the Gospel throughout all eternity and will be learning the entire time, so please do not expect me to cover every point of truth in a 30 or 40 minute sermon.
Believe it or not Jesus Himself did not exhaust every subject in every discourse. He spoke words that needed to be heard in that particular situation. Over time and by cross-examining Scripture we get the big picture. Jesus’ sermon in Luke 4 is an example of how Jesus purposely left out certain points because they were not relevant to the specific group He was addressing.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come. Luke 4:18-19 NLT
Jesus was quoting from Isaiah 61:1-2 which went on to read, “and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.” But Jesus left that part out!. Jesus knew the crowd He was talking to would become a little too happy about God’s anger on their enemies, so He left that out. It was totally true but not a truth that they needed to hear. So when we accuse a preacher or Sabbath school teacher of not preaching truth, because they leave out the morsel of truth we enjoy feasting on, we are making an unwarranted judgment of “heresy.” We can have unity by listening to what others have to say without constantly bickering and arguing, even with a “true….but.” Sometimes those “true….buts” are a distraction from what God wants us to see. Often times the point in the “true….but” has already been well established, and the other person is not trying to disagree, but just give the topic a proper balance, and if we reply back with a “true…but,” we throw the topic off balance again.
For example we all know the emphases the church has placed on marriage over the years. Considering that my congregation already knew full well how sanctified and blessed marriage is, I decided to encourage some of my widowed, single and divorced friends by sharing the encouraging things Jesus said in Matthew 19, and Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7 regarding the blessings of being single. I affirmed our married members and our single members. After my sermon an elderly lady came up to me and complained that I did not talk about the blessings of being married as much as I did the blessings of being single. The reason I spent 25 minutes on the blessings of being single and only 15 minutes on the blessings of being married is because over the years pastors have preached thousands of sermons on the blessings of being married while rarely if ever preaching about the blessings of being single. I was simply trying to share the teachings of Jesus and Paul that are rarely if ever shared behind the pulpit. Like my illustration with my friend in New Zealand, I did not need a rebuttal. I did not need to hear the other side of the story I have already heard a trillion times. I just needed my single friends to hear an encouraging word from Scripture without everyone protesting about the parts I left out. The goal of my sermon was not to play every instrument in the band.
We can encourage oneness and promote unity by listening to understand instead of just listening to reply with our opinion. We don’t always have to bring up the other side of the topic. Maybe God knows you are already grounded on one side and now need a more balanced understanding of the topic by hearing some other truths on the topic. That is what I realized God was telling me while listening to the sermon in my friend’s church that Sabbath.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Study: What admonition does the apostle Paul give us regarding the last days of human history?
Apply: Paul says not “to sleep” as others do. What does that mean, and how can we know if we are, indeed, sleeping and, if we are, what will it take to wake us?
Share: Your friend asks you where you see things in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 being fulfilled? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Revelation 18:1-4. Discuss the main idea of this passage.
Study: What three things does John tell us about this angel? (See also Hab. 2:14).
Apply: Ultimately, how do the issues in the last days (as they really do every day) come down to authority? Whose authority do we follow: God’s, our own, the beast power’s, or someone else’s? Whose authority are you following now?
Share: Your friend asks, if God’s people are being called out of the churches they are in where are they supposed to go? Does the Bible tell us? What do you tell your friend?
Study: What words are associated with the glory of God that fills the earth as described in Revelation 18:1?
Apply: How does God’s church bring glory to God? What are some practical ways we give light to this dark world?
Share: Your friend complains that it seems like his Adventist father-in-law is always bashing other churches. Your friend asks if its really necessary to bash other churches in order to share truth? What do you tell your friend?
As Adventists we understand from the book of Revelation that the anti-Christ is the papacy putting itself in the place of God. Of course any system putting itself in the place of God is an anti-Christ. In 1 John 2:18, John writes, “even now are there many anti-Christs; whereby we know that it is the last time.” So was John implying their were more anti-Christs besides just the papacy? If so could you or I have anti-Christ characteristics?
To answer this question, let’s back up a little. In studying the Three Angels Message, we see that a so-called religious system, Babylon, falls. Again we know from studying Revelation that this is a specific system. However, we also see that this system has an attitude. That attitude is legalism. Man-made laws and a man-made day of worship combine to make a man-made way of salvation, outside of trusting in the merits of Jesus. While Revelation pinpoints this system, it is clear that this attitude can be found in other systems as well, and history has demonstrated it. Were not the Sadducees and Pharisees making their own laws and trusting their own works for salvation? Yet they were not Babylon. So could it be that if I am not careful to crucify self and die daily, that this same attitude of Babylon could be found in my heart too?
So, if it is possible for me to have the attitude of Babylon, would it also be possible for me to have the same attitude as the anti-Christ, thus making me one of many anti-Christs? An anti-Christ is someone who sets himself up as Christ, just as the man of sin mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” Here we see that the man of sin, or anti-Christ sits in the place of God. So how could I possibly be an anti-Christ, sitting in the place of God? Isaiah 33:22 tells us; “For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver.” Our Lord God is our lawgiver and judge. So, when I set myself up as judge of other people’s motives, or think that I can interpret the law for everybody, I am usurping the seat of God and setting myself up as God, and thus becoming an anti-Christ!
Like Babylon, Anti-Christ is more than a system. It is an attitude. Ellen White explains, that while the pilgrims came to the new world, to escape the anti-Christ, that they carried the attitude of anti-Christ with them to the New World:
“It was the desire for liberty of conscience that inspired the Pilgrims to brave the perils of the long journey across the sea, to endure the hardships and dangers of the wilderness, and with God’s blessing to lay, on the shores of America, the foundation of a mighty nation. Yet honest and God-fearing as they were, the Pilgrims did not yet comprehend the great principle of religious liberty. The freedom which they sacrificed so much to secure for themselves, they were not equally ready to grant to others. “Very few, even of the foremost thinkers and moralists of the seventeenth century, had any just conception of that grand principle, the outgrowth of the New Testament, which acknowledges God as the sole judge of human faith.” (W. Carlos Martyn, The Life and Times of Luther, Vol. 5, p. 297.) The doctrine that God has committed to the church the right to control the conscience and to define and punish heresy, is one of the most deeply rooted of papal errors.-Ellen White, The Great Controversy, pp. 292-3
2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that the Scriptures are profitable for doctrine and correction. I can only define God’s law by what is in the Scriptures , but not by my personal opinions or traditions, like the Pharisees in Christ’s time and religious leaders in the Dark Ages did. I am not the interpreter of the Law for the whole world, nor, can I think to change times and laws to meet with my own opinions or inclinations. Since I am not the Lawgiver, I cannot judge people by my own standards.
While open sin must be dealt with by the community of believers, according to 1 Corinthians 6, I as an individual cannot judge inward motives. In judging outward actions we must still be careful. Joseph almost put poor Mary away thinking he had all the evidence of an affair. Even with his overwhelming evidence, he was wrong! Even with all his evidence, he tried to put her away privately, without any public embarrassment. What a great example for us to imitate. Even with his incontrovertible evidence, Joseph was not going to judge Mary’s heart.
In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul teaches that churches, not individuals, to judge open and outward actions very carefully. He teaches no one to judge the heart and inward motives. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us God and the Scriptures alone tell us what is right and wrong. I am not the Lawgiver or the interpreter of the law for the rest of the world.
Only the Lord our God is our Lawgiver and Judge, and when we judge people according to our own standards, opinions and understanding, we usurp the throne of God and become an anti-Christ.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Study: How long was this power to rule through previous centuries? (Note: 42 months; a time, times, and half a time; and 1,260 days is the same 1,260 years from 538AD with Justinian’s Code to 1798AD with Berthier marching into Rome and putting the pope in prison.)
Apply: Think about how amazing biblical prophecy is and how it reveals to us God’s knowledge of future events. What should this fact teach us about why we can trust the Lord’s promises, even the ones we don’t yet see fulfilled?
Share: Your friend says the 1260 days are still in the future and do not have anything to do with the papacy. What do you tell your friend?
Study: What does Paul predict about the last days? What identifying marks does he give for the beast, the antichrist power?
Apply: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12, NKJV). How must we apply this principle in dealing with the theme of the beast powers in Revelation 13 and 14?
Study: How does John describe these final scenes of earth’s history? What powerful contrast is seen here?
Apply: How do make sure we are not unwittingly at war with the Lamb?
Share: Your friend asks, “Why does the Lamb have to conquer all the other powers? Why can’t we just all peacefully coexist? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Revelation 14:9-12. Define the main idead of this passage.
Study: Where is the mark of the beast placed? (See Deut. 6:8, Deut. 11:18). What two characteristics contrast God’s people from those who receive the mark of the beast?
Apply: In what ways has humanity always been divided along the lines of being on either God’s side or on Satan’s? Why can there be no middle ground? How can we know, for sure, just whose side we really are on?
Share: You friend says that she heard someone say that the third angel’s message in Revelation 14:9-12 is all about righteousness by faith. How so? What do you tell your friend?
Main Theme: God’s people will be loyal to Jesus because they love Him because He first loved them.
Read in Class: Revelation 14:12. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What two characteristics do we discover in this passage about God’s last-day people? Why are both important?
Apply: How faithful are you in the little things? What might that tell you about how you will be when the real trial comes? (See Luke 16:10).
Share: Your friend tells you the church focuses too much on commandment keeping instead of faith. How would Revelation 14:12 help you answer your friend?
Study: Where does the beast come from, and who gives the beast his authority? What contrast do you see in these verses?
Apply: “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved“ (Matt. 10:22, NKJV). How ready are you to endure to the end?
Share: Your friend asks you what the Biblical meaning of “blasphemy” is? What do you tell your friend?
Study: What identifying marks of the beast power do we discover in these verses? What will God’s end-time people face in the final crisis?
Apply: Read Galatians 6:7-9. Though this is not written in the context of last-day events, why is the principle there so relevant to issues over the mark of the beast, and how we can stand faithful?
Share: Your friend asks if the mark on the hand or forehead is literal or symbolic? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Matthew 27:45-50. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What does this teach us about what Christ had experienced on the cross? What did Jesus mean by asking God why He had forsaken Him, and how does this scene help us understand what it means to have “the faith of Jesus”?
Apply and share: Your friend asks how you have shown the faith of Jesus in your own life? How has the faith of Jesus helped you get by even in the worst of times? What do you tell your friend? See When the Faithfulness of Jesus carried me Through.
In Light of The Cross 
