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Suggestions for leading a study:

Familiarize yourself with the passage in context, including the book itself. Who wrote it to whom, and why?
Read through the study guide a couple times to get the “big idea” as well as the flow of the argument
Have the group read through the passage in it’s entirety before beginning the study. One of the goals is to try to get your members to learn how to study Scripture methodically, and this is an important step.
Be prayed up
Have fun!

Powering Up

Text: Ephesians 1:14-23 (NIV)

¹⁵For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²²And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Discussion Questions:

-In verses 18 and 19 Paul prays that the Ephesians might know three things. What are they?

-In regards to each of these, say whether you think they apply to life right now, the future, or if it could be both. Why did you make the choices you did?

-Christ’s “incomparably great power” is one that Paul clearly thought Christians should be experiencing now. What does he compare that power to in verse 20?

-Do you feel like that kind of power is available to you? What kinds of things make you feel like it might not be?

-According to verses 20 and 21, what did the power that raised him from the dead accomplish for him?

-Is this power that Paul speaks of one of physical strength, or one of position?

-Who do you think this passage is talking about in regards to the supreme position of Christ and who he stands above?

-Read verses 22 and 23 and fill in the blanks: Jesus is the _________, his body is ____________. Since all things (referring to all other powers) are under his feet, what does that say about where we need to be in order to lay claim to that “incomparably great power” that is available for us who believe?

-Do you think churches take the authority of their position as outlined in this passage seriously enough?

-If this picture of the church is accurate, should we see ourselves as “safe houses” where we can shelter against the enemy, or offensive weapons to go out and defeat him? How should we be doing that?

Leaders Guide

The purpose of this lesson is to help us realize the power that God gives us to take on the enemy and the essential role that the church plays in that.

-In verses 18 and 19 Paul prays that the Ephesians might know three things. What are they?

They are the hope to which he has called us, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

-In regards to each of these, say whether you think they apply to life right now, the future, or if it could be both. Why did you make the choices you did?

The hope and the riches are probably referring to a future, ultimate reality, although it is certainly possible that they could have a current dimension to them. This is what scholars call a “realized eschatology”, or the availability of everything we get in Christ now while still waiting for a complete fulfillment later. These are just for the sake of a good discussion. Focus on the last one, power, which is clearly something the author means for us to experience in the present, hence the next question.

-Christ’s “incomparably great power” is one that Paul clearly thought Christians should be experiencing now. What does he compare that power to in verse 20?

He compares the power that we have available to that which raised Christ from the dead. This was generally regarded as the ultimate cosmic power—that which can give life.

-Do you feel like that kind of power is available to you? What kinds of things make you feel like it might not be?

Clearly there are many things in our lives that make us feel as if we do not hold the ultimate cosmic power over them. Bosses, teachers, finances, the way other people treat us, diseases, etc. This is not meant to come to any conclusion as to how to appropriate God’s power over them, but to bring this issue home to a personal level.

-According to verses 20 and 21, what did the power that raised him from the dead accomplish for him?

It raised Jesus above all the other powers and seated him with God. It also gave him a position of authority, as indicated by the notion of being over every title that can be given. The next question clarifies this somewhat.

-Is this power that Paul speaks of one of physical strength, or one of position?

The picture here is clearly one of authority and position rather than mere brute strength. Obviously, great spiritual power was unleashed, but the result was placing Jesus in a position above all other powers rather than beating them up in some way.

-Who do you think this passage is talking about in regards to the supreme position of Christ and who he stands above?

The entire book of Ephesians is centered around the defeat of spiritual powers at odds with God. Satan and his co-horts are clearly in view, as are all those people and/or institutions that follow him. The point here is that God doesn’t necessarily offer us authority over parents, bosses, the IRS, etc. His offer is to enjoy with Jesus a new position of authority in spiritual realms. It is the sin and the one who empowers it in people’s lives that we have spiritual authority over because of our position in Christ. Brute force and control over people is the world’s way of wielding power. We need not fear that, because we stand above it in the ultimate spiritual sense.

Jesus is the head and his body is said to be the church. We need to understand clearly, as these verses indicate, that to have access to the authority and power of Christ requires us to be in the church. It is under the church’s feet (not individual believers) that all the other powers are crushed.

-Do you think churches take the authority of their position as outlined in this passage seriously enough?

No right or wrong answers here—the next question really fills this out, so generate a little discussion and move on to the wrap up.

Here is the application. If the church has this power, what does that mean for how we see ourselves and how we do ministry? Perhaps some churches are too complacent, being content to be a place of refuge to huddle in once a week, safe from the enemy without. Paul obviously would disagree with that kind of an attitude. He sees the church as a triumphant vehicle which God uses to crush Satan and all his cronies (see Rom. 16:20). Talk about how the church can go on the offensive with great confidence, knowing the power we have. Sin is taking its toll in this world in all kinds of ways. How can the church be pro-active in confronting it, rather than cowering in the face of it?