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Preparing for the Sermon - Ephesians 1:3-14

December 20, 2023 by Dalton Vansell Preparing for Sunday
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PREPARE YOUR HEART FOR THE SERMON BY LOOKING THROUGH THESE SUGGESTIONS THAT WILL ASSIST YOU IN MAKING THE MOST OF OUR TIME TOGETHER HEARING GOD'S WORD.

You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.

Carefully Think

  • Read Ephesians 1:3-14. What general observations can you make about the passage? What else do you notice about the passage as a whole? 
  • What is the main idea in v. 3? How do God’s blessings come to us according to v. 3? Where else do you see the phrase “in Him” or “in Christ” or “through Christ”?  
  • What “spiritual blessings” does Paul enumerate for us in this whole passage?  
  • How, when, and why does God choose people according to v. 4? To what does God predestine people to according to v. 5? What is the standard by which he predestines people according to v. 5? What is the end goal of predestination according to v. 6? 
  • What is the spiritual blessing of focus in vv. 7-8? What does redemption mean? What is forgiveness? What is the measure by which these are given to God’s people? 
  • What is the spiritual blessing mentioned in v. 9? How does this initially compare with the other spiritual blessings? 
  • What spiritual blessing is described in v. 11? How was this obtained according to v. 11? What is predestination “according to” in v. 11? What is the end goal of predestination according to v. 12? 
  • What is the final spiritual blessing described in v. 13? How does this blessing come about according to this verse? What is the end goal of this final blessing? 

Prayerfully Meditate

  • What does v. 3 tell us about the blessings of salvation? 
  • What is Paul’s overarching purpose in these verses? What from the text itself leads you to that conclusion? 
  • Consider what these verses say about being blessed. Are predestination, election, redemption, forgiveness, revealed mysteries, eternal inheritance, and being sealed in Christ what come to your mind? How does your thinking about true blessing need to change? What changes should result in your life in light of true blessing as described in these verses?