HOW GOD RESCUES US!

[3APT]

Lesson July 15–21

 

Sabbath afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Eph. 2:1–10, Eph. 5:14, Rom. 5:17, Eph. 5:6, 2 Tim. 1:7.

Memory Text: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4, 5, ESV).

What lesson do you learn from the book of Ephesians chapter 2 verses 4 and 5?

How do you comprehend God mercy towards us?

 

Sunday July 16

Subtopic: Once Dead and Deceived by Satan!
Read Ephesians 2:1–10. What is the main idea that Paul is giving us here about what Jesus has done for us?

What do these verses teach about the reality of the great controversy? At the same time, how can we draw comfort and hope in the knowledge that Jesus has been victorious and that we can share in His victory now?

 

Monday July 17

Subtopic: Once Deluded by Our Own Desires!

“All of us also lived among them [the disobedient] at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath” (Eph. 2:3, NIV).
 

Apart from the intervention of God, human existence is dominated not only by the external forces mentioned in Ephesians 2:2 but also by internal ones: “the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind” (Eph. 2:3, ESV; compare James 1:14, 15; 1 Pet. 1:14).

What does Paul mean by stating that his hearers were once “by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph. 2:3, ESV)?
Compare Ephesians 2:3 and Ephesians 5:6.

Who hasn’t experienced just how corrupted our own nature is, even after we have given ourselves to Jesus? What should this
teach us about how important it is that we cling to Him every moment of our lives?

 

Tuesday July 18

Subtopic: Now Resurrected, Ascended, and Exalted With Christ!

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us”(Eph. 2:4, NKJV). Here, with two powerful words, “But God,” Paul pivots from his doleful portrait of the past lives of his audience (Eph. 2:1–3) to the new, hope-filled realities that mark their lives as believers
(Eph. 2:4–10).
In what sense do believers participate in Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and exaltation? When does this participation occur? Eph.2:6, 7.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7, NKJV). How do the verses we looked at today help us understand what Paul writes here?

 

Wednesday July 19

Subtopic: Now Blessed Forever by Grace!
Compare God’s planning for salvation in Ephesians 1:3, 4 with the
eternal results of that plan described in Ephesians 2:7.

What are essential elements and goals of God’s “plan of salvation”?

“By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels. . . . But not alone for His earthborn children was this revelation given. Our little world is the lesson book of the universe. God’s wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love,
is the theme into which ‘angels desire to look,’ and it will be their study throughout endless ages. Both the redeemed and the unfallen
beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song. It will be seen that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is the glory
of self-sacrificing love.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 19, 20.

 

Thursday July 20

Subtopic: Now Saved by God!

Read back through Ephesians 2:1–10, focusing on Paul’s conclusion in verses 8–10.

What points does he highlight as he concludes the passage?

Why is it so important for us to understand that our salvation is from God and is not rooted in our own worth or efforts?

 

Friday July 21

Subtopic: Further Thought!

Underlying the Epistle to the Ephesians is a story that is often rehearsed in part or alluded to in it. The major events in the narrative are the following:

1. God’s choice of the people “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4, 5, 11).
2. Their past, lost existence (Eph. 2:1–3, 11, 12; Eph. 4:17–19, 22; Eph. 5:8).
3. The intervention of God in Christ to save them (Eph. 1:7, 8; Eph. 2:4–6, 13–19; Eph. 4:1, 20, 21; Eph. 5:2, 8, 23, 25, 26).
4. Their acceptance of the gospel (Eph. 1:12, 13 and implied elsewhere). Having once “no hope” (Eph. 2:12), they now possess the “one hope” toward which believers move (Eph. 4:4; compare Eph.
1:18).
5. The present lives of the addressees as disciples. Though living at
a time fraught with hazards and the opposition of the evil powers,
they may draw on the resources offered by their exalted Lord (Eph.
1:15–23, Eph. 2:6, Eph. 3:14–21, Eph. 4:7–16, Eph. 6:10–20).
6. In the future culmination of history, the Spirit’s role as “guarantee” (Eph. 1:13, 14, ESV), or “seal” (Eph. 4:30), reaches fruition. In this crowning moment, the addressees will be rewarded for their faithfulness by taking possession of the “inheritance” already granted to them in Christ (Eph. 2:7; Eph. 6:8, 9); and, through their faith in Christ, they will be granted a place in the Christ-centered age to come (Eph. 1:21; Eph. 2:7, 19–22; Eph. 4:13, 15; Eph. 5:27).

Discussion Questions:
1.The underlying story of Ephesians (see above) is not just the story of believers in the first century. It is our own story. Which of
the major steps or stages of that story gives you the most hope in this moment?
2. Why do you think it is that Paul so frequently recalls the sinful past of his audience, inviting them to reflect on their preconversion lives?
3. Compare Paul’s summary of the gospel in Ephesians 2:8–10 to his earlier summary in Romans 1:16, 17. What similar themes emerge? In what ways are the two different?
4. While the good works of believers play no role in their redemption, in that they can never give people saving merit before God, what important part do they play in God’s plans for believers? Eph. 2:10.