Eph 1:15-17 In what way were the saints to whom Paul was writing faithful (Eph 1:1)? See Eph 1:15, Col 1:4, Phm 1:5, 1 Thess 4:9-10. For what did Paul pray in Eph 1:17 that God would give to the faithful saints in Asia? See also Col 1:9. Why is “a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him” so important to a Christian? See 1 Cor 2:6-16; see also Luk 12:12, 21:15, Acts 6:10. Where is such wisdom ultimately to be found? See Col 2:1-3. See also Job 28, Prov 8:1-9:6.
Eph 1:18 Why is it so necessary for the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened? See Mat 13:15, Luk 24:45, 2 Cor 4:4,6. For what two things in Eph 1:18 did Paul pray that his readers would be enlightened about? Why would these be especially meaningful to the Gentile believers to whom he was writing? In what sense is God made rich by His inheritance in the saints? See Rev 7:9-10.
Eph 1:19-20 For what additional thing did Paul pray that his readers would be enlightened about in Eph 1:19? What is the nature of that great power which God has for us who believe? See Eph 1:20, 3:16-21, Rom 1:4, 6:4, 2 Cor 4:7. Do we fully realize the surpassing greatness of the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, that power that enables us to walk in newness of life? Are we taking up our cross daily (Luk 9:23) uniting ourselves with Christ in His death in order to become partakers of that resurrection power (Rom 6:5-7)?
Eph 1:21 What is the significance that Christ was seated “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion”? See Eph 3:10, 6:12, Col 1:16, 2:15, 1 Pet 3:22. What do these verses teach us about the reality of spiritual forces and their ability to influence human affairs? See also Dan 10:12-13. What do they teach us about the supremacy of Christ over these spiritual forces? See also Heb 1:13-14, 2:5. In what other names have people past and present trusted for salvation and deliverance? How does Paul say they compare to Christ? See also Acts 4:12.
Eph 1:22-23 What does it mean that God has put all things in subjection under the feet of Christ? See also Eph 4:8, Rev 12:5. Are all things now in subjection to Christ? See Heb 2:8. Why not? See 2 Pet 3:7-9. How does Paul describe the relationship of Christ and the Church in these verses? See also Col 1:18. How is this relationship of Christ to His Church to be exemplified in our homes? See Eph 5:23, 1 Cor 11:3. How does Paul describe the relationship of Christ to God the Father in Colossians 1:19 & 2:9? See also Col 1:15, Heb 1:3. How does he use a similar expression to describe the relationship of the Church to Christ? See Eph 1:23, 4:10,13, Col 2:9-10 (see NASB text note on Eph 1:10), John 1:16. As Christ is the body and fullness of the Father who is His head, and the Church is the body and fullness of Christ who is her head, in what ways is a Christian wife the body and fullness of her husband who is her head? See Eph 5:28-29. Because of the attitude of so many that Gentile believers were at best only second-class Christians, Paul has written this epistle to encourage them about their privilege, position and worth as being the fullness of Christ. What encouragement ought women to take from their privilege, position and worth as being the fullness of their husbands? Are they in any way second-class? See Gal 3:28. Do such distinctions even make sense in Christ? Is Christ complete without the fullness of His body? Is any head complete without the fullness of its body? Is a husband complete without the fullness of his wife? What made it possible for Christ to be filled with all the fullness of the Father? See Phil 2:6-7. What is necessary for us to be filled with all the fullness of Christ? What is necessary for a wife to be filled with all the fullness of her husband? Do you think she has to grow up to the measure of the stature of his fullness in the same way that the Church has to grow up to the measure of the stature of Christ’s fullness (Eph 4:13)? See Gen 3:16-18.