Study questions

Life-Study of Ephesians

1. An Introductory Word to the Book of Ephesians

  1. What are the seven aspects of the church?
  2. What is the characteristic of Ephesians? How is it different from Romans?

2. Three Aspects of Well-speaking

  1. How does the phrase "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ" in Ephesians 1:3 refer to incarnation? What does this highest praise imply?
  2. What are our qualifications in blessing God and what are our enjoyments in these categories?

3. Chosen to Be Holy

  1. What is the first itme of God's blessing? What does it mean to be holy?
  2. What are the two main steps God takes to make us holy?

4. Predestinated unto Sonship

  1. What is the second item of God's blessing? How has God predestinated us?
  2. What three things must we be clear about concerning our being sons of God?

5. The Praise of the Glory of God's Grace

  1. What is the content of sonship that leads to the praise of God's glory in Ephesians 1:6?
  2. What is the glory of God's grace?

6. Redemption in the Son

  1. What is the third item of God's blessing?
  2. Why did redemption require the riches of God's grace?

7. The Mystery of God's Will

  1. What is the mystery of God's will?
  2. What is God's good pleasure?

8. To Head Up All Things in Christ (1)

  1. What is God's eternal intention and how is the church involved in this intention?
  2. What are the two ways the church is headed up?

9. To Head Up All Things in Christ (2)

  1. What is God's eternal plan? How was it opposed by God's enemy, Satan?
  2. What is the meaning of the Greek word oikonomia in Ephesians 1:10? How does God use this to accomplish His plan?

10. To Head Up All Things in Christ (3)

  1. What is "the fulness of the times" in Ephesians 1:10? What are the four ages presented in the Bible?
  2. What is God's dispensation, the dispensation of life, and what is the issue of such a dispensing?

11. The New Testament Believers to the Praise of God's Glory

  1. What relationship does the heading-up Christ have with our being made God's inheritance?
  2. Ephesians 1:12 says, "That we should be to the praise of His glory who have before hoped in Christ." Who is doing the praising in this verse and what is the reason for the praise?

12. Sealed with the Holy Spirit

  1. What does the seal signify? How does the seal relate to bearing the image of God?
  2. How does Ephesians 1:14 show that the sealing of the Spirit is ongoing?

13. The Pledge of Our Inheritance

  1. What do the sealing and pledging of the Spirit have to do with the two kinds of inheritances in God's work on us?
  2. Using 2 Corinthians 1, explain in detail the relationship between the anointing, the sealing, and the pledging.

14. A Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation and the Eyes of Our Heart

  1. What is the emphasis of the apostle's first prayer in Ephesians?
  2. What are the four components of revelation and how do they relate to one another?

15. The Hope of God's calling and the riches of the Glory of God's Inheritance in the Saints

  1. What is the hope of the believers' calling?
  2. How are God's attributes related to His inheritance?

16. The Surpassing Greatness of God's Power

  1. What is the relationship between hope, glory, and power?
  2. What four aspects of the power that operated in Christ are revealed in Ephesians 1:19-22?

17. Christ to be the Head over All Things to the Church

  1. What is the relationship between the church and the power that operated in Christ?
  2. How is the transmission of this power related to speaking?

18. The Church Being the Body of Christ

  1. Why is it important that the Body is in the new creation?
  2. What is the result of the believers' experience of the heavenly transmission?

19. The Triune God Dispensed into Us and Wrought into Our Being

  1. What are the seven crucial matters revealed in Ephesians 1 and how are they accomplished?
  2. What is the basic concept of Ephesians chapter 1 and why is it so important?

20. Dead in Offenses and Sins

  1. What were the three realms we were once in? Describe the activity of each.
  2. Compare the viewpoints from which Paul writes Ephesians 1 and 2. What should our view be regarding our daily church life?

21. Saved by Grace to Be the Masterpiece of God

  1. What is the difference in our condition in Ephesians as compared to Romans?
  2. How are we God's masterpiece?

22. Once Far Off, but Now Near

  1. How are our position, condition, and status all related both before we were saved and after?
  2. What is the basic thought regarding God's promise?

23. The Breaking Down of the Middle Wall of Partition

  1. How did the structure of Judaism collapse and what must we keep in mind about the law?
  2. Why is it so hard for Christians to have a proper church life?

24. The Two Created into One New Man

  1. How was Christ's death on the cross crucial for the creating of the new man?
  2. Practically, how do we put on the new man?

25. Putting on the New Man

  1. How is it that the new man is both created (Ephesians 4:24) and being renewed (Colossians 3:10)?
  2. What is the way to live this new man?

26. Both Reconciled to God in One Body and Fellow-citizens of the Saints and Members of the Household of God

  1. By what means were the Jews and Gentiles reconciled?
  2. What are the many positive results of our being reconciled to God?

27. Growing into a Holy Temple and Being Built into a Dwelling Place of God

  1. Explain how the apostles and prophets can be the foundation of the building. What is the significance of Christ being the cornerstone?
  2. What is the difference between the holy temple and the dwelling place of God?

28. The Stewardship of Grace

  1. What is the stewardship of the grace of God?
  2. What should be the ministry of a minister?

29. The Revelation of the Mystery

  1. What is the revelation of the mystery? Based on Paul's pattern in Ephesians 3, how do the apostles and prophets differ from the other saints?
  2. What is the mystery of Christ? What are four ways that the church is related to God?

30. The Riches of Christ Producing the Church

  1. What are the eleven ways that we can know the unsearchable riches of Christ?
  2. How is the church produced? What is the result of the experience of the riches of Christ?

31. The Church for God's Wisdom According to His Eternal Purpose

  1. What is the difference between wisdom and knowledge?
  2. How is Christ being God's wisdom and Christ being our wisdom related to God's economy?

32. To Be Strengthened into the Inner Man that Christ May Make His Home in Our Hearts

  1. Why is it necessary to experience Christ in a subjective way? According to Ephesians 4:14-16, how are we strengthened into the inner man?
  2. Why must we allow Christ to make His home in our heart?

33. To Apprehend the Dimensions of Christ and to Know the Love of Christ

  1. What are the steps to apprehending the dimensions of Christ and to knowing the love of Christ?
  2. Why is it important to be balanced in our experience of the dimensions of Christ?

34. To Be Filled unto All the Fullness of God

  1. What is the highest definition of the church? How is the church constituted?
  2. How do we become the fullness of God?

35. God Glorified in the Church and in Christ

  1. How is God glorified in the church?
  2. How is God glorified in Christ?

36. Keeping the Oneness of the Spirit

  1. How can we as the church walk worthily of God's calling?
  2. Using the picture of the tabernacle in Exodus, explain how we can keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace?

37. The Base of Our Oneness

  1. What is the base of our oneness as believers?
  2. In Ephesians 4:6, how is God being over all and through all and in all related to the oneness of the Body?

38. The Gifts perfecting the Saints

  1. For what reason has Christ given gifts to the Body? What is the goal of this?
  2. What are the steps by which sinners have become gifts to the Body of Christ? How should we function as such?

39. The Believer's Standard

  1. What is the goal of God's calling? How is the stewardship of the grace of God related to the building up of the Body of Christ?
  2. How can we as Christians have a walk worthy of God's calling and standard?

40. The Way to Reach the Standard

  1. Using Paul as an example, what are five ways that we can be helped to reach a standard worthy of God's calling?
  2. In our study of the Word, what is a helpful way to receive revelation?

41. The Way to Be Perfected

  1. Why is it necessary to see that the work of building up the Body of Christ is the responsibility of all the saints? What is the danger of holding a natural concept regarding this work?
  2. What is the way to be perfected?

42. All the Members without Rank

  1. Explain the difference between function and rank. From the Bible, how can we see that the church is not an organization?
  2. How are the saints perfected unto the work of the ministry?

43. Arriving at Three Things

  1. What are the three things we must arrive at in Ephesians 4:13?
  2. Why is it necessary for all the saints to be perfected unto the work of the ministry?

44. Babyishness and the Winds of Teaching

  1. What is the result of arriving at the three things mentioned in Ephesians 4:13?
  2. What is the only way to escape the waves and the winds?

45. The Growth of the Members for the Building Up of the Body

  1. What does it mean to hold to truth in love?
  2. How does holding to truth in love result in our growing up into Christ in all things? How does the Body build itself up?

46. Learning Christ as the Truth is in Jesus

  1. Using Ephesians 4:17-19, describe the walk of the nations.
  2. Practically speaking, how do we learn Christ?

47. Having Put Off the Old Man and Having Put on the New Man

  1. Consider Ephesians 4:22-23 in the light of our Christian experience. How do we practically experience the putting off of the old man?
  2. How was the new man created? From the Bible, how can we say that the new man is corporate?

48. A Living that Does not Grieve the Holy Spirit of God

  1. In Ephesians 4:15-32, what are the basic principles for living the practical daily life in the learning of Christ?
  2. Explain how truth and grace are the basic elements of such a living.

49. A Summary of Learning Christ

  1. What are the basic elements and basic factors of learning Christ?
  2. What is grace? What is truth?

50. Living in Love and Light

  1. What ten points does the apostle Paul bring out in Ephesians 5:1-14 concerning our living in love and light?
  2. How is walking as children of light related to bearing fruit?

51. Living by Being Filled in Spirit

  1. What is the fifth item of a walk worthy of God's calling?
  2. In what ways does being filled in spirit cause us to overflow with Christ?

52. Living in the Relationship between Wife and Husband

  1. What are Paul's exhortations to wives?
  2. What are Paul's exhortations to husbands?

53. A Mysterious Type of Christ and the Church

  1. How do Adam and Eve present a complete and significant picture of Christ and the church?
  2. How does Christ nourish and cherish the church?

54. Christ Sanctifyng the Church by Cleansing Her

  1. What are the three stages of the production of the church?
  2. How does Christ sanctify the church?

55. Christ in Three Stages

  1. How can we experience and enjoy Christ in the first stage as the God-man?
  2. How can we experience and enjoy Christ in the second stage as the life-giving speaking Spirit?

56. Sanctifying, Cleansing, Nourishing, and Cherishing (1)

  1. How is the subjective Christ sanctifying us?
  2. How are we cleansed and nourished by the subjective Christ?

57. How Christ Glorifies the Church

  1. How does Christ glorify the church?
  2. How is the process of glorification related to eating?

58. Sanctifying, Cleansing, Nourishing, and Cherishing (2)

  1. What is the significance of sanctification and cleansing?
  2. What is the significance of nourishing and cherishing?

59. God's Desire for a Glorious Church

  1. What is God's desire and goal?
  2. How can we experience the light of God's glory?

60. Experiencing Christ in God's Economy

  1. How can we be saturated with Christ?
  2. What is God's concern in His economy?

61. A Summary of the Exhortation in Chapter Five

  1. What are the basic elements and basic factors of each chapter of Ephesians?
  2. What is the distinction between light and truth?

62. The Believers' Living in the Relationship Between Children and Fathers and Between Slaves and Masters

  1. Why is it necessary for us to have a proper human living in the present age?
  2. What is the proper relationship between (1) children and fathers and (2) slaves and masters?

63. Warfare to Deal with the Spiritual Enemy

  1. What are the twelve aspects of the church covered in Ephesians?
  2. Explain how being empowered is related to the will. What is spiritual warfare as seen in Ephesians 6:10-13?

64. The Whole Armor of God (1)

  1. How is being girded with the truth related to our daily living? How does the breastplate of righteousness cover us from the accuser, Satan?
  2. In Ephesians 6:16, what is the significance of "the firm foundation" versus "readiness" or "preparation"?

65. The Whole Armor of God (2)

  1. How do we spontaneously take up the shield of faith? What are the seven items we need to have faith in?
  2. Explain how the sword, the Spirit, and the word are one. In spiritual warfare, why is it necessary that the logos become the rhema?

66. The Application by Prayer

  1. Why is prayer crucial and vital in the application of the armor of God?
  2. Why is it necessary to watch unto our prayer life and how is this related to our will?

67. Conclusion

  1. How can we be kept in a situation of peace?
  2. How can we see Paul's concern for the Ephesians being one continuation and fellowship?

68. The Church as a Hybrid Life

  1. What is God's eternal purpose? How can we see it in Ephesians?
  2. Define the church. How does God obtain the church as seen in Ephesians?

69. The Mingled Spirit for the Church Life

  1. How is the church produced?
  2. Which verses from each chapter of Ephesians show us the mingled spirit? Why is the mingled spirit critical to the producing of the church?

70. Ordinances and Doctrine

  1. Why did the Lord deal with the ordinances on the cross?
  2. Why must the Spirit replace the ordinances if we are to have the building up of the Body of Christ?

71. The Old Man and the New Man

  1. How is the abolishing of the ordinances for the creation of the one new man part of the gospel?
  2. Why is it necessary to put off the old man and put on the new man if we are to have the church life?

72. God's Accomplished Work Concerning the Church

  1. In this message, what are the points that have been accomplished concerning the church?
  2. Which items have been accomplished from God's point of view, but from the standpoint of our experience are still in the process of being accomplished?

73. Three Items that Damage the Church

  1. How can we say that the church life is the corporate mingling of the divine Spirit with the human spirit?
  2. What three things did Satan use to damage the church? How is the church life recovered?

74. Seven Aspects of the Church

  1. What are the seven aspects of the church revealed in Ephesians?
  2. In what three ways does the church in these seven aspects accomplish God's goal?

75. God's Economy—Christ with the Church

  1. What is the reality of the book of Ephesians? What is God's economy?
  2. How does God fulfill His economy?

76. God's Economy–To Work Christ into Us

  1. What is God seeking today? How does He get what He is after?
  2. How can we cooperate with God in His economy and what is the result when we do?

77. Christ in God's Economy

  1. Which verses in Ephesians reveal Christ in a "vertical" and "horizontal" way?
  2. What three things does Ephesians 3 reveal regarding Christ?

78. Taking Christ as Our Person for the Church Life

  1. What is our unique need today?
  2. How does Christ become our person?

79. Five Aspects of Christ

  1. What are the five aspects of Christ revealed in this message?
  2. How is the church-loving Christ related to the recovery of the church life?

80. Putting on the New Man by Growing Up into Christ

  1. In order to have the church life, why must Christ be not only our life but also our person?
  2. Based on Ephesians 4, how does Christ become our person and how is He expressed in the church?

81. The Church—The Expression of Christ

  1. Based on Ephesians 1:23, 3:8, 4:13, and 5:18, how does the church become the expression of Christ?
  2. What is the difference between the riches of Christ and the fullness of Christ?

82. The Church—The Overflow of Christ

  1. How does the church come into existence?
  2. Why is the experience of the indwelling Christ necessary for the church life?

83. Experiencing the Riches of Christ

  1. Explain the connection between Ephesians 3:8 and 3:17.
  2. Give three examples from 2 Corinthians that reveal Paul's experience of the riches of Christ.

84. Overflowing to Speak

  1. How should we be scriptural according to Ephesians 5:19?
  2. How is speaking related to being filled with the Lord?

85. Ordinances and the Church Life

  1. What are the basic factors that damage the church life according to the revelation in the book of Ephesians?
  2. How do we deal with ordinances without being divided?

86. Slaying the Ordinances

  1. How did Christ deal with the ordinances?
  2. Practically speaking, how can we practice the church life without ordinances?

87. The Ordinances Versus Christ

  1. How did the new man come into being? How should we view the redemption of Christ from the angle of God's purpose?
  2. Compare our situation when we were apart from Christ with our situation in Christ. Now that we are in Christ, what is the base of our meeting together?

88. Universal Building and Local Building

  1. Why is it necessary for us to forsake all ordinances in order to be built up both locally and universally?
  2. How is the universal building accomplished?

89. Growth by Feeding for the Building

  1. What is the cause of division? How does the Lord recover His church out of division?
  2. Explain how the growth of the building is related to feeding and not doctrine.

90. Dropping Doctrines by the Growth of Life

  1. What is the distinction between the faith in Ephesians 4:14 and doctrine?
  2. What is the way to drop our doctrines?

91. Faith but Not Doctrine

  1. Why does the New Testament charge us to contend for the faith yet not to fight for doctrine?
  2. What is God's intention? How is the Lord's recovery related to the Lord's coming back?

92. The Perfecting of the New Man

  1. What is the growth of the Body? How does the Body cause the growth itself?
  2. How did Christ give gifts to His Body? How does He constitute the members into gifts?

93. The Corporate Life of the New Man

  1. From the perspective of the church, how is putting on the new man a corporate matter?
  2. What does Paul mean by "as the truth is in Jesus"? How does this relate to the living of the new man today?

94. The Spirit and the Church

  1. What is the key to the church life?
  2. What is the result of having a daily living that is by the Spirit?

95. The Beauty of the Bride

  1. What is God's way of removing spots and wrinkles?
  2. Explain the connection between Ephesians 5 and Revelation 19. How does Christ prepare His bride?

96. Head Over All to the Church

  1. How does God acquire His inheritance and His possession?
  2. Connecting Ephesians 1 with Ephesians 3, how does God head up all things in Christ?

97. The Church as God's Warrior

  1. Explain how spiritual warfare is a matter of the Body.
  2. What is a practical way to kill the adversary within us? Why is this way effective?