SERMON SEEDS ARCHIVES
EPHESIANS
Through no fault of our own, about 5 years of Sermon Seeds was deleted from the Website of the First Baptist Church.
We decided that it was time to begin archiving them in a different way.
Please be patient as we gradually archive these outlines.
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EPHESIANS 1:1-2 – PRIVILEGED!
EPHESIANS – KNOWING AND GROWING #1
The Book of Ephesians shows us the riches we have in Christ and how to use them.
This Book shows us “What to Know!” and “How to Grow!” It is a book about “Knowing and Growing”. The first three chapters are mostly about knowing. The last three chapters are mostly about growing, or maturing in our Christian faith. In all six chapters of Ephesians, what we know will help us grow!
As Paul gives his introduction to Ephesians in the first two verses of the book, we find three privileges we should know that we might grow.
THE WILL OF GOD – Vs. 1a
THE WORK OF GOD – Vs. 1b
THE WONDERS OF GOD – Vs. 2
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EPHESIANS 1:3 - GRATEFUL
EPHESIANS – KNOWING AND GROWING #2
Ephesians 1:3 (KJV) - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Paul begins his letter with gratitude to God. We should be grateful for the same things!
FOR FATHERLY BLESSINGS - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
FOR SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS - who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing
FOR HEAVENLY BLESSINGS - in the heavenly places
Philippians 3:20, Ephesians 2:6
FOR CHRISTIAN BLESSINGS - in Christ
It’s all in Christ! 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Corinthians 1:30-31
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EPHESIANS 1:3-6 – RICHES FROM FATHER
EPHESIANS – KNOWING AND GROWING #3
Ephesians 1:3-14 is one sentence in Greek. In it we see the riches we have from the God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Here are the riches from the hand of God the Father.
THE FATHER'S PRESENT TO US - Vs. 3
THE FATHER'S PLANS FOR US - Vss. 4-5
Both quotes H.A. Ironside, In the Heavenlies, (Neptune N.J., Loizeaux Brothers, 1937) pp. 25, 31-32
THE FATHER'S POSITION TOWARDS US - Vs. 6
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EPHESIANS 1:7-12 – RICHES IN THE SON
KNOWING AND GROWING #4
When we place our faith in Christ, God gives us several “riches” or benefits. These verses share some of them.
WE ARE SAVED Vs. 7
WE ARE SUPPLIED Vs. 8
WE ARE SETTLED Vss. 9-10
WE ARE SATISFIED Vss. 11-12
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EPHESIANS 1:13-14 – RICHES IN THE SPIRIT
KNOWING AND GROWING #5
In Ephesians 1 we have already discussed the riches we have through God the Father and God the Son. In Ephesians 1:13-14 we see some riches that we have in God, the Holy Spirit, pertaining to salvation.
THE SECOND BIRTH - Vs. 13
SEALING - Vs. 13
SECURITY DEPOSIT OR DOWN-PAYMENT - Vs. 14
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EPHESIANS 1:15-23 – GREAT EXPECTATIONS
KNOWING AND GROWING #6
Throughout his letters, Paul models how to pray for the Spiritual wellbeing of the Saints. In this prayer for the saints, Paul has great expectations for the saints, especially for their knowledge of God and their own blessings. Here, Paul is showing us how to pray with great expectations!
PRAY THANKFULLY – Vss. 15-16
PRAY FAITHFULLY – Vs. 16
PRAY SPECIFICALLY – Vss. 17-23
Our prayer should be that we and all other believers would know all these things
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EPHESIANS 2:1-10 – BIOGRAPHY OF A CHRISTIAN
KNOWING AND GROWING #7
In Ephesians 2:1-10 we are given the biography of every Christian. Although some details vary, these basic things are true of every believer.
PERVERSION OF SIN - Vss. 1-3
· It has been said that you have to get people lost before you can get them saved. How and why is that true?
· According to Vs. 1 we were all “dead in trespasses and sins”. What does it mean to be dead here? Why is that such a serious matter?
· To trespass is to deviate from the path. What is a typical “trespass” that a person commits?
· To sin is to miss the mark. How do deviating from the path and missing the mark cause Spiritual death?
· Vs. 2 – We all walked according to “the course of this world”. It is like being in a canoe on a stream. If you don’t paddle, you will go the direction that the stream is going. It is like exiting a full football stadium, you will generally go with the flow of the traffic.
· The “prince of the power of the air” is Satan. What was his primary sin against God? Isaiah 14:12-14, Ezekiel 28:12-17
· Every person who is unsaved is “a child of disobedience”, walking in the footsteps of Satan.
· Vs. 3 - What is the “manner of life” or conversation of every unbeliever?
· A dog does what he does because he is a dog. It is his nature. A cat does what he does because it is his nature. A man does what he does because he is a man, it is his nature.
PROVISION OF LIFE - Vss. 4-5
· What do the first two words of Vs. 4 say about our Christian Biography?
· How does Vs. 4 make you stand in awe?
· Vs. 5 - To quicken is to be made alive. In what way are we quickened with Christ?
· What amazing thing from God saves us?
· What does it mean to be saved?
POSITION IN GLORY - Vss. 6-7
· According to Vs. 6, can you be in two places at once? How?
· How should being seated in heavenly places affect my behavior? My prayer life?
· Vs. 7 – I am seated in heavenly places now. What will happen when I am literally in Christ’s presence?
PLACEMENT BY FAITH - Vss. 8-9
· What do well-meaning people not understand about grace?
· Why are works excluded from salvation?
· What is a gift? Why did God choose to make salvation a gift?
PROOF OF CONVERSION - Vs. 10
· The person who is truly saved will experience a change in life that will produce good works.
· As his workmanship, we are the masterpiece of a quality craftsman. We get the word “poem” from the word for workmanship. We are His poem.
· What is the purpose of God’s Masterpiece?
· What are some of the things that we might be doing if we are truly God’s Masterpiece?
· What does it mean to walk in something?
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EPHESIANS 3:1-12 – MISSIONARY AT WORK
PAUL'S PRIVILEGE - Vss. 1-6 - To understand the mystery that the Gentiles are to be fellow heirs in Christ
PAUL'S POSITION - Vss. 7-8 - A preacher of the Gospel to the Gentiles
PAUL'S PURPOSE - Vss. 9-11 - That people understand God's mystery
PAUL'S POWER - Vs. 12 - By faith
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EPHESIANS 4:4-6 – NARROWING IT DOWN
We as Christians talk about priorities.
We know that God is important.
We know that we have an obligation to the Lord Jesus because he died for us.
We know that we will answer to God someday.
And yet we conduct our lives as though our obligation to God were the least important thing in our lives.
We have a broad spectrum of responsibilities and interests, but it is time for us to get our priorities straight. It is time to narrow down what we do, eliminating other things, so that we do what is important to God.
Ephesians 4:4-6 - There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; [5] One Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
These verses were actually written to encourage unity within the church. They speak to me about what is important to God, and have challenged me to try narrowing down the details of my life so that I will concentrate on what’s important.
The Trinity is very evident in these verses. You will see the emphasis on God the Holy Spirit in verse 4, God the Son in verse 5, and God the Father in verse 6.
THERE IS ONE BODY
That body is the body of Christ. The body of Christ is the church. 1 Corinthians 12:13, Romans 12:5
The church, which is the body of Christ, is made up of every person who has truly placed their faith and trust in Christ as Savior.
You and I are members of one body.
We all have different functions, but we must work together, if the will of our Lord and Master, the Lord Jesus, is to be accomplished.
We have all been given at least one Spiritual gift to use in service to the Lord and to the rest of the body, the church. If we fail to do what we can do for the body of Christ, the church is handicapped, just as you are handicapped if one of your body members, like the fingers, fail to do what they are supposed to.
We get so wrapped up in our little worlds, that we become independent of the church, and the other members of the body. If your eye or another part of the body did that, you’d be in big trouble!1 Corinthians 12:14-21
Being a member of the body of Christ, the church, is more than showing up when I feel like it or putting money in the plate. For you to do your part within the body, you must accept the fact that your contribution is important and that you are obligated to use whatever gifts and talents God has given you to help and encourage the other members of the body of Christ.
THERE IS ONE SPIRIT
The one Spirit is the Holy Spirit.
The word “Spirit” is capitalized.
That shows that it refers to one “Holy Spirit”, God the Holy Spirit.
In a sense of the word, we have many “spirits” in our lives.
We might have a joyful spirit, or an angry spirit.
We might have a jealous spirit, or a spirit of cooperation.
We might have forgiving spirit, or a bitter spirit.
We might have a spirit of hunting, or a spirit of sports, or a spirit of pleasure, or a spirit of independence, or a spirit of pride.
All too often, people try to set apart one of these or one of many other “spirits” as “holy” or most important in the life.
The Holy Spirit indwells the Christian. Romans 8:9
If there is only one truly “holy” Spirit, it makes sense that this Spirit should be the only Spirit controlling my life. When He controls, all my attitudes and my priorities are going to be right. Ephesians 5:9
THERE IS ONE HOPE
Ephesians. 4:4 - There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
God, through the work of His Holy Spirit, called you to salvation. If you accepted the call, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have one hope.
What is that one hope?
It is the hope of Heaven. It is the hope of eternal life.
This hope is not a “maybe”, but a certainty. Revelation 21:1-4, 1 John 3:2-3
We will be like Jesus when we are in His presence. Because we have this one hope which extends into all eternity, we are to live our lives in pure way.
I am to live my life as a citizen of Heaven, because that’s exactly what I am!
THERE IS ONE LORD
We all give lip service to the fact that Jesus is Lord.
And we realize that Jesus, as God, rules in Heaven.
And we realize that Jesus will rule when He returns to earth.
We call Jesus, “Lord”, but here are some sobering verses.
John 13:13 - Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
Matthew 7:21 - Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Our biggest problem is saying that Jesus is Lord and not acting like it.
Our trouble is that we try to have more than one Lord in our lives. That’s like having more than one boss telling us what to do. Matthew 6:24
THERE IS ONE FAITH
There is “one faith” in the sense that there is one body of truth in which to believe. There are the basics of salvation that must be the tenets of our faith.
There is also “one faith” in the sense of one person in which to place my faith.
There is only “one faith” that saves, which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:36
The concept of one faith is important because there are many teaching that there are many ways to Heaven. A typical comment is that “We all serve the same God.” Or “We’re all going to the same place.” This is not true! John 14:6, 1 John 5:12
WE DO NOT ALL SERVE THE SAME GOD!
WE ARE NOT ALL GOING TO THE SAME PLACE! John 14:6, 1 John 5:12
THERE IS ONE BAPTISM
The Holy Spirit has already been mentioned, so the baptism here is not the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Baptism speaks of identification.
When a Christian is baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, he or she is identifying himself or herself with the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is only one baptism that is necessary.
That is the baptism that comes after belief in Jesus as Savior.
It is the one baptism that follows the one faith.
The pattern is simple enough. Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 10:48
First a person is to believe on Christ, becoming a disciple.
Next they are to identify with Christ by being baptized.
Then they are to grow in Christ through learning.
THERE IS ONE FATHER
Ephesians 4:6 - One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Why should I make sure that I have no idols in my life? Because there is only one God!
Why should I worship only one God? Because there is only one God!
Why should I bring all my problems to my Heavenly Father? Because He is above all!
Notice the completeness of our God. He is above. He is through. And He is in us!
Such a wonderful, all powerful Heavenly Father is to be worshipped and adored.
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EPHESIANS 6:5-9 – ON THE JOB
Most people to whom you will minister are involved in some sort of employment. Ephesians 6:5-9 talks to masters and slaves. The truths of this passage may easily be applied to employers and employees or bosses and employees.
THE SERVANT (EMPLOYEE) Vss. 5-8
The Honesty Of The Servant Vs. 5-6a
"...obedient..."
",,,fear and trembling..."
"...in singleness of you heart, as unto Christ..."
"...not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers...."
The Heart Of The Servant Vss. 6b-7
"...servants of Christ..."
""...doing the will of God from the heart;"
""With good will doing service as to the Lord, and not to men;"
The Honor Of The Servant Vs. 8
"Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall
he receive of the Lord..."
THE MASTER (EMPLOYER OR BOSS) Vs. 9
Reciprocate - "...do the same things unto them..."
Restrict - "...forbearing threatening:"
Remember - "...knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him."
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