Ephesians: Discipleship & Membership Done God's Way

Ephesians As a Model for 21^st Century Ministry Strategies in Leadership 

If you desire a road-map for building the church the New Testament way, then look no further than the Epistle of Ephesians. Within the pages of this epistle, the Apostle Paul presents a strategy of a unified body. Paul encourages individual members to join together to become a unified body in Christ. Common themes include the Spiritual Privileges of the Church (1:3-3:21), the Blessings Believers Share (2:1-10), Unity in Christ (2:11-22), The Spiritual Responsibilities of the Church (4:1-6:20), Achieving Maturity (4:1-16), The Domestic Code (5:22-6:9) and Spiritual Warfare (6:10-20). This epistle was written as a circular letter, intended for instructions to not only Ephesus, but to the neighboring churches. I have pulled out a few nuggets by chapter of benefit to membership and discipleship:

Chapter 1 

• A believer should display “faithfulness in Christ”. A sinner is made holy by his faith in Christ. This message should be preached (1:1) 

• The God of heaven has granted His people unlimited “Grace” (1:2) 
• Every believer is “blessed” with Spiritual Blessings (eternal) [1:3]: –  
• We are chosen for salvation & adopted as His children 
• We are forgiven and given the power to do His will 
• We are given the hope of eternal life 

• We are given the gifts of the Spirit 
• God is the one who chooses who will be saved. But we still need to share the Good News so people can respond to God’s call for those whom He chose. No one can earn it, it is a gift of Grace. God shows favor and adopts us as His children to accomplish His plan (1:4 - 5) 
• God’s master plan is to offer salvation to the entire world – His redemption strategy outlined (1: 7-13) 
• The Gospel must be taught – People heard, trusted, believed, future ‘sealed” with the gift of the Holy Spirit =Salvation (1: 13-14) 
• Leaders should not cease to pray for the members of the church. Church members should also pray without ceasing for each other (1: 15-23) 

• Believers should pray for the spirit of wisdom and revelation, found in Christ (1:17) 
• Believers should be taught that the knowledge of Christ changes their outlook on life (1:17-19) 
• The unified church can be bold, knowing that everything is subject to God’s control (1: 22) 
• The church should model a “fullness” that comes from Christ “filling all” with spiritual gifts – Christ as the head, the church the body, all unified, accomplishing the Father’s will. We can change the world as a connected unit (1:23) 

Chapter 2 

• The Gospel is the channel through which sinners are made alive through Christ (2:1); saved by grace through faith (2: 8); brought into spiritual union in Christ (2:13) 
• The Gospel is to be preached to those “a far off” – In our case, those who know nothing about God, telling them that their good works cannot save them, but they can come to God through Christ. Making them citizens with the saints, members of God’s household (2: 17-19) 
• The church is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets (spiritual heritage given to us by them) [2: 20] 
• Redeemed saints are bestowed the same love God gives His Son (2:19 - 22); they become a “new stone” in God’s temple being built up; becoming a permanent home for Christ, a place “He takes up residence” (Mac, 1806)  

Chapter 3 

• The Apostle Paul considered himself a “prisoner of Christ” – his mantra for his mission to the unsaved. He was an actual prisoner of the state, but viewed his spiritual position in Christ that way. As believers, we should do the same – firmly attach ourselves to the cause, knowing God has complete control of “every aspect of our lives” (3:1) 
• God revealed the mystery of His plan – The Jews and Gentiles are now one body in Christ (In the Old Testament there was an awareness that Gentiles would be saved [Isa. 49:6], but when Christ came they became equal/one body when He broke down the dividing wall that existed. Gentiles are now heirs, fellow members and partakers of the promise in Christ via the Gospel. Paul makes this clear in Gal.3:28   (3:5-6) 
• God equips His servants with gifts to minister. He gives them Grace (ability, courage, power) [3:7] 
• The Apostle Paul considered himself “the very least of the saints”, yet God equipped him to be a most effective minister. God can use anyone to share his rich message (3:8) 

• “No one can make themselves a minister”. God calls empowers and equips (3:7) 
• Paul endured persecution for the sake of the Gospel. His “tribulations” was for their glory/benefit. Christ’s ministers should do the same. We “take up our cross”, endure and follow Christ (3:13) 
• Place a focus on those who may isolate themselves from the body. This is why we should pray for the weak and help them (3:14-15) 
• Believers should seek the “fullness of God” (3:17-19) 
• God will empower the church to do great things, more than we can imagine if we are unified (3:20) 

Chapter 4 

• Each believer should walk worthy of his/her calling. The strategy of living out our lives in our daily world involves displaying spiritual fruit – humility, peace, gentleness, patience, understanding. God has already gifted the believer to “walk this way” (4:1-2) 
• Believers should “bear up each other in love” – “a continuous, unconditional love” (Mac.) (4:2) 
• Walking worthy preserves unity (4:3) 
• Unity Strategy: Focus on what keeps us together * Our Hope – One Body and Spirit, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God, One Father (4: 4-6) 

• The Holy Spirit is the one that unites (4:3) 
• God equips each believer with a measure of Grace (4:7) 
• We have power through Christ’s his death (conquering the grave/death) and his resurrection (4:9-10) 
• With His power and authority, Christ gave spiritual gifts for the building up of His church (4:11-13) 
• Christ strategy for winning the lost is through “equipped saints” (4:12-13) 

• Saints who are “built up” will not be easily moved by false doctrine or error (4:14) 
• Saints “speak the truth in love” so that the body can be fitted together (4:15-16) 
• Through the power of God, the believer does not walk like the un-believer. There must be notable change. They do not walk in darkness (4:17-19) 
• The Believer is built up in truth, lays aside the old self, is renewed in the spirit of the mind, puts on the new self, and walks in righteousness and truth (4:20-24) 
• True believers speak the truth, may express righteous anger, and makes every effort through a Christ empowered reliance not to grieve the Holy Spirit with their manner of walk (4:25-30) 

• Ways to grieve the Holy Spirit – 
• Lying 
• Anger that leads to sin 
• Giving place to the devil 
• Stealing (People should work and produce, give to those in need (not take from them) 

• Foul and rotten language – corrupt communication 
• Evil speaking of others 

God is grieved when the believer continues to live in the way of the old man and refuse to put on the new self (4:25-32) 

• Believers practice kindness and forgiveness as Christ modeled (4:32) 

Chapter 5 

• Believers imitate Christ (5:1) 
• Believers walk in love (5:2) 
• Acts Believers do not practice as they imitate Christ (5: 3-7): 
• Immorality and impurity 
• Filthiness, silly talk, coarse jesting 

• Idolatry and covetousness 
• Paul made it a matter of practice to teach the church how to be imitators of Christ (5:5) 
• The church should not condone bad behavior – it can endanger, pollute and destroy unity. “People will more likely be influenced by evil than good” [Nasb] (5:5-7) 
• Believers live above reproach because they are children of light (5:8) 
• Believers should be taught “learning of what pleases God” (5:10) 

• Believers should avoid and expose “the deeds of darkness”. We stand up for what is right and true (5:11) 
• The Church should pursue its mission with a sense of urgency as “evil is pervasive. It should maintain high standards, act wisely and do good” (Nasb) (5:15-16) 
• Believers edify each other as they under the influence of the Spirit, build each other up in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing and rejoicing in Christ (5:19) 
• Believers give thanks to God, always. 
• The healthy church practices the equality of all believers regardless of gender, age or status through submission (5:22-25) 

• Christ death sanctifies and cleanse the church. The church is cleansed when they participate in baptism (5:26-27) 
• The “Oneness in union” as a result of marriage means each spouse “cares for the other as they would for themselves; they learn and anticipate each other’s needs, help the other be all they can be, while neither losing their personality” (Nasb) [5:31-33] 

Chapter 6 

• Children are to obey parents and honor them for life (6:1-2) 
• Parents and children should submit to each other (6:1-4) 

• Christians honor their elders – “respect their wisdom, defer to their authority, address their needs of comfort and happiness” (6:3) 
• Discipline must be administered as necessary in relationships (6:4) 
• Christians should display and practice integrity on the job (6:6-8) 
• The Christian will fight a spiritual battle – they combat this with the use of the Armor of God (6:10-18) 
• We should lift up each other in prayer – constantly (praying in the Spirit and being watchful) [6:18] 

• One way to take the message out is through “letters” as Paul did. In our world, maybe a blog or website. We should declare our message with boldness (6:20) 

References: 

NASB. Life Application Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Tyndale House Publishers (2000) 

Macarthur, J. The Macarthur Study Bible. The United States of America: Thomas Nelson (1997)

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Written by Pastor Kevin A. Hall