WEEK TWO
Day Three
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Ephesians 3:6
LEADER GUIDE QUESTIONS
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Know: Read Ephesians 3:1-6
Note: Read slowly, carefully marking keywords- continue to mark the words from previous lessons—Mark keywords with a different color or with a symbol to differentiate them.
Continue to mark keywords: In Him, In Christ, grace, faith. Continue to add to your “In Him list.”
Revelation
Prisoner
Mystery
Boldness, confidence
Observation: Study notes below for context. Journal your thoughts or questions.
What: What are gifts you want to walk in? How are you stewarding what you have been given?
“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;” (Ephesians 3:1-5)
Ophelia wanted children. Her husband was a frugal man, but he was kind and worked hard to provide a home for her. Having purchased a large home in the country, He left Ophelia and their one servant, Robert, to fix it up to her liking.
Ophelia started in the furthest corner of the house. She gathered furniture and dressed each room with curtains and paintings. Every detail was thought of to create a space that would feel like home if one were to live there. Years passed, and when the house was complete, Ophelia was content with her work but still lacked the children to fill the rooms.
When war broke out, it looked as if all were lost as her husband went to war and left her alone. Ophelia stayed busy as a hospital aide and advocate for orphaned children for four years. After the war, her husband came home and discovered that the quiet home that he had left was bustling with activity. Every room was filled with children; the dinner table was bustling with noise and activity, every bed occupied by little bodies warm and happy.
On his first night home, he gathered Ophelia in his arms and told her what he had seen while at war. The carnage and devastation made him realize he had been very selfish. He had determined that when he came home, he would make sure every destitute child, no matter who their parents were, would be taken care of and loved. He came home to discover that his wife had already seen to that need.
Ophelia smiled and said her plan had begun before the war broke out. Her secret plan was set into motion the moment they purchased the house. At the time, she knew her husband would never have been ready for the dream she had; she did not realize then how it was possible, but the war broke out, and she suddenly found herself a mother.
Five years prior, they would have never dreamed of what their lives would look like today.
In the shadows, Robert smiled. He observed a hidden plan unfolding as he helped Ophelia prepare the rooms while the war raged and children began to trickle in. He got to participate in a grand plan by simply watching and supporting.
Paul, like Robert, had the privilege of unveiling a mystery hidden throughout the ages. The observer of the master plan was revealed to him so that he could deliver the happy news.
God’s plan, all along, was for all of the world to be His sons and daughters. He did not desire separate people groups, but to all know Him as Father. Throughout the ages past, the world could not have handled this mystery; each people group was divided and opposed to one another. The Israelites claimed God as only their own, an elite group of people with special privileges that only they could participate in. The Gentiles were considered godless and unworthy. The Jews were not even allowed to be in the same room with them.
Now, Paul declared, all are included in God’s plan. There were never supposed to be two factions. The Jews’ elite belief that they were better was shattered, and the Gentiles received the surprising news that they were not illegitimate- they were kids all along but were blinded to the knowledge of it.
In Christ, every people group was chosen to be sons and daughters, one with Him.
“To be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,” Ephesians 3:6
Without the cross, we would not have access to the presence of God. Where the Holy Spirit came upon the prophets in the Old Covenant, The Spirit of God dwells within us. The goal of your Christian walk is not to learn to be a better person; it is to experience the love and presence of God. To walk in love is to know His love. You can’t give what you have never experienced.
Just like the orphans in Ophelia’s house, the Gentiles (which include you) have become sons and daughters not by our choosing but by His mercy and kindness. It was nothing we did; it was His love that chose us; as sons, we now all share in the inheritance of the Kingdom. Jesus made us all joint heirs of the Kingdom. As partakers, we have access to the things of the Spirit. We can not only experience our own unique relationship with God, but we can also share what we have experienced. This is what Paul called the church: God’s glorious plan!
Take time today to take an inventory of your church. Rather than find what’s wrong with it, take time and discover what is right. Pray for your leaders and thank God for your fellow members. Where you have seen weakness, pray that they are strengthened. Pray that they know and experience the love of God and live from that place. Ask God how you can express the gifts He has given you so that others might encounter His love through you- even in the most minor way. Be faithful in the little so that you can handle greater responsibility later. Pray that your eyes be opened to the grace of God toward your church.
Sometimes, it looks like someone in the family gets to experience more privilege than the other. Sometimes, we may feel like we are either lacking or unworthy of receiving the same blessing. However, we have all been given access to the same inheritance in the kingdom.
Just like if a sibling were to be given a nice gift for their birthday, you can expect the same amount to be spent on you when it is your birthday. If a dad were to take a child out on a shopping spree, you would look for the receipt to find out how much he spent on them. Once you discover the amount, you would take that receipt and hold it up to the father, expecting that the same amount be spent on you.
In the Kingdom of God, one person is not more favored. The gifts of the Spirit are available to all. If there is a gift you desire to walk in, hold up the “receipt.” some gifts require stewardship, and others require that you recognize they are already yours. If you want to walk in healing, lay your hands on the sick, hold up the receipt, and go lay hands on people until you begin to see healing. If you want to walk in patience, recognize that you have already been given patience- steward, water, and exercise it.