Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 5 (weeks 21-24; May 26–June 16, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com.
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Lesson Aim: Approach God with freedom and confidence in the power of Christ rooted in love.
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By Mark Scott
The discipleship program “Rooted” originated in
Africa and is growing in popularity among American churches. The prison
epistles (our study through the bulk of the summer months) stress what it is
like to be rooted in Christ (Ephesians 3:17; Colossians 2:6, 7). It is
especially important that we are rooted in the plan of God to save the world
through Christ. That is the message of Ephesians.
Up to this point in the epistle, Paul has
stressed the blessings we have in Christ (1:3-14), the power we have by virtue
of his lordship (vv. 15-23), the salvation that is available to us (2:1-10),
and the unity we have in Jesus (vv. 11-22). In chapter three Paul marked out
his place and the church’s place in God’s plan (3:1-13). Paul ended the first
three chapters with a magnificent prayer (vv. 14-21).
Revealed Secret | Ephesians 3:8-13
Mystery is
a key word in Ephesians (and Colossians). The English word makes us think of “mysterious,”
but that is not what the word meant in the Bible. Mystery
meant something that you might not have known unless it had been revealed, thus
“revealed secret.” God revealed his mystery (plan; called eternal purpose in 3:11) to Paul and Paul
wrote about it to the Ephesians. Other New Testament apostles and prophets
helped Paul reveal the secrets of God (v. 5). In Colossians the mystery of God
is Jesus himself (1:26, 27), but in Ephesians the mystery of God is the unity in
Christ between Jews and Gentiles (3:6).
Paul was amazed to think that God would use him
to reveal this mystery. His humility caused him to say of himself, “I am less than the least.” Paul viewed his privilege as a
special grace. This two-fold stewardship of God’s
grace caused Paul to preach (evangelize) to the Gentiles and to make plain (bring to light) the
revealed plan of God, which had been hidden (untraceable)
in the past but had been revealed to the saints of Paul’s day.
The missionary nature of Paul’s ministry worked
itself out primarily in the church. God’s people were intended to make known
the manifold wisdom of God to the universe (rulers and authorities refer to entities beyond the physical
realm of this world—these exist in the heavenly realms). The
plan of God is uniquely found in Christ. Placing faith in him allowed the
believers to experience freedom and confidence.
And even though Paul was a prisoner (3:1), he did not want the Ephesians to be discouraged (lose heart) about his sufferings
(tribulations or pressures). The revealed secret of God was to unite all things
in Christ (1:9, 10).
Powerful Prayer | Ephesians 3:14-21
Paul often broke out in prayer and doxology in
his writings (Romans 1:25; 8:37-39; 11:34-36). This text is no exception. After
taking three chapters to lay out the plan of God to unite all things in Christ,
Paul went to his knees. This is the second prayer in Ephesians (see 1:15-23). It
is hard to improve on the loftiness of this prayer. The request in the prayer
is long and involved (verses 14-19 make up one sentence in the Greek New
Testament). The doxology to the prayer is one of the most beautiful in all of the
epistles.
Since Paul had been talking about the unity
between Jews and Gentiles, he began the prayer with that same united purpose. The
good Father in Heaven is one the who brings all people together. Essentially Paul’s
request is two-fold: 1) that God would strengthen (strengthen to the point
of being able to resist things) the Ephesians with power through his Spirit and
2) that God would help the Ephesians to grasp (lay hold of or
seize; maybe even “understand”) God’s love. The strength comes from the Holy
Spirit who indwells the believer, and the love comes in a thorough and immense
way from Christ himself. The dimensions (width, length, height, and depth) of
love are complete ways of speaking about being filled up with the fullness
of Christ. Power from on high and love from Jesus keep saints rooted in
God.
The prayer ends with a stunning doxology (see
Hebrews 13:20, 21; Jude 24, 25). Paul acknowledged that God was very much able
to answer the prayer because he can do immeasurably (above
and beyond) more than believers could ask or imagine. God can do this because
he has power, and that power indwells the believers. The prayer (and the first
half of Ephesians) ended with glory being ascribed to God now and for eternity.
(The theme of the 2010 NACC was “Beyond.”) If we stay rooted and established in
him, he will take us beyond.
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Lesson study ©2018, Christian Standard Media. Print and digital subscribers are permitted to make one print copy per week of lesson material for personal use. Lesson based on the scope and sequence, ©2018 by Christian Standard Media. Scripture quotations are from the New International Version, ©2011, unless otherwise indicated.
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. He also serves as minister with Park Plaza Christian Church in Joplin.
Thank you!