We are sharing a special series about teaching the Book of Ephesians in small groups. If you haven’t read the Introduction to the series, we invite you to read it here.
Whether you are interested in studying Ephesians for the purpose of teaching it to small groups or for your own personal study, we believe you will find this series helpful.
We are currently in the middle of Chapter Three.
Basic Premises for Studying Scripture
- God is worth knowing
- His Word is worth learning and obeying
- Because God is worth knowing and His Word is worth learning, we will follow a proven method of knowing Him and learning His Word.
- We will use the I – M – D – I method of Bible study:
- Inductive – Methodical – Direct – Independent
- Inductive study – “logical, objective, impartial reasoning” … examining specifics of Scripture before reaching conclusions
- Methodical study – “a way or path of transit” (Greek – methodos) … focused on taking the proper path to gaining knowledge about God
- Direct study – “relying on Scripture as the primary tool for learning”
- Independent study – “original thinking combined with Spirit insight”
- Observe (See and Record)
- Question (Ask and Answer)
- Interpret (Determine the Holy Spirit’s Intent)
- Apply (How God’s Truth applies to your life)
Bible Study – The Group Process
We invite you to model the process of observing, asking questions for interpretation, interpreting for meaning, and applying for discipleship for your small group. This process may be new to some of the people in your group, so going through it with them for awhile may help them feel comfortable with how to do it.
One of the biggest mistakes people make in reading the Bible is trying to interpret the meaning of individual verses before observing everything in the verses. Studying in context also helps keep us from making incorrect interpretations. That means starting the observation process at the beginning of each Bible book.
The challenge in studying alone or with the group is trying to determine the meaning of passages in the Bible before assuring that we’ve observed everything in the passages and asked every possible question. We carefully answer all of the questions before reaching a conclusion to the meaning.
Read the Scripture and go through each step with your group. You may be able to cover observation, questions, interpretation and application in one meeting, but don’t rush the process. It takes time to see everything in a text, ask good questions, get good answers to those good questions, interpret the meaning of the text and apply the meaning to life. If it takes two or three meetings to do that for each text, that’s fine! The goal is to rightly divide God’s Word, not finish by a certain date.
Observe – Write what you see
Ephesians 3:12
… in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
Ephesians 3 is primarily about the “mystery” (mustérion) that the Apostle Paul preached to the Gentiles and Jews. He used the word six times in Ephesians and first mentioned it in chapter one:
… having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ. Ephesians 1:9-10
Paul used the word “dispensation” (oikonomia) three times in Ephesians, twice in chapter three.
- Dispensation of the fullness of the times
- Dispensation of the grace of God
- Dispensation (fellowship) of the mystery
The New King James Bible divides Ephesians into three sections concerning the mystery:
- The Mystery Revealed (3:1-7)
- Purpose of the Mystery (3:8-13)
- Appreciation of the Mystery (3:14-21)
Paul wrote in verses eight and nine that God gave him grace to preach the “unsearchable riches of Christ” to the Gentiles. Paul wrote that his purpose was “to make all see what is the fellowship [dispensation] of the mystery.” The purpose of the mystery was “that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” That refers back to what Paul wrote in chapter one and what he would write in chapter six. Paul wrote that this purpose was “according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
That brings us now to verse twelve.
Ephesians 3:12 in Greek
in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him … εν ω εχομεν την παρρησιαν και την προσαγωγην εν πεποιθησει δια της πιστεως αυτου
We find five keys to understanding this verse within its context:
- in whom we have
- boldness
- and access
- with confidence
- through faith in Him
“in whom we have” is a translation of the Greek words εν ω εχομεν. “we have” is in the present tense, which means it’s something Paul and the Ephesians had at the time he wrote his letter to them. We also have the same things now. Those things include “boldness and access with confidence.”
It’s important to notice that the words “in whom we have” refer back to “Christ Jesus our Lord.” Our “boldness and access” is in Jesus.
boldness is παρρησιαν and means “freedom of speech” and carries the idea of making a statement “with resolve” (rhēsis), with frankness and confidence in what one thinks and says.
access is προσαγωγην and means “a bringing to, a leading or bringing into the presence of.”
προσαγωγην denotes access, with which is associated the thought of freedom to enter through the assistance or favor of another. Vines’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, W.E. Vine, MacDonald Publishing
Notice that our boldness and access is “with confidence.” The Greek is εν πεποιθησει and means “persuaded, trust, reliance.”
How does this happen? “through faith in Him” – δια της πιστεως αυτου
Faith is central to salvation (e.g. Ephesians 2:8-9), Christian living (e.g. Ephesians 3:17), spiritual maturity (e.g. Ephesians 4:13), and spiritual warfare (e.g. Ephesians 6:16). In Ephesians 3:12 we see that having boldness and access with confidence comes through faith in Christ. Every aspect of God’s eternal purpose and plan centers around faith in Christ. God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Faith (belief) in Jesus is how everyone must begin –
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household. Acts 16:31
… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved Romans 10:9
knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. Galatians 2:16
Salvation by grace through faith in Christ gives us “access” to God the Father.
For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Ephesians 2:18
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:1-5
Adam and Eve had easy access to God in the Garden of Eden. They didn’t need “faith” because they walked with God by “sight.” However, they lost that easy access to God because of disobedience to God.
… therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man. Genesis 3:23-24
God established a new way for humans to gain access to a relationship with Him and that was “by faith.”
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ Romans 1:17
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Romans 3:28
For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7
… knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. Galatians 2:16
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
What humans lost in the Garden, they can regain through faith in Jesus Christ. Those who have faith in Christ have boldness and access “with confidence.”
Observe – Write what you see
… in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Ephesians 3:12
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Question – Ask and answer questions based on observations
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Interpret – What is the Holy Spirit’s intent in these verses?
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Apply – How can you apply these spiritual truths to your life?
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Next Time
We will look at Ephesians 3:13 in the next part of our series, Teaching Ephesians.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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