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 3:20-21
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
The way Paul wrote Ephesians divides well into two theological sections: orthodoxy (belief) and orthopraxy (practice). Another way of looking at these two sections is that orthodoxy focuses on ‘correct doctrine,’ while orthopraxy focuses on ‘correct behavior’ based on correct doctrine (teaching). The first half of Ephesians – Chapters 1 – 3 – focuses strongly on orthodoxy (doctrine). The second half of Ephesians – Chapters 4 – 6 – focuses strongly on orthopraxy (behavior).
That’s one of the reasons that Ephesians 3:20-21 are so important. Paul has delivered one of the most important and powerful doctrinal lessons in all of Scripture from Ephesians 1:3 – 3:19. Our redemption is in Christ, through His shed blood on the Cross. The Lord is exceedingly great toward those who believe in Him, “according to the working of His mighty power, which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” God placed “all things” under the feet of Jesus and gave Him “to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
Everyone born of flesh was and is “dead in trespasses and sins.” Everyone begins their lives “according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind” Everyone is “by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” As hopeless as that may sound, Paul reminded his readers that God is “rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.” Even when we were dead in trespasses, God made us “alive together with Christ.” He “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace In His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” We are “saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” We are God’s workmanship, “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
God also brought Jew and Gentile “near by the blood of Christ.” Jesus is “our peace” and made “both one.” He broke down the middle wall of separation. He abolished the enmity between Jew and Gentile “in His flesh,” that is, “the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace.” Jesus reconciled both Jew and Gentile to God “in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.” It is through Jesus Christ that Jew and Gentile “both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” That means we are no longer strangers and foreigners, “but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
Paul wrote that it was for that reason that God revealed a ‘mystery’ to Paul, “which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel.” Even though Paul saw himself as “less than the least of all saints,” he knew that God had called him to “preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
It was for that reason, Paul wrote, that he bowed his knees to God and asked Him to grant believers, “according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
That is ‘orthodoxy.’ That is ‘doctrine.’ That is what Christians should believe. What comes next is how those doctrines will impact the behavior and practice of Christians, but Paul had one more thing he wanted to write before he addressed ‘orthopraxy.’ His greatest desire was to glorify God in all he did, said, and wrote. We see that wonderful desire in the last two verses of Ephesians chapter 3.
Ephesians 3:20-21 in Greek
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us … τω δε δυναμενω υπερ παντα ποιησαι υπερ εκ περισσου ων αιτουμεθα η νοουμεν κατα την δυναμιν την ενεργουμενην εν ημιν
Now to Him who is able – τω δε δυναμενω – everything Paul has written so far in his Ephesian epistle is to the ‘One’ who is ‘able.’ Paul began the letter with these words – “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.” Everything Paul wrote was ‘by the will of God.’ Everything Paul wrote was for God, “who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” God is ‘able’. The Greek word is δυναμενω and means, ‘have the power, show ability.’ Paul ended the first section of his letter by emphasizing that everything he said God would do is based on God’s ability (power) to do it. That’s a reminder of what Paul wrote in Chapter 1 – “and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.”
to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think – υπερ παντα ποιησαι υπερ εκ περισσου ων αιτουμεθα η νοουμεν – God has the ‘ability’ (power) to do ‘exceeding abundantly above.’ The Greek word for ‘exceeding abundantly above’ is ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ and is made up of the words υπερ, εκ, and περισσου. The idea is of something being ‘superabundantly above or beyond.’ God has that super-ability as the Almighty. He can do things that are far beyond anything we can imagine. The Greek word for ‘ask’ is αιτουμεθα. It means ‘request, petition, ask.’ The word for ‘think’ is νοουμεν and means ‘perceive, understand, conceive, consider, apprehend.’ God’s ability far surpasses our ability to conceive or consider.
according to the power that works in us – κατα την δυναμιν την ενεργουμενην εν ημιν – Paul reminds his readers that there is a supernatural ‘power’ who lives in us. That power is the Holy Spirit. As the apostle wrote earlier, “you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” God lives in us and will do great things that are beyond our ability to consider ‘according to’ (κατα την) the ‘power’ (δυναμιν) that ‘works’ (ενεργουμενην) in us. The word δυναμιν comes from the same root word for the power or ability that God ‘is.’ God lives in us, so we have His ‘power’ living in us.
to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen … αυτω η δοξα εν τη εκκλησια εν χριστω ιησου εις πασας τας γενεας του αιωνος των αιωνων αμην
to Him be glory in the church – αυτω η δοξα εν τη εκκλησια – this is quite a statement given the history of God’s ‘glory’ appearing in the Hebrew tabernacle and temple thousands of years ago and the glory of Christ on earth (think the ‘Transfiguration’). Interestingly, God’s glory left the Temple prior to the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 10-11). Jesus told early churches that He would remove their ‘lampstand’ and even ‘fight’ against them for their disobedience (Revelation 2-3). The ‘glory’ of God is not something Christians should take lightly. The word ‘glory’ is δοξα and means ‘honor, renown, praise, highly valued.’ God’s ‘glory’ is no longer found in the Temple in Jerusalem. Once it left Solomon’s Temple before its destruction, God’s glory did not return to the 2nd Temple (unless you view Jesus Christ entering the 2nd Temple as representing God’s glory), plus the 2nd Temple was destroyed by the Romans 40 years after Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead. Where is God’s ‘glory’ on earth now? ‘in the church..’ That is the beauty of what God has done for Christians by giving them the Holy Spirit to live in them and energize them for ministry. God’s glory lives in His people – Jew and Gentile – created into “one new man” through Christ.
The word ‘church’ is εκκλησια and means ‘assembly.’ The ‘assembly’ Paul referred to is made up of all ‘real’ believers, not people who belong to a particular group of people who attend meetings in a building or belong to a particular denomination. There is no ‘glory’ of God living in unbelievers, and many (possibly the majority) of people who think they are Christians are really unsaved. The glory of God does not live in them. That is sad news for members of liberal and progressive churches where all they hear is a ‘false gospel.’
by Christ Jesus to all generations – εν χριστω ιησου εις πασας τας γενεας – This amazing spiritual feat came into existence ‘by Christ Jesus’ and it is ‘to all generations.’ The word ‘generations’ is γενεας and means ‘race, family, generation.’ Jesus Christ, who is the ‘glory of God,’ lives in His people through the Holy Spirit –
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:13-14
forever and ever. Amen – του αιωνος των αιωνων αμην – the idea of ‘to all generations’ is that it will remain forever. The phrase του αιωνος των αιωνων expresses the idea of both the length and quality of a type of existence. The ‘glory’ of God that comes ‘by Christ Jesus’ is promised to all people who become members of the Lord’s family through faith. That glory will continue ‘forever and ever’ –
But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. Revelation 21:22-23
Paul ends this great statement of ‘orthodoxy’ with an Amen – αμην – which comes from the Hebrew idea of ‘let it be true.’ Paul wrote great truths for God’s people in the first three chapters of Ephesians. They are doctrinal (teachings) of the Holy Spirit, Who inspired Paul’s writing of this epistle. We can trust what Paul wrote and should believe his writings forever and ever. Amen.
Observe – Write what you see
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Question – Ask and answer questions based on observations
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Interpret – What is the Holy Spirit’s intent in these verses?
:
:
:
:
:
:
Apply – How can you apply these spiritual truths to your life?
:
:
:
:
:
Free eBooks
We invite you to download, read, and share these free eBooks about Teaching Ephesians:
Next Time
We will look at Ephesians 4:1-3 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.
Copyright © 1990-2026
