Unity: Ephesians 4:4-6

I pray that after last week you are balancing obedience and grace. That you have seen God's standard for our lives, yet realized He is the only one who can accomplish that standard in our lives. This week we will turn toward unity. Our main focus will be verses 4-6.

Read Ephesians 4:1-6, observing what you can about unity (unity, one, same, etc). In verse 3 we saw that we are to be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit. If we must know what truths unite us. Look at Ephesians 4:4-6 and list in your journal what truths unite us. 

Who is the body that Paul is referring to in verse 4? What have we seen so far about the body in Ephesians? Who is the body in the context of this book (Ephesians 2:11-22)? Write down your observations in your journal.

Who is the one Spirit? Again, what have we learned about the Spirit so far in Ephesians? (Go back and look at places you marked Spirit and make a small list.) Let's look at some cross references on the Holy Spirit. Look up these cross references and write down what you learn:

• Ephesians 4:30 & 5:18
• John 14:15-17,25-26
• John 16:12-15
• 1 Corinthians 12:13
• Romans 8:9,14-17

From what you have observed, what is the connection between the Spirit and the body? 

What is one hope of your calling? We studied this phrase in chapter one. Go back and look at your notes from our study on Paul's Prayer. If you weren't with us, here are some cross references for you:

• Romans 8:28-30
• Philippians 1:3-6, 19-21
• 2 Timothy 1:9-12
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Now let's look at one Lord, one faith, one baptism in verse 5. Look up the definition of Lord in Blue Letter Bible, write down what you learn in your journal. Now look up these verses and write down what you learn about one Lord:

• Romans 10:8-13
• Philippians 2:9-11

What about one faith? Look up the definition for the word faith in Blue Letter Bible, write down what you learn in your journal. From what you see and what we studied in Ephesians, what is the one faith that is held by those in one body, whether Jew or Gentile (See Eph 2:8-10 if you feel confused)?

You have already looked up 1 Cor 12:13, look at it again and write down what you learn about one baptism.

Our final one, is one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. Look up these verses about God and write down what you learn about Him:

• Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:39
• Isaiah 43:10; 45:5-6
• Mark 12:29
• John 5:44
• Romans 3:29-30
• John 17:20-23 (Look for a connection here on everything we have studied. Note who is speaking, to whom, about whom, why, and what is being spoken about)

Is your brain spinning? We have looked at a lot of truth this week. I pray that you will be diligent in your time this week and work through all the homework. Know I do the homework right along with you. I don't ask you to do anything I am not willing to do myself. I am praying for you!

Walking Worthy- Ephesians 4:1-3

I have been waiting for this week and I am so excited it is finally here. When I studied this book for the first time, this lesson completely blew my mind. It changed the way I viewed my entire life. I pray the same thing happens for you this week!

Begin this week by praying (as we do every week). Ask the Lord to open up your mind and teach you. Ask Him to give you a head understanding and a heart understanding (understanding that changes the way you live).

Now, get out your Bible or your Observation Worksheets (just the scripture printed out on paper). Let's read all of Ephesians 4.  Get out your colored pens or pencils and do some marking. Mark these words in verses 1-16: grace, body, faith, knowledge, according to, love, in Christ, time, walk, one, truth, unity.

Do you remember how to do paragraph divisions? When we start a new chapter we want to look at the chunks of Scripture. Look at each paragraph and look for a phrase or word that describes what is happening in that paragraph (in the text, DO NOT interpret scripture by summarizing). Here are your paragraph divisions: 1-6, 7-16, 17-24, 25-32.

Looking at 4:1, you notice the word therefore. We want to stop and see what it is therefore. Therefore is a term of conclusion, that means it is summing something up and building on it. What (from previous chapters) is this verse summing up? What (in this verse and others following) is it building upon?

Now we dive deep. Look up these words using Blue Letter Bible and write down everything you learn about them in your journal: walk, worthy, humility, gentleness, patience, showing tolerance.

It's cross reference time. Write down what you learn from each cross reference about the word or phrase.

Walking Worthy:
Roman 6:4
Colossians 1:10
1  Thessalonians 2:12
1 John 2:6

Humility/ Gentleness/ Patience/ Showing Tolerance:
Philippians 2:3
1 Peter 3:8
Galatians 5:22-23
Colossians 3:12-14

Now ask yourself (and write your answers in your journal): What is Paul urging the Ephesians to do in 4:1-3? Why does it matter? According to these verses what is your responsibility as a chid of God to maintain unity in the body of Christ? Come to Bible Study with your answers and be ready to discuss what you learned this week!