Friday, August 15, 2014

Ephesians 4:30-32 Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit

This is the week we will finish Ephesians chapter 4. We have slowly been mining the truth in this chapter. I pray that God has revealed so much about His character and what true heart transformation looks like. 

Start by reading Ephesians 4:17-32. Remember the context is the old self and new self. Get out your journal and write down what you learn in verses 30-32 about the old self and the new self.

What does verse 30 tell us? What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit? Look up the definition of the word grieve using Blue Letter Bible. Write down what you learn in your journal. How is the Holy Spirit defined or explained in verse 30? What has the Spirit done? What role does He have according to this verse? Write down what you see in the text. 

What can we learn about the Holy Spirit from other places in Scripture. Look up the following verses and write down in your journal what you learn about the Holy Spirit:

  • John 14:26
  • John 16:13
  • Rom 5:5 
  • Rom 7:6 
  • Rom 8:11-16
  • 1 Cor 3:16
  • 2 Cor 1:22 
  • Gal 5:22 
  • Eph 1:13 
  • 1 Thess 5:19 
  • 2 Thess 2:13
  • Titus 3:5 
  • 1 John 3:24
  • 1 John 4:13

Now let's focus on verses 31 and 32. What is listed in verse 31? What is the action in verse 31? Paul tells the Ephesians to put away bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, and malice. Using Blue Letter Bible look up the definitions for: put away, bitterness, wrath, anger clamor, slander, and malice.

What do we see in verse 32? There is another list in verse 32 that describes the new self. Using Blue Letter Bible look up the definitions for each attribute listed. 

Now, how does the Holy Spirit connect to the old self and new self? Write down your thoughts in your journal.

Have you ever grieved the Holy Spirit? Spend some time talking to the Lord about it, even write down your thoughts or a prayer in your journal. 

Friday, August 8, 2014

Ephesians 4:29 - No Unwholesome Word...

This week we will focus on Ephesians 4:29. Below you will find some prep work that will help you prepare for our time together on Thursday. I encourage you to take some time and complete all the work. You will get more out of our time together if you have completed the prep work. 

Read Ephesians 4:17-32. Ask yourself, what is the context of Ephesians 4:29? Write down in your journal the contrast you see in Ephesians 4:29 (look for the word "but" to help you find the contrast). What are we not to do? What are we to do? Write down in your journal what the text says.

We want to find out what Ephesians 4:29 means. One way we can find out what the text means is to do word studies. Word studies are when we look at what the words mean in the Greek. We use Blue Letter Bible to help us do our word studies. Go to Blue Letter Bible and look up these words/phrases: unwholesome, good, edification, according to the need of the moment, give, grace. Write down everything you learn about these words in your journal. 

Another way we can find out what the text means is to do cross references. Cross references help us to see what the rest of the Bible haste say about the text we are looking at. Look up the cross references below and write down what you learn:

Words:
James 3:12
Proverbs 18:21
Proverbs 31:26
Matthew 12:33-36
Mathew 15:18


Unwholesome:
Matthew 7:17-18
Matthew 12:33
Luke 6:43


Edification:
Romans 14:19
1 Corinthians 10:23


Grace:
Luke 4:22
Romans 5:20-21
Ephesians 2:8-10
Colossians 3:16
Colossians 4:6



Now, go back and read Ephesians 4:29 again. What is this verse calling us to? What is the Lord specifically saying to you in this verse? Write it down in your journal. 

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Ephesians 4:28 - Do not Steal - Labor and Give

Since it's been a couple of weeks since we met, I want you to begin by reading Ephesians 4:17-32. Ask yourself, what is the context of verse 28? What is the main idea that Paul is talking about here? 

Remember, Paul is focusing on what it looks like to wear the new self, the righteous robe of Jesus. So what do we learn from verse 28? What doesn't it look like? What does it look like? Write down your observations in your journal. 

Now let's dig a little deeper. Using Blue Letter Bible look up the words: steal, labor, and share. Write down everything you learn in your journal. 

Now let's look at some cross references. Remember we look at cross references because we want to see what the entire counsel of God's Word has to say about what we are studying. Look up the verses below and write down what the verses say about stealing, laboring, or giving (Not what you think it means, but what it says)

Steal:
Exodus 20:15
Jeremiah 7:3-11
Romans 13:7-10

Labor:
Romans 16:6,12
1 Corinthians 15:10
1 Timothy 4:10
Exodus 20:9-11
John 17:4 
Colossians 3:23
1 Thessalonians 4:9-11
2 Thessalonians 3:10-12

Give:
Luke 3:11
Acts 4:32-35
Acts 20:35
Matt 6:1-4
James 2:15-20

Now, how does any of this apply to your life? Is God showing you something through His word this week? Write down in your journal what you have learned and how you can apply it to your own life (This is a personal question, think specifically).