Life After Death
Visualize
Begin by reading Ephesians 2:1-10 several times to help you Visualize and understand the overall context of the verses.
Define
- Trespass
- Sins
- Workmanship
- Good works
Investigate (Ephesians 2:10)
- Who or what is God’s workmanship?
- Who are we created for?
- What are we created for?
- When did God plan our good works?
- How should we respond to His plan for us?
Embrace
In Ephesians chapter 1, Paul helps us to realize who we are in Christ and what blessings we already receive. Now, in Ephesians 2 Paul begins by reminding us just how far we have come and how faith in Christ has changed us.
- Without Christ, we were dead in our sins; separated from God through spiritual death.
- As the spiritually “walking dead” we lived our lives according to the expectations and standards of society – a world that is ruled by satan.
- Because of our sin, God’s wrath was against us…But, God (Eph 2:4) poured out His grace and mercy and provided a way for us to be reconciled and made alive through His only son – Jesus Christ.
- When we receive His grace it is through faith alone (Eph 2:8) and not of our own work.
- Our spirit is made alive and we now have life after death.
Purposeful Faith
Diving deeper, we find we were created for good works.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 ESV
But wait a minute – didn’t we just say it wasn’t by our own work that we obtained salvation?
Read James 2:17-26
- What do you think Scripture means when it says “faith without works is dead”?
- For what purpose does God give faith?
As we end this lesson, Paul concludes with the revelation of why we were created and what our response should be to God’s plan for us.
Jenifer challenges us to d.i.v.e deeper into Ephesians 2: 10 (NKJV). This is a great opportunity to practice verse mapping.
Share what you learned while investigating Ephesians 2: 10
This lesson was packed full with so much goodness it would be impossible to cover everything in one day. Because we are all at distinctive places in our lives, I’m sure we all received different WOW moments that impacted our heart.
For that reason, if we did not cover a verse or important point that spoke to you, please share what God taught you through this chapter in the comment section below. You never know when it’s the exact word someone else needs to hear.
- Share your WOW moment
Join the conversation below in the comment section
Stephanie -this week I’m not able to do the lessons as quickly! I”ll be a little late on a response….I think it might be hard for me to do all three in a week. But I’ll work toward it!
Gina, please don’t feel rushed or overwhelmed. Just go at a steady pace. It is A LOT of information in one week, especially Section Two – Lesson 1. Wow, we could study that for weeks on end.
These pages will remain available for a while after the study is over.
So my “wow” moment was actually 4 (not sure of the page number because I’m on Kindle) where she says: “…if I don’t get into God’s Word daily and feed on the richness there, I’ll feed on something else: TV, Facebook, Twitter, relationships, etc.” And it’s TRUE! When I’m looking for something to lift my spirits, I WILL find it – but will it be God’s Word or God’s presence?? For example, maybe one night I don’t have my prayer time. But I still need encouragement and peace. So maybe I flip through facebook or read some in a novel. I’m finding my peace and my encouragement, but it’s temporary. Like a bad fast food restaurant that’s greasy and maybe tastes good going down, but doesn’t nurture me and I’ll feel crappy later (maybe literally! ha ha). When instead, I could be having a gourmet meal that is delicious, nutritious, and will last.
Great point, Gina. I remember that impressed me when I read it, too. For me, I need to work on disciplining myself to make reaching for God/Bible a habit instead of social media.