Ephesians: In the Heavenly Realms


Growing in Our Commitment

Ephesians 3:1-10

– The Bible Teacher's Commentary –

Paul J. Bucknell

Ephesians 3:1-10 Bible Study Questions is the last of 6 parts of The Bible Teacher's Commentary that provides study questions on Ephesians 3:1-10 and enable the avid student to detect the powerful message of these verses for himself. Paul lists four reasons we should place more confident in the Gospel message and as a result grow in our commitment to God and His high calling for our lives: The Gospel's Value (3:1), The Gospel's Reliability (3:2-5), The Gospel's Glory (3:6-7) and The Gospel's Calling (3:8-10).

These study questions are free to use, edit and duplicate for a Bible study.

Intro (Eph 3:1-10) | Gospel's Value ( Eph 3:1) | Reliability (Eph 3:2-5) | Glory (Eph 3:6-7) | Calling (Eph 3:8-10) | Questions (Eph 3:1-10)

Bible Study Questions

Ephesians 3:1-10

1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles--2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4 And by referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. 8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; 10 in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places (Ephesians 3:1-10, NASB and throughout).

1) What does the words ‘for this reason’ in Ephesians 3:1 refer to? Does this make this a cause (chapters 1-2) and effect (chapter 3) relationship? Explain.


2) Who or what does Paul primarily talk about in Ephesians 3:1-10? Does this seem to be typical of Paul’s writing? (Does he do this elsewhere? If so, why?)


3) Where was Paul when he wrote this letter to the Ephesians? How did he get to where he was? When did this happen? (See chart in message or Bible dictionary for assistance).


4) For what reason does Paul give for being a prisoner in Ephesians 3:1? What does Gentiles mean? Check a Bible dictionary if necessary.


5) What is Paul a steward of? Where did he receive this stewardship (Ephesians 3:2)?


6) Paul uses the word ‘revelation’ in Ephesians 3:3. What is a revelation? Explain from Ephesians 3:3 what the apostle says happened in this revelation that he received. (Extra: How many times has Paul used this word ‘mystery’ in this book? Why?)


7) What has not been revealed now but now has been revealed (Ephesians 3:4-6)?


8) Identify the three categories mentioned in verse 6 and explain what each of them mean.


9) How does Paul explain the extra power to carry out this ministry (Ephesians 3:7)? Why is this important?


10) In Ephesians 3:8 Paul continues to focus on himself. Notice ‘to me’ and ‘the very least of all saints.’ Read one of the three testimonies of Paul’s salvation in the Book of Acts (Acts 9, 22, 26) and explain in what sense is he one of the ‘very least of all saints.’ Do you think it is true?


11) What does Paul mean by ‘the unfathomable riches of Christ’ in verse 8? Refer to Ephesians chapters 1-2 as necessary. Does his oft used word ‘grace’ refer to the same thing? Explain.


12) How does Paul summarize his calling in verse 9? Write it out in your own words.
Look in Ephesians 3:10 to find out why God had called Paul to proclaim this message to the Gentiles? Explain verse 10. Who might the rulers and authorities be?


Application

13) The Christian faith is built on revelation, things revealed from God. Besides the Apostle Paul, explain a few incidents where either Jesus or the other apostles had revelations from heaven. Can people still have visions or revelations today? Why or why not? How should we test them (1 Th 5:19-21).

14) Discuss how reliable you think Jesus’ words and the scriptures are. Where might you have doubts or would appreciate further insight into the reliability of the Gospel?

15) Why is it that we often do not think about Christ as being so special? What is wrong with our understanding? Why do we tend to think the world is more exciting with its upcoming movies and technologies?

16) Verse 10 tells us that God uses the church to make known the Lord’s manifold wisdom to those in heaven. Evidently, they are watching us here on earth (Hebrews 12:1). Did you every think about being God’s showpiece? Are you conscious of this each day? Why or why not? How could you better apply this to your life so that you can more carefully show off His glory and wisdom.


Growing in Our Commitment

Ephesians 3:1-10


  1. Check out the articles on these verses below

    Intro (Ephesians 3:1-10) | Gospel's Value (Ephesians 3:1) | Reliability (Ephesians 3:2-5) | Glory (Ephesians 3:6-7) | Calling (Ephesians 3:8-10)


Most of BFF articles such as this one is nicely formatted for printing. This article also has a Powerpoint. Check out the great number of articles on the BFF Biblical Training Library all at one low cost.

 
Read more exciting and practical articles and Bible studies on the Book of Ephesians below!

Introduction to the Book of Ephesians

Paul's Second Missonary Journey to Ephesus - Map
Chronology Chart of Pauline Letters
Ephesians 1:1-3 Introduction in text.

Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1:1-3 Every Spiritual Blessing

Ephesians 1:1-3 Every Spiritual Blessing
Ephesians 1:1 Only by the Will of God
Ephesians 1:2 Only in Christ Jesus
Ephesians 1:3 Every Spiritual Blessing
Ephesians 1:1-3 Bible Study Questions

Ephesians 1:4-6 Bible Study Questions
Ephesians 1:1-14 Redemption & Sovereignty
Ephesians 1:15-17 Bible Study Questions

Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2:1-3 Our Need, His Grace

Ephesians 2:1-3, an Introduction
Ephesians 2:1 A) Man's Nature
Ephesians 2:2 B) Man's World
Ephesians 2:3 C) Man's Heart
Questions (Ephesians 2:1-3)


Ephesians 2:8-10 Extraordinary Purpose
Ephesians 2:8-10, an Introduction
Ephesians 2:8-9 A) Purpose of Salvation
Ephesians 2:10 B) Purpose of our Lives
Questions (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Ephesians 2:19-22 Bible Study Questions

Ephesians 3

Ephesians 3:1-10 Growing in Our Commitment
Ephesians 3:1-10, Introduction
Ephesians 3:1 The Value of the Gospel
Ephesians 3:2-5 The Reliability of the Gospel
Ephesians 3:6-7 The Glory of the Gospel
Ephesians 3:8-10 The Calling of the Gospel
Questions (Ephesians 3:1-10)

Ephesians 3:14-21 The Fullness of God's Love

Ephesians 4

Ephesians 4:1-3 Preserving the Spirit's Unity

Intro: Problems of Disunity
Ephesians 4:1 Calling to Unity
Ephesians 4:2-3 Our Oneness of the Body
Ephesians 4:3 Preservation of Unity
Ephesians 4:1-3 Bible Study Questions

Ephesians 4:11-16 The Purpose of Training

Ephesians 4:11-13: A) God's Word in the Church
Ephesians 4:11 Gifts in the church
Ephesians 4:12 Purpose of equipping
Ephesians 4:13 The final goal
Ephesians 4:11-13 Bible Study Questions

Ephesians 4:14 B) Responsibility 1. Deceit
Ephesians 4:15a 2. Speaking the truth in love
Ephesians 4:15b 3. Grow up into Christ
Ephesians 4:16 Summary: Function of the Church
Ephesians 4:14-16 Bible Study Questions

Ephesians 4:11-14 Chart: Equipping of the Saints
Ephesians 4:26-27 The Urgency of Resolving Anger
Ephesians 4:31 The Tree of Bitterness

Ephesians 5-6

Ephesians 5:22,24 Wives be Subject to your Husband
Ephesians 5:25 Marital Love
Ephesians 5:31-32 Redemptive Analogy & Marriage
Ephesians 5:31-33 Building a Great Marriage
Ephesians 6:1-3 Obedience to Parents
Ephesians 6:17 Sword of Spirit



  BFF Homepage  | Top | Back | BFF Topics | BFF Bible articles | Ephesians 3:1-10 Study questions


Biblical Foundations for Freedom


Paul J. Bucknell


NASB Bible used