Confidence in the Word

Bible Focus

God's Secret Plan

In our first Bible Focus we invite you to consider Ephesians 1:3-14 by answering the four questions we have posed.

The apostle Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus assures believers that even amid the chaos and distress we see in the world around us, God is working his purpose out, that every Christian is included in it, has a vital role to play and a thrilling destiny to anticipate.

As in all the practical exercises we offer in Confidence in the Word, we strongly recommend that you not only read, but also transcribe the passage of Scripture on which this Focus is based. But before you begin you may like to remind yourself about our 3-R's of Approaching the Bible.

Questions to Help You Focus on God's Secret Plan

We now invite you to answer the following four questions. All the answers can be found within the passage of Scripture itself. Where we have referred to other scriptures, this is either to confirm or to amplify what is said in a certain verse, or verses.

What does Paul say here about God's secret plan in verses 9-12? What is:

its central focus?
its present purpose?
its ultimate purpose?

What is the inheritance all Christians have received because of Christ?

Looking at verses 3-8 and 13-14, can you say what are the spiritual blessings enjoyed by those who belong to Christ? (There are at least six). What is the guarantee all believers have received by means of the Holy Spirit?

(You may like to compare what Paul says here about the Holy Spirit with what he writes in 1 Corinthians 2:12 and 2 Corinthians 1:21-22.)

A Personal Application

Have you heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you and received the Holy Spirit (verse 13)?

(See also Acts 19:1-6 for Paul's all-important question to a group of newly baptised converts at Ephesus, and the startling result. We believe that their experience is the birthright of every true believer in Christ, and the gateway into life in the Spirit. Ask yourself, "Did I receive the Holy Spirit when I believed?" If you are not sure about this, speak to a trusted Christian minister or friend, or contact us via the Guest Book. Your enquiry will be treated in the strictest confidence.)

For Prayer & Meditation

Re-read the whole passage, this time personalising it as your own testimony and act of thanksgiving to God the Father for all the blessings he has given you through the Lord Jesus Christ:

How I praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because I belong to Christ. Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved me and chose me in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes...........etc.

(The author has often found reading the passage in this way a most effective cure for depression of spirit.)

We do hope you have been helped by this first Bible Focus to increase still further your growing Confidence in the Word, and that it has given you a deeper appreciation of the wonderful things God has done - and has yet to do - for us through the Lord Jesus Christ.

What God has done for us demands that we respond by living as he requires. Our next Focus, which is also taken from the apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians, therefore deals with some important aspects of what constitutes an authentically Christian Lifestyle.

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