EPHESIANS
LIVE-IT-OUT GUIDE
(MEMBER
VERSION)
SESSION 5: EPHESIANS 3:1-13
OPENING DISCUSSION:
Suffering For A Vision – Last week, Singapore said goodbye to a founding
father and pioneer leader, Encik Othman Wok, who
passed away on Monday (17 April 2017) at the age of 92. Speaking at his
memorial service, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong described a “golden thread”
that ran through Mr Othman’s long life. This “golden thread” was Mr Othman’s
commitment to a multi-racial and multi-religious Singapore. When Singapore was
part of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965, Malay assemblymen like Mr Othman were under
tremendous pressure to choose race over nation. They were labelled ‘kafirs’ (meaning infidels) and faced severe death threats.
Some of Mr Othman’s election posters were even smeared with faeces. When it
came to Singapore’s departure from Malaysia in 1965, Mr Othman, as the only
Malay-Muslim member of the Cabinet, readily signed the separation agreement.
This difficult decision meant that he, and his fellow Malays in Singapore,
would become a minority race overnight. However, due to Mr Othman’s steadfast
commitment to multi-racial Singapore, says PM Lee, Singapore can now enjoy “a
form of non-communal politics, based on justice and equality, that is unique in
our region and rare in the world”.
Mr Othman endured suffering for our benefit because he was passionate
about a multi-racial and multi-religious Singapore. How does this make you
feel? Imagine yourself in Mr Othman’s position, would you have done the same?
1 Timothy 2:1-4 (ESV) reads:
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high
positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in
every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to
the knowledge of the truth.”
As a LG, take a moment to pray and give thanks for Mr Othman, his
family, and our nation.
GOING DEEPER
Read Ephesians 3:1-13
Brief Recap: At the beginning of
Ephesians, Paul explains that God has made known to us the “mystery of his
will”. This mystery is God’s eternal plan to unite all things in Christ Jesus,
things in heaven and things on earth (1:10). To accomplish this, God raised
Jesus from the dead and exalted Him above all things (1:20-23); God rescued us
from spiritual death and made us alive in Christ (1:20-23); God reconciled both
Jew and Gentile by making Christ our peace. Now this brings us to today’s
passage: What role does Paul play in this plan?
1. Let us begin with the last
verse in the passage.
a. What does verse 13 reveal
about Paul’s purpose in writing this section?
b. Why is Paul suffering? (Consider
verse 1; then Acts 13:44-50 and Acts 23:27-30)
c. Why might Paul’s suffering
cause his readers to “lose heart” (ESV)?
2. In verse 1, Paul mentions his
imprisonment with the intention to encourage his readers. However, Paul quickly
realizes that this would only work if his readers understood his special role
and calling in God’s plan. As such, Paul makes a detour in verses 2 to 13, in
order to explain this.
a. How does Paul describe his
role from verses 2 to 12? What assurance does this give to his readers?
b. According to verses 2 to 6, how
did Paul first come to know of God’s mystery? Why is this important?
3. Recall our introduction about
the late Mr Othman. In comparison, Paul endures greater suffering. He is able
to do so because God has given him an even greater vision.
a. How does Paul describe this
vision in verse 10? Try using your own words.
b. Why is the vision in verse 10
more important than any other vision (including that of a multi-racial
Singapore)?
c. How does Paul’s unique calling,
as seen in this passage, fulfil this vision of displaying God’s manifold
wisdom?
4. In verse 12, Paul reminds us
that we have access to God through faith in Christ Jesus. At this moment, from
a range of 1 to 10, how confident are you about this? What obstacles, if any,
hold you back from fully believing in this?
5. The “golden thread” running
through Paul’s life is the gospel. Let us be encouraged by Paul’s example and
learn from it.
a. If someone could see your
entire life on a page right now, would he be able to identify a “golden thread”
(a pattern or preoccupation throughout your life)? If so, what is it?
b. Some “golden threads” will
seem better than others. But in the end, if people do not see Jesus and the
gospel in our lives, we are in trouble – we will fail to be part of God’s
vision. In the week ahead, how can you better reflect Jesus and the gospel in your
life?
CLOSING PRAYER
Close the session by (i) thanking God for
Paul’s unique stewardship in bringing the gospel to Gentiles like us, and (ii)
to commit our resolves in the week ahead to God.