Life Groups // Fall 2024 // Week 7
Posted October 18, 2024 — Lincoln Berean
All of Us Together // Ephesians 4:1-16
Introduction
In this passage, Paul turns a corner from telling the Ephesians who they are in Christ to beginning to explain how being in Christ changes everything about how we live. He speaks of maintaining unity and appreciating diversity as each person serves others in the body of Christ and thus move one another towards experiencing maturity in Christ.
To think through the main ideas in the sermon and prepare for your discussion together, we invite you to look over all the questions on the following pages and write your thoughts down before you meet with your group. Due to preferences over a wide range of groups, we do not expect you will cover every question each week.
Warm Up (Suggested time: 30 min)
1) What is something you thought you would never be able to do, but now have done it?
2) Did you try one of the Personal Spiritual Exercises from the last few weeks? If so, how did God use it in your life?
Getting Started
Transition into group discussion.
1. Open group discussion with prayer. Here are a few potential prayer items:
a. For the Spirit of God to lead you in truth
b. For the fruit of the Spirit to be cultivated in your lives
c. For grace to hear and apply what the Spirit says to you
2. Choose someone to read the passage aloud for the group.
Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)
1) Chapter 4 begins with “Therefore…” which tells us what Paul is about to say is based on everything he has said in the previous 3 chapters. Look back through chapters 1-3 to determine what Paul means by “the calling with which you have been called”, (look specifically at 1:4-10, 2:4-5, 10, 12-13, 19).
Based on the truth of chapters 1-3, Paul entreats (begs, pleads) believers to “walk in a manner worthy” of our calling. The word “worthy” means to balance the scale. In other words, to live in such a way that it balances the scale with who we are in Christ from the first three chapters. In other words, our walk should match our wealth in Christ. In practical terms, what do you think this means? How do the 5 qualities in verse 2 relate to this?
2) Verse 3 states that we are to work very hard to guard the “unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” It’s important to realize we don’t create unity, Christ has already done that. Our calling is to preserve it. Compare those words with Jesus’ words in John 13:34, 35 and 17:11. What is unity? What makes unity a vital aspect of a thriving community?
What do verses 4-6 say about the foundation of our unity?
How do the 5 qualities in verse 2 relate to our unity? Which of these 5 qualities do you struggle with the most?
3) Verses 8-10 are loosely taken from Psalm 68. Christ as the triumphant King gives gifts to His people as a celebration of His great victory. According to verses 11-12, what are these gifts and why did Christ give these gifts?
Do you see yourself as a gift given to the body of Christ (or in a smaller fashion to your Life Group)? Why or why not?
What would the church be like if we all saw ourselves as gifts given to the body of Christ? (vv. 14-16)
4) Verse 13 alludes to the fact that we need each other to become complete or “mature” in Christ. The truth is that we are filled with the fullness of Christ (Eph. 1:22,23). However, to walk worthy of that truth we must serve and be served in the body of Christ. Then we will attain … to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Why do you think we can only really grow to completeness in community with one another?
According to verse 14-15, what is the difference between a mature (complete) person and an immature person?
Remembering Bryan’s orchestra example, how might God be calling you to use your gifts and abilities to serve others in the body of Christ?
Personal Spiritual Exercises
Just like physical exercises help strengthen and stretch our bodies for healthy living, these spiritual exercises are meant to move us spiritually in ways that may be new so we might experience inner growth. Since God longs for us to experience Him with our whole selves—mind, body, spirit—we invite you along each week to strengthen your souls with suggestions and prompts. Next week in Life Group, take a few moments to share how the Lord may have used this exercise in your life.
Scripture Focus: At least three times this week read Romans 12:1-21 as another description of the body of Christ functioning well. Considering reading it aloud to yourself. As the words fall upon your ears, listen for what the Holy Spirit may want to emphasize to you about how you are to use your gifts to serve others.
Prayer Focus: As a first step in serving others, pray this prayer each morning, “Lord, bring someone into my life or across my path today that I can serve and influence for you.” As you go about your day, look for how God might be answering this prayer and step into it!
Prayer (Suggested time: 20 min)
A significant part of “coming together” is being open and honest with our lives. Sitting in a group of people for prayer may be new or it may be familiar to you. If you would rather not pray aloud when it is your turn, feel free to pray silently and then say “Amen” aloud signaling the next person in the group to pray. Whether or not you choose to verbalize your prayer, everyone is a participant in sharing this time before God together.
Take a few moments to prepare a prayer request. What did the message, working through the above questions or the discussion cause you to notice about your own relationship with Jesus? Would you be willing to share your prayer request with the group?