Kids' CLUB Ephesians 3:8-13
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Date: September 25, 2022
Introduction: Brief review of Eph 3:4-7 We must rely on the Holy Spirit to help us understand God’s Word that we share with others to invite them to trust the Lord Jesus as the Savior from their sins and become God’s child.
Eph 3:8-10
Eph 3:8 “To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,”
“To me,”
Who does “To me” refer to?
Paul
How does Paul describe himself?
“the very least of all saints”
What does Paul mean by describing himself like this?
The phrase “very least” also means small!
In other words, Paul views himself as small, or the smallest in comparison to the other saints.
This is Paul’s humble attitude in sharing with us that he does not deserve what he’s about to share next.
A humble attitude says I’m so very grateful for whatever God has given to me.
Why? Because I know that I don’t deserve it.
What I really deserve is God’s wrath for my sin (Eph 2:3)!
“this grace was given”
Anytime that God gives us something, it’s always His super abundant gracious gift!
Whenever you receive a gift, what should be your response?
Thankfulness!
Therefore, part of a humble attitude is also thankfulness to God for what He gives to us.
“to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,”
The grace that God gave to Paul, this rich gift, is empowerment to be faithful in a responsibility!
What was Paul responsible to do?
To proclaim a message to the Gentiles!
What was the message that Paul was to proclaim?
The unfathomable riches of Christ!
What does the word “unfathomable” mean?
It’s too great to fully understand!
Illustration: a Math problem (College math) - difference, Math problems can frustrate but God’s great wisdom prompts us to praise Him!
All of Christ’s riches are too great for us to fully understand!
His love for us that He would die for us.
His great power that created all things.
His leading us in all of life, whether difficulty or calm.
In Ephesians 3:8, Paul identifies that God gave him grace to do what?
Answer: to preach Christ to the Gentiles
Dig Deeper Idea: How does Paul describe what is preached about Christ?
Answer: Unfathomable riches
What does it mean that something is unfathomable?
Answer: It’s so great that it’s beyond our full ability to understand
This is a great spot to review some of those riches of Christ; in the lesson, we identified 1) Christ’s love in dying for us, 2) Christ’s power to create and 3) Christ’s leading His people
Eph 3:9 “and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;”
“and to bring to light”
What does it meant to bring something to light?
To give understanding!
“what is the administration of the mystery”
Recently, we discussed something that was a mystery that only God could reveal.
What was that mystery?
Anyone can become God’s child by receiving the Lord Jesus as their Savior from their sins.
This is the same mystery being spoken of here!
When you administrate something, you are carrying out a plan, whether your own or someone else’s.
Example: Following instructions for a school assignment (eg. Color in the lines)
God has a plan to save people from every background from their sins that He is working out through believers who share the Gospel message!
We get to be part of God’s plan in bringing others to know the Lord Jesus as their Savior from their sins if the Lord Jesus is your Savior too!
“which for ages has been hidden in God”
Who was the One Who revealed the mystery that anyone can become God’s child by receiving the Lord Jesus as their Savior?
God through His Holy Spirit.
“who created all things;”
If God created all things, what does this mean about His power?
He has all power!
Therefore, if God has all power then He is more than powerful enough to help us understand His Word by His Spirit.
According to Ephesians 3:9, what has God created?
Answer: all things
Dig Deeper Idea: If God has created all things, what does that indicate about the amount of power that God has?
Answer: He has all power
Here you may want to help the CLUBBERS connect God’s power to create to His power to help us understand His plan, particularly that He is saving people from any background!
The significance of this point concerns the fact that God has the power to help us in whatever He has called us to do - whether in proclaiming the Gospel or otherwise!
Eph 3:10 “so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.”
“so”, This word points us to the purpose of God saving people from every background.
“that the manifold”
What does the word “manifold” mean?
It has many different features to it that cause us to be greatly impressed.
Example: Kaleidoscope (look through a lens connected to what looks like a spy glass and see various colors; then, when spun, it creates a different image with other colors!)
There’s something about God that has so many different aspects to it that it is too wonderful for us to fully understand!
“wisdom of God”
God’s Wisdom here refers to His plan that was previously a mystery but He has now revealed.
What is the mystery?
That God is saving people from every background!
This really is a super-abundant wise plan for God is working in the lives of His people to bring us into contact with other people who do not know the Lord Jesus so that we would tell them!
This means that every time you interact with someone is an opportunity to show Christ to them and work towards sharing the Gospel!
Therefore, there are no accidental meetings with people.
The Lord is in control of your life and mine!
“might now be made known”
Since we’re talking about the mystery that God has revealed in that He is saving people from every background from their sins, this is what God wants to be made known.
What does it mean to make something “known”?
To go and tell as many people as possible about something so that they also would know the same thing!
God wants this message of salvation for everyone who believes made known everywhere possible!
“through the church”
How is it that God wants this message of salvation for everyone who believes to be spread?
Through the church!
If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, this is you!
Remember, just as God gave Paul the power to proclaim the message that God wants to save everyone, the Lord gives us the same power to do likewise!
“to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.”
Who is the audience that is witnessing God’s Church proclaiming the message everywhere that anyone can be saved?
“the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places”
This refers to both angels who serve the Lord before Him in heaven, demons who have disobeyed the Lord and followed the devil, and even the devil who disobeyed the Lord and seeks to tempt others to do likewise and sin.
The reason that the Church would display God’s great wisdom in proclaiming the message that anyone can be saved is so that God’s greatness would be widespread universally!
Application: CLUB-bers, God wants to work through you to proclaim His universal greatness in how He is wisely bringing others to hear that they too can be saved from their sins in the Lord Jesus Christ.
According to Ephesians 3:10, how great is God’s wisdom?
Answer: great beyond compare!
Dig Deeper idea: How is God’s great wisdom demonstrated?
Answer: Through His plan to save people from any background
How is God carrying out His plan to save people from any background?
Answer: Through the Church, or any who have trusted in the Lord Jesus to save them from their sins
Eph 3:11-12
Eph 3:11 “This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,”
“This was in accordance with the eternal purpose”
What does it mean for something to be “eternal”?
It has existed long before we ever did!
Did you know that God had this great purpose to demonstrate His incredible wisdom in working to save others from their sins long before any of us and all of us existed?
This means that God had planned long ago everything that occurred to be able to get you to this point in your life!
This and much more demonstrates God’s manifold wisdom that is too great for us to entirely understand.
But this is for the purpose to universally proclaim His greatness in what He is doing to save others!
“which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,”
How was it that God accomplished this eternal purpose?
Through Jesus Christ!
How do we know that Jesus has the power to carry out this great purpose of God?
Because He is Lord, with all power!
He proved that He is Lord by rising from the dead, never to die again!
According to Ephesians 3:11, through Whom has God worked so that God’s plan of saving people from any background would become real?
Answer: Jesus
Dig Deeper Question: How long has God had this plan in mind?
Answer: Eternity or forever
Here you may want to explain that God’s plan included Jesus living a perfect life, dying on the cross for our sins, and being raised from the dead to never die again
Eph 3:12 “in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.”
“in whom we have boldness”
Who is the One that believers have boldness in?
Jesus!
Why?
Because He is Lord!
“and confident access”
What word is used to describe the kind of access that all believers have?
Confident
What does confidence mean?
You have complete trust in Someone.
Who are we trusting?
Jesus!
What are we trusting Him for?
Access
Access to Whom?
to God, the Father (Eph. 2:18)
We have complete access to God, the Father, through Jesus
“through faith in Him.”
What is faith?
Confident belief that something is true
Faith in who?
Jesus
What does one confidently believe about Jesus?
He is the Son of God
He lived a perfect life of obedience, died on the cross for our sins, and rose from the dead to never die again and gives new life to all who trust in Him!
The kind of access to God the Father that Paul speaks of here is only possible if you have trusted the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
According to Ephesians 3:12, Who do believers have access to through Jesus?
Answer: God the Father
Dig Deeper Idea: What word is used to describe the kind of access that believers have to God the Father?
Boldness and Confident
What does this mean about how you can approach anything that happens each day?
Answer: Trusting the Lord Who gives me boldness and confidence to face the everything relying on Him to help me to please Him
Eph 3:13 “Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.”
“Therefore”
This word is placed here to connect what came before to the statement that Paul is making.
In other words, Paul is saying this is why …
What truths lead Paul to make this statement?
Eph 3:1-3 The Lord is leading Paul’s life in the responsibilities that He gave Paul, even through Jail.
Eph 3:4-7 The Lord gives understanding and equipping for the responsibility that He gave Paul to proclaim the Gospel to all.
Eph 3:8-12 The Lord is sovereignly carrying out His incredible purpose that all who trust in Jesus would have confident access to God the Father.
In other words, Paul is making this statement because the Lord leads, equips, and sovereignly carries out His plans.
If this is what the Lord does in Paul’s life, then He can and does the same in ours!
Ex.: School (leads, equips, carries out His plans)
“I ask you”
“not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf,”
What does it mean to “lose heart”?
to be discouraged
What are some things that we can be discouraged about?
What specific thing in Paul’s life could the Ephesians be tempted to be discouraged about?
Paul’s tribulations
What’s a tribulation?
It’s a difficult time brought about by circumstances (sickness, strife in relationships, death)
Paul’s difficult time was being in jail for the Gospel
What would be discouraging about this?
If Paul was in jail for the Gospel, then that might mean that others would go to jail for the same!
Sometimes, living faithfully for Jesus means that the Lord leads us through some difficult things.
However, Paul is saying do not be discouraged because the Lord is the One Who is leading, equipping us to be faithful, and is still carrying out His plans!
Ex. School: if you’re trusting the Lord, He has led you to this place, He will give you what you need to be faithful in your schoolwork and your interactions with your teachers, and He is carrying out His plan for your life!
“for they are your glory.”
What is the purpose of Paul’s difficult circumstances?
They are for the “glory” others.
Or, they are for the benefit of others.
How does Paul’s imprisonment benefit others?
He gets to continue to proclaim the Gospel, just like God has planned!
You see, no difficulty is ever wasted because God has a plan to use it so that, in the proclamation of the Gospel, the whole universe would know how great God is!
God can help us to be faithful to Him no matter what the circumstance that we face!
According to Ephesians 3:13, what tempted the Ephesian believers to be discouraged over Paul?
Answer: he was facing difficulties because He preached the Gospel
Dig Deeper Idea: Instead of being discouraged, what did Paul want the Ephesian believers to do?
Answer: to recognize that his circumstances were for their benefit
How could Paul’s circumstances be for the benefit of other believers?
Answer: Because Paul’s life demonstrated how God leads, equips, and sovereignly carries out His plan in the life of His children
Conclusion: Scripture Memory Review - Ephesians 3:13 “Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.” (X3)