Beautiful Occupation
"What is your occupation?" The question most often relates to your career, or your vocation, and when asked it can lead to boasting in your prestigious job, or meekness in a time of uncertainty. But the same question can also apply to our emotions: What occupies your affections, thoughts, and dreams? In the book of Ephesians, Paul draws our daily lives and our emotional desires together as he highlights the compelling beauty and utility of the gospel of Jesus. In Ephesians we learn how a church preoccupied with the glory of Jesus can be a church busy with the most beautiful occupation.
Paul opens the book of Ephesians by calling into focus the center of God's blessing and glory: salvation through Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-14
Paul's prayer for the believers in Ephesus show us something important about Paul's goals for believers and the immeasurable blessings they have from God.
Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23
In Ephesians 2:1-10, Paul sets out to establish believers in the heart of the gospel.
Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10
After Paul highlights the ways in which Jesus restores us to God (2:1-10), he shows the wonderful ways in which grace also restores us to each other in the church (2:11-22)
Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-22
Paul's prayer for the church is interrupted by his desire to stress the significance of the church in light of the gospel and God's plan for all of history.
Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-13
Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21 shows us the impossible made possible through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-21
How should a church assess itself? In Ephesians 4:1-16, Paul helps the church understand its roles and responsibilities in light of the gospel which created it.
Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16
Paul's assumption for the Ephesian church and for us is that the gospel not only changes our hope, but our whole life. His commands in Ephesians 4:17-32, call us to fight for renewal as we put off what was old and put on what is new.
Scripture: Ephesians 4:17-5:2
What does it look like to imitate God? In Ephesians 5:1-21, Paul answers the question with a three part call to holiness.
Scripture: Ephesians 5:1-21
Paul opens his address to Christian relationships by focusing on the uniqueness of marriage and its relationship to the gospel.
Scripture: Ephesians 5:21-33
Paul continues to mold our relationships with the gospel as he turns to children and parents.
Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-4
Paul closes his relational reformation by addressing the nature of Christians in the workplace.
Scripture: Ephesians 6:5-9
Before Paul ever prescribes the first bit of armor, he first convinces Christians of the war which lies ahead and weight of that knowledge.
Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-13
In his concluding exhortations to the church, Paul outlines the attitudes and armaments of the faithful disciple.
Scripture: Ephesians 6:14-24