1) Listen to Podcast
2)GG Questions 01/27/2019
No Oars, Only Sails: Sent Ephesians 1:22-23
1. Oars or Sails?: William McDowell pastors a growing and vital church in Orlando, Florida. Early in his ministry he learned this crucial lesson: “In order to be in the River of God we must throw down our oars and put up our sails.” What does this mean? And where in your life do you pick up oars instead of putting up sails?
2. Power of God and Authority Christ: Ephesians 1:22-23 are the last two verses of Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians which began in verse 17. He prays that God would empower them to know three things: (1) their future hope – v. 18a, (2) that they are God’s inheritance – v. 18b, and (3) God’s present power working on their behalf – v. 19. What did this power accomplish (v. 20a)? What can it accomplish for you? Paul then gets caught up and goes on a tangent about the supreme authority of Jesus (vv. 20b-22a). Why is this so important to him? Do you see yourself as ‘a person under authority’ (Matt. 8:9)?
3. Authority and Our Call to Action: Though Jesus was glorified with the Father ‘before the world existed’ (John 17:5), He earned a special authority to rule the created world after His suffering death (Phil 2:8-9). After this death and His subsequent, victorious resurrection, He said this to His disciples (and, by extension, to us), “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18-19). What does it look like for you to respond to Christ as your authority and carry out this commission He has given you?
4. Full to Overflowing: Have you ever asked yourself, ‘What is God’s ultimate purpose? What is His final plan? Ephesians makes this plain: “And this is the plan: At the right time God will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth” (Eph. 1:10). How is He using the church right now, you and me, to begin this ultimate goal of “filling all things everywhere with himself” (1:23) and “filling the entire universe with himself” (4:10)?
