BIble Study Questions and Thoughts--Session 2 Week of September 6-12

OLD LIFE, NEW LIFE
Passages--Ephesians 2:1-22; 4:17-24


This week we take a second, deeper look at Ephesians 2 and then a look at the corresponding passages in Ephesians 4.


Dead or Alive
Read Ephesians 2:1-10
1. Is existence without Christ as bad as Paul portrays it in 2:1-3?  What evidence do you see for or against this view?
2.  Can a person agree with Paul about this world and still enjoy nature, the arts, and people--even unbelievers?  Can such a person be involved in politics and society?  Why or why not?
3.  Paul thinks we should be extraordinarily grateful to be freed from living death.  He thinks we should be even more grateful as we contimplate what we have in Christ.  What significant features of life in Christ doe he hightlight in 2:4-10?
4.  What could hinder a Christian from overflowing with gratitude and joy over this change of curcumstances?


At War or At Peace
Read Ephesians 2:11-22
5.  If Christ had never come to earth, non-Jesw would be "separate...excluded...foreigners...without hope...without God..." (2:12).  How easy or difficult is it for you to imagine this being the story of your life?  Why is that?
6.  Picture in your mind a wall with you on one side, and God and other people on the other side.  As Christ dies, the wall crumbles.  How easy is it for you to see yourself as a person without walls between you and God?  Why is that?  How easy is it for you to see yourself as a person without walls between you and other Christians?  Why is that?
7.  The only command in all of Ephesians chapters 1-3 is "remember" (2:11).  Why do you suppose Paul thinks it's so important for us to remember who we used to be and who we are now?  Why is it so easy for us to forget who we are in Christ?


Off with the Old, On with the New
Read Ephesians 4:17-24
8.  Where do you see meaninglessness, lack of light and guidance, denial (refusal to know what's true), or insensitivity played out in our culture?
9.  Paul says sensuality--preoccupation with sex, food, entertainment, and other material pleasures--takes over when an insenitive (numb) person gets desperate to feel something (4:19).  How is that explanation different from the way people often justify sensual indulgence?
10.  In contrast, we need to be made new in the attitude of our minds (4:23-24).  How is Christ-centered thinking the opposite of what we've just described?
11.  How does a Christ-centered person relate to physical pleasures (food, sex, entertainment, possessions)?
12.  How do you respond to the idea that conversion involves the Holy Spirit restructuring your thinking about everything, not just your beliefs about Jesus?  What are the implications for your life?
13.  Any other question you would like to discuss with the group...