Ephesians 4:1–16

STUDY ON THE WRITINGS OF PAUL

Bible Study Questions

Date: Friday, June 13, 2025

MAIN TEXT: Ephesians 4:1–16

1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” 9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. How does Paul identify himself in the beginning of the chapter? What is he urging the believers to do?

2. Why do you think it is important for the Church to live the kind of life Paul listed in verses 2 and 3?

3. According to Paul, there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God; what is his main thought in mentioning all these?

4. In verse 7, what was given to each believer and who gave it?

5. Who were the captives mentioned in verse 8?

6. Christ gave to the Church what we called the five-fold ministries, for what purpose Christ gave them to the church? What are the differences between these five-fold ministries?

7. According to Paul, who is the head of the church? What is the function of each part in the body?