Why do you think God is so concerned with building a church that is diverse, and multiethnic?

 

Paul understands Christians not only to be recipients of God’s grace (as it is extended beyond Israel to the world), as seen in Ephesians 3:1-6, but also servants of God’s grace (called to proclaim it, and explain it), as seen in Ephesians 3:7-10. What does this mean for us as Christians today?

 

How might our lives go askew if we see ourselves as recipients of God’s grace, but fail to see ourselves as servants of God’s grace?  What about if we see ourselves as servants of God’s grace, but fail to see ourselves as recipients of God’s grace?

 

How is God’s wisdom put on display through the church that He has built through the gospel (like we see in Ephesians 3:10)?

 

How does the gospel afford us the opportunity to approach God with boldness, and with confidence? Why is this so important?  How should this reality affect how we live?  How should this reality affect how we pray?

 

This text is bookended with persecution and suffering. In the first verse (Ephesians 3:1), we see that Paul is writing this letter from prison. In the last verse (Ephesians 3:13), Paul says that he is suffering. How are we to understand suffering and persecution in the Christian life? What does it look like to walk faithfully through them?

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