Go Deep

(Ephesians 2:13-22)

 

What do theologians mean by the Fall of Adam?

What evidence is there that the world (or at least Eden) was meant to be a temple?

What did man(kind) lose in the Fall?

Humans were created to be worshipers in God’s temple. Did the impulse to worship disappear after the Fall? If not, how does it play out now?

Is God restoring what Adam (and all mankind) lost? What are some things this restoration might entail?

If God is restoring what was lost, how is he going about it? What do we know of the plan?

In Eph. 2:14, Paul says that he (Jesus) “is our peace” (see Micah 5:5). What does it mean that he is our peace? How can a person be peace?

The word “peace” is important: it is repeated in verses 14, 15, and 17. What is this peace? Try to define/describe it.

What is the “barrier” of verse which 14 speaks? By what means has it been removed (verse 15)?

How does reconciliation between people relate to reconciliation with God (verse 16)? How do they go together?

What is the “one new man” (or “humanity”) of verse 15? In what sense are Christians “the Third Race” (Clement of Alexandria)?

How is this “new humanity” different from the old humanity?

How important is “peace” to the new humanity? Why is it important?

Why is the coming together of Jew and Gentile in one body important to God’s overall plan? (See Col. 1:25-27; 1 Cor. 12:13; Colossians 3:11; along with Ephesians 1:9-10.)

How does unity in the church – of individuals, races, ethnic groups, and people of different denominations – fit into God’s overall purpose?