Has anyone ever said to you, "You remind me so much of your father" or, "You remind me so much of your mother"? Hopefully this was a positive statement because of an attribute, personality trait, or behavior that you are imitating. When we are around people for a long period of time such as our mothers or fathers, or when we admire or respect someone, we begin to imitate their lives. Our character, our actions, our attitudes and even our mannerisms will become very similar to theirs. The LifeWay Explore the Bible Study: Walking in Love examines the apostle Paul's challenge in Ephesians 5:1-4 to be imitators of God.

Two Discussion Options:
Be sure to check out the two options provided in the downloadable teaching ideas. One idea is discussion based. The other is video based and utilizes the following video that illustrates the art of imitating others.

Who would want to take off a clean shirt and put on an old, dirty, soiled, stinky shirt? Normally no one would want to do this. Likewise, someone who is new, clean, and redeemed by Christ should not want to go back and "put on" their old, dirty, stinky life. Yet, some do and never notice the difference. In this week's Explore the Bible Study: Walking Differently, Paul seeks to help the believers in Ephesus as well as all believers to understand that, if we know Christ, we should and will actually desire to avoid putting on the dirty clothes of culture over our new clean clothes of salvation.

Paul contrasts the life of someone who lives by society's social norms versus someone who lives for Christ. He emphasizes that there should be a difference. He uses the analogy of "taking off" the worlds view of life and "putting on" the view we should have as  believers. This is a process as well. While we immediately become new in Christ when we receive Christ as Savior, we continually have to "wash off" and "put on" the influences of sin that still chase and dog us daily.

Contrast & Comparison Chart
I have suggested in the supplemental teaching ideas the use of a chart while studying Ephesians 4:17-19 and Ephesians 4:25-32.



Our actions, our behavior, our view of life, our language, our choices should all be different. We can’t live as our culture does if we claim to be believers. We should wear the clean clothes of the gospel!

Today in our society there are health coaches, fitness trainers, physical therapists, and many more professionals whose job is to equip you to learn how to develop a healthy lifestyle and keep your body in shape. Similarly, God has given church leaders the task of equipping you and building you up in Christ. This is the focus of the Explore The Bible Study: Walking Forward. 

In Paul’s continuing letter to the church at Ephesus, he explains the importance of becoming a healthy believer. Similar to a fitness center, health club, or even a physical therapy center, the church is a place where believers should go to become spiritually healthy.  In contrast to health coaches and physical therapists who might help someone physically, there are individuals in the church who help believers become spiritually healthy.

Paul previously emphasized both the importance of unity in the church because of who we are in Christ and the uniqueness of believers. We are all unique parts of the body of Christ (the church); therefore, we each have different roles, gifts, and functions, all of which are vital. Within this body (the church) the Holy Spirit gifts all believers in specific ways to enable the church to become a living picture of Christ to a lost world.

However, there are some who have specific roles to help the body of believers become and remain healthy. This doesn’t make them any more important than other parts, yet they are vital. Just like a body can’t survive without certain vital organs, neither can a church survive without these specific leaders.
Ephesians 4:11-16 is a pivotal passage for understanding the role these specific church leaders have within the church.

LOOK UP OPTIONS
I have provided several options for drawing your group into the discussion. One includes the following humorous video along with some discussion points.

In 2012, a group of 603 young adults, in Taipei, Taiwan, attempted and succeeded in completing a 603 legged race! Can you imagine how challenging it would be to get 603 people to walk together in unison? Yet, as this week's Explore The Bible Study: Walking Together, will emphasize, walking together, hand-in-hand and "leg-to-leg," is how the church should function.

Imagine the church of Ephesus trying to build unity among believers who came out of so many backgrounds :

• There were believers who came out of the idol worship culture. They had worshipped the goddess Artemis (Diana), the predominant god of the city of Ephesus. Others had worshipped gods and goddesses including Zeus, Apollo, Dionysius, Athena, and Cybele. They were now striving to be unified as one church body.
• There were believers who had previously held beliefs in magic or held folk beliefs. In Acts 19:13-20, Luke detailed the story of a man named Sceva who tried to add the name of Jesus to his ritual of exorcism, and the demon-possessed man attacked Sceva and his sons. This prompted great fear among those who held to these incantations and folk beliefs. They brought out their religious texts—which were valued at 50,000 pieces of silver—and burned them. They were now striving to be unified as one church body.
• There were believers who converted from Judaism. Approximately ten to twenty thousand Jews lived in Ephesus. Paul spoke for three months in a synagogue, and then moved to a lecture hall nearby when he met with opposition (Acts 19:8-9). They were now striving to be unified as one church body.

These believers were now being challenged by Paul to function as one unified body because of their faith in Christ!

As you guide the group through the study of Ephesians 4:1-10, try to keep this context in mind. Lead your group to consider the context of the church as they study and how they should demonstrate the same unity.

Video Option
The following video could be used to start your conversation. It captures the 603-legged race described earlier.

Challenge your group to understand that they can help a lost world see a complete picture of Christ as they serve side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder, with legs tied together!

Lead your group to consider the following:
If the unity and peace of our church were dependent upon your attitudes and behavior, how much unity and peace would we have? If the health of this body (church) were dependent on how you function within this body, how healthy would it be? What steps do you need to take to become more unified with other believers?

What prompts you to pray for fellow believers? When you do pray for fellow believers, what is the content of those prayers? The Apostle Paul gives us a great model to follow as we pray for fellow believers. God is so rich in love for us, and it was Paul's desire to pray that all who believed would come to a full understanding of this reality. LifeWay's Explore the Bible Study: Residence will explore this vital discipline of prayer.

ADJUSTED TITLE AND TARGET

• Adjusted Title: For This Reason, I Pray
• Adjusted TARGET: "We should pray for fellow believers, that they will come to fully understand the riches of God's glory."

LifeWay's title and goal focuses on one element of Paul's prayer, the dwelling of Christ in a believer's heart. This is but one element of a larger prayer covered in the complete passage. The Downloadable Teaching Ideas provide an alternate approach that focuses on the content of Paul's prayer.

The emphasis is on helping believers learn what they personally should glean from Paul's prayer and then how to pray this prayer for other believers.

Prayer should be a constant discipline and action in our lives. It should become as natural to us as breathing. Equally, we should make sure our prayers are not just for the physical needs of others or for personal requests. While these are important, we should pray intentionally and intently for the spiritual needs of the saved and for the salvation of the unsaved.

CHALLENGE YOUR GROUP
Consider the following as you draw this study of Ephesians 3:14-21 to a close.

• How much time have you spent during the last week praying the elements of Paul’s prayer or something similar for the following individuals whom you know are believers? – parents, spouse, children, grandchildren, pastor(s), fellow church members, Bible study group members, neighbors, friends, or co-workers.
• We need to make it a priority to pray for spiritual transformation for ourselves and others. 
• Boldly ask God to do far more spiritually in your life, family, and church than you can begin to imagine. 
• Use Ephesians 3:14-21 as a guide to begin praying for yourself, your family, and your church.