VERSES: Ephesians 1:20-23
MEMORY VERSE: Ephesians 1:22 "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: "John." In order for the students to memorize the books of the New Testament, write a book each week on a small slip of paper, so the student may take the book home to memorize. This lesson's book to remember is John.
PRAYER: Pray that we have the kind of heart that treasures God's Word and molds our life around His Word, giving up man's traditions and ideas and clinging to God's desires.
SPECIAL SONG: No, Not One (see June 2014 -Songs We Sing In Bible Class #6 on this blog. Click on orange circle to hear tune.)
VISUAL AID: Draw a Large Activity (see below) on white board or chalk board.
LESSON POINTS:
- When we have a Bible question, where is the best place to go to find the answer? That's right! To the Bible! People can sometimes be wrong or mistaken, but the Bible is never wrong. Never, ever! God keeps His promises and can be trusted (1 Kings 8:56). God has always had a plan for everything. He had a plan for creating the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), He had and has a plan for the family (Ephesians 5:22-33; 6:1-4), and He has a plan for the church. He knows how He wants the church to be ruled and that is by Jesus' Words. We always want to be able to prove what we do by quoting book, chapter, and verse. We speak where the Bible speaks and we are silent where the Bible is silent. In times past, God used to talk to people through the prophets, but how does God talk to us today? Only through His Son, Jesus (Hebrews 1:1, 2). We find His words in the Bible and the Bible only.
- When we look around our cities and maybe even our neighborhoods, we see many buildings that have the word "church" on their signs, but they teach many different things--sometimes conflicting things. How can that be? Does it matter to God how He is worshiped? Did it ever matter to God how His people worshiped Him? Yes. We can think back to the tabernacle and how God was very specific in His commands in building the tabernacle and was even particular about who touched certain things and who went into certain rooms (see May 2014 - Lesson - The Tabernacle on this blog). It definitely mattered to God how He was worshiped in the Old Testament! Let's see if it matters to God how He is worshiped in the church today.
- We may ask, "Who is the one who made up these rules on how to behave in the Lord's church?" or "Who is the head or the one in charge of Jesus' church?" Let's turn our Bibles to Ephesians chapter 1 and read verses 20-23. (Read verses.) Who is the head of the church? Jesus is the head. Is Jesus over some things or a few things? No, He is over ALL things in the church. He is the One with the last word on everything in the church because He bought and paid for the church with His own blood. (Acts 20:28). These same verses also tell us that the church is Jesus' body. Jesus is the head of His body. Ephesians 4:4 tells us how many bodies there are--one! That makes sense, doesn't it? One head and one body. Not two or three heads and one body or one head over many bodies. Jesus is the one head over the one body which is the church.
- Some people think that it doesn't really matter what people do to worship God, as long as they "have a good and kind heart and they do the best they can." That is not what it says in the Bible. God wants things done His Way and His Way only. He always has and always will. We need to prove that we are worshiping God according to His Word by singing, praying, partaking of the Lord's Supper, giving, and preaching (see October 2015 - Lesson - How Do Christians Worship God? on this blog). There are always consequences for doing things our way instead of God's Way. We remember what happened to Korah and the men who followed him instead of following Moses like God wanted (see May 2014 - Lesson - Korah's Rebellion on this blog). They and everything that belonged to them were destroyed.
- Jesus said He would build His church (Matthew 16:18). So, who is the head of His church? Jesus is! No other man, council, conference, or group of men can man make changes or rules to the Lord's church. No one died and purchased the church, but Jesus. Jesus has power over all things in the heavens and on the earth (Matthew 28:18-20). That means that Jesus has authority or the 'last word' over all things, especially in His church. Jesus is the only head of His only church and He has all power in heaven and on earth!
- We find that Paul has again written another letter to Christians, but this time he has written God's thoughts and instructions to the church at Ephesus. People who lived in the city of Ephesus were called Ephesians. That is why this letter of the New Testament is called "Ephesians." It is a letter to the Christians who were living in the city of Ephesus. We know that the apostle Paul wrote this letter because he signed the letter in the very first verse of the first chapter.
- If we discover that we have been taught wrong, we should adjust our thinking to God's Way instead of man's ideas.
- We should always ask ourselves if we can prove what we do by book, chapter, and verse. This is an excellent way to know if we are pleasing God.
- More verses:
- There is one body - Ephesians 4:4
- The body is the church - Colossians 1:18, 24
- The head of the body is Christ - Ephesians 1:22, 23
- The members of the body are Christians - 1 Corinthians 12:27
Materials: 8.5" X 11" white bond paper, crayons.
- Hand out white paper.
- Fold paper in half.
- Write "Who Is The Head Of The Church?" on the front of the folded paper.
- Open paper.
- With dark crayon, trace folded line down the middle.
- On the left side of the paper, draw a line across the middle of that half of the paper.
- In top left box, draw three circles. These are heads.
- In top left box, draw one body under the three heads.
- In top left box, write "Many heads. One body."
- In bottom left box, draw one circle. This is a head.
- In bottom left box, draw three bodies.
- In bottom left box, write "One head. Many bodies."
- In the box on the right side of the paper, draw one circle. This the head.
- In the box on the right side of the paper, draw one body.
- In the box on the right side of the paper, write "CHRIST is One Head. CHURCH is one body."
- Cross out both boxes on the left side of the paper with a red crayon since there are no Bible verses to prove these ideas.
- In the box on the right side of the paper, write " Ephesians 1:20-23" and "Ephesians 4:4."
- Fold paper and take home.
