What Does Ephesians Teach Me About the Church?

October 10th, 2025

David said, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). But what exactly is meditation? To meditate upon the Word is more than simply reading the Bible, memorizing it, or even seeking to understand it. Meditation is where we allow the Word to fill our thoughts as we internalize it and deeply consider its implications for both doctrine and how we live and pursue godliness (cf. 2 Peter 1:3). Unlike the meditation of eastern religions, which involves either clearing the mind or intensely focusing on one thing to the exclusion of others, meditating on the word allows us to move from what the message says to what it really means (cf. Nehemiah 8:8).

There are many, many ways to meditate upon the Word. One way is to try to engage the content of a book in a different way than you might if you were simply reading through it for understanding. One way to do that is to consider one of themes or focuses of that book and view the entire book through that lens. For example, Ephesians frequently discusses the church that Jesus built (Matthew 16:18), which, as Ephesians states, is Jesus’ body. Having noted that the church/body is frequently mentioned in Ephesians as you read the epistle through for understanding, why not try to answer the question, “What does Ephesians teach me about the church?” I recently did so, and created the following list. My list is not intended to be exhaustive; my intention in sharing it is to inspire you to create your own list or to perform a similar exercise on this or another book of the Bible.

May God bless you as you make His Word your daily meditation!

Things We Can Learn About the Church from Ephesians:

The church is Jesus’ body (1:22-23)
Since the church is Jesus’ body, being “in Him” or “in Christ” (frequently repeated phrases in Ephesians) is the same as being in the church
Every spiritual blessing is accessible in the church (1:3)
The church as a place of spiritual blessing was chosen by God before the foundation of the world (1:4)
The unique relationship those in the church hold – adopted children – was also a matter of God’s prior choosing and good pleasure (1:5)
We are accepted in the church (1:6)
We have a redemption as rich as God’s grace through Jesus’ blood in the church (1:7)
We are granted the opportunity in the church to abound in wisdom and prudence (1:8)
We have been blessed to know the mystery of His will, which is also a matter of His prior choosing and good pleasure (1:9)
The church is a place where all things in Heaven and on earth are gathered together (1:10)
The church will receive an inheritance, also granted by God’s prior choosing and His will (1:11)
The church is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise as a guarantee of what will be later received (1:13-14)
The church is a place of glorious riches and exceedingly great power (1:18-19)
Since the church is Jesus’ body, it along with Him is exalted above everything else (1:20-21)
The church’s head is Jesus, not man, and because He “fills all in all” there is no room for sharing the exclusive authority He holds (1:22-23; cf. 2:6)
In the church, we have been made alive though we were once dead in sin (2:1)
God desires to one day show the church just how rich His grace and kindness are (2:7)
The church has been fashioned in Jesus to walk in “good works” which were also a matter of God’s prior choosing (2:10)
The church is a place where the far off and hopeless have been brought near (2:12-13)
The church has no walls of separation (2:14)
The church is a place of unity and peace that sees souls reconciled in its one body (2:15-16; cf. 3:6)
The church has access by the Spirit to the Father (2:18)
The church is God’s household (2:19)
The church is built upon the teachings of apostles and prophets, but is entirely oriented on Jesus, the cornerstone (2:20)
The church is a holy temple (2:21)
The church is God’s dwelling place in the Spirit (2:22)
The church makes known God’s manifold (multifaceted) wisdom (3:10) and demonstrates God’s eternal purpose (3:11)
The church is a place where we may boldly and confidently access God through faith (3:12)
The church is a part of the whole, singular family in Heaven and earth (3:15)
The church should be Christ’s dwelling place and contribute to Paul’s prayer that we would comprehend Christ’s love and be filled with God’s fullness (3:17-19)
The church is the place of God’s glory for all generations (3:21)
The church must walk worthy of its precious calling (4:1)
The church must endeavor to keep unity and peace amongst itself, by being lowly, gentle, longsuffering, and forbearing in love (4:2-3)
There is only one universal church since there is only one body (4:4)
The church is the recipient of Jesus’ gifts (4:7)
The church’s gifts include special roles like apostle and prophet (in the times of the New Testament), and today, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (4:11); these individuals equip and edify the rest of the church (4:12)
The special teaching roles Jesus gave should work to unity, mutual knowledge, and perfection in the whole body (4:13)
The church must not be tossed about by the winds of manmade doctrine (4:14)
The church must speak the truth in love (4:15)
The church grows up into its head, Jesus (4:15), by the effective working of each part, i.e., each person doing his/her share (4:16)
The church must therefore not walk like the unsaved do (4:17-19)
The church must put off its old life with all of its old behaviors (4:20-23)
The church must put on the new man which God created (4:24)
The church must not lie (4:25), allow anger to lead to sin (4:26-27), steal (4:28), speak corruptly 4:29), or grieve God’s Spirit (4:30)
The church must tell the truth (4:25), handle disputes before sundown (4:26), give (4:28), and speak what is needed to build up (4:29)
The church must constantly put off negative character traits and put on positive ones (4:30-31)
The church must imitate God as loving children who walk in love (5:1-2)
Sinful behavior and speech must be put off in gratitude (5:3-4)
The church must be careful not to be deceived by “empty words” (5:6)
The church should have no fellowship with the world as it seeks to find out what is acceptable to God (5:7-11)
The church should expose darkness and call those who sleep in darkness to wake up (5:12-14)
The church should walk with circumspection in wisdom (5:15-17)
The church should not be filled with any alcoholic spirits but with God’s Spirit, living under His influence (5:18)
The church should seek to be filled with the Spirit by singing (5:19), giving thanks (5:20), and practicing submission (5:21).
Submissive wives illustrate the church to Jesus, and sacrificing husbands illustrate Jesus to the church (5:22-33)
Jesus is the Savior of the church (5:23)
The church is totally subject to Jesus (5:24)
Jesus gave Himself for the church (5:25)
The church is cleansed by water and the Word (5:26)
The aim of Jesus is to present the church without spot or blemish to God (5:27)
The Lord nourishes and cherishes the church (5:29)
Members of the church are members of Jesus’ flesh and bones (5:30)
The church should live differently inside families (6:1-4) and at work (6:5-9)
The church must equip itself with God’s armor to stand in might against Satan (6:10-17)
The church should pray “always with all prayer and supplication” (6:18)