“So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Genesis 2:21-23
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.” Ephesians 1:3-4
“For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.” 2 Corinthians 11:2
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, that He might present to Himself the Church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5:25-27
Notice that the Church is the bride of Jesus Christ whom He presents to Himself after her cleansing and sanctification. Jesus loves the Church as a husband loves his wife, even laying down His life for her.
When Jesus looks at you He is looking at you as His beloved bride who He loves, cherishes and wants to protect.
In the beginning this same Jesus, as God the Son, created all things, -“There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.” (John 1:9-20) It was Jesus who spoke the worlds into existence, and Jesus who took the dust of the ground to make Adam. But when it came time to give Adam a wife God didn’t take another handful of dirt but instead took Eve out of Adam.
Here we find a wonderful typology - God caused a “deep sleep” to come upon Adam which is surely symbolic of death and was surely picturing Jesus who is called the “last Adam” in the New Testament. Eve was not born of woman but was taken out of and made from man. When Adam looked at Eve he was looking at himself and said, - “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.”
Eve was created solely from Adam - nothing else was added - Eve was not a composite. What was once a part of Adam’s body, without independent consciousness, became an extension of him as another life and together they became one flesh. Since the saints were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world and are His “body” - He looks at us as Adam looked at Eve.
This leads us to an interesting observation - Adam experienced “deep sleep” not due to sin because sin had not entered the world yet. This type for death was obviously necessary for the creation of Eve his bride. Eve was chosen in Adam before sin, and before there was a need for redemption. Likewise, the saints were chosen in Christ before sin entered the world - before there was a need for redemption, -“before the foundation of the world.”
In light of these truths, perhaps we may view Ephesians Chapter 5,- “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself up for her” not as the redemptive event which occurred on Passover 31 AD, but as the time we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. Perhaps like Adam who was laid down alone only to arise with a bride, Christ gave Himself before the foundation of the world for the creation of His bride.
When we continue reading in Ephesians 1 we see that through Christ God redeemed His “own possession.” Paul writes the account as if the Church was already God’s own possession before redemption was made through Christ, saying that the Holy Spirit was given “with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession.” (verse 14) Notice also Romans 8:29-30, - “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
The Scriptures clearly say that it is God’s will that all would be saved and that no one would perish. Jesus said that hell was not created for man but for the devil and his demons. But because all were created and predestined for the offer of salvation, we must not assume that all were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world and that all were “foreknown”, “predestined” and “chosen” to be the first-fruits, the bride of Christ.
The saints are called the “chosen ones” - the question is when were they chosen - after their natural birth or in Christ before the foundation of the world. I contend that the saints are not the “chosen” because they were called out of the world, but called out of the world because they are the “chosen ones” who were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
Jesus prophesied of His wedding banquet declaring that the “invited guests” are blessed and honored to receive the invitation. But consider that an invited guest to a wedding is there to witness the union and covenant of the Groom and the Bride. It is an honor to be an invited guest, but how much greater honor is it to be the chosen bride? Notice also, - “And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He PREPARED BEFOREHAND for glory, even us, whom He also called.” (Romans 9:23)
Dearly beloved of the Lord, consider your calling and how great and wonderful it is to be chosen in Christ even before the foundation of the world to be joined to Him as His bride. Let us live in that holy calling for He is coming soon, - “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” Revelation 19:7-8
