Review
Just as He chose us in Him - Wuest: “He hath chosen”, “to pick out, choose” is in the middle voice where the subject of the verb acts in his own interest, “to pick or choose out for one’s self.”
...before the foundation of the world... - The word “foundation” is katabole, kat-ab-ol-ay', which comes from two Greek words: ballo - “to throw” and kata, - “down”.
The word katabole means “a throwing or laying down”. It describes the act of a transcendent God throwing down a universe into space, speaking a material universe into existence which had no existence before.
...that we should be holy and without blame before him
Last time we learned that Ephesians 1:4 is a positional statement. Paul describes how God views us “in Him [Christ].” God sees us as “holy and blameless” because Christ our Savior is holy and blameless. His purity is credited to our spiritual bank account. That’s because God made Christ “who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
Last time we saw that the word chose implies the taking of a smaller number out of a larger.
Before the foundations of the world were laid, God had determined that all who believed on His Son should be saved. These become His own, to be used for a certain purpose. (Wuest)
Now we venture into new material found in verses 4-6.
The book “Great Doctrines of the Bible” explains the difference between the words election (the word “chose” that we looked at in verse 4) and predestination:
* Election looks back to God’s choice of certain individuals to be His children
* Predestination looks forward to the destiny He has planned for them
Remember, the Apostle Paul is eulogizing or speaking well of God for His plan for the saints of God in Christ Jesus. In verse four, we get a look into eternity past as God conferred picks out for Himself a people for His own possession. In Christ, God saves all those whom He has chosen and makes them positionally holy and blameless.
Now we get a look forward into eternity and see the destiny of believers in Jesus Christ; how God not only delivered the believer from sin, but how He adopts the follower of Jesus Christ into His own family, making them His children (sons)!!!
Eph 1:4c In love,
Eph 1:5 Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
In love... - Notice the words “in love” are found at the end of verse four but many Bible students believe it should be found at the beginning of verse five. Since the verse numbers in the Bible are not inspired, theologians have wondered for centuries about the proper placement of these two words.
If truth be told, the words “in love” make sense tacked on to the end of verse four as well as in the beginning of verse five.
* The use of the words, “in love” at the end of verse four could telling us that it was God’s love that motivated Him to choose us before the foundation of the world and graciously seeing us as holy and blameless
* But we could also place those words in the text at the beginning of verse five and conclude that the motivating factor in God’s act of predestination was divine love.
Which is the correct interpretation? One commentator says that we will have to wait until we see the Apostle Paul in heaven before we will really know with certainty.
Predestined - proorizo, pro-or-id'-zo; The Greek word is made up of pro, a preposition, and the simple verb horizo. It means, to limit in advance, i.e. (fig.) predetermine:--determine before, ordain and “to mark out the boundary or limits of a place, thing or person previously, thus “to predestine.” In other words it means “to determine or decree beforehand” (Cremer)
The word proorizo is used in the New Testament to describe God’s predeterminate actions:
* He decreed “hidden wisdom” before the world was even created (1 Cor 2:7)
* He determined beforehand what His enemies would do to His Son (Acts 4:28)
* He foreordained those who would be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29)
In Ephesians 1:5 Paul is thus far telling the Ephesian believers two things:
God determined beforehand to do something
Divine love was the motivating factor
Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself
Adoption means the placing of a son. It is a legal metaphor and was originally a Roman word, for adoption was hardly, if at all, known among the Jews.
It means “the taking by one man of the son of another to be his son, so that that son has the same position and all the advantages of a son by birth”.
Characteristics of adoption
1. It is eternal - The Apostle Paul declared this in his doxology in our text. The believer’s adoption was foreordained by God before the foundation of the world.
Why mention this eternal aspect of adoption? To impress upon the believer that our salvation has its origin solely in the grace of God (Rom 9:11; 11:5,6) (William Evans)
Speaking of the offspring of Abraham that was promised by God, Paul in Romans 9:11 writes, “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls…”
Psalm 139:13-16 says of God, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them”.
We observed last time that our salvation had nothing to do with who we are and what we’ve done…we weren't even around when God decided to save us.
2. It is intimate.
Ephesians 1:5 says that God “predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will” but this only describes a legal transaction. The court has decided…the documents have been signed. The Christian is a legal child of God.
That might be enough to praise God for but God, in other places of Scripture, delves more into this subject so that we might know what is happening in our adoption.
It’s one thing to know that we’ve been “blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies” and “chosen before the foundations of the world” and “predestined to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ” but let the trials come…let the tribulations come and the hardships of life and then we begin to doubt that we are even God’s children.
Here enters the ministry of the Holy Spirit into the believer’s life…
Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
We can call God Father, Daddy or Papa! God not only saves us and cleans us up, He sends forth His Holy Spirit to come live in our hearts and treats us as full-fledged sons and forgives us, calling us His children!
It’s one thing to know in our “heads” that we are children of God but it’s another thing to have this knowledge confirmed in our hearts through the ministry of the Spirit of God.
Romans 8:14-16 says, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
The word “Abba” is a shortened version of the Aramaic word for father. It was an intimate word used by young children of their fathers and could be translated “daddy” or “papa.”
When a human father adopts a child, while he can give him the same kind of love he gives his children by birth, there is one thing he cannot do; he cannot give that adopted child his own nature, genes or DNA. But God can and does give His adopted children His own nature by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell within the hearts of believers.
It is the Holy Spirit who turns the adoption of a believer into the family of God from a simple “legal transaction” to an intimate communion and relationship of Father and child.
3. It takes place the moment one believes in Jesus Christ.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
In 1 John 3:2 John writes, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God! Why does John get so excited about being called “sons”?
We used to be children of Satan:
Eph 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
Eph 2:2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
Eph 2:3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
After trusting Jesus for salvation...you were saved and adopted into the family of God as one of His own! Galatians 3:26 says, “For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
4.Our “adoption as sons” will be manifested fully at the resurrection and coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 8:23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Evans says: “Here in this world we are incognito; we are not recognized as sons of God. But some day we shall throw off this disguise.”
It kind of reminds me of coming home after a hard day on the job. One of the first things I want to do is get out of my work clothes and put on something comfortable. You ladies usually like to get out of your stockings and other things…
One day these earthly, clay vessels will be thrown off and we will be given new bodies and then will be seen for who we are, and that day will be when we see Him face to face.
1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
Eph 1:5 Having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will
The preposition “by” is dia signifying intermediate agency. This means that “Jesus was the intermediate agent of God the Father to bring fruition His purpose of placing believers as adult sons. He did it through His work on the cross...”
...to Himself... This refers to the subject of predestination: God the Father Himself.
* It’s God who chose us so that we might be adopted for Himself
* It’s God who did this for His own satisfaction
* It’s God who predestined us so that He might pour His love out on us
* It’s God who did this so that we might fellowship with Him
* It’s God who predestined us so that He might be glorified in saving us.
* It’s God who did this so that He would be the recipient of our worship and service.
He predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself…
according to the good pleasure (or kind intention) of His will
“good pleasure” - eudokia, yoo-dok-ee'-ah; satisfaction, delight, good pleasure
This doesn’t mean that God had a good or warm fuzzy feeling as a result of Him predestining us. His predestination of the believer pleased Him: (i.e., it brings Him satisfaction, because it represents the expression of His being)
Our salvation is a product of all who God is…His mercy, His grace, the expression of His loving kindness toward us. It was something that seemed good in the sight of God (Luke 10:21; Matthew 11:26).
The word, “will” is thelema and means, “a desire which proceeds from one’s heart or emotions”. Pulpit Commentary says, “The spring or motive to the selection is solely in God, not in man. It is an act of sovereignty.”
The Christian’s salvation, expressed in election, predestination and adoption, is the result of the sovereign, unmerited grace of God and not due to anything in us or anything outside God Himself. It flows from God’s own pure goodness, and originates in the freedom of His own thoughts and the loving counsel of the Trinity.
Conclusion:
As the Apostle Paul meditated in Ephesians chapter one on how God chose or elected sinful men, women, boys and girls before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. As Paul pondered how “in love” God determined beforehand to adopt them as His own children with the view of bestowing on them all the rights and privileges of a full-fledged son, he declared that these blessings were "to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved".
There is a statement that has become more of a cliché among Christians today. You have heard people say, “When the praises go up, the blessings come down.” Well, here in Ephesians, it is just the opposite. Here we are being told, “When the blessings come down, the praises go up!” Our praise in Ephesians 1:6, 12 and 14, is in response to the blessings delineated in this chapter.
* Our praise is in response to the fact that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus! (vs. 3)
* Our praise is in response to the wonderful truths conveyed by Paul telling us that we have been elected, we have been made positionally holy and blameless! (vs. 4)
* Our praise is a reply to the declaration that we have been predestined for adoption as full-fledged legal “sons” of the most high God and King! (vs. 5)
* Our praise is in response to the fact that God did all this when we didn’t deserve it (2:1-3)—it was His grace (1:6; 2:8-10)! Hallelujah!
Application:
Eph 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
Eph 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Eph 4:3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
