The Predestined Church
Ephesians 1:3–14 NKJV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
We pick up this morning with the study of Ephesians which we started last week. Today, we will look at Ephesians 1:3-14 which sets the theological foundation for Ephesians. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds us that Ephesians begins with chapter 1 and not chapter 4 which is considered to be the practical application of Ephesians. It is as if some think that the first three chapters, though interesting, aren’t as important as just knowing what we should or should not do. Americans, in particular, have this pragmatic tendency. They just want to get to the point of the matter. Theology is hard labor as it requires us to think. But let us look at an example from athletics. People do not become professional athletes simply because they have God-given athletic abilities. They need to be trained how to use and develop these skills. In fact, there are some athletes who did not have the depth of natural abilities who achieved greatness in sports through hard discipline and hours of repetition. We also know of those who had great abilities who flopped because they did not practice.
The brain is the biggest muscle in the body. It has enormous capacity. Even the wisest person only uses a small percentage of one’s mental ability which tells us that we were created for a much higher purpose. This brain must be exercised to bring out its power. However, there is a tendency to be lazy and use just enough of one’s brain to get by. One will never become great with this attitude. And our great God has made us to reflect His glory and to be great in Him. So, let us realize that the study of the first three chapters of Ephesians is essential for proper development of our spiritual brain.
After Paul introduces himself to the Ephesians as can apostle called by the will of God. He is writing to the “saints” in Ephesus. The word “saint” means a person who has been set apart, in other words, “called.” This is the writing of a called apostle to a called church.
Paul begins the body of the letter in verse three in which he acknowledges the blessedness of God. We cannot properly “bless” God as He is blessed in His nature. The best we can do is to recognize His blessedness. The one who is blessed is God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This means that we understand God the Father in relation to His Son. We cannot know the Father except through and by the Son. Then Paul reminds us that it is this God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. This tells us that this blessing is uniquely Christian. He is not referring to carnal blessings like food, raiment, shelter, or earthly riches here. This does not mean that God cannot or does not bless by carnal means. What is does mean is that the heavenly blessing in Christ is far superior to these other things. This blessing is heavenly; it is spiritual, and it is in Christ alone. We should also notice the word “us.” This blessing is not for everyone. It is for the Christian church alone.
In verse 4, Paul tells us that we were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. The Greek word behind “chosen” is the word translated “elected.” The doctrine of election had caused much controversy in Christian circles. Those who believe in human free will balk at the idea that God would choose anyone who did not choose Him first. They say that the doctrine of election from before creation makes us no more than puppets. How could God hold us accountable if we are only doing what we were predestined to do. But this is what the text in Ephesians says. and this is not the only place in Scripture which affirms divine election. Therefore, we need to deal with this doctrine.
One way some look at this is that it is Christ that was predestined and that the church as a whole was elected in Him before the foundation of the world without necessarily electing the individuals who would make up this church. As Paul is addressing people who are already Christians in Ephesians, the “us” refers to their membership in the elected church. There are others who look at Romans 8:29-30 where it says that “Those whom He foreknew, them He predestined.” This puts foreknowledge first and provides that God knows the choices that individuals will make and predestines those who would accept Him. Both of these ideas serve as a kind of workaround yet seems lacking.
I think the better way to understand this is to emphasize the free will of God rather than man. However free will might be described in man, the free will of God is entirely different. Divine free will is based upon God who is all-knowing, everywhere present, and all powerful. Whatever God wills must of necessity come to pass. Human “free will” is based upon limitations of knowledge, presence, and power. For will to be free, one must be able to make what one wills happen. There is no such thing as chance with God. To make an illustration from the weather, God knows what the weather will be on any given place on earth on a given day infallibly. He foreknows and ordains the weather. So God does not think in terms at chance for rain. Humans have some knowledge of the weather. They can look at satellite pictures, temperature distributions, water content in the air, disturbances, and the like. They can make a forecast based upon these inputs. They can say that there is a 30 percent chance of rain today based upon the data. They might get it right, but not always. They do not have power over the weather.
In like manner, the Bible says that everyone has some knowledge of God. Even in the wisest of theologians, there is far more to know about God than even he knows. The man might be able to rescue a drowning person and save that person’s life. They can postpone death. But death comes anyway to all. Man might be able to choose to live a more moral life, but no one can save his own soul from eternal death. Even the accomplishments of man could only happen if God allowed these things to be. The Bible tells us that knowledge of God is revealed to us, so even this limited knowledge is a gift of God. Even this knowledge we suppress and distort. So whatever “free will” we have is meaningless, and to the extent we even possess this free will in part is the gift of God and not ourselves.
We have taken quite a detour in our examination of Ephesians, but as the terms like predestination and election are prominent in this epistle, we must take the time to explain them. The same will also be true for grace and faith. We will discuss these in chapter 2. But here, let it be said that we emphasize the free will of God as well as God’s free grace to offer salvation. God is perfectly free to save some, none or all according to His will. What God has chosen by His grace alone is to save those who believe upon His Son Jesus Christ, and only these people. Even faith is God’s gift. Paul tells us in Romans 10 that faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God. This Word is spread by the preaching of the Gospel. So if we want people to believe and come to faith, we must verbally preach the Word by means of those whom God has chosen and sent. Instead of arguing over human free will, we should be obedient to preach the Word faithfully and leave the results to God, the God who is willing that none perish but come to the knowledge of the truth. when it comes to human free will, one can only have free will in the truest sense when they align their will with the will of God who alone possesses free will. So when one accepts Christ, this is a truly free will decision because this is also God’s will.
We mentioned this earlier, but lest us again remember that Ephesians is written to the church, a church which consists of individual believers in Christ. The doctrines of election and predestination are meant to give comfort to us believers as no one can thwart God’s will. Our will can change. If salvation depended upon our choice, we would be in great danger of losing it. But if it is in the hands of God, then we have the greatest of hope. I might also add that this excludes our boasting about the decision we made to believe on Christ which causes division. Instead we boast in the work of God in Jesus Christ together.
The text goes on to tell us the purpose of God’s choosing of the church to be His people is that we might be holy and blameless. The following two words “in love” can either be taken with holy and blameless or with the following verse which would render it: “in love having predestined us unto the adoption of sons.” I can’t say which is the exact meaning here. The first would tell us that love is the means by which we become holy and blameless. After all, the Scripture tells us that the person who loves covers a multitude of transgressions. This love is twofold, our love for God and our love for each other. It is God’s will that we be united in the faith, so this is certainly a true statement. The other interpretation would show us that God’s very act of predestination is an act of His love. The fact that we can be adopted as His children is certainly an act of love. either way, the “in love” fits well. So this becomes a choice of two excellent interpretations.
We should also notice that the words “blameless” and “holy” define the scope of God’s choosing and predestination. God can choose people, angels, and creation to do other purposes. God chose Pharaoh in this way as the means of showing His great deliverance to Israel. Pharaoh was not chosen to be holy and blameless before God in love. The predestination described here is for the church alone. If other things are predestined, these are not in view here. So let us concentrate our gaze upon the predestination of the church, that it is the infallible will of God that we be holy and blameless in His presence, a church called out from the world (This is what the word for church “ekklesia” means when translated).
The next thing we learn about the predestined church is that we are adopted as His children. This is a very special relationship. one can say that God, as creator, is father of all living. But the idea of adoption is meant for specific people. It is truly an extraordinary thing that we are called the “children of God.” This is what 1 John 3:1. Natural children under Roman and even Jewish law could be disowned and disinherited. But an adopted child could not be disinherited and disowned. Sometimes natural children can be born by “accident” in the sense they were unplanned. But adoption is an act of will and involves love and commitment on the part of the adoptive parent. And as we know, adopted children in this world can involve a lot of tribulation. Sometimes, the children who are adopted had crack addicted mothers, for example. Others have psychological and physical issues which arise. I have seen the longsuffering of parents who have had children which grew up to be anything but holy and blameless, And despite these troubles, they continue to try to do right by their children and try to reform them. If this is true with man, how much more true with God who has adopted us?
The cause for our adoption and acceptance before God is entirely based in the person and work of Jesus Christ who is the eternally chosen One. Peter agrees that Jesus was slain before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:19-20). Revelation 13:8 adds that our names had been written in the Lamb’s book of life from the foundation of the world. Because Christ is eternally predestined, and we are in Christ, we are also predestined in Him according to the will of God and his pleasure.
Paul now adds a doxology to the text in which He praises God for the glory of His grace. Our proper and only boast is in the Triune God. This is how we should respond to what God has done for us. Paul had earlier affirmed the blessedness of the God who blesses. This says pretty much the same thing in different words. We see the word “glory” here. This is a hard word to define. We all know that it is a very good word, but what is meant by glory. The Hebrew word for glory is “cabod” which means weighty or of substance. The Greek word comes from “dokeo” which means to think. We see this in the term “orthodoxy” which means to think rightly about God. This means that doxology is more than an emotional reaction to God. It involves thought as well. Glory is often represented by some sort of halo or light around an object to be glorified. We see this in Christian art in which halos are placed around the head of saint, Mary, and Jesus. We know that the Father dwells in light inaccessible and hid from human eyes by this light (Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise). Glory is something which overwhelms both the body and soul. It overwhelms emotions and minds. Even so, we praise God and His glory with the best words we can offer.
The truth that God has made us accepted in the beloved is one of those thoughts which transcends human thought and emotion. We are sinners. We have rebelled against our maker. Our conscience tells us that we deserve the most severe of judgment. Why should God care for us at all? Why did he not just slay Adam and Eve on the spot and start over? But the fact that God chose to redeem us in Christ is the most transcendent of thoughts. It proves that God is God and we are not. Truly, His thoughts are so much higher than ours as are His ways. Praising the glory of His grace is the only way we can respond to such an act of grace. We must believe that what God tells us directly here is the truth, that God is willing to save us in Christ.
Paul now goes on to give us more information about the grounds of this new standing before the Father. We are redeemed by the blood of Jesus and the forgiveness of sin. Again, this is the unfathomable love of God toward us. This shows how rich His grace is toward us, that His Son should and did die to save us. Praise be to God for His free will choice to save us who believe! Praise God for His free grace which He has bestowed upon us! This is the abundance of God’s wisdom and prudence.
Paul then tells us that what he writes is the revelation of a mystery. when Paul uses this term, he is saying that what had previously been hidden has now been revealed. therefore, it is no longer a mystery. This does not mean that God has revealed everything to us, There are things which may always be hidden from us. But in this case, this part of the will of God has been revealed to us. So what has been revealed? Paul tells us that God planned to sum up all things in Christ. This would happen at the proper time of God’s own choosing and by the means of God’s own choosing—in the fullness of time. Jesus Himself tells us that what we call the Old Testament, He is revealed. His birth, suffering, death, resurrection, and exaltation are all taught there, and rightly. But as Christ is rightly revealed in the Old Testament, He is not completely revealed there. The beginning of the Book of Hebrews tells us that God did indeed speak to the ancients through the prophets. It is God and not man speaking. But it also says that in the latter days He has spoken in the Son, which is the fuller revelation of the will of God, which also serves to enlighten what is said in the Old Testament.
In the dispensation of the fullness of time, God reveals that He has chosen to bring both heaven and earth together into one, in Christ. This does promise the renewal of creation itself, but as Paul will later show is in Ephesians, he is zeroing in on the unity of both Jew and Gentile in Christ. God’s plan for creation is bigger than this, of course, but as this epistle is God’s blueprint for His predestined church, he wishes to practically apply this truth to the church. How does the church come to unity? This is what Paul will develop later in Ephesians.
Here, Paul reiterates our predestination. The church is made us of those who have trusted (believed) in Christ. As it is God and not man who executes this plan according to the will of God, this must inevitably come to pass in time. The church will become more of what it is already called to be. This is again the praise of the glory of His grace. We heard the gospel and trusted in Christ. This is a necessary prerequisite as no one comes into His church any other way. This Gospel is the gospel of our salvation. This is to the Ephesians in the past tense, It was a reminder of where they had come from. For those who are still without the church, they need to hear the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ and believe. But for us, it serves as a reminder of whose we are and why we are here.
Paul reminds us who believe that after we came to faith, we were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. This is not a theoretical concept as though the Holy Spirit works invisibly behind the scenes to conform us to Christ. It is taught as an experiential reality as well. It is by this we know we are His. This filling with the Spirit serves as an earnest of the full inheritance we are to receive. In the world, when one buys a house, an earnest payment is given to the previous owner which pledges one’s intent to buy the house. It isn’t the full amount, yet it is part of the price. Sometimes in real-estate sales fall through, and in some cases the earnest money is forfeited. But not so with God who is always faithful to His pledge. If there be any fault, it is ours. So the Holy Spirit gives us that assurance that so long as we are in Christ, we are saved. We already own the inheritance. We are only waiting for the fullness of time to occupy it. To this Paul again praises the glory of His grace.
This has indeed been a longer study that usual, but I think we have laid a solid foundation for the rest of our study of Ephesians. We have defined the frequently used terms. We have learned that the Church is predestined to be the bride of Christ. these things must happen. we have learned the basis of our salvation and the assurance we have in Christ. We have tasted of God’s free grace. Next week, we shall continue in our study
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