Chosen

Ephesians 1:4-5

Ephesians 1:3 tells us of the heavenly riches with which God has blessed us. We have trouble finding words to express the riches and meaning of “every spiritual blessing.” God held nothing back, even giving His own Son for our sake.

Ephesians 1:4 says:

Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV) 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, 

This verse begins with the conjunction “just as.” The meaning of this “just as” can be stated as “in conformity with” or “to the extent that,” and therefore, it is argumentative. In other words, the statement that follows is offered as proof. One proof of the tremendous blessings that God has given us is that He has chosen us in Jesus before the foundation of the world.

Being chosen is a blessing and a tremendous demonstration of God’s love and grace, but it is not a reason for us to boast as if we somehow merited this or were chosen because of our own unique value. If we boast, it is only in the cross of Christ. Jesus is all our hope and righteousness. It is all because of Him. Jesus said, 

John 6:37, 45 (NKJV): ³⁷All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. John …⁴⁵It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

God choose all who come to Jesus for salvation, and no one comes unless God chooses him. However, we must not assume that we can understand this process. Jesus uses the same word for “chose” as is used in Ephesians 1:4 when He says:

John 6:70 (NKJV): “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”

The more we partake of the grace of God, the more responsible we are to answer for the blessings He has given. According to Ephesians 1:4-5, God has chosen us for three things.

1. That we should be holy and without blame before Him in love
2. That we should be adopted as sons 
3. That would should be to the praise and glory of His grace

First, we are made holy and blameless by the blood of Jesus, and not by our own works. However, God has set us apart for Himself (this is the meaning of “holy”). And as His people we are to be holy as He is holy. We are to imitate Him. So, although we are not saved by our own righteousness, we are to seek to be perfected in love and grow to be more like our Lord Jesus Christ.

Second, we are predestined to the adoption as sons and this is according to the good pleasure of His will. John 1:13 tells us:

John 1:13 (NKJV) who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

We are prone to take too much credit for ourselves and to worship men instead of God. If a preacher has unusual talent we give the man much credit and forget that the person can do nothing apart from Christ. We need to give credit to the Holy Spirit and recognize that God is at work. Everything we have and all the talents we bring to the table are gifts from God. We cannot take credit for our adoption as sons or our home in the Father’s house. We were predestined for these things according to the pleasure of His will, not because we wanted these things.

God has done all of this for the praise of the glory of His grace. Ephesians 1:5 says that it was the grace of God that made us accepted and this was done to show the glory of God.

God has made men for various purposes. He endures with much patience some who are rebellious in order to show the riches of His kindness toward others. Romans 9:22-24 says:

Romans 9:22–24 (NKJV) ²²What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, ²³and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, ²⁴even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

God is at work in us to conform us to the image of Christ. For us, this means that we should make every effort to be holy and blameless before Him in love, live as His children, and praise and extol His name at every opportunity, living a testimony before all people.