A Walk through Ephesians - Pt 2

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him. (Ephesians 1:3–10 ESV)

 

Never let it be said that the Apostle Paul was subtle in his teachings! Our reading today is one of the most profound New Testament passages written by him and functions as an opening hymn of praise, outlining the eternal plan of God to redeem humanity and unite all creation under Jesus Christ. In the original Greek text, verses 3 through 14 actually form one single, continuous, and breathless sentence celebrating God’s grace. For centuries there has been a great controversy surrounding these verses. It centers on the theological debate between Calvinism and Arminianism, specifically focusing on the doctrines of predestination, unconditional election, and human free will.

 

The Calvinist view understands this passage as stating that God "chose us in him before the creation of the world" and "predestined us for adoption" means that God sovereignly and unconditionally selects specific individuals for salvation before birth, independent of any human action or merit. The Arminian/Non-Calvinist view argues that God's predestination is corporate (ie. choosing the "body" of Christ rather than individuals) or they say the choice of God is based on divine foreknowledge of who would freely choose to believe in Him, protecting human responsibility and free will.

 

As a reformed believer, I prefer the first view of interpretation. Perhaps going to the principal author of the Calvinistic view would be helpful; John Calvin writes:

 

“In the word predestinate we must again attend to the order. We were not then in existence, and therefore there was no merit of ours. The cause of our salvation did not proceed from us, but from God alone. Yet Paul, not satisfied with these statements, adds in himself. The Greek phrase is, εἰς αὑτὸν, and has the same meaning with ἐν αὑτῷ. By this he means that God did not seek a cause out of himself, but predestinated us, because such was his will.” (Calvin’s Commentary on Ephesians).

 

The Apostle Paul is going to clarify this even more later when he writes: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10). Critics of strict predestination argue that choosing some for salvation while leaving others behind paints God as an arbitrary or cruel tyrant; however, Paul explicitly anchors these choices "in love" and expressions of God's "good pleasure", emphasizing grace and humility over human boasting

 

For me it all comes down to the complete dependence upon God rather than anything we may or may not do. If I’m responsible for being good enough to gain eternal life, or do enough to gain God’s favor, I have no hope. The good news is it all depends on Jesus, and, He has finished it on my behalf! Now… that’s good news!