Paul the
apostle continued his opening remarks to the Ephesian church members
by blessing “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”
and then referred to how He “has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ”. In chapter one and
verse four of his letter, Paul declares how the Ephesian believers
and himself have been “chosen in him before the foundation of
the world” where we read:
According
as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we
should be holy and without blame before him in love:
The
verse begins, “According as he has chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world,...” Paul began with the phrase,
“According as” or “just as, in proportion as, in the
degree that, since, seeing that and agreeably to the fact that” “he
has chosen” which means “picked out, set apart as being dear
to God beyond all others and exalted by him to the preeminent dignity
of the Messiah” “us” which refers to “Paul the apostle
and the Christians with whom He shares” “in him” which
refers to “God Almighty Himself” “before the foundation”
which means “in front of, prior to, above, before or ever throwing
or laying down of the seed or conception of plants and animals ”
“of the world” or “the circle of the earth and its
goods, endowments, riches, advantages and pleasures”. God “chose”
or “elected” those who believe in, trust in and rely upon
His Son Jesus Christ “before” He laid “the foundation
of the world”.
The
verse continues, “...that we should be holy and without blame
before him in love:” Paul added, “that we should be” or
“exist, happen and be present” “holy” which means “a
most sacred, pure, morally blameless or religiously and ceremonially
consecrated as a saint” “and without blame” or “without
rebuke, spot or fault” “before him” which refers to
“before the face, presence, sight or eyes of God Almighty” “in
love” or “affection, good will, benevolence and charity”.
The reason the Lord “chose” His believers was that they
“should be” “set apart, sacred, pure and morally
blameless” in front of Him with all “affection, charity and
benevolence”.
When
we think through these words of Paul, we understand how many people
may have difficulty with the idea that God “chooses” or
“elects”. They wonder, “doesn't the Lord allow for free will or
human responsibility?” God Almighty knows everything, and He cannot
learn anything because He knows it all. He knows who will “choose”
a relationship with Him by way of His Son Jesus Christ, and He knows
those who won't. We must remember that Jesus said, “whosoever
believes in Him”, and that promise allows everyone access. Let
us accept the Lord Jesus as our Lord and Savior today, and then we
will know we have be “elected” by Him “before the foundation
of the world” was laid.
Next
time Paul shares how we are “predestined unto the
adoption of children”, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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