God's Plan to Save Our Lives - Ephesians 1:1-5
This week we begin a new study of the book of Ephesians. This book was written by Paul. Some early manuscripts lack a destination name which means the letter was likely intended to be shared with a number of churches (the name was filled in at the destination). Ephesians is considered one of the “prison epistles” because it was probably written while Paul was in prison in Rome. The letter is six chapters long and outlines the nature and implications of the Christian faith in a concise yet thorough manner.
After identifying himself as the author the letter begins with an “explosion of praise”. In the Greek, verses 3-14 are one long sentence. Paul exalts the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is what is called the doctrine of the Trinity. In the Bible God has described Himself as one being who consists of three different and distinct “persons”. In simple propositions the Trinity can be stated this way,
1. God the Father is God.
2. God the Son is God.
3. God the Holy Spirit is God.
4. The Father is not the Son.
5. The Son is not the Spirit.
6. The Spirit is not the Father.
7. Nevertheless, there is only one God.[1]
Admittedly, this is confusing to us because God is more complex than anything our minds can grasp. There is no analogy that can help us understand God’s complexity. That doesn’t make the Trinity untrue, it just makes it difficult to grasp. However, this is how God describes Himself in the Bible. All three persons are eternal, distinct and yet One.
We will take the work of each person in the Trinity separately. This morning I look specifically at the work of the Father. We are told that God the Father,
chose us in him [Jesus] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. (4-6)
We see the same expressions in verses 11 and 12.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
What often happens when people read these verses is they get sidetracked by debates about the word “predestined” and they miss the point Paul is making. I don’t want to get sidetracked, but we do need to touch on the doctrine of predestination because it is the foundation on which Paul builds, and it is a doctrine very often dismissed, distorted or misunderstood.
What is this Predestination Stuff?
There is no way around the fact that the doctrine of predestination is taught in the Bible. We read words like: “predestination”, “elect”, and “chosen” throughout the Bible. Therefore, you cannot say, “I don’t believe in predestination” without denying the clear teaching of the Bible. The doctrine is taught by Paul, by Peter, is alluded to by Jesus, especially in the gospel of John, and even in the book of Revelation we are told that our names are written in the Book of Life before the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8, 17:8) which means our salvation was declared before we were even born. Biblical Christians must believe in the doctrine of predestination.
What the word predestination means it clear. It means: to determine destiny beforehand. We are told that before we were even born, God already determined who would be saved. Christians who take the Bible seriously all agree that this is what the doctrine teaches. The debate centers on one question: On what basis does God make this determination?
There are two primary viewpoints. The most popular viewpoint today says: God looked into the future, saw who would embrace Christ, and then He designated those people for eternal life. In other words, God, on the basis of His ability to know the future chose people He knew would choose Him. So, there is a sense in which we are saved because we did (or will do) something that will warrant salvation (believe). We are drawn to this view because we want to believe that we are ultimately the ones who determine our destiny. This view of predestination seems “fair” to us.
The second view says: God did not choose us based on anything we did or would do but because of His sovereign purpose. That doesn’t mean God’s choice is arbitrary, only that it is not a response to what we do.
Genuine believers disagree on this issue. There are good and well-respected Christian teachers that hold both of these views. It is important that we each actually examine the Scriptures to see what it says before making a decision on what it means. We are to proclaim and believe what the Bible teaches (what God tells us) is true and not what we want to be true. This doctrine (like the doctrine of the Trinity) is one where lots of people take a position before they have actually fairly examined the Scriptures. Such people still disagree but it is a respectful disagreement.
Rick and I have come to the conclusion that the second view is the Biblical view. We believe God has chosen to save individuals according to His wisdom, not in response to anything we have done or will do. We believe this is what the Bible teaches.
The key passage to us is Romans 9. Paul starts a discussion about predestination and the way God brings us to faith in Romans 8. In Romans 9, Paul argued that people aren’t saved just because they are born Jewish (which was a common belief among Jews). He argued that even though God chose the Jews to be His people, not every individual Jew was chosen to be saved. He illustrated this by looking first at Isaac and Ishmael and then at the twins: Jacob and Esau.
Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Paul says that God chose Jacob over Esau and it had nothing to do with anything Jacob (or Esau) had done or would do. The only factor was God’s choice and God’s purpose.
What makes this compelling is what comes next. Paul anticipates objections from those who will be reading his words. These objections help us understand what Paul intended to say. In 14 Paul asks,
14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust?
The first objection he anticipates from people is: “That’s not fair!” The question we must ask is: Which understanding of predestination would provoke this argument? Not the first view. That seems fair to us. Only the second view, that salvation is based solely on God’s Sovereign choice and not on anything we have done or will do provokes this response.
Paul answered the objection this way,
Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”16 It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
Paul says God is not obligated to extend mercy to anyone, much less everyone. If we received what was “fair” we would be sent to Hell. Grace is not something owed to us; it is a gift that is given to the undeserving.
There is a second objection,
“Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?”
You might hear it this way: If God has already decided what my destiny is, then I have no choice in the matter and am only doing what He determined I should do. So . . . it doesn’t matter what I do and I shouldn’t be held responsible if I reject the Lord.” Again, which view would bring such a response? Only the second.
Paul answered the objection this way:
20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
He says, “Look, God is the One in charge, not you or me. He can do whatever He wants with us because we belong to Him.” Since God made us, He can make us for any purpose He chooses.
Because of this I’ve concluded that Paul was teaching that God chooses based on nothing we have or will do. At the same time, the Bible teaches that we are free beings. It teaches that our choices have real consequences. This means predestination is not the same thing as fatalism. Our final destiny is determined by God but the path to that destiny is affected by our daily decisions.
Let me give you an illustration that moves from the sublime to the ridiculous. Most of you have seen the “Toy Story” movies. You can’t help but love the various toys (Woody, Buzz and the gang). These toys have a life of their own and unique personalities. The toys however never forget one thing: they are Billy’s toys. They exist to bring him joy and serve him. Billy can play with them as he sees fit. He can choose to keep them or give them away. Billy loves his toys but that does not change the fact that the toys belong to him . . . he does not belong to the toys. I think this is Paul’s argument: God is not obligated to act in the way we want Him to act. We belong to Him, not the other way around.
The issue of Predestination raises many significant and important questions. These should be discussed in small groups of believers. The key is to discuss the matter respectfully in a desire to learn and grow in our faith rather than to label and demonize others. Like the doctrine of the Trinity we seek to understand and embrace what the Bible teaches even if we don’t fully understand it.
God Has Had a Plan from the Beginning
The Bible tells us that “God chose us before the creation of the world”. It is not an argument but an assertion. Paul views this doctrine as rich and wonderful. It is not a hated truth but one that should provoke worship and praise.
Paul rejoices that God is in charge. He is moved by the fact that God had a plan to rescue us before we were ever in trouble. He rejoices that God’s love is not anchored to our behavior . . . but His character.
The very fact that we have come to faith shows that God loves us, cares about us, and has a purpose for our lives that is greater than we can presently see. This is great news!
God’s Plan has Always Been Anchored to Christ
We are told that God has chosen us “in Him”. That “Him” is Jesus. Rick will talk in a more detailed way about Christ next week. The way God will bring us to Himself is through Christ.
The Bible is clear: God is holy and we are not. Since God is holy, sinless, and perfect, He cannot and will not leave sin unpunished. That would be unjust. The Bible tells us (Romans 3) that by sending Jesus to die as our substitute, God justly judges sin and at the same time becomes the one who makes it possible to extend grace to others. He is just and the justifier.
He Had a Purpose: to Make us Holy and Blameless
God saved us for a purpose. His goal is to make us holy and blameless. These are staggering words. Every one of us knows that we are not close to being holy or blameless. I don’t need anyone to prove this to me . . . I see it when I look in the mirror every day. I see it in the things I do, say, and think. Even on my best days I fall far short of God’s standard for me. This fact can make us believe we cannot possibly be among those God will save.
However, there are two dimensions to the holiness and blamelessness to which we have been called: The first is POSITIONAL HOLINESS. We might say it is the legal part of things. Because of Christ, our debt is paid and God now views us as holy under the law. Our crimes are wiped off of the books. Our record is expunged.
Imagine you are desperately sick and bedridden for a significant amount of time. Your body is filled with disease that is causing your body to shut down. However, a new medicine comes on the market that is able to kill the disease that is destroying you. When the drug is administered and the disease is destroyed you are officially “well”.
However, there is a second dimension to being holy. It is PRACTICAL HOLINESS. Let’s go back to the sick person who has been made well. Since you have been in bed for a long time your muscles have atrophied. You may need to learn how to walk again. You may have to work back up to eating solid food. You may even have to adjust socially because you have spent so much time isolated. Things have changed while you were sick. You are medically healed (Positional healing), but you must learn how to live as a healed person (Practical healing).
When we put our trust in Christ we are declared holy and blameless by the magnificent grace of God through the work of Christ. However, we still need to learn how to live as a child of God. We need to view ourselves differently, change the way we think, and develop new habits. This is all part of God’s rehab program for us. Paul will talk much more about this later in his letter.
All of This Reveals God’s Greatness
We are told that God did all of this “in accordance with the pleasure of his will- to the praise of His glorious grace”. Why did God go to all this trouble to rescue us and to help us live new lives when we have continually rebelled against Him? Why is He committed to helping us find the life that we squandered in our sin? He does it because He wants us to know Him. He wants to show us His character, His beauty, and the incredible depth of His love. God has rescued us in a way that spotlights His grace rather than our goodness.
I know this may sound like irrelevant debate to you. However, this fact of God’s sovereign plan has some very practical results:
It takes away any reason for boasting or feelings of superiority. We can no longer say (or imply) that we are believers because we made a better choice than someone else. It is not because of our superior intelligence or choice. We are His followers because God in His baffling grace has done for us what we would never do for ourselves. We understand that we are saved in spite of who we are rather than because of it.
It takes away our insecurity. If our salvation is based in any way on our merit, there is always the risk that we are going to do something that will invalidate our salvation. As a result, we live tentatively and apprehensively. Paul affirms that since we have been made new because of God’s activity, not ours, we put our confidence in His grace, not our performance. We can live confidently.
It builds in us an overwhelming well of gratitude. When we understand that God has reached out to us in spite of the way we live our lives (rather than because of the way we live our lives) we should be filled with a gratitude that knows no end. We do not get what we deserve! Instead, we receive grace, mercy and new life! Every day we know we should be grateful that we belong to Him.
Think about those who escape a deadly tornado or a person who survives a horrible car accident in which there are fatalities. Think about the soldier who is one of the few to return home while the rest of the platoon was killed in an ambush. None of these people were spared because they were better than others. They all feel a profound sense of gratitude, wonder, and humility. Many of these people a renewed purpose in living and feel they have an obligation to do something with their life in response to their gift.
This is why Paul was so excited. He saw these doctrines as a reason for worship and as a motivation for holy living.
How do you know if God has chosen you? You will know that God has chosen you if you embrace a genuine and life-changing faith in Christ. Only the one truly chosen by God is awakened to their own need of a Savior and embrace and follow Christ. We will see in weeks to come that God must first breath His life into us before we will believe.
The bottom line is this: We may never fully understand the complexity of God’s nature or the reasons for the choices He makes. But what we can decide how we will respond to God’s offer of new life in Christ. We can agree that no matter how it all “works” we will spend the rest of our lives (here and in eternity) being grateful.