Ephesians 1
Paul wrote this letter to the church at Ephesus. Not only did he write this letter to the church at Ephesus, but he discipled their first pastor, Timothy. Paul had a dear relationship with this church as well. He stayed in Ephesus for three years, the longest amount of time that Paul stayed anywhere on his missionary journeys. He is now writing this letter to them during his imprisonment in Rome.
As we read chapter 1 of Ephesians, we see it is dripping with foundational truths of Jesus’ love for you and for me. It is rich in theology and is the cause of much debate in the church today. Some topics we see are eternal security (v. 14), predestination (v. 5,11), and Jesus’ atonement (v. 7). The Bible teaches both predestination and man’s responsibility of free will by putting his/her trust in Christ for salvation. If we simply read verses 11-14 (NLT), we see the tension between God’s adoption of us (before the foundation of the world) and our responsibility to receive the free gift of salvation that he offers us:
“Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.”
By reading this text, we see that God both predestined us and gave us the ability to choose him or not. The evidence of our choice is that the Holy Spirit indwells us when we surrender our lives and trust in Chirst. So how do we reconcile these truths? Peter calls believers the “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Peter 1:2). God the Father is omniscient, and He predestined those who would believe based on His knowing who would put their faith in Him. Now you may ask, how do I know if God predestined me? I heard Pastor Chuck Smith answer this question in a sermon saying something of this sort, “repent of your sins and turn to Christ and boom you were predestined!” God does not call us to reconcile every theological tension in the Bible; He calls us to believe and trust in Him.
I wanted to leave you with three ways God displays His love for you in this one chapter.
1. He Chose You (v. 4-5)
2. He Shed His Blood for You (v. 7)
3. He Sealed you With the Holy Spirit (v. 13-14)
Believer, rest in these three foundational truths that God chose you before the foundation of the world, He hung on a cross so you might be saved, and He sealed you with the Holy Spirit which is the guarantee of your inheritance. Rest in His love.