We return to the Apostle Paul’s extended exaltation of God’s blessings in Christ for all who belong to Him. This is a reassuring reminder that Christianity is not about what you need to do, but what God has already done.
Chosen
“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” (Eph. 1:3-4a ESV).
If you are in fact a Christian, God has chosen you. In His sovereignty, He selected some people for salvation. We choose Him at the time of our conversion because He first chose us. Paul’s lists three facets of this choosing.
1) In Him
God chose us in Christ. Just as the passengers on an airplane can’t help it fly by flapping their arms, so we can’t earn His blessings. Christ has done all that is needed, and we get to enjoy the ride. We receive blessings because we are in Him. It is not based on anything we have done or ever could do that God chose us (Rom. 11:6). In the Judgment Day, if God were to ask “Why should I let you into My kingdom,” the answer is not “I’ve tried to be a good person,” or “I went to church all the time.” The only answer is “Because of Christ—I’m with Him.”
2) Before the foundation of the world
This is kind of mind-boggling for us, but before God created the world He had in mind every individual who would ever live, and He chose some who would belong to His eternal family. This was no impulsive decision or blue-light special, nor was it based on God’s foreknowledge that “Oh, Joe’s going to be a good fellow and I want him on my team.” That would put too much control in our hands. This was not a casual choice, but a “causal” choice—God chose us and caused us to be born again (1 Pet. 1:2-5).
3) So that we should be holy and blameless before Him
The Bible uses the word holy to mean set apart for God, and blameless means without blemish. In Christ we are saints (Eph. 1:1). This is not an aspiration but a reality as new creations (2 Cor. 5:17). It doesn’t mean that we are perfect, because we will still fail in many ways. We are like babies learning to crawl and then to walk, or like a paralyzed man that Jesus suddenly healed. It will take us a lifetime to learn to live as who we really are in Christ.
Evangelists sometimes use the scare tactic of a movie of our lives being projected before the judgment, and how we might feel about the things we’ve done. But because believers are in Christ, our falls and failures are covered by Jesus’ perfect life and His death on our behalf. The only movie that can be shown is the death of Christ on the cross. Our lives are hidden in Him (Col. 3:3). We don’t need to fear shame or condemnation, because Christ has borne all that Himself.
Because God chose us to belong to Him, we can walk with Him each day, seeking to obey Him to the best of our ability and trusting in His love and grace when we struggle or fail. May that give us confidence to draw near to Him.
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:1-2).
Discussion Questions
1) If salvation is not based on our good works or obedience, does that mean it doesn’t matter how we live? Consider Rom. 6:1-4; 1 Thess. 2:12; and Eph. 2:8-10.
2) Review the Scriptures mentioned previously and see what other insights you can glean: Rom. 11:6; 1 Pet. 1:2-5; 2 Cor. 5:17; Col. 3:3; Eph. 5:1-2.
3) How would you respond to someone who says you can lose your salvation? How about someone who says that everyone will be saved (universalism)? What Scriptures can you point to?
