“…even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” – Ephesians 1:4 (ESV)
We have today, a verse that teaches us a truth many have great difficulty understanding and therefore accepting or believing. The truth in this verse is hard for our rational and reasoning mind to embrace until we are willing to accept God’s word as it is written even if it does not seem fit in to how we reason it. But it is the absolute truth revealed to us in the Bible. “The doctrine of election is emphasized throughout Scripture* The form of the Gr. verb behind “chose” indicates that God not only chose by Himself but for Himself to the praise of His own glory (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). God’s election or predestination does not operate apart from or nullify man’s responsibility to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. All before the foundation of the world. Through God’s sovereign will before the creation of the world and, therefore, obviously independent of human influence and apart from any human merit, those who are saved have become eternally united with Christ Jesus.”** God’s purposes exist apart from the bounds of our limited reason. Since both are emphasized, both are truly God’s Promises.
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* (Deuteronomy 7:6; Isaiah 45:4; John 6:44; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:29; 9:11; 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 4; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:10;)
** John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible., (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Eph 1:4.
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