“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] 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.” Ephesians 1.3-6
For something to be distinctly christian, orthodox Christian — meaning “right belief,” it needs to look like the Christian faith. Paul not only exhibits this but he sets the example for what we are to do, preach, teach and talk about.
Paul begins by giving praise to “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In this statement, he addresses who God is — he is a father, our Heavenly Father, and he is the father of Jesus, who is our Lord, Master, Savior. It’s ironic that today, some who claim to be Christians, do not claim God as Father or Jesus as Lord. This is like me calling the supermarket a zoo even though there are no live animals. It is nonsensical. Yet Paul establishes this without qualm or question. This is who God is, period.
And what has God done for us? First, he blessed us, where? — in the “heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” What does this mean — “every spiritual blessing?” I think the question is answered in the next passage as “he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” Every spiritual blessing suggests we are to receive everything that Christ has received with the purpose of becoming holy and blameless. The blessing is holiness, community, relationship and salvation through Christ.
Not only did he chose us, he predestined or predetermined and prepared us to be adopted as sons (and daughters) of the king. I believe God did in fact chose us, all of us, all of humanity, each and every person to be a child of God. Although many will not chose him, we have all been chosen. This predetermining is not exclusive as God chose all people to be holy and blameless, even though not all will chose him in return. God chose us through “his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
God’s selection of the human race to know and love him was determined by God because of his great love for us. It was not only his pleasure that led him to chose us, it was also according to his will to do so. And he did all of this through Jesus Christ, the One he loves.
The question that remains is “Have you chosen Christ?” If God chose you, called you and set you a part, are you choosing him back? As Josh McDowell so well stated, “Is there enough evidence in your life that you could be convicted of being a Christian?”
“O Lord God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for choosing us. Thank you for the power of the cross to save and redeem all humanity. Regardless of the sin, in spite of the lure of the devil, you have final victory. Come now, Holy Spirit, spread your goodness upon our land that we might know the truth of the Gospel and walk in holiness with you. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen