July 30 - Ephesians 1:5

July 30
Ephesians 1:5

Dear Christian friends,

Eph 1:5 Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

We have in this verse a word that has caused major division within the Church at large – the word “predestined.”  There are some who want to use that word to say “God chose, or predestined, only certain people for salvation.” In other words, those He did not choose were destined to hell. That thought would defy hundreds of other basic scripture verses regarding free will and salvation.  What the Apostle Paul is emphasizing here is that God knew the Jews would one day reject their Messiah. As such, God then chose the Gentile people, giving them all individually an opportunity to be a part of the Church. Those individuals who would choose Christ, God then adopted them into the Kingdom of God. This He all knew before the foundation of the world. 

But let’s get at the heart of what this verse is saying:  God chose you – as part of the Church – as His adopted sons and daughters because of Christ.  When you, out of your "free will," chose to believe in and follow Jesus, you then became part of the Church, becoming God's adopted sons and daughters - there again, it was all done because of Christ.  And it in keeping with His pleasure and purpose, and according to His will, He chose the Church (you and me) before the foundation of the universes to be holy before Him as His adopted children. 

We are the bride of Christ. As such, we belong to God - we belong to the Kingdom of God. God is now our heavenly Father. We have earned the right to call God our “Abba", which means "Father" in Greek.  That shows the personal relationship we have with Him as we reach out, like children to their daddy, to call God our "Abba Father."

In that, He is pleased – and so are we!

Blessings!