The Grace of God in Election, Eph 1:1-6

P. Dixon 08/19/07

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even in his introductory remarks in the epistle to the Ephesian church Paul's view of God's grace comes through loud and clear. He sees himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. He views the church there as the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus. Finally, his typical greeting says it all: grace unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace precedes peace. It is God's grace that is the basis of peace with God and the peace of God, the total package. Grace is the cornerstone of Paul's theology. It ought to be the cornerstone of our lives. Ephesians is about the grace of God and its profound implications for daily living.

A. Spontaneous praise and worship stemming from a comprehension of God's grace, 3.

It is appropriate that Paul breaks immediately into praise and eulogy of God's grace. The very first words in the body of the epistle are "blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Blessed is at the very beginning. It is the Greek word from which we get eulogy where good things, praise, are said about someone deceased. But, how much more so are we to say good things and praise the name of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And, since He is our Lord, then so also are we the children of God and can address Him as our God and Father with praise, worship, adoration and glorification! Our whole lives ought to be focused in this direction. Why? Because He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. We have been the recipients of His special favor and grace.

What better words to wake up to every morning than words like these. They certainly help put things in perceptive for us. If we do, it will have a transforming affect upon our daily lives. Commit them to memory. Say them often. Let’s say them together as a congregation - 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.

Verses 3 through 14 of this chapter are the longest sentence in Paul's literature. He is overcome with God's marvelous grace and the whole sentence is a quick, worshipful rambling on of an elaboration of this 3rd verse. It expands upon the grace of God in our lives and includes election, predestination, redemption, forgiveness, the wisdom and understanding through the Spirit, and our eternal inheritance. The section can be viewed in one of two ways. The work of the Father, 3-6; the work of the Son, 7-12; and the work of the Holy Spirit, 13-16. Or, God's master plan for salvation in terms of the past (election, 3-6a), present (redemption, 6b-11), and future (eternal inheritance, 12-14). Today we will deal with the first section: the work of the Father, that is, His work in election.

When we come to the doctrine of the decree of God, wherein God has ordained whatsoever come to pass, then particularly to the doctrine of election we ought to come with great humbleness, holy reverence and fear. God in His mercy has deigned to reveal these mind-boggling truths to us and if we come with the wrong attitude we seriously err. We have so much to learn of God by the guidance of His enabling Spirit. These truths cannot be understood by the natural man, nor by the children of God who approach them inappropriately, trusting their own intellect and reasoning. Let me give you two contrasting examples of such.

Albert Einstein, perhaps the greatest and most brilliant scientist of the 20th century, gave grudging acceptance to the need for a beginning of the universe and eventually, to "the presence of a superior reasoning power," but never did he accept the doctrine of a personal God. Two specific obstacles blocked his way. According to his journal writings, Einstein wrestled with a deeply felt bitterness toward the clergy, toward priests in particular, and with his inability to resolve the paradox of God's omnipotence and man's responsibility for his choices. "If this being is omnipotent, then every occurrence, including every human action, every human thought, and every human feeling and aspiration is also His work; how is it possible to think of holding men responsible for their deeds and thoughts before such an almighty being? In giving out punishment and rewards He would to a certain extent be passing judgment on Himself. How can this be combined with the goodness and righteousness ascribed to Him?" Seeing no solution to this paradox, Einstein, like many other powerful intellects through the centuries, ruled out the existence of a personal God. (as quoted by Hugh Ross in, The Finger of God)

Commenting on Romans 9, John Calvin says, "Paul begins here to extend as it were his hand to restrain the audacity of humans, in case they should clamor against God's judgments. We cannot by our own faculties examine the secrets of God, but we are admitted into a certain and clear knowledge of them by the grace of the Holy Spirit. And just as we ought to follow the guidance of the Spirit, so where He leaves us, we ought to stop there and fix our standing. If anyone will seek to know more than what God has revealed, he shall be overwhelmed with the immeasurable brightness of inaccessible light. But we must bear in mind the distinction between the secret counsel of God and His will made known in Scripture. For though the whole doctrine of Scripture surpasses in its height the mind of man, yet an access to it is not closed against the faithful, who reverently follow the Spirit; but with regard to God's hidden counsel, the depth and height of it cannot be reached."

What is election?

B. From these verses election may be defined as that eternal act of God the Father whereby He, in His sovereign good pleasure, and on account of no foreseen merit in them, effectually selected a certain number of individuals to be the recipients of special grace in Christ so that they may be made perfect, so that ultimately He might receive the praise and glory, 1:4-6.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 3 - Of God's Decree) says: "Those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to His eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, hath chosen, in Christ, unto everlasting glory, out of His mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith, or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving Him thereunto: and all to the praise of His glorious grace."

These verses and definition give us: the Author of election, the basis of election, the means of election and the purposes of election. Verses 4 - 6 explain.

C. The grace of God in election explained, 1:4-6.

1. The Author of election: God the Father

Some mistakenly think or say that Christ chose us. Perhaps they get this from Jn 15:16 (you did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed that you should go and bear forth fruit and that your fruit should remain; whatever you ask the Father in My name, I will give to you). Yet, there Christ is saying that He chose or selected the disciples here on earth to follow Him, after much prayer and certainly in line with the Father’s eternal choice of them.

No, the Father is the member of the Godhead who chose certain individuals in eternity past to be the recipients of His special love and blessing unto eternal life. The Son's role is different. He came into the world to do the will of the Father, to live in perfect obedience to the Father, and to give His life as a ransom for the elect. It is important that we distinguish between the roles of the 3 members of the Trinity and that we not confuse them, even as we must not confuse the roles of men and women here on earth.

2. The basis of election: God's "good pleasure," not foreseen merit or belief.

The ESV has it, according to the purpose of his will. But, the KJV and the NAS have it better as, according to the good pleasure of his will. That is the idea in the Greek where the word means literally, “good pleasure” or “what seemed good” to God. It was done "according to His good pleasure" (5), that is, by what seemed good to Him alone. This phrase is stated in verses 5, 9, and 11 for emphasis. Furthermore, it was done before the foundation of the world (4a). It was done by God alone, so that He might receive the praise and glory. This idea is heightened by Paul in Rom 9:11-13 where he says:

Some have argued from Romans 8:29 that predestination is based on God's foreknowledge in the sense that God looked down the corridors of time and saw who would freely choose to believe, and then predestined those whom he knew would believe in him. This is conditional election, the idea that God elects on the condition of his foreknowledge. At first glance, the verse might give that impression. Paul says, whom he foreknew he also predestined. The problem with this, however, is that it does not make sense in the context where the foreknowledge is restricted or limited. Paul builds an unbreakable chain saying all those who are foreknown are predestined and those predestined are called and those called are justified and those justified are glorified. So, if all without exception are foreknown, then all without exception are glorified. But, clearly, all are not glorified. Therefore, all are not foreknown. Does God glorify everybody? Does God justify everybody? No. Better is the biblical notion that when God knows or foreknows someone it is in a restrictive, intimate and personal consecrating sense. In Jeremiah 1:5 God says to Jeremiah, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you (Jer. 1:5). Clearly then, the foreknowledge of these verses must have the sense of intimacy and personal calling, and can refer only to God’s elect. R.C. Sproul, Tabletalk, 1989

3. The means of election: the predeterminate counsel of God whereby the elect are adopted as sons of God through Jesus Christ (including personal faith in His atoning work and the sanctifying work of the Spirit); 5a, 6a.

He predestined us to adoption ... through Jesus Christ to Himself, 5-6a.

God did not chose us to be saved apart from the work of Jesus. His death, resurrection, ascension, on-going intercessory work and future coming to judge the quick and the dead are essential. That, and the preaching of the gospel, prayer, etc., are all part of the ordained means by which the elect hear, repent, believe in Christ and are finally made perfect when Christ returns. It answers the arguments of antagonists of the great doctrine of election who say, well, if God chose who would be saved and who would not, then why bother to evangelize and pray for the lost? Simply because it is the ordained means as to how the elect are saved. Paul says in 2 Thess 2:13-14, "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth."

4. The effectual purposes of election: the perfection of the elect and the ultimate praise and glory to God, 4b, 6a.

The near purpose (and result) is the perfection of the saints in glory, including their justification, sanctification and glorification (cf Rom 8:29-30); it is effectual, because what determines to do, He accomplishes. This is the great lesson Job had to learn. In the 42 chapter, verse 2 he says, "now I know that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted." It is found in the unbroken chain of Rom 8:29-30. Whom He predestined, He called; whom He called, He justified; whom He justified, He glorified. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is true, because it begins and ends with God. This is why Paul was convinced in Phil 1:6 that "He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus." Praise be to God!

The final purpose is the glory and praise of God, 6a. (6a, 12, 14). The ultimate purpose behind election is not the love of God; it is that 'we may be to the praise of the glory of His grace.' This stated three times in this passage (6a, 12, 14), lest we miss it all. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.... Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, Rom 9:17-18, 21-22.

D. Applications:

The applications of the doctrine of unconditional election are profound and many. Let me draw just three for our purposes today. First, the immediate application is humility and gentleness. In the transition to the application section of the epistle Paul says, I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of your calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentlness (4:1-2). If we did nothing to warrant the grace of God, if his grace is dependent solely upon his good pleasure and not upon any foreseen merit or faith, then such grace demands humility and gentleness on our part. Secondly, unconditional election is the only view that is consistent with and leads to assurance. If election is God’s work and if his purposes do not fail, then we can be assured, along with Paul, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:5). Thirdly, the doctrine of unconditional election demands we do as Paul exhorts in Phil 2:12-13 and work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.