1:4 - For he chose us in him . . .
Having praised God with a grand overarching cry for having blessed us with �every spiritual blessing,� Paul comes now to the particulars. John Stott�s grouping of these blessings under the categories of the �past blessing of election,� �present blessing of adoption,� and the �future blessing of unification,� is a powerful pedagogical strategy; it is succinct and distinctive, and no one having heard it is likely to forget what the passage is about, at least in broad outline.
The text of Ephesians itself, however, is not so neat, and at least seven blessings, or perhaps seven layers of blessings�their specific nature and relationship to one another overlapping and sliding into one another�may be listed from this passage, including the blessing of �election� (chosen, predestined), the blessing of adoption, the blessing of grace which He has freely given, the blessing of redemption and the forgiveness of sins, the blessing of revelation (He made know to us the mystery of his will), and the blessing of assurance (marked in him with a seal).
The Greek conjunction translated by �for� (NIV), �even as� (RSV), �just as� (NASB, NRSV, NKJ), is kathos.
This adverbial conjunction normally introduces a comparison, although it can also indicate cause . . . Paul can certainly use it in the causal sense (Rom. 1:28; 1 Cor. 1:6; 5:7; Phil. 1:7), and something of that idea probably stands in the background here, but notions of comparison are probably uppermost in his mind. God has blessed believers not only because he chose them [as suggested by NIV] but also �inasmuch as� or �to the extent that� he has given them these blessings in all their extravagance . . .
Frank Thielman, Ephesians (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010), 47.
For the first blessing, Paul stretches back to �before the creation of the world� to find the blessing of election.
God�s sovereign purpose in choosing out a people for himself is of course a familiar idea in the OT (e.g., Deut 7:6-8; 14:2), which witnesses to Israel�s consciousness of God�s choice of her in the midst of the twists and turns in her historical fortunes. God had chosen Abraham so that in him the nations of the earth would be blessed, and Israel�s election was not for her own self-indulgence but for the blessing of the nations: it was a privilege but also a summons to service. Christian believers also had this consciousness of being chosen to be the people of God. The new element is signaled [sic] by the [en auto, �in him�] phrase. Their sense of God�s gracious choice of them was inextricably interwoven with their sense of belonging to Christ. God�s design for them to be his people had been effected in and through Christ.
Andrew Lincoln, Ephesians (Word Biblical Commentary, 42; Dallas, TX; Word Books, 1990), 23.
This doctrine of election, or predestination, is no raised as a subject of controversy or speculation. It is not set in opposition to the self-evident fact of the free will of man. It involves a paradox that the New Testament does not seek to resolve, and that our finite minds cannot fathom. Paul emphasizes both the sovereign purpose of God and man�s free will. He took the gospel of grace and offered it to all. Then to those who had accepted the gospel he set forward the doctrine of election for two reasons, both of which we find linked similarly together in John xv.16, Romans viii.29, 2 Thessalonians ii.13, 2 Timothy i.9 and 1 Peter i.2. first, the Christian needs to realize that his faith rests completely on the work of God and not on the unsteady foundation of anything in himself. It is all the Lord�s work, and in accordance with His plan, a plan that reaches back before the foundation of the world. Second, God has chosen us that we should be holy and without blame before him . . . Election is not simply to salvation, but to holiness of life. We were �created in Christ Jesus� . . . �unto good works, which God hath ordained that we should walk in them�. We were �foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son� (Rom. viii.29, RV).
Francis Foulkes, Ephesians (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries; London: Tyndale Press, 1963), 46.
Scripture nowhere dispels the mystery of election, and . . . It is not likely that we shall discover a simple solution to a problem which has baffled the best brains of Christendom for centuries. But here at least in our text are three important truths to grasp and remember [about election]:
a. The doctrine of election is a divine revelation, not a human speculation . . .
b. The doctrine of election is an incentive to holiness, not an excuse for sin . . .
c. The doctrine of election is a stimulus to humility, not a ground for boasting.
John R. W. Stott, The Message of Ephesians: God�s New Society (The Bible Speaks Today; Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1979), 37-38.
Although we cannot conceive either by argument or reason how God has elected us before the creation of the world, yet we know it by his declaring it to us; and experience itself vouches for it sufficiently, when we are enlightened in the faith.
John Calvin, Sermons on the Epistle to the Ephesians(London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1973), 69.
Here we confront the mystery of divine election which the NT consistently proclaims not as a conundrum to tease our minds but as a wonder to evoke our praise; not as an element in God�s character to be minimized but as an assurance that our lives are in His powerful hands, not in the grip of fate, and never as an excuse for carelessness in spiritual matters, but always as a reminder that Christians have a responsibility to confirm [their] call and election.
Ralph P. Martin, �Ephesians� in The New Bible Commentary Revised, ed. by D. Guthrie and J. A. Motyer (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1970), 1107.
Some people claim that God�s choice of believers (1:4) or his predestination of them (1:5) is unfair because it selects some and excludes others. What they fail to see is that the underlying motive for God�s choice and predestination is love (1:4d), which does not exclude anyone (John 3:16). Those excluded in the end are those who refuse God�s offer of salvation (John 3:17-19).
Yusufu Turaki, �Ephesians� in Africa Bible Commentary, ed. by Tokunboh Adeyemo (Nairobi/Grand Rapids: WordAlive/Zondervan, 2006), 1426.
. . . Paul probably uses the phrase here to emphasize the graciousness of God�s choice: it happened before believers could do anything to effect it, and therefore it came as an absolutely free gift.
Frank Thielman, Ephesians (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010), 48.
To say that election took place before creation indicates that God�s choice was due to his own free decision and love, which were not dependent on temporal circumstances or human merit. The reasons for his election is rooted in the depths of his gracious, sovereign nature. To affirm this is to give Christians the assurance that God�s purposes for them are of the highest good, and the appropriate response from those who are chosen in Christ from all eternity is to praise him who has so richly blessed us.
Peter T. O�Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians (Pillar New Testament Commentary; Leicester: Apollos, 1999), 100.
The Roman Catholic Church has an elaborate process by which certain individuals are �certified� and appointed to sainthood. As we have seen in v1, �the saints� are literally �the holy ones.� According to this sense, we are all saints, and need no certification. We are saints � �the holy one� � because we belong to the community of God�s people. That defines our position before God vis-�-vis the rest of the world. It is, however, also the persistent call of Scriptures that we should be holy, that is, to live lives of a moral standard that conform to the character of the One unto whom we are set apart, a blamelessness that reflect our separation from the world and fellowship with God. Here Paul asserts categorically that it is for such a quality of life for which we were chosen. Being �holy and blameless� is what we were always meant to be.
In Eph 1:4 holiness, blamelessness, and love are complementary terms. On its negative side, holiness is the absence of moral defect or sin, i.e., blamelessness, while, on its positive side, as moral perfection, it displays itself in love which is the fulfilment of God�s will. Moral separation from the sinful world and active love are qualities which, in fact, provide a good summary of the ethical exhortation to follow in the second part of this letter. In this reference a theocentric perspective predominates, for a life of holiness, blamelessness, and love has its source in and is a response to the gracious election of God and is lived �before him,� that is, conscious that God�s presence and God�s approval are one�s ultimate environment.
Andrew Lincoln, Ephesians (Word Biblical Commentary, 42; Dallas, TX; Word Books, 1990), 24-25.
. . . the truth of God�s election, however many its unresolved problems, should lead us to righteousness, not to sin; and to humble adoring gratitude, not to boasting. Its practical consequences should always be that we live on the one hand holy and blameless before him (verse 4) and on the other to the praise of his glorious grace (verse 6).
John R. W. Stott, The Message of Ephesians: God�s New Society (The Bible Speaks Today; Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1979), 39.
. . . ultimately the only evidence of election is a holy life.
John R. W. Stott, The Message of Ephesians: God�s New Society (The Bible Speaks Today; Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1979), 38.
A minor exegetical issue requires our attention here, and it has to do with the question of how to read the two words �in love,� as can be seen in the different translations:
RSV: 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. 5He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
NIV: 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--
NASB: 4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5He predestined us to adoption as sons
NRS: 4just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,
NKJ: 4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
NKJ and NRS make holiness, blamelessness, and love the triad of qualities we are intended to manifest as children of God. NIV, RSV and NASB read the phrase �in love� as part of the following sentence — �In love He predestined us to be adopted . . .� — in which case it is God�s love that is in view. The Greek allows for either.
[Taking �in love� as starting a new sentence] has the effect of emphasizing the loving nature of predestination. Any interpretation of this mysterious doctrine that detracts from the love of God is rightly suspect.
A. Skevington Wood, The Expositor�s Bible Commentary: Galatians, Ephesians, ed. by F. E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), 126.
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