Eph 1:4-5 | KingComments | STEP | . After Paul has spoken in about the blessing in general phrasings, he starts in to unpack them. This verse begins with the eternity that is behind us: “before the foundation of the world”, and ends with the eternity that is before us, when we will be with God: “before Him”. But this verse applies also to the present. When it is said “that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love” it means that God already sees us like that. That is how He looks at us. That is how He wanted it, that is how His counsel is and how it happened. But what is God’s motive to decide and act like that? He did not find that with us. The first verse of chapter 2 says that we were dead in our trespasses and sins ( ). And with somebody who is dead you cannot start anything. Indeed He did not find the motive in something of man, in you or in me, but in Himself and in His Son. God has namely chosen us “in Him”, that is Christ. Christ has in eternity always been the joy of God. Now it has pleased God to involve others in the perfect fellowship that has always been between Him and His Son. His purpose has always been that He can also enjoy from others in the same way as from His Son. This cannot be done apart from the Son. That is the reason that it had to be in the Son. Just as every man is ‘in Adam’ to his nature – which means that we are inseparably connected with this first man – just in that way God has determined that every believer is inseparably connected with His Son. He determined this in eternity, before the creation of heaven and earth. Then there was nothing else than the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and the perfect love between Them. The Lord Jesus refers to that and because of that He asks: “Father, I desire that they also, whom You gave Me, may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world” ( ). Before the foundation of the world God chose people from the people that would be living on earth to have them with Him. The reason for this action is His love for His Son. You could see that also at the beginning of this verse in the words ‘in Him’. When you think about God’s choice, many questions may arise. You could ask yourself: Why am I chosen while a lot of other people are not? Are all of the other ones chosen to be lost? Some remarks can be of help. The first one is that nobody is being chosen to be lost. Every man is lost indeed and is under judgment because of his own sins: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” ( ). When God saves people from that judgment in spite of this general judgment, it is not unfair of God, but that is His sovereign compassion. Second, you should look at Israel. That nation was chosen by God from all nations to be His people. He did that only because of His own love for them ( ). Does this mean that He did not want to have anything to do with the other nations? No, His only purpose was that Israel would be a testimony to the other nations. Through this testimony they could come to the knowledge of the one true God. Just take a look at the book of Jonah. Therefore being chosen is something that entirely comes from God, regardless of any situation in which man can be. You have to belong to God to gain insight into this. That is the reason why this truth can only be understood by believers. To unbelievers must be said that they must repent, otherwise they will perish. The following example illustrates this. There is a sign above a door that says that everyone is invited to come inside to receive a big present. Many pass this door. A few go inside. When one turns inside he sees a sign above the door that says: ‘You are chosen.’ This clarifies that the truth of ‘being chosen’ counts only for those who are ‘inside’. We return now to the expression ‘before the foundation of the world’. The fact that nothing was seen of the creation then, is not a problem for God. He is above time. To Him it is always present time. He knows exactly what will happen the next hour or the next century. When He looks at the future, this future is today. That is simply one of His exalted qualities by which He is God. Listen to what He says in Isaiah: “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; [I am] God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done” ( ). This is beyond our understanding, but we can believe it and admire it. It is already impressive to perceive the majesty of God. It becomes more impressive when you’re going to see that God in His sovereignty has even thought of you and me individually to have us before Himself. This is something that cannot be explained. You can only bow your knees and worship Him for it. How could you ever explain to somebody that He has chosen you out of all the billions of people for such an exalted position, “before Him”? This perfectly clarifies that this blessing only has its origin in the heart of God Himself. That the blessing of being chosen was determined before the foundation of the world, means that sin that came into the world, cannot affect this. God is not surprised that the people who He had chosen would be sinners. This problem is not mentioned here. In chapter 2 Paul will pay attention to this. Yet sin is certainly assumed here. We see that, when we realize that God wanted us “holy and without blame” before Him. He who comes into God’s presence, must totally correspond to Whom He is in His holiness and that is without any blemish of sin. That is why He has determined that all whom He would give this place should be “holy and without blame”. ‘Holy’ means ‘to be set apart to be for God’. ‘Without blame’ means that there is no blemish of sin, totally fit to be in God’s presence, Who cannot see or tolerate sin. In this way the demand is fulfilled in regard to God’s holiness and righteousness. How that happened we shall see in . You could say that regarding this part of God’s plan, “the message” is accomplished “which we [the apostles] have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” ( ). However, God cannot be satisfied by this alone. He doesn’t only want us to be without blame, He also wants us to feel at home in His love. He has brought us into an atmosphere that breathes pure, genuine – that is – Divine love. The only way God can be satisfied, is when it is also clearly expressed that His plan totally corresponds with the nature of His love. He who is in God’s presence, sees holiness and love wherever he looks. Now read Ephesians 1:4 again. Reflection: Just think about the reason why God has chosen you and thank Him because He did it.

‏ Ephesians 1:4-5

Chosen

Eph 1:4. After Paul has spoken in Eph 1:3 about the blessing in general phrasings, he starts in Eph 1:4 to unpack them. This verse begins with the eternity that is behind us: “before the foundation of the world”, and ends with the eternity that is before us, when we will be with God: “before Him”. But this verse applies also to the present. When it is said “that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love” it means that God already sees us like that. That is how He looks at us. That is how He wanted it, that is how His counsel is and how it happened.

But what is God’s motive to decide and act like that? He did not find that with us. The first verse of chapter 2 says that we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1). And with somebody who is dead you cannot start anything. Indeed He did not find the motive in something of man, in you or in me, but in Himself and in His Son. God has namely chosen us “in Him”, that is Christ. Christ has in eternity always been the joy of God. Now it has pleased God to involve others in the perfect fellowship that has always been between Him and His Son.

His purpose has always been that He can also enjoy from others in the same way as from His Son. This cannot be done apart from the Son. That is the reason that it had to be in the Son. Just as every man is ‘in Adam’ to his nature – which means that we are inseparably connected with this first man – just in that way God has determined that every believer is inseparably connected with His Son.

He determined this in eternity, before the creation of heaven and earth. Then there was nothing else than the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and the perfect love between Them. The Lord Jesus refers to that and because of that He asks: “Father, I desire that they also, whom You gave Me, may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (Jn 17:24). Before the foundation of the world God chose people from the people that would be living on earth to have them with Him.

The reason for this action is His love for His Son. You could see that also at the beginning of this verse in the words ‘in Him’. When you think about God’s choice, many questions may arise. You could ask yourself: Why am I chosen while a lot of other people are not? Are all of the other ones chosen to be lost?

Some remarks can be of help. The first one is that nobody is being chosen to be lost. Every man is lost indeed and is under judgment because of his own sins: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). When God saves people from that judgment in spite of this general judgment, it is not unfair of God, but that is His sovereign compassion.

Second, you should look at Israel. That nation was chosen by God from all nations to be His people. He did that only because of His own love for them (Deu 7:7-8). Does this mean that He did not want to have anything to do with the other nations? No, His only purpose was that Israel would be a testimony to the other nations. Through this testimony they could come to the knowledge of the one true God. Just take a look at the book of Jonah.

Therefore being chosen is something that entirely comes from God, regardless of any situation in which man can be. You have to belong to God to gain insight into this. That is the reason why this truth can only be understood by believers. To unbelievers must be said that they must repent, otherwise they will perish.

The following example illustrates this. There is a sign above a door that says that everyone is invited to come inside to receive a big present. Many pass this door. A few go inside. When one turns inside he sees a sign above the door that says: ‘You are chosen.’ This clarifies that the truth of ‘being chosen’ counts only for those who are ‘inside’.

We return now to the expression ‘before the foundation of the world’. The fact that nothing was seen of the creation then, is not a problem for God. He is above time. To Him it is always present time. He knows exactly what will happen the next hour or the next century. When He looks at the future, this future is today. That is simply one of His exalted qualities by which He is God. Listen to what He says in Isaiah: “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; [I am] God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done” (Isa 46:9-10). This is beyond our understanding, but we can believe it and admire it.

It is already impressive to perceive the majesty of God. It becomes more impressive when you’re going to see that God in His sovereignty has even thought of you and me individually to have us before Himself. This is something that cannot be explained. You can only bow your knees and worship Him for it. How could you ever explain to somebody that He has chosen you out of all the billions of people for such an exalted position, “before Him”? This perfectly clarifies that this blessing only has its origin in the heart of God Himself.

That the blessing of being chosen was determined before the foundation of the world, means that sin that came into the world, cannot affect this. God is not surprised that the people who He had chosen would be sinners. This problem is not mentioned here. In chapter 2 Paul will pay attention to this. Yet sin is certainly assumed here. We see that, when we realize that God wanted us “holy and without blame” before Him. He who comes into God’s presence, must totally correspond to Whom He is in His holiness and that is without any blemish of sin.

That is why He has determined that all whom He would give this place should be “holy and without blame”. ‘Holy’ means ‘to be set apart to be for God’. ‘Without blame’ means that there is no blemish of sin, totally fit to be in God’s presence, Who cannot see or tolerate sin. In this way the demand is fulfilled in regard to God’s holiness and righteousness. How that happened we shall see in Eph 1:7. You could say that regarding this part of God’s plan, “the message” is accomplished “which we [the apostles] have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1Jn 1:5).

However, God cannot be satisfied by this alone. He doesn’t only want us to be without blame, He also wants us to feel at home in His love. He has brought us into an atmosphere that breathes pure, genuine – that is – Divine love. The only way God can be satisfied, is when it is also clearly expressed that His plan totally corresponds with the nature of His love. He who is in God’s presence, sees holiness and love wherever he looks.

Now read Ephesians 1:4 again.

Reflection: Just think about the reason why God has chosen you and thank Him because He did it.

Predestined

Eph 1:4 is about the position we now have before God. We can stand before God without hesitation, because He has made us fit for this position. He no longer sees anything in us that is contrary to His nature, which is light and love.

Eph 1:5. This verse goes a little further. It deals with how we relate to God. It is a relation of sonship. Also for this purpose God has “predestined” us, also from before the foundation of the world. You may speak of a ‘predestination’.

While ‘pre’ looks back, “destined” makes us look forward. There we see the purpose of Gods plan: He wanted us as sons for Himself. The word “adoption” also appears in Romans 8 and 9 and Galatians 4; it means ‘to put as son’ (Rom 8:15 ; 23 ; Rom 9:4; Gal 4:5). God has put you as son before Him. In that relation you stand now before Him. Incredible but true!

God is surrounded by myriads of angels and they serve Him, but in them He can never find the joy He found and finds in the Son. That joy He only finds in the Son and in those who are connected with the Son and who stand in the same relationship to Him as the Son.

Take note that this time it is not written ‘in Jesus Christ’, but “through Jesus Christ”. When it comes to the relationship in which we stand as sons before God, we are not equal to the Son. There will always be a distinction between Him, Who was and is the eternal Son, and us who were made sons because we were not. This distinction you also see in John 20 where the Lord Jesus says: “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God” (Jn 20:17) and not: ‘I am ascending to our Father and our God.’

By ‘adopting’ us as sons God does much more than saving us from the distress we lived in because of our sins. Regarding the latter, forgiveness would have been sufficient. But you know: here it is about the desire of God’s own heart and not about our distress. In order to fulfill that desire He ‘adopted’ sons. He accepted people into His family who were not entitled to anything, and made them sons before Him.

Apart from being son you are also a child of God. Being a child and being a son are different terms that both indicate a specific relationship to God. To be a ‘son’ you do not have to be mature; from your conversion you are both a child and a son. To be a child of God indicates that you are born of God and have received His nature. In sonship we see the desire of God to have fellowship with His children. You can rejoice with your children, but with your son you also talk about certain matters. Sonship is about sharing the same interests. That is what God thought of when He adopted us as sons.

When He did that, He acted “according to the kind intention [literally: good pleasure] of His will”. This is another beautiful expression that indicates how God came to this action. If He did that just because He wanted that, it would only have emphasized His sovereignty, but then His inner motive would have remained hidden. That’s why “the good pleasure” is being connected to His will. It shows the joy with which God accomplished His will.

A wonderful example of this you can find in the Gospels. There you hear more than once: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Mt 3:17 ; Mt 17:5). In this statement you hear how pleased the Father is about Him. The Father was pleased because the Lord Jesus, as the only Man on earth, perfectly did what He desired. Regarding this, the Lord Jesus said: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (Jn 4:34). So the motive of the Father’s action was the pleasure that He had in the Lord Jesus.

Eph 1:6. His purpose was: “The praise of the glory of His grace.” Not just ‘His grace’, but “the glory of His grace”. His grace would already have become visible by forgiving us our sins. We deserved judgment and hell. Now that He does not allow that to happen, but saves us from that, we should therefore praise and honor Him forever and ever. But as you have seen, He had a much higher plan with us. We can be with Him as sons. Therefore it is no longer only ‘His grace’, but “the glory of His grace”.

Herewith closes the first part of the Eph 1:1-14. The part that now follows shows what God did to give us this wonderful position before Him and what the consequences of this position are for the future. This part ends with Eph 1:12, again with “the praise of His glory”.

Until now you have heard about the plan of God. In the part that follows Paul shows which steps God took, so to speak, to implement this plan. The first step is "which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved”, which also can be translated with “wherein he has taken us into favor in the Beloved”. This is just another wonderful expression. To be ‘taken into favor’ means to ‘be made pleasant’. It is about having favor in which we stand before God (Rom 5:1).

You and I are not pleasant in ourselves. We have become pleasant because God looks at us in His Son, to Whom is being referred here by the significant word ‘Beloved’. It is not said ‘in Christ’ or ‘in Him’ as in the previous verses. That would not be sufficient here. It is not about the position that the Lord Jesus has before God. No, it is about Who the Lord Jesus Himself is before God.

The word ‘Beloved’ shows how much the Lord Jesus is the precious object of God’s affection and pleasure. All love from the Father is focused on His Son. That has always been the case in eternity. The pleasure the Lord Jesus has given to the Father during His life on earth was one more reason for the Father to love Him. You can read that in John 10: “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again” (Jn 10:17). By this the Lord Jesus was referring to the work that He would accomplish on the cross. There He would glorify the Father magnificently. That was another reason for the Father to love Him. And in this One, the Beloved by the Father, we are blessed.

Regarding this, we find a beautiful picture in the Old Testament. You can read about the burnt offering in Leviticus 1 (Lev 1:1-17). That is a picture of the Lord Jesus in His full devotion to God. In Leviticus 7 it is said: “Also the priest who presents any man’s burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has presented” (Lev 7:8). Here you see in a picture about what we read in this letter. The priest receives the skin of the burnt offering with which he may clothe himself.

This is what happens with the believer. The priest is the picture of the believer who is telling God what the Lord Jesus has done for Him – that is what we now understand by ‘offerings’. The believer who does this may know that he has taken into favor in the Beloved. So, when the Father sees us, He sees the Lord Jesus.

Now read Ephesians 1:5-6 again.

Reflection: Why did God want you as son?