In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All, here in the love of Christ I stand.
Stuart Townend & Keith Getty © 2001 Thankyou Music
Read Ephesians 1: 3-6
Use this scripture to thank God for all he has done for you
Over the coming weeks I am hoping you will join me in immersing ourselves in Paul’s letter to the believers in Ephesus. It is a letter of 2 halves -the first 3 chapters set out the truths of our faith and the remaining 3 chapters enable us to see how to live out this faith. In between our 2 halves we will give thanks for God’s creation - as we hold our harvest festival on 27th September.
Before we look at chapter one, here is some background information. The letter was written around 3 years after Paul’s stay in Ephesus – which we read about last week in Acts 19. During the three years since he left Ephesus, Paul had got himself arrested and is now a prisoner in Rome Although he is ‘in chains’ he writes this encouraging letter which presents an overview of what it means to have faith in Christ - the blessing we have through being a Christian and how to succeed in living a Christian life.
Read Ephesians 1: 7-14
Now while there is a lot to encourage us, inspire us and strengthen our faith, in our bible readings there is a word which appears twice in these 14 verses which may perplex you - In verse 4 and again in verse 11 we read that God has chosen us. It is nice to feel chosen - but does this mean God has not chosen some people to receive salvation? Is Paul inferring that a decision was made before we were even born as to who would become a Christian & who wouldn’t?
A few weeks ago, when I was talking about un-answered prayer, I said that God never over-rides a person’s free-will - that our freedom to choose is one of those characteristics which shows that we are made in the image of God. So, I doubt very much that Paul wants us to understand these phrases as meaning that God choses some people to become a Christian and ignores others!
Perhaps to help us understand the use of this word ‘chosen’ we need to consider the mail we all receive which tells us we have been specifically chosen to receive a very special offer. We know, even if it addresses us our by our first name, that it isn’t an exclusive invitation. We know that many other people have also been chosen to receive this amazing offer but the advertiser feels it is important for us to think it is a personal invitation and not a general invitation to anyone - to everyone.
Now, while the advertiser may have got hold of our name and address as well as other details about us, they don’t know us - or the many, many other people they have sent the exclusive offer to, but because God is God he is able know the name of each and every person that has ever been born! More than that, God knows what each one enjoys and doesn’t enjoy - he even knows each person’s sins, their unkind actions or thoughts. But God is also Love, so even though he knows all of these things about us he still choses to offer each of us salvation - God chooses to personally invite each of us to receive his gift of salvation.
We then need to use our God-given ability to make choices - to use our free-will - to decide whether or not to receive what God offers to each of us. The use of ‘chosen’ here in verses 4 & 11 is to emphasise that God knows us individually not just our name, but all about us and still chooses to offer us salvation. He has chosen us to receive this free gift. He chooses to offer salvation to every person who has ever lived and like the unsolicited offer we get in the post we need to choose whether or not to take up the offer.
And then in verses 5 & 11 Paul tells us that God planned this offer salvation even before the world was created - it was predestined! God, because he is God, knew if he gave us free-will, then there would be the likelihood of us making wrong choices and He knew that wrong choices would separate us from him. So, before the start of everything, God had his plan for our salvation. Jesus coming as our Saviour wasn’t a last-minute recovery plan for the disaster of us making sinful choices. It was always part of God’s plan for Jesus to come to redeem us. In was predestined / foreordained- it was decided beforehand that God would offer us salvation.
Read again Ephesians 1: 3-6 and then thank God for adopting us as his heirs, and thank him for all the blessing he has brought into your life.
On Wednesday I will publish some bible study questions about Ephesians chapter 1. On Friday we have a ‘Guest Writer’, but then I need new Friday articles - perhaps you could write me one - Stephen