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Chosen before the foundation of the world...
- "he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him" (Ephesians 1:4).
Please notice the phrase "us in him" in the above verse. Verses 3-14 contains a list of all the spiritual blessings we have "in Christ". The phrase "in Christ", "in Him" or a similar phrase is used twelve times in those twelve verses! And verse three tells us that "him" refers to Christ. So, the phrase "us in him" means "us in Christ". Not "us in Adam"... not "us in Moses"... not "us in Abraham"... not "us in Paul" but "us in Christ".
So, the meaning of verse four is this:
Before God created the world, God made a choice... that those who are in Christ would be holy and without defect before Him.
When God chose "us in him", God chose a type of person to be "holy and without defect before him". What type? Those who are in Christ. To choose a type of person is a generic choice rather than an individual choice. God chose "us in him" (us in Christ). He forgives those who are "in" Christ, through the blood of Christ (1:7). So, the method of forgiveness is the blood of Christ. And the object of His forgiveness is "us in Him". God chose the method and object of forgiveness "before the foundation of the world" (1:4).
"he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him" (Ephesians 1:4).
But, instead of understanding the phrase "chose us in him" to indicate God's choice of a type of person as I have presented, some say that the phrase "chose us in him" indicates a choice of individuals for eternal life. You may hear them say "God chose me", meaning... God chose John or Ann. But the verse doesn't say that he "chose us" as individuals. It says that he chose "us in him", a generic choice. But, if the choice was an individual choice... what about those who were not chosen?
If God's choice was an individual choice.... then this verse would mean that before every individual person is born, God has already predetermined whether that person will go to Heaven or to Hell. So, interpreting the phrase "chose us in him" to be an individual choice paints God as being unjust. But Psalm 89:14 says that God is just.
So, it is critical to understand whether God's choice was individual or generic.
I will provide an example to illustrate the difference: At Thanksgiving, Mother chose ham to be the meat to serve at Easter. She didn't chose a particular individual ham at Thanksgiving. The particular ham which was served months later at Easter did not exist at Thanksgiving. Since it did not exist individually at Thanksgiving, it could not be chosen individually at thanksgiving. She made a generic rather than an individual choice of ham, months before it was served.
The phrase "us in him" is generic for the group of people designated as being "in" Christ. Ephesians 1:4 does not state that God chose individuals. So, they are chosen generically rather than individually. The individual ham for Easter could not be chosen at Thanksgiving because the individual ham didn't exist at Thanksgiving. In the same way, since I did not exist individually before the foundation of the world, I could not have been chosen individually before the foundation of the world. But could one be chosen individually through foreknowledge? Please prayerfully consider Ephesians 1:4 and ask God for understanding. Here is the passage:
"he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him" (Ephesians 1:4).
Some philosophers say that God merely foreknew which individuals would believe in Him but did not control which individuals would believe in Him. But the verse does not say that God "foreknew". It says "chose". And the word "chose" is a word indicating more than foreknowledge. It indicates control.
Some philosophers then say that God knew by clairvoyance into the future which individuals would believe in the future... and chose those individuals whom He foreknew would believe. But no one has been able to present a scripture to me which states that God knew the eternal destiny of each individual before the creation. Links to explanations of scriptures claimed to prove this type foreknowledge are at the bottom of this page. Click here to prayerfully consider omnipotence, foreknowledge, fatalism and free will according to scripture.
My point is this. A philosophy of clairvoyance regarding individuals does not provide a scriptural interpretation of Ephesians 1:4 which avoids the error of ascribing unjust fatalism to God... that most individuals are arbitrarily doomed by God to damnation before they are born. But, a generic rather than an individual interpretation does avoid this fatalism. A generic interpretation does not demean God's character. God is just.
"he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him" (Ephesians 1:4).
The object of His forgiveness, "us in him"... is a group defined by a criteria... the criteria being "in him". This doesn't mean that God predetermined which individuals would be members of the group defined as "in him". A pre-birth predetermination of destiny for a group is very different from a pre-birth predetermination of destiny for individuals.
Consider this example from the secular world: It would be unjust for a school principal to predetermine at the beginning of the semester that Joe will score above 60 to pass and Sally will score below 60 to fail. But it would not be unjust for the school principal to predetermine that the group having a passing grade of 60 will pass and those outside of that group will not. So, you can see the difference between the predetermination of individuals compared to the predetermination of a defined group. The difference is obvious... and has tremendous significance in Ephesians 1:4 regarding God's character. God is just.
Let me explain further...
As I wrote above, some say that Ephesians 1:4 means that God decides which individuals will receive eternal life and that He makes those decisions before each individual is born. This is similar to the secular example above where the principle predetermined Joe and Sally's grade before the semester began. The teachings regarding Ephesians 1:4 are often presented along with teachings about grace and sovereignty. But reading between the lines, the misinterpretation of this passage amounts to this:
Except for those individuals whom God chose before birth for eternal life, all individuals were created for the unavoidable destination of Hell, so that the unchosen were all predestined to damnation.
This unscriptural doctrine unintentionally but incorrectly ascribes to God efforts which Satan actually participates in… efforts to send souls to Hell. Links to my commentary on other verses which are also misinterpreted to indicate predestination to damnation are included at the bottom of this page.
Does Ephesians 1:4 present God's Pre-Genesis, unconditional, individual, choice for eternal life? If it does, it would mean divine predetermination & foreknowledge of the eternal destiny of every individual who has ever lived. However, a prayerful examination of the words reveal a Pre-Genesis, conditional, choice of a group to be holy and blameless. The group is those who are "in Him". The condition of being "in Him" is belief (see v 13). Ephesians 1:4 does indicate God's pre-Genesis predetermination and foreknowledge of what God is going to do for a group, those who are "in Him". It does not present God's Pre-Genesis predestination regarding individuals.
If Ephesians 1:4 means that God decided which individuals will receive eternal life before they are born, that would mean that God chose Jim for eternal life before he was born. But the passage does not say anyone was chosen to be converted. It states "chose... that we should be holy and blameless".
The passage expressly states that God's choice was not arbitrary but conditional. Conditioned on being "in Him".
The passage doesn't state that God chose "individuals". Instead, it states that He chose a group. The group is those who are "in Him".
Ephesians 1:13 states that we were sealed "in Him" when we believed. So, the condition of entering the group called "in Him" is faith.
We were not "in Him" before the foundation of the world. We came to be "in Him" when we believed. Since God made the choice "before the foundation of the world", it establishes foreknowledge of who will be holy and blameless. But the foreknowledge established by this passage is foreknowledge of a group based on a preset condition rather than an arbitrary choice of individuals.
A Simple Illustration:
Please consider the following secular statement that parallels Ephesians 1:4 in grammatical structure:
"The mayor chose us in the police department before the first shot was fired, that we should be peace makers."
This statement does not mean that the mayor decided which individuals would be policemen. It doesn't even imply that the mayor knows any policemen. It just means that 1) the mayor chose a group to perform a task, 2) the task is in the future and 3) future members of the group "police department" will perform the task.
Now I will show the two statements together. Note the similar grammatical structure of the two statements:
"The mayor chose
us in the police department
before the first shot was fired,
that we should be peace makers."
"He chose
us in Him,
before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and blameless."
So, Ephesians 1:4 means that before the foundation of the world, God made a choice that those who eventually come to be "in Him", by faith, will receive an imputed state of being "holy and blameless".
This is a scriptural predestination.
It is not the predestination of Calvinism as presented by John Calvin, which asserts the unscriptural, false doctrine that God created individuals for damnation and predetermined that destiny for them before they were born.
Here is a quote from John Calvin:
"By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death." Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin, Book Third, Chapter 21, Section 5, page 568, Public Domain. Click here to read. The Bold emphasis in the quote from Calvin is mine.
One version of Calvinistic false doctrine of predestination that seems to be popular is this:
All individuals would go to Hell if God didn't choose some for eternal life. I am told that God's choice has nothing to do with the individual chosen... that it is an unconditional election... that their version of predestination shows the grace of God and requires humility to accept.
In other words, if I don't accept their version of predestination, I am not humble... if I believe that there was any condition in me, by which God granted eternal life, I am patting myself on the back. If, at God's instigation, I sought the Lord, cried out to Him and received the gift of salvation as Romans 10:13 proclaims, they say that I am not humble. (See A7b-f in the appendix.) I have been told that it is heresy to say that those who are not born again can seek God, even though God takes action to cause them to seek Him (Acts 17:26-27).
But...
IF EVERY PERSON is created with an unavoidable eternal destiny of Hell, except those individuals whom God arbitrarily chooses before birth for eternal life, then the unchosen are arbitrarily predestined to damnation.
So the false doctrine of individual, arbitrary predestination to damnation is the unavoidable result of the false doctrine of individual, arbitrary predestination to eternal life.
And, the False doctrine of unconditional predestination is arbitrary because it is not based on any condition, trait or action of the one whom is predestined.
So the false doctrine of the U in TULIP, Unconditional election, instead of resulting in humility in the believer... results in the false doctrine of an evil arbitrary god, who, as Calvin incorrectly claimed... created men for damnation.
When Calvinists proclaim their version of predestination to me, thinking that they are demonstrating humility, saying that I am not humble if I don't believe their false doctrine... I am hearing them say that my God is an unjust, wicked, arbitrary tyrant... who created men for damnation.
Regarding those who present God's grace out of a false doctrine that God created men for damnation, Romans 2:24 may apply: "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you..."
For More Information
If you would like more information on this subject, read "The Unabbreviated Conversion Corridor" in the appendix, (A7). In that page, you will see that we don't earn our salvation. But, you will not see predestination to damnation. There is a middle ground... a scriptural view. Click here to read.
You may also read subchapter A6, titled "When God Chooses". It is very short and presents scriptures which reveal the following aspects to God's choices:
God's Choices Can Be
Individual or Group (Generic or Corporate)
Conditional or Unconditional
Resistible or Irresistible
Pre-Creation, Pre-birth, Pre-Conversion, Post-Conversion
To grant Salvation, Apostleship, Kingship, Adoption, Fruit, etc.
God's Conditional Choice of Individuals at Conversion
"... God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth" (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Click here for an in depth study of this verse.
Calvinism vs Arminianism
When I was young, I remember a number of Calvinists telling me two things:
1) I must pick a theological system so that I can understand the Bible.
2) I should pick Calvinism instead of Arminianism because Calvinism endorses the doctrine of "Once saved, always saved"... while Arminianism rejects that doctrine.
My Response:
First, we should seek truth. We should not decide what answer we want and then seek a teacher to tell us what we want to be told.
Second, if we want a system to help us understand scripture, Calvinism and Arminianism are not the only options. Instead of choosing Calvinism, Arminianism or any other ism, I chose to do what scripture says to do. I chose:
- to be Berean
- to prayerfully meditate on scripture
- to rely on the Holy Spirit for understanding
According to Psalm 119:99, one who meditates on scripture can have greater understanding than seminary graduates, Greek and Hebrew scholars and full time preachers. (Click here and read 1.5d(III) for an explanation of Psalm 119:99. Read 1.5i on that page to learn how to be Berean. Read 1.5e and 1.5d(II) on the same page about hearing through the Holy Spirit.)
Scripture tells us exactly how to understand scripture. Click here to read subchapter 1.5 titled, "Conditions for Understanding the Word".
If you choose a theological system to help you understand scripture instead of doing what scripture says... don't expect to receive understanding of scripture.
Those who learn a theological system and then use that system as a lens to understand scripture are bending the scripture to the system they chose.
- "But they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men... making void the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down" (Mark 7:7-13). (See also Colossians 2:8, 23 and Isaiah 29:13.)
Click here for an in depth study of Mark 7:7-13.
Once Saved Always Saved?
Ephesians 1:4 has much to say about this question: Can you lose your salvation?
Click here to learn more from the page titled, "Once Saved Always Saved: Perseverance of the Saints".
Links to Other Pages on Predestination
- What Does Acts 13:48 Mean? As many as were appointed to eternal life believed
- What Does 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Mean? God chose you from the beginning for salvation
- What Does Ephesians 1:4 Mean? Chosen Before the Foundation of the World
- What Do Revelation 13:8 and 17:8 Mean? Names written BEFORE the foundation of the world in the book of life