In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
The first chapter of Ephesians is one of the most debated and contested among believers. Three related terms, each found in the chapter, are at the forefront of the contest.
- Elect/election
- Predestinated
- Will
Most equate this election as having to do with salvation. Some believe God elects those who will be saved and elects those who will not be saved. Some, I included, believe that God has elected all to be saved, but some choose themselves to be unworthy, rejecting the gospel.
I don’t believe Ephesians chapter one has to do with salvation at all.[1] The issue is God’s will for those saved, and the controversy Paul addressed had to do with the church. It was God’s will; God had predestinated; it was the choice of God that all who are saved be united together into one new body called a local church. It was this doctrine for which Paul was in bonds.
But to my point. We have these controversies at all, in Paul’s day and in ours, because the corrupt nature resists “the counsel of His own will.”
Seriously. This is our problem. We don’t like that God has a will of His own. We want God to help us achieve our own will, not His own will.
We will continue to battle with each other and God until we surrender.
May that happen today.
[1] Even though one of the most well-loved passages concerning salvation is found in Ephesians chapter two.
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