Ephesians 1:3-14
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.
This morning's study on Ephesians 1:1-14 lended itself to some pretty hefty salvation theology discussion. As promised... below are the (extra) notes that I had not yet added to the original note sheet. This is a very long post... but take some time to ponder it, inviting the tension it brings. I encourage your comments, as we could have some healthy discussion on this.
Did God draw you to Himself? Or is “coming to Jesus” something you chose to do out of your own free will? Or both? These are some of the greatest theological debates of the church. Were we predestined to come to God? Is there only a certain group of people whom God has chosen to come to Him? We know that from the beginning of creation God gave us the gift of “choice”, but if He is completely sovereign and determines who comes to Him and who does not, does this mean we really have no choice when it comes to issues of salvation?
It seems like in Christianity whenever you are confronted with these issues you are given a limited number of options to either agree or disagree with, and then you are forced to align yourself with the one that persuades you more strongly. Unfortunately, after being persuaded, there is a tendency to spend the rest of your days proving your position is the right "one"... and your study becomes limited to "proof-texting" (taking one verse here and one verse there and using them to prove our particular point of view). Usually people fall into trouble when they focus on arguing a particular doctrine of belief. Instead of seeing the Gospel story in it’s great context (the big picture), and how it all fits together, they choose certain verses to back up what they believe about the particular doctrine. But ultimately there may be something mentioned in another part of the Bible that appears to contradict the doctrine they are defending. Without the context of the whole story, the whole message of the Gospel, we find ourselves becoming separated from other brothers and sisters in Christ based on issues of doctrine and debate.
There are some things I have reserved myself to this line of thinking… I may never fully understand. And that’s okay. Because I believe in the one, Triune God. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is my Lord and King. And I trust Him... even though I may not fully understand.
The major doctrinal issue that is raised in Ephesians 1: 3-14 is the issue of our salvation... who it begins with, how it takes place, how it is maintained, etc. Behind this teaching there are two different schools of thinking: (1) Arminianism (taught by Jacob Arminius), and (2) Calvinism (taught by John Calvin).
Arminianism can be summarized in five points (granted, these are major simplifications):
1. Free will… Arminius believed that the fall of man was not total, maintaining that there was enough good left in man for him to accept Jesus Christ unto salvation.
2. Conditional election… Arminius believed that election was based on the foreknowledge of God as to who would believe. Man's "act of faith" was seen as the "condition" or his being elected to eternal life, since God foresaw him exercising his "free will" in response to Jesus Christ.
3. Universal atonement… Arminius held that redemption was based on the fact that God loves everybody, that Christ died for everyone, and that the Father is not willing that any should perish. The death of Christ provided the grounds for God to save all men, but each must exercise his own "free will" in order to be saved.
4. Obstructable grace… Arminius believed that since God wanted all men to be saved, He sent the Holy Spirit to "woo" all men to Christ, but since man has absolute "free will," he is able to resist God's will for his life. He believed that God's will to save all men can be frustrated by the finite will of man. He also taught that man exercises his own will first, and then is born again.
5. Falling from grace… If man cannot be saved by God unless it is man's will to be saved, then man cannot continue in salvation unless he continues to will to be saved.
Calvinism also has been simplified into the “five points of Calvinism” by later reformed theologians as an answer to the five points of Arminianism:
1. Total depravity… Calvinists believed that man is in absolute bondage to sin and Satan, unable to exercise his own will to trust in Jesus Christ without the help of God.
2. Unconditional election… Calvinists believed that foreknowledge is based upon the plan and purpose of God, and that election is not based upon the decision of man, but the "free will" of the Creator alone.
3. Limited atonement… Calvinists believed that Jesus Christ died to save those who were given to Him by the Father in eternity past. In their view, all for whom Jesus died (the elect) will be saved, and all for whom He did not die (the non elect) will be lost.
4. Irresistible grace… Calvinists believed that the Lord possesses irresistible grace that cannot be obstructed. They taught that the free will of man is so far removed from salvation, that the elect are regenerated (made spiritually alive) by God even before expressing faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. If a totally depraved person wasn't made alive by the Holy Spirit, such a calling on God would be impossible.
5. Perseverance of the saints… Calvinists believed that salvation is entirely the work of the Lord, and that man has absolutely nothing to do with the process. The saints will persevere because God will see to it that He will finish the work He has begun.
Why is there still such great debate over these two very different theological stances? Because the scriptures appear to support both points of view! If not, there would be no reason for debate. Is it possible for a person to land somewhere in the middle? Is it possible to not take just one side of this debate over salvation which greatly divides the body of Christ? Consider this:
1. DEPRAVITY
We all are sinners (Romans 3:23) and unable by human performance to earn, deserve, or merit salvation (Titus 3:5). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and apart from God's grace no one can be saved (Ephesians 2:8-9). None are righteous or capable of doing good (Romans 3:10-12), and apart from the conviction and regeneration of the Holy Spirit, none can be saved (John 1:12-13; 16:8-11; I Peter 1:23-25). Mankind is clearly fallen and lost in sin.
2. ELECTION
God chose the believer before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-6), and based on His foreknowledge, has predestined the believer to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29-30). God offers salvation to all who will call on His name. Romans 10:13 says, "For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." God calls to Himself those who will believe in His Son, Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 1:9). However, the Bible also teaches that an invitation (or call) is given to all, but that only a few will accept it. We see this balance throughout scripture. Revelation 22:17 states, "And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." I Peter 1:2 tells us we are, "elect according to the foreknowledge of God, the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." Matthew 22:14 says, "For many are called, but few are chosen (elected)." God clearly does choose, but man must also accept God's invitation to salvation.
3. ATONEMENT
Jesus Christ died as a propitiation (a satisfaction of the righteous wrath of God against sin) "for the whole world" (I John 2:2; 4:9-10), and He redeems and forgives all who will believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as their only hope of salvation from sin, death, and hell (Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:18-19). Eternal life is a gift of God (Romans 6:23), and "whosoever believeth" in Jesus Christ will not perish, but will have eternal life (John 3:16-18). I Timothy 4:10 says "we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe." Hebrews 2:9 states that Jesus, "was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man." The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ was clearly sufficient to save the entire human race.
4. GRACE
God's grace is not the result of human effort or worthiness (Romans 3:24-28; 11:6), but is the response of God's mercy and love to those who will believe in His Son (Ephesians 2:4-10). Grace gives to us what we do not deserve nor can earn by our performance (Romans 11:6). God's grace and mercy can be resisted by us (Matthew 23:37). We are not condemned because we have no opportunity to be saved, but a person is condemned because he makes a choice not to believe (John 3:18; John 5:40; John 6:37, 40; John 7:37).
Jesus clearly acknowledges the fact of human resistance and rejection (John 12:46-48). In Stephen's message in Acts 7:51, he concluded by saying, "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you." In Romans 10:21, the apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 65:2 when he speaks of God's words to Israel, "All day long I have stretched forth My hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people." In one of the five warning passages of the book of Hebrews, we read in Hebrews 10:26, "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins." Verse 29 adds, "How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" Apparently God's grace can either be resisted or received by the exercise of human free will.
5. PERSEVERANCE
Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 8:38-39), and there is no condemnation to those who are in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:1). The promise of Jesus in John 10:27-28 is clear: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand." Jesus said in John 6:37, "whoever comes to me I will never drive away." We have this assurance in Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." The Holy Spirit has sealed us unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30).
But we must also be deeply concerned over the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” Apparently there are many who claim to be believers that in fact are not.
In difficult doctrinal matters, may we have gracious attitudes and humble hearts, desiring most of all to please Him who has called us to serve Him in the body of Christ. Discussion? YES! Even disagreements? YES! Division? NO!
Jesus said, "By their fruit you shall know them." When a particular position on the Scriptures causes one to become argumentative, legalistic, and divisive, I question the validity of that position. I seek to embrace those things that tend to make me more loving and kind, more forgiving and merciful. I know then that I am becoming more like my Lord. If you have come to a strong personal conviction on one side of a doctrinal issue, please grant others the privilege of first seeing how it has helped you to become more Christ-like in your nature, and then they will judge whether they need to come to that same persuasion. Let us always be certain to look at the fruit of the teaching.
Seek those things that produce the loving nature of Jesus in our lives. I would almost rather have the wrong facts and a right attitude, than right facts and a wrong attitude. God can change my understanding of the facts in a moment, but it often takes a lifetime to effect changes of attitude.
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