The predominant interpretation of Ephesians1:4-5 is
1) God has selected some to go to heaven and others to hell because of his sovereignty
2) God has a plan that was established before the world began. What God does is not an after thought
3) God has no new plan for the plan He established is eternal. God is not changing. What he actually does, he always meant to do
I believe these intrepretations were springs which served the church at a time and they worked even if not well. Interestingly, the first audience in 66AD did not have the interpretations above. They believed none of us is born children of God. We are made into children of God, hence we (the entire human race) are predestined to be children of God. The first time in church history we read about predestination/determinism in a different light is in 300AD by Augustine. John Calvin then took this thought to its extreme end in the 1500sAD by giving some of the interpretations above. Various responses have been made to these teaching of determinism. Here is a delta theism response;
A story
Assume I owned a bus and I organized a retreat for my friends two months in advance. The retreat starts when you get in the bus, the journey and at the destination. Let’s say some of my friends come, and others don’t, and some of my friends’ friends crashed for the retreat. What sought of conversations would be going on among my friends with regard to my retreat plan?
Some might say that I predetermined they should be in the bus, while others will say they chose to be in the bus because they are my friends. Is it proper to say I predetermined that some will miss the retreat or is it that some chose to miss the retreat? Am I in control of everything in the retreat?
That is, in Christ, he chose us before the world was made so that we would be his holy people without blame before him. Because of his love, God had already decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. that was what he wanted and what pleased him ephesians1:4-5 NCV
A brief exposition on Ephesians1:4-5 if we were to break it down we see the following phrases and words for interpretation;
1) In Christ
Who is Christ? Why Christ? How did Christ do it?
Christ means anointed king or Lord. Lord means owner. In our culture we would understand Lord easier than a King. If you have a landlord, it means he owns the space you live in. If your land lord is good, he will give you the terms of living in that space and let you self determine your life. The landlord is sovereign over you in the space you are living in. He cannot just kick you out any time if he is a good landlord for he respects the terms he lay out when he gave you the space. If your landlord is bad, then sovereignty is synonymous to meticulous control of your life when you live in his space. He can kick you out any time; he always gets what he wants. You have no freedom to do whatever you want when in his space. All you have to do is just do what he wants for the land lord always gets what the land lord wants.
In this passage of scripture, it is important to observe that the whole of this declaration is happening in Christ and not outside this. To mean that Christ is Lord over the declaration
2) He chose
Does God continue to make choices or his choices are frozen in the beginning of time? How does God make choices? When does God make choices?
God made a choice. Our ability to make choices is because we are made in the image of God. God could have refused to choose but he did. Seeing the passage talks of letting people into a good thing we understand that God is good and loving. He can be nothing but good and loving. It is his very nature.
3) Us
Who are these us?
This is where most questions about the passages arise. Is the us certain individuals or communities-a group of individuals. If individuals is it;
1) The apostle Paul and his missionary companions as we see in his other letters like 1thes1:6?
2) The entire human race?
If communities is it
1) The gentiles who have become Christians at Ephesus?
We live in an individualistic culture that the idea of communities doesn’t make sense much. Even in Kenya where our parents grew up in a culture where children are for the community (extended family) is no longer a reality as people are pushing more toward nuclear families. There is a lot of bombardment in the media for individuals to just be themselves, share publicly what is on their mind…all these makes it hard for people to see these verses as communities; it is easier to see it as certain individuals. In Kenya the media has made the word community to be synonymous with ethnic tribe. If we are able to see this log in our eyes, then the toothpick truth in the passage to who “us” is becomes clear.
4) Before the world was made
This phrase appears a couple of other times in the bible. It was used twice by Jesus to talk of his eternity attribute in John17:5,24. In context seeing the whole of the declaration rests on the lordship of Christ it is logical to infer that this phrase means Jesus Christ is eternal. It does not in any way mean individuals are eternal. They can only experience eternity through Christ.
5) His holy people
We see a community of people with the mark of holiness in their life
6) Because of his love
This is the reason God is doing all the declarations being made in the passage. God can be nothing but loving. Love is his very nature.
7) Already decided
What is binding this decision that it is foreknown?
In context this foreknowledge is about the revelation of Christ to save the world in due time. It is the same phrase that occurs in 1Peter1:20
8) Through Jesus Christ
What is this that works through Christ?
The agreement that God is going to have with people in these last times is through Christ and no other.
9) What he wanted
God has wants? God has desires?
A relationship between man and God based on love; it is out of benevolence not coercion or compulsion that God desired. God does not co-opt our choices so that God gets what God wants because God is love
10) What pleased him
What pleases God?
I read this note by William Burkit. You can wrap your mind around it, “The attribute mentioned here by the apostle, which moved God to predestinate us to the adoption of children was the glory of his grace, he mentions not the glory of his holiness, or the glory of his justice or the glory of his power, because the glory of his power is manifested in making the world, the glory of his holiness in making the law, the glory of his justice in turning the transgressors of that law into hell, but his grace he shows no where so much as in the predestination of his children, the fruit is being children”
He then adds “God did not love us from eternity because Christ was to die for us in time, because he loved us with an everlasting love, therefore in the fullness of time Christ died for us”
Some of the questions I raised eg God making choices are best answered with other portions of scripture but this blog post is about ephesians1:4-5. I hope this brief exposition calms down some arguments about determinism being present from this portion of scripture.
