Why and How Are We Christians?
Why are you a Christian? How did you become a Christian? These are usually questions we answer from our point of view, from the street-level existence of our lives. We say that we’re Christians because we accepted Jesus. We say that we became a Christian when we prayed a prayer, walked an aisle, got baptized, or made a commitment to live a new life.
How would God answer these questions? Why are we Christians according to God’s point of view? How did we become a Christians according to God’s point of view? When you think about these questions, are your answers the same as God’s answers? In other words, is your understanding of your salvation, the why and the how of it, based on your ideas or God’s? Your opinions or God’s? What you’ve always been told or what God says in his word? Is your understanding of salvation based on God’s birds-eye view or your street-level view?
Right Understanding Leads to Flourishing
Answering these questions wrongly doesn’t mean you’re not a Christian. But it might mean that your growth as a Christian is being stunted by inaccurate views of God’s saving work in your life. When we understand things rightly, we tend to excel in the thing understood. For example, when I rightly understand what my wife and children need from me as a husband and father, I’m more likely to be a better husband and father. When we rightly understand how our government works, we’re able to contribute more constructively to the political process. The better we understand grammar, the better we’ll be able to learn new languages. The better we understand good business principles, the better chance we have of running a good business. Right understanding leads to flourishing in the thing understood.
Right understanding can also lead to an increased love for the thing understood. As I grow in my knowledge and understanding of my wife’s character and personality and gifts and dreams, I grow to love and appreciate and cherish her more deeply. I’m challenged to be the kind of husband she deserves. I’m encouraged to do whatever I need to do to serve and please her. I’m willing to lay down my life for her in light of who she is.
This is no less true when it comes to our understanding of God and his ways. The more we understand God rightly, the more likely we are to flourish in his world. The more we see and understand him for who he is, the more we’ll love and adore him, the more we’ll be willing to do whatever we must to please him. This means that theology has tremendous practical value. The more our thoughts about God line up with God’s thoughts about God, the more our lives will be transformed into who God wants us to be.
The Deep End of the Pool
In our study of Ephesians, we’re going to be wading into the deeper end of the pool of Christian theology. If you don’t like to swim in the pool of theology, don’t worry, you might find that the water is more refreshing than you realized. If you don’t know how to swim in the pool of theology, don’t worry, you’ve been given the Holy Spirit to keep you afloat, to lead you into all truth. And you’ve been given brothers and sisters in Christ who are here to help you learn how to swim. This is what we were created for: to pursue the glory of God together. Swimming is always more fun at a pool full of your closest friends.
Let’s dive in. As I said last week, the main theme of Ephesians is God’s glory revealed in the church, specifically in the uniting of Jew and Gentile in one body. How and why did Gentiles end up as part of God’s people? Our text this morning tells us that the Gentiles are part of God’s people because God chose them to be a part of his people before the foundation of the world for his glory (1:3-6).
God is Praised for Blessing His People
These verses can be divided up into two parts. First, we’ll see that God is praised for blessing his people (v. 3). And second, we’ll see that God is praised for choosing his people (vv. 4-6). This opening section of the letter (vv. 3-14) has been described as a “eulogy to God.” It’s a tribute to the glory and grace of God. It’s a call to worship designed to lift our eyes away from ourselves and up to the majesty and love of God. It’s Paul’s way of showing the Ephesian church, and us, why the Gentiles are part of God’s people.
The beginning of verse 3 is a call to praise. “Praise be to God” (NIV) is a better rendering of the text. God is worthy of blessing and praise. But by who? By those who’ve been blessed by him, “who has blessed us in Christ.” God is worshiped by those whom he has blessed. Those he blesses are those who bless him. This opening verse tells us that Paul isn’t seeking to build an argument as much as he is seeking to build a choir. He’s worshipping God and inviting his readers to join him. All of the theology that he’s about to unpack comes from a heart of worship and praise to God. God must be blessed for who he is and what he’s done.
This opening worship song tells us about the blessings that make God worthy of praise. Notice that the blessings are “spiritual” in nature and “in the heavenly places” (v. 3c). Those in Christ have “every spiritual blessing.” They’re “spiritual” blessings because they come from the Spirit. He’s not referring to the gifts of the Spirit, but to the gifts that are outlined in the rest of the prayer: election, adoption, redemption, forgiveness, knowledge of God’s plan, the gift of the Spirit, and the hope of glory. All these gifts come to us by and through the Spirit.
This is helpful for us to understand and apply to our prayer lives. When we pray, we often ask for God’s blessing on our lives in various ways. “Lord, bless my family, bless my job, bless my church, bless my friends.” Those are good prayers to pray, but we must remember that we’re already blessed in Christ. We’ve received blessing upon blessing from the Spirit of God. Those in Christ are blessed right now with a blessing that is primarily spiritual. Do you ever thank God for his spiritual blessings? Or only his material blessings?
Paul says that these “spiritual blessings” are “in the heavenly places.” The blessings aren’t literally in heaven. Paul isn’t describing the place of heaven. As a good Jew, he understood history in two stages, this age and the age to come. The “heavenly places” represent the age to come, that future era of perfect peace and righteousness and joy that was inaugurated by Jesus’ death and resurrection that’ll be consummated at his return. The blessings that believers have received aren’t just future benefits. They’ve been pulled down from the age to come into this age and applied to our lives by the Spirit (1:13-14).
We’re swimming in the deep end of the pool now! Here’s what this means. If you’re a Christian, the life that God has for you in the age to come, in heaven, has been pulled down into the present. Not completely because we still live in this age. But some of the blessings of God’s kingdom have already been given to God’s people. Peace, joy, righteousness are ours in Christ.
Throughout this letter, Paul makes it clear that the blessings from God are only for those “in Christ” (v. 3b, 4a, 6). “In Christ” refers even more specifically to the place where these “spiritual blessings” are found (cf. 1:13). Only those who’re united to Christ through faith are blessed with “every spiritual blessing.” This terminology reveals the exclusive nature of Christianity. God’s spiritual blessing is only on those who trust his Son.
God is Praised for Choosing His People
The second part of our passage says that God is praised because he chose his people (vv. 4-6). After the general statement of praise in verse 3, Paul gives examples of some of the blessings that God has given to those in Christ. The first blessing he explores is the blessing that God chose those who’re in Christ.
God’s choice of some people to salvation is often called divine election. Theologian Wayne Grudem offers a good definition of election: “Election is an act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure.” We’ll look more closely at this doctrine next week.
God choosing some people and not others is a very biblical idea. In the Old Testament, we learn that God chose Noah and Abraham out of all the people on the earth at that time to be his servants. God chose Isaac instead of Ishmael, Jacob instead of Esau, David instead of his brothers, and Israel instead of any other nation. Deuteronomy 14:2, “The Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the earth.” Peter applies the same terminology to the church in the New Testament, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Pet. 2:9).
Election before Time
In Ephesians 1:4-6, we learn at least five things about God’s election of his people. First, God elected his people before the beginning of time (v. 4a). Paul is making a case for why the Gentiles are now part of God’s people and he starts by saying that they’re part of God’s people because God chose them to be part of his people before time existed. This doesn’t mean that we existed before the world. It simply means that God’s choice of believers, not believers themselves, preceded the foundation of the world.
This truth is taught in other passages as well. 2 Timothy 1:9, “(God) saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.” John says in Revelation 13:8 that “all who dwell on the earth will worship (the beast), everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain” (cf. 17:8).
Back in Ephesians 1, why does Paul start by telling us that election happened before time? Why is this the first “spiritual blessing” that he blesses God for? Because he wants to emphasize the graciousness of God’s choice. God’s choice happened before Jew or Gentile believers existed, before they could do anything good or bad to effect it. Paul says it this way in Romans 9:10-12, “When Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad – in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls – she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’” Because election happens before human history, it’s not based on any human achievement. It’s an absolutely free gift.
Election for Holiness and Love
Second, God elected his people so that they would walk in holiness and love (v. 4b). Election is a great privilege, but it comes with great responsibility. God’s purpose in election wasn’t merely to repair the damage done by sin but also to fulfill his original intention for mankind, namely, that we would reflect his glory as his image bearers. We’re elected in order to become like Jesus, the perfect image of God. Romans 8:29, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”
God’s act of election has implications for the way we should live. God chose us so that we might reflect him to the world. He called us out of darkness that we might reflect his light. As Peter says, because we belong to God, we’re a “holy nation.” Therefore, he urges us to “abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul” (1 Pet. 2:11).
There’s some disagreement concerning how to punctuate the end of verse 4. It’s probably best to put the period after “in love.” This means that the calling to holiness is a calling to live “in love.” This is exactly what Paul says later in the letter (Eph. 4:1-2, 5:1-2). Through election, God created a people who’ll be separate from the world around them, as seen by their love for him and their love for one another.
Are you growing in holiness and love? Do you increasingly hate sin and love God? Do you look for ways to love your brothers and sisters, your neighbors, and even your enemies? Those whom God elects want to grow, and are indeed growing, in holiness and love.
Election Results in Adoption
The third thing we learn about God’s election of his people is that election results in adoption (v. 5a). “Predestined us for adoption as sons” is a restatement of the blessing of election from a different perspective. Paul is saying the same thing in a different way. He’s turning “the jewel (of election) slightly and viewing it from a different angle.”
This verse tells us that before time began God chose to adopt men and women into a personal and intimate relationship with himself. This is an incredible privilege because those who now call God “Father” were at one time “sons of disobedience” and “children of wrath” (2:2, 3).
But, despite our sin and rebellion, God chose us to adopt us. This verse tells us that God’s choosing us is the same as his adopting us. When he chose us, he adopted us. When he adopted us, he chose us. This is what happens when we adopt a child. We choose them, we set our love upon them, we fold them into our lives, we make them our own.
Notice that it says that we’re adopted “as sons through Jesus Christ.” This means that through our union with Jesus, Jesus shares his divine sonship with us. We call God Father because Jesus calls God Father. We’re heirs of God because Jesus is God’s heir. Jesus’ status as God’s Son lifts believers out of our status as slaves and makes us sons and daughters of God with him.
In other words, the goal, or result, of God’s adoption of us is a love relationship with God similar to Jesus’ relationship with God. We don’t become little gods like the Mormons teach. But we do become related to God in a way similar to Jesus. The Father looks on us with pleasure and delight and love and joy. If we’re united to Christ through faith, God is for us, not against us. His full attention is toward us. His eyes are fixed on us. He promises to give us what we need. He promises to never leave us, to love us with a never-ending, never giving up kind of love. He loves us as a parent loves their son or daughter.
The reason he adopted us is because he chose to love us. We did nothing to earn or deserve his affection. God doesn’t love us because we performed well and kept all the rules and started going to church and stopped cussing and started loving our neighbors. He loved us because he chose to love us. And he chose to love us because he wanted to, as the next phrase tells us.
Election According to God’s Good Pleasure
The end of verse 5 tells us the fourth thing about God’s election of his people. This phrase explains the attitude with which God elected believers. The word for “purpose” means good will, pleasure, or desire. God chose to love his children out of a deep desire to do so. He took great pleasure in electing his people. He didn’t do it begrudgingly. God elects his people out of joy. He’s thrilled to give us what we don’t deserve.
Listen to Jesus’ words in Luke 12:32, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” God’s joyful generosity is meant to kill our fears and still our anxieties. If he’s happily given us his kingdom, won’t he happily provide everything we need?
And listen to the prophet Zephaniah’s words. “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (3:16-17). God’s pleasure in saving us gives us strength and takes away our fears. The reality of God joyfully singing over his chosen people should set our hearts free to love and serve him. God isn’t a miser. He’s the most generous and joyful giver in the universe. The fact that he delightfully chose any of us, much less millions of us, to be his forever leads us to praise him.
Election for the Praise of God’s Glory
And this is exactly where Paul goes next in verse 6. The fifth and final thing we learn about God’s election of his people is that he does it for the praise of his glory. God took pleasure in his decision before the beginning of time to adopt believers as his children, and he did this so that they might praise him for his magnificent grace.
God’s grace is glorious because it reflects his glory, his character, and is therefore worthy of our praise. The valuing and treasuring and praising of his grace was God’s ultimate purpose behind his decision to choose his people before the foundation of the world. In other words, if you’re a Christian, God chose you in order that you would praise him for his grace. He saved you for his glory. He set his love on you so that you would set your love on him.
God Chose You for His Glory
So, according to God, why are you a Christian? In order to praise God’s glorious grace. How did you become a Christian, according to God? The most foundational reason is because God chose you. You didn’t choose him first. He chose you before there was a you.
Paul’s focus in these verses hasn’t been on the logic of election, but on the reality of it and the need to praise God because of it. As those who’ve been blessed by God by being chosen by God, we should choose to bless God. We should take pleasure in our God because he has taken pleasure in us. We should have joy in God in light of his joy in us. And we should live lives of holiness and love that reflect his glory, never forgetting that we were saved by God, for God.