Ephesians 1:4

Someone has said that salvation is something like marriage. You think that you made a choice and then you discover that you were chosen. Well, Paul may have had that in mind when he wrote Ephesians 1:4, “According as He [God the Father] hath chosen us in Him [God the Son] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him.” He’s talking here about the fact that you and I are God’s chosen people. That encourages me. I read the Old Testament and discover Israel was God’s chosen nation. And now I read in Ephesians 1:4 that God chose me. “Ah,” you say “He chose you because you were so good!” No. He made this choice before the foundation of the world. There was no good in me because I was not there.

This was done in eternity by the grace of God. We’re chosen by God the Father. We’re chosen in God the Son. We were chosen before the foundation of the world. That’s an interesting statement. This is all a part of God’s grace. You see, as far as God the Father is concerned, I was saved when He chose me in Christ before the foundation of the world. But you know I didn’t know anything about that. As far as God the Son is concerned, I was saved when He died for me on the cross. “In whom we have redemption through His blood,” says Ephesians 1:7. As far as God the Holy Spirit is concerned, I was saved in May of 1945 when I trusted Christ as my Savior, and then all of this came together. I discovered I had made a choice. I discovered I had been chosen. We are chosen by the Father, chosen in the Son, chosen before the foundation of the world, chosen to live holy lives.

Notice what the verse says, “that we should be holy and without blame before Him.” You see if we are the chosen of God, we have a responsibility. Our response to His grace leads to responsibility. He chose us and saved us that He might make us all that He wants us to be. “According as He has chosen us in Him… that we should be holy and [that we should be] without blame before Him.”