Chosen and Predestined
Followers of Jesus walk on dangerous ground when we overlook the plain sense of Scripture in favor of some hidden esoteric meaning, or more comfortable interpretation. We must be careful when someone claims that what is written is not what the writer intended to say. But it’s essential to recognize that the plain sense of words, whether written or spoken, cannot be determined apart from their greater context.
The Scriptures speak of predestination, and undoubtedly say that some people have been chosen and predestined before the foundation of the world. However, though Calvinists and others consider themselves one of those chosen and predestined, and believe the choosing and predestination to be in reference to an unconditional election to eternal life, the passages they use as support for their claims provide no support at all.
The Greek word translated predestined is used only six times in the New Testament: once in Acts 4:28, which speaks of the suffering and death of Jesus being predestined; once in 1 Corinthians 2:7, which speaks of the hidden wisdom God that he predestined before the ages; twice in Romans 8:28–30, where Paul wrote of those who love God being predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son; and Ephesians 1:3–12, possibly the most used passage of Scripture to support the idea that some are predestined to eternal life and others to damnation.
In Ephesians 1 we read words like, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,” “He predestined us to adoption as sons,” and “…we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” It is easy to see why this section of Scripture is used as a primary pillar text for the Calvinistic view of predestination. These verses seem to offer strong support for TULIP’s idea of Unconditional Election. So strong, in fact, that some might ask, “What more could anyone ask for as proof? The answer can be found in just one word: context. It is crucial to a biblical understanding of predestination that we interpret these words within their context. With this in mind, let’s begin by putting these words in their context to see what we find.
After a brief introduction by Paul, the full text of Ephesians 1:3–12 reads:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise and glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to and administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.”
Many Christians read the words about the chosen and predestined and assume Paul was referring to the Ephesian believers. Naturally, then, they apply these words to themselves and conclude that they have been chosen and predestined. Likewise, when they read the words predestined to adoption as sons, they associate adoption with a guarantee of eternal life, and conclude they have been chosen and predestined to eternal life.
This interpretation fits perfectly with the Calvinistic idea that the salvation of individual men was unconditionally predestined by God. But, the grammatical and historical context of Paul’s words reveals numerous problems with such an interpretation. Just as we cannot read a portion of a letter from a friend if we hope to understand their thoughts and comments, neither can we read a short passage of Scripture if we expect to understand its intent. We must read the letter in its entirety. With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at the greater context of Paul’s letter to find who Paul referred to as chosen and predestined, and what it was they were chosen to do.
Reading the entirety of Paul’s letter reveals that, after using the pronouns “we,” “us,” and “our” throughout verses 3–12, Paul began using the pronoun “you” in verse 13. Ephesians 1:13 reads: “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.” This change in Paul’s choice of pronouns is the first time we see him making a distinction between two groups of people: the “we,” “us,” and “ours” of verses 3–12, and the “you” of verse 13, but this is not the last time. He went on to make similar distinctions throughout much of his letter. One example of this is Ephesians 2:1–3 where he wrote:
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
After starting this passage speaking of “you” who were dead in trespasses and sins and formerly walked in the lust of the flesh, Paul went on to say “we too all” did the same. Who are the “you” and “we” Paul referred to? Paul identified the “we” as Gentile Ephesians just a few sentences later when he wrote: “Therefore, remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called ‘Uncircumcision’ by the so-called ‘Circumcision,’ which is performed in the flesh by human hands.” (Ephesians 2:11) In order to find who the “we,” “us” and “our” is we’ll have to look again at Ephesians 1:10- 12 which reads:
“In Him we have also obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.”
A clue in identifying the second group is found in the original language of the passage, as it reveals that the phrase first to hope is actually just one word in Greek: proelpizo. Many will recognize pro as a preposition meaning before. Elpizo is a verb which speaks of hope or expectation. Literally, then, proelpizo means “to anticipate or expect before.” Putting this word back into the verse reveals that the predestined “we” of Ephesians 1:3–12 anticipated the coming Christ before he actually came.
Who was it that had anticipated the coming Christ, the promised Messiah? What it the Ephesians to whom Paul wrote? It’s not likely. The Ephesians were largely Gentile, who, prior to Paul preaching the gospel to them, were generally uninterested in Jewish religion and ignorant of the Hebrew Scriptures. The city of Ephesus was steeped in the worship of Artemis and considered itself guardian of her temple. Acts 19:34 records that after the gospel was preached in Ephesus a crowd gathered in the theatre shouting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” for about two hours before being broken up.
Thankfully, rather than leaving us to speculate about whether the Ephesians had been anticipating the promised Christ, the greater context of the letter indicates they had not been waiting for him. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:12 “…remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
The word translated “hope” in this passage is elpis. Elpis is the noun form of the verb root of proelpizo that Paul used in the first chapter when speaking of the “we” who were the “first to hope in Christ.” Taking this into consideration, it seems unlikely that Paul would refer to the Ephesians as those who waited expectantly for the Lord in Ephesians 1:12, then, just twenty-three verses later, contradict himself by writing that they had no expectation. An interpretation which says Paul was referring to the Gentile Ephesians in 1:12 violates the context of his words.
Since Paul was not referring to the Ephesians as those who had waited expectantly for the Messiah, twenty-first century believers in Jesus can know for certain he wasn’t referring to us. After all, we believe the Messiah has already come! Who was it who had anticipated the coming Christ, the promised Messiah? Historically we know that those who had anticipated the Messiah were the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — those of the “circumcision.”
Both the historical and grammatical context of Paul’s words confirms seem to reveal he was referring to Israelites in 1:12, but the evidence does not stop here. Further evidence that the pronouns “we,” “us,” and “our” Paul used in Ephesians 1:3–12 were referring to Israelites is found when we look at the coordinating conjunction “to the end that” at the beginning of verse 12. There Paul wrote, “…to the end that we, who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of his glory.”
“To the end that” is actually one word in Greek, eis, which means “so that,” “in order that,” “unto,” or, just as it is translated, “to the end that.” Taking eis into account reveals the predestination spoken of in Ephesians 1:11 is directly linked with those who were the first to hope in Christ; those had waited expectantly for the Messiah. Inserting ourselves or “all believers” in place of the pronouns of these sentences would make no sense because we were not the first to hope in Christ.
Paul was not arbitrary with his use of pronouns, so we cannot be arbitrary in our interpretation of them. Those who want to insert themselves, or “all believers” in place of the pronouns of Ephesians 1:9–12 would be forced to interpret the passage something like this:
He made known to us (all believers)the mystery of his will, according to his kind intention which he purposed in him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In him also we (all believers) were made a heritage, having been predestined according to his purpose who works all things after the counsel of his will, to the end that we who were first to hope in Christ (the Israelite nation) would be to the praise of His glory.
It doesn’t make sense that Paul would write all believers were made a heritage in order that only those who had been anticipating the coming Messiah would be to the praise of his glory. Later, Paul included the Gentile believers and said all who believe in Jesus would be to the praise of his glory, but the context of verses 10–12 indicate that he was speaking of himself and others of Israelite descent who had anticipated the Messiah. He was not referring to the Gentile Ephesians. And the distinctions do not stop there.
Other passages i Paul’s letter narrow the antecedents down to an even smaller group. One of these is Ephesians 1:9–10a which says: “He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times.” This passage tells us that God himself revealed his mystery to the predestined “us.”
Who is the “us”? Almost forty verses after first speaking of the mystery being revealed to “us,” Paul revealed in Ephesians 3: 1–12 who they were:
“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of the Gentiles — if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the Sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.”
Paul wrote three times in this passage that the mystery was revealed to him and, in one of these three, that it was revealed to the other apostles and prophets. He didn’t write this, however, to prove himself or the others as more important than the Ephesians to whom he wrote. Instead, he explained that the mystery was revealed to him and the other apostles and prophets for the sake of the Ephesians and others. This is evidenced in verse 2 of chapter 3 where he wrote of the stewardship “given to me for you.”
The Greek word translated “administration” in Ephesians 1:10 is oikonomia. This is the same word translated “stewardship” in chapter 3:2 and “administration” in 3:9. In each of these instances Paul was referring to the mystery which God had entrusted to him and the other apostles and prophets, and their responsibility to be faithful administrators (stewards)of that mystery.
Paul took this responsibility very seriously. In his closing words to the Ephesians, he requested: “…pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.[1]
In his infinite wisdom and in accordance with his amazing grace, God chose and predestined the apostles and prophets “with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of time,” then sent them into the world to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:16–20). Luke made reference to this twice in his account of the Acts of the Apostles — including the opening passage where he wrote that, just prior to ascending in a cloud, Jesus had, “by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.” Luke went on to say Jesus had presented himself alive to these apostles, appearing to them over a period of forty days, speaking of things concerning the kingdom, and telling them to wait, saying, “You will receive power when the Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be My witness…”[2]
Paul was not included among the chosen who received instructions from Jesus that day, but just a few chapters later, in Acts 9:15, God said to Ananias about Paul: “Go, for He is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.”
Paul confirmed twice in the book of Acts that he was a chosen eyewitness of Jesus. The first time was when he gave defense to his fellow countrymen on the stairs of the barracks after his arrest in Jerusalem. Relaying the words Ananias spoke to him after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul said: “The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth. For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard.” (Acts 22:14–15)
Paul spoke something similar when testifying to King Agrippa of Jesus’ words to him. Acts 26:16–18 records them:
“But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.
The fact that God revealed the mystery to the apostles and prophets and assigned them to be stewards of it is further confirmed by Paul’s words in Colossians 1:25: “…I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit…” Jesus also made reference to the apostles being stewards of the mystery revealed to them when, speaking of those who had been given to him during his earthly ministry, he asked his father to keep them from the evil one: “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who will believe in Me through their word.” (John 17: 6-20)
The many New Testament passages that confirm that the apostles and prophets were chosen to be eyewitnesses and stewards of the revealed mystery of Jesus makes perfect sense. After all, throughout history, eyewitness testimony has been an important element when testifying to truth. Perhaps this is why, not knowing God had chosen Paul to be an eyewitness of the resurrected Jesus, the apostles felt it necessary to choose a replacement for Judas. Acts 1:21–22 records: “Therefore, it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us — beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us — one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
This passage, along with the others we’ve seen, support Paul’s words in Ephesians about the apostles and prophets being chosen and predestined to be eyewitnesses of “all that Jesus began to do and teach”(Acts 1:1). As chosen and predestined stewards, they were to pass on to future generations the mystery revealed to them. The first record of this happening is Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, but their faithful stewardship is recorded throughout the book of Acts and continues today through the writings of the Scriptures.
While there is a definite distinction between those who were “chosen and predestined” and the Ephesians to whom he wrote, Paul was in no way exalting himself and the other apostles and prophets above the Ephesians. Nor was he exalting the Jew above the Gentile. In fact, the remainder of chapters 2 and 3 reveals just the opposite. They were chosen and predestined for the benefit of the Ephesians. Those who know the historical context of Paul’s letter know that in the days in which he wrote there was still much debate and animosity between Jew and Gentile.
Though Jesus had come to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world and the Gospel was preached to both Jew and Gentile, there continued to be a man-made separation between them. Thus, inspired by the Spirit of God and his love for the Gentile Ephesians, Paul wrote this beautiful letter to remind them:
“But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were formerly far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God, by having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in Whom the whole body, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:13–22)
This passage contains powerful truths, but Paul didn’t stop here. He went on to write in 6–10 “…Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.”
The truths revealed in these two passages should cause our hearts to rejoice. Though salvation came through the Jews and the mystery was first revealed to those who had anticipated the coming of the Messiah, Gentiles who believe in Christ are no longer strangers and aliens to the covenants of promise. There is no longer a dividing wall. Jews and Gentiles are one in Christ. Gentiles are fellow citizens’ with the saints, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise!
All of these are wonderful truths for all believers. However, though all believers are one in Christ, this does not mean we can rightly insert our names in place of the pronouns used throughout Ephesians 1:3–12. Despite a tendency to think so, it was not the Ephesians who were chosen and predestined before the foundation of the world. Neither was it you or me.
It is true that, by virtue of Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:19–20, followers of Jesus Christ continue the work of being stewards of the mysteries of Christ today. But we are not those to whom the mystery was first revealed. In his infinite wisdom, God chose particular people to be eyewitnesses of all that Jesus began to do and teach, so that they could go in the power of the Spirit and proclaim the good news to a lost and dying world that Christ died for all.[3] This is the predestination spoken of in Ephesians 1.
The fact that God predestined the apostles and prophets to be stewards of mysteries of Christ does not support the Calvinistic idea that all believers are predestined to eternal life, or that he has predestined anyone to damnation. Paul made definite distinctions throughout his letter between those who were chosen and predestined and the Ephesians to whom he wrote.
Though the grammatical and historical context of Paul’s words reveal that you and I are not those referred to as chosen and predestined, this in no way excludes us from the gospel truths we are building our lives on. In His infinite goodness and wisdom, the Almighty Creator and Redeemer of the universe saw to it that the Scriptures had plenty to say about “everyone” and “all.”
We can be encouraged that Jesus said, “Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven,” thankful for his bold proclamation, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture,” and take heart in his words “…if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
Similarly, Peter said “…everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” and that “through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” And Paul wrote that the righteousness of God comes “…through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe,” that all who believe are “…justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,” and that “through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
You and I may share many things in common with the “we,” “us,” “our,” and “you” of the Scriptures. We may identify greatly with their situations and struggles. And we may find ourselves echoing a Psalm or a prayer uttered by men and women long ago. But, in all of this, we must not begin to take on the identity of the men and women mentioned in the pages of Scriptures and assume that everything that is true of them is also true of us. Doing so leads to all kind of problems.
The body of Christ has been confused and divided over Calvinistic teaching since Calvin first published his ideas about the salvation and damnation of men in 1536. But the cloud of confusion disappears when we stay within the bounds of basic interpretational guidelines.
Paul wrote of many things in his letter to the Ephesians that all believers share things in common with the apostles and prophets. Among other things, we are all redeemed by Jesus’ blood, adopted as sons, and sealed with the Spirit. Calvinistic teaching says these things provide an unconditional guarantee of salvation, but the Scriptures indicate something different. Join me here where we’ll look at what the Scriptures have to say. Or, if you prefer to look at Romans 8:28–30 where Paul wrote about those who were foreknown and predestined, look here.
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