All are Predestined to Choose

Scripture: In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:11-14

Observation: Paul begins his letter to the church at Ephesus with a traditional salutation, then immediately goes into a conversation about a difficult topic ... predestination. This is not typical for Paul, who usually introduces his letters with a conversation about some positive characteristic of Jesus and our faith in Jesus, such as love or joy or the ability to overcome hardship. Instead, Paul jumps into a conversation that perplexes and even angers many, that being the idea of individuals being destined or selected for faith (while, therefore, implicitly others are not).

However, a proper reading of this passage absolutely shows that this is NOT what Paul is saying. Paul is not saying that some individuals have been specially selected for salvation at the exclusion of others. He is stating that everyone was predestined for salvation, lost that, but now everyone alive from the time of Jesus and afterward live in an era when they have the choice to reclaim that destiny of salvation by faith in Jesus.

If it weren't for the interpretation of the idea of "destiny" this might be obvious to everyone. Paul uses the phrase "predestined," but then discusses how believers have effectively opted into that destiny. We hoped for salvation in the Lord, then we heard the gospel of Jesus, then we believed, and with that belief we were sealed by the promise and (re)acquire salvation. Paul says God "chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless" (v4) then calls that "predestined" (v5) ... but we know that, before the foundation of the world, that was in fact the Lord's intention for all mankind, to be holy and blameless, but mankind rejected it. Jesus is now the path back to the original destiny everyone had.

Given all context of both the letter structure and the word "predestined" within the surrounding text, it is clear that Paul is NOT in fact trying to take on some controversial topic like free will or selective salvation. He is instead declaring the best part of the good news of Jesus ... we were ALL predestined to salvation through holiness, however we ALL rejected that destiny by accepting sin, and now we ALL have a chance to reclaim the original destiny thanks to Jesus.

Application: I'll be honest, I am one of those people who has struggled with the idea of "predestiny" when it comes to salvation, and have believed for decades that this is one of the most controversial ideas in Christianity ... that there is a predestiny component of who does - and especially who does not - believe in Jesus. Finally reading this today, it 'clicked', and now it seems obvious.

And now I see this truth, that every single person I see every day is predestined to be holy, blameless, and selected for salvation, and all they have to do to reclaim that destiny is believe in Jesus as the Christ, their Lord and savior. This should make me see everyone differently, every day. Every single person, before the foundations of the world were laid, the Lord declared would be saved ... but then by their choices in life all have rejected that salvation, until they choose to reclaim it by simple faith.

I want to help others make that one choice. I want to be worthy to help them by myself making better choices daily.

Prayer: Lord, even in my foggy state of tiredness and jet-lagged pain this morning, you show up and reveal to me a truth I struggled with for 40 years. You, Lord, are so amazing, so loving, so kind, so patient. Thank you, my Lord and my God. Amen.