Praize Blogs

“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:” (Ephesians 1:11) In Whom. Who is Whom? It is Jesus Christ. Much of what is said in these verses, however, is about God. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (V 3). So God is the subject in here. He is the One who has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing” (V 3). It is God who chose people over angels- over all creation- to be “holy and without blame before Him in love” (V 4).

It is God who decided we will sit, “In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives,” (Luke 1:75).

 Mr. Webster says that blame is “to hold responsible; to find fault with; to place responsibility for a fault or error; to blame a mistake on someone." So- what are we no longer being held to blame for after our redemption?

 The Eden Sin.

 It is God who called out man who was created in "Their" image (Genesis 1:26) to be joint heirs with Christ. In Jesus all believers become owners of the kingdom. Read Romans 8:16, 17, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” and Acts 26:17,18, “Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”  We are now sons and daughters made to praise the glory of His grace by which we are accepted in the Beloved, who is Jesus.

Verse 11 is speaking specifically to the Jews. We know that because it says, “We,” and we know Paul was a Pharisaical Jew of the highest order. It is argued that the Jews were originally the only ones predestined to salvation because of Scripture like Matthew 15:21-26. Also, the Old Testament is filled with prophecies about salvation, and those books were written to the Jews. But if we look into Scripture, we can see that gentiles were never to be excluded.

Read Scriptures like Deuteronomy 32:43, “Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.” 

Isaiah 11:10, “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” 

Daniel 7:13, 14, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.  And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”

Also, “Indeed He says, `It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth,'" to see this.

“That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ” (verse 12).  “We” is the Jews who trusted in Jesus before the Gentiles came to know Him as Savior. “Do not err, my beloved brethren.  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:16-18). The Jews are the first fruit.

“To the praise of His glory,” is a phrase used three times in vv 6, 12 and 14. Each time it’s used for a different purpose.  It is first used to tell us God has made us acceptable through His Son. Then it is used to tell us that the saved ones are God's joy. And then it tells us we are God's peculiar people, bought and paid for by the Blood of Jesus, whom He will redeem at the proper time.  

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,” (verse 13).  “Ye also,” now draws the gentiles into the letter. Those were the gentiles who had heard the Word, believed the truth of it (John 1:15-17), accepted it, and were saved. The word of truth came through Jesus.  Let’s also read Colossians 1:3-8. "We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: as ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit."

The gentiles heard the gospel, believed it, and were sealed. Remember, each king of that day had a signet ring that he pressed in to hot wax to seal important documents or packages? This is also the type of security the tomb of Christ was sealed under (Matthew 27:66). We are sealed for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). Our hearts have been securely sealed, impressed with the seal of God’s love in Christ.

Walvoord, in his commentary, says, “God is the One who seals, Christ is the Sphere in which the sealing is done, and the Holy Spirit is the instrument of the seal.”

“Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (verse 14).  The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance. God prepared our inheritance. The Holy Ghost is God’s guarantee that we will one day be resurrected to claim it.  “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest (token of something to come) of the Spirit” (II Corinthians 5:5). 

Romans 8:22-25- "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."  As the saved of the Lord, we are waiting for our guarantee to be honored. It was purchased at a high price, the blood of Jesus.

In Acts 20:28, 30 Paul is foretelling about his chains and death. He is exhorting the Ephesian elders to be on their guard against the men who rise up and speak perverse (contrary, wayward and corrupt) things to draw the believers away from Christ. He wants them to teach, and protect the sealed ones who had been bought at such a high price.  "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them."

Please take time to read I Peter 2:4-10. We are the living stones spoken of.  We are built on the chief Cornerstone - Jesus. We have a firm foundation from which to proclaim, or sing, or shout, the praises of the One who called us from darkness into the Light.

God called us, or elected us. Jesus saved, or redeemed us. The Holy Ghost sanctified, or sealed us. In closing, let's absorb II Thessalonians 2:13, 14.  "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

May God's grace abound to you today.

More studies at http://www.newbeginmin1.org/BIBLESTUDYOPENING.html