3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:3-6

This Sunday in my sermon I will be preaching about three things.

One is popular with almost everyone, which is the doctrine (teaching) of Adoption.

This is the truth that Christians are not just forgiven sinners. We are forgiven sinners who have been adopted into God’s family with full rights and a full inheritance.

We are children of the Father, we are sons and daughters of God because of the work of Christ! 

Good stuff! 

The great theologian JI Packer calls adoption “the highest privilege of the gospel.”

Obviously that will not be controversial.

It is the rest of the passage that might sting a little - not because it is not wonderful, but because the other two doctrines in this passage are shocking, not what we expect, not what we assume, and we might have been taught the opposite. 

For example, if you have been taught that all human beings have a “free will” and you liked that idea, you might not like what the Apostle Paul says in this passage. 

You see the whole “free will” thing is not taught in scripture.

In fact, the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles was that our will is not free, but it is bound up with sin. Sin makes us spiritually unalive.

We are born “in sin” and are “dead in our trespasses” (Ephesians 2:1).

Our will is not “free” it is in bondage - aka in prison, in chains - we are handcuffed to the grave. We need to be freed.

That is where the other two doctrines come in. 

First, we have the doctrine of Election (being chosen by God). 

Then we have the P word: “Predestination.”

Predestination is the concept that God preordained who would be adopted. He chose who would be “freed” from sin. He elected us to salvation. And this choosing happened “before the foundation of the world” (see verse 4 above).

He predestined us for “adoption as sons.”

In other words, it is not your choosing of God that brings salvation, but it is God’s choosing of you that brings salvation in space and time and history.

Jesus put it this way:

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give to you.”

John 15:16

Before you throw your hands up in disbelief, I would encourage you to search the scriptures yourself for clarification. It's not an easy concept to grasp, but when we start to understand God's purpose in these doctrines, it brings an even greater joy and freedom to the gospel message and our salvation. 

Buckle up and we will see you Sunday.

Grace and peace!

Pastor Harvey