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The author is supposed to supply us with the basics. But he does not do so. It's all rather esoteric regarding a doctrine that's of little practical use. It teaches us nothing about how to live a holy life, how to be a better worshiper, or how to serve more effectively.
The author is supposed to supply us with the basics. But he does not do so. It's all rather esoteric regarding a doctrine that's of little practical use. It teaches us nothing about how to live a holy life, how to be a better worshiper, or how to serve more effectively.
As such, there is nothing basic about the doctrine of election.
Beyond this, the author expends about 1000 words attempting to explain election. But Ephesians chapter one is poorly chosen. He misses the nuances of these verses, which ends up negating his premise.
And as is typical with these so-called "Bible teachers," the author barely manages to quote Scripture.
We commented on the article on his website, and a perfunctory conversation ensued. We provide that at the end, with an additional note that the author's replies are confusing and entirely unsatisfying.
(...)
Because of Adam’s sin, we are all sinners by nature and by choice. As his biological children and heirs, we are born guilty for Adam’s act of rebellion in Eden. (We believe this is incorrect. Our recent rethink explores this. We now believe that we did not inherit Adam's sin, we inherited Adam's death:
Ro. 5:15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
This of course is a tangent, but we need to accurately understand the state of humankind prior to salvation in order to understand the great salvation wrought for us.)
The Bible speaks of this as being dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1). (Ah, he sort of gets it. But he will still swerve back into original sin later.)
This simply means that we are unwilling and unable to do anything to save ourselves. (Total Depravity, the first one of the "petals" of Calvin's TULIP.)
Because we are dead in sin, we cannot even take those first steps toward God that some Christians mistakenly think we should be able to make (cf. John 6:44, which tells us that on one can come to Jesus unless drawn by the Father). (Let's actually quote the verse:
Jn. 6:44 No-one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Calvinists think that Jesus atoned only for the sin of the elect [Limted Atonement, the third "petal" of TULIP]. Thus they interpret John 6:44 from that perspective, which would mean that only the elect are drawn to Jesus. However, we as non-Calvinists would simply note that the Father has actually drawn everyone to Jesus, though some do not come.)
It is common to hear Christians describe God’s grace in generic, medicinal terms, or as a rescue from peril such as, “grace is like a medicine which, if we are willing to take it, enables us to come to Christ,” or that “grace is a life-ring which we must grab and cling to, or we will drown in our sins.” (We've never heard of any of these.)
Our problem is not that we are spiritually sick, weakened and impaired by our sin, or that we are morally corrupt. It is much worse than that. The Bible says we are dead in sin. Dead people do not, and indeed cannot, come to God. God must act upon us while we are dead in sin or else we stay dead! He alone can make us alive with Christ (cf. Ephesians 2:1-10). (We would agree with these statements, except we know the author is going to use his Calvinism to interpret them.)
Our problem is not that we are spiritually sick, weakened and impaired by our sin, or that we are morally corrupt. It is much worse than that. The Bible says we are dead in sin. Dead people do not, and indeed cannot, come to God. God must act upon us while we are dead in sin or else we stay dead! He alone can make us alive with Christ (cf. Ephesians 2:1-10). (We would agree with these statements, except we know the author is going to use his Calvinism to interpret them.)
As Paul recounts here, God does everything necessary to save us from our sins (Um, saved us from death:
Ep. 2:4-5 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved.
Now, there are places that refer to be saved from sin [Mt. 1:21 for example], but such a statement is a subset of the death to life transaction. We know this is picking nits, but we've found that error always follows casual imprecision.)
when we are unworthy of such salvation, and unable to do anything about our predicament. Democratic presuppositions simply don’t apply to matters of sin and grace. Humanity’s plight (the curse and death) and God’s sovereign grace are the proper categories here. From beginning to end God must save us because we are unable to do anything to save ourselves. This is where we find the very heart of God’s saving grace—the doctrine of election.
The only reason why any one of us presently trusts in Jesus to save us from our sins is because God chose to save us in Jesus Christ from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). God did so, Scripture says, based upon his own sovereign good pleasure and purpose, in such a way that is fully consistent with God’s love, holiness, and justice. When addressing this very subject, Paul spells this out in no uncertain terms.
God chooses us in Jesus Christ (So the author derives his doctrine of election from these verses. But as we mentioned in our introduction, he misses nuances in the verses he chooses.
The only reason why any one of us presently trusts in Jesus to save us from our sins is because God chose to save us in Jesus Christ from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). God did so, Scripture says, based upon his own sovereign good pleasure and purpose, in such a way that is fully consistent with God’s love, holiness, and justice. When addressing this very subject, Paul spells this out in no uncertain terms.
In love, [God] predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:3-7).
God chooses us in Jesus Christ (So the author derives his doctrine of election from these verses. But as we mentioned in our introduction, he misses nuances in the verses he chooses.
Ephesians chapter one opens with a number of statements describing "us" and "we." We would do well to ask who "us" and "we" is. Is it you and me, or was Paul referring to others? Notice how Paul described "us" and "we:"
Ep. 1:11-12 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
"We" and "us" are those who were predestined as the first to hope in Christ. Paul was not talking about all believers. We believe these predestined Christians were the "firstfruits," the first Jewish believers:
1Co. 15:23 But each in his own turn: Christ; the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
The firstfruits we think are the 144,000 Jewish Christians:
Re. 14:4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.
So the first believers, the 144,000 Jews, were predestined, chosen, and offered to God a the children of promise [Ro. 9:8]. These Jews are the precious fulfilment of what God had always intended for Israel.
But what about the rest of us? Look carefully. Paul answers this question in verse 13:
Ep. 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
So when Paul wrote about "us" he was not talking about "you." Paul was referring to himself and other certain people who were predestined and chosen before the creation of the world. But those to whom he was writing were included in Christ when they believed.
They obviously were not predestined.)
for reasons known only to himself (cf. Romans 9:14-24) not because we are in some sense worthy of his choice. (Read Romans nine. Notice how Paul spends a lot of time contrasting Israel with the gentiles? Because Israel was chosen as His people. This is not about the predestination of all Christians.)
The critical point here is that unless God chose to save us in Jesus Christ, not one of us would be saved (Romans 8:28-30). (Let's quote it:
The critical point here is that unless God chose to save us in Jesus Christ, not one of us would be saved (Romans 8:28-30). (Let's quote it:
Ro. 8:29-30 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
If we don't view these verses through the lens of Calvinism, we easily see that Paul refers to those God foreknew, which the Calvinist infers to be the elect. Paul tells us that Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers, and brothers almost always refers to fellow Jews. Thus Paul was referring to Jesus as firstborn among the firstfruits, the early Jewish Christians, who are the children of promise [Ro. 9:8].
This does not mean that we later Christians are excluded from the good things God has promised in these verses. It only means that we need to be careful not to extend Paul's presentation to people about whom he was not talking.
The rest of the author's article is absent Scriptural documentation. As such, we cannot determine the basis for his assertions.)
God did not look down the corridors of time (???)
and see who would and who would not trust in Christ when the gospel was preached to them as is commonly taught. If that were the case, then God’s work in election would be his reaction to a human action (a decision to accept Christ), but which people who are dead in sin cannot perform. (How does the author know this? Well, Calvinism. Calvin taught about Total Depravity [which we mentioned earlier], which means that there is no power at all to assent to salvation. Thus God alone does everything to save a person. By contrast, to respond to God in faith is performing. A person who "performs" is a person who has engaged in works, but salvation is totally God's work.
This means "Total Depravity" actually means "Total Inability." Man is completely unable to do anything, because spiritually dead people are in total and complete darkness.
However, when we look around at society, there are many people who are not saved yet are doing good, even sacrificial, things on behalf of others. People have laid down their lives for others, they have given up all they had for the unfortunate, they have given of their time and money, all without them being saved.
We are not arguing that all this counts as righteousness. What we are saying is that if everyone is totally depraved, then we would not see any non-Christian doing anything good at all. Yet even the lost know to do good. Paul writes:
Ro. 2:14:15 Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.
Clearly people are not totally depraved.)
Those not chosen are left in their original condition in Adam, under God’s curse and just condemnation. It is not as though those not chosen are treated unfairly. Rather, they will be dealt with according to divine justice, not God’s saving mercy in Christ. Those not chosen will get what they truly deserve. On the other hand, those chosen in Christ will not get what they deserve. Instead, they will receive God’s mercy unto eternal life. They will be granted faith and repentance. (So tough luck if you're not among the elect. You never had a chance. God did not choose you and there's nothing you can do about it.)
The Bible is very clear that God’s election of particular sinners is based upon God’s good pleasure and purpose, that election is “in Christ” (which means that all those who presently trust in Christ were chosen in Christ before time), and that God provides the merits of Jesus Christ (through his suffering and obedience) to save those whom God has chosen, from both the guilt and power of sin. Those whom God chooses to save will be saved by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ as declared in the gospel, which is applied to us in and through the power of the Holy Spirit, who creates faith on our hearts and unites us to Christ. This is where we find the basis of sola gratia (grace alone)–God’s sovereign election.
In love, God predestined us in Jesus Christ to be redeemed from the guilt and power of sin.
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Our comments and his replies:
Simple . . .
"We" refers to those who hoped beforehand (1:12b), and "you" is a reference to Gentiles who are now the predominant ethnic group in the Ephesian church. Paul will flesh this distinction out in some detail in chapter 2:11-22.
"We" are those who are chosen and predestined. "You" were included when "you" believed. I need to ask again. Who are these categories of people?
Rich:
Just because you don't like my answer, that does not mean you need to ask again. It means you need to move along . . .
So his position is that Paul was delineating between "those who hoped beforehand" and gentiles. That explains nothing. Not that we're entitled to anything, but the author passes on the opportunity to teach.
He refers us to Ephesians 2:11-22. Let's quote the relevant verses:
Ep. 2:11-13 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men) — 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
This makes no sense. The purpose of his article is to explain election. He quoted Ephesians 1:3-7 as proof of the doctrine of election and stated, God chooses us in Jesus Christ... But he appeals to the explanation in Ephesians chapter two, which makes "we" and "us" in chapter one to be Jews.
This would mean that "we" and "us" in chapter one are chosen and predestined Jews, but gentiles were included when they believed. So gentiles are not the elect, but the author believes in the doctrine of election.
He gets snippy at being questioned, but he has left a big issue dangling with no resolution. Unless of course the doctrine of election is incorrect.
Please explain Ephesians 1:13: "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation."
Previously Paul was writing about "we" and "us," but in verse 13 he turns to his readers ("You.")