Ephesians 1:5-6
In verse 5 we see that God the Father has predestined the saints in Christ to an “adoption as sons.” This “adoption” comes “through Jesus Christ,” and is found to be “according to the purpose of His will,” and to “the praise of His glorious grace” (Eph 1:6) There is much that has gone into the concept of the saints being adopted as sons, but we will first need to address the subject of being “predestined.”
The salvific view of predestination that is held by those who subscribe to Reformed Theology has gained great popularity over the past fifty years. Be it Augustine, John Calvin, or Theodore Beza, the development of this doctrine has brought much division into the Church. R.C. Sproul gives a concise but informative definition from the Reformed viewpoint:
What predestination means, in its most elementary form, is that our final destination, heaven or hell, is decided by God not only before we get there, but before we are even born. It teaches that our ultimate destiny is in the hands of God. Another way of saying it is this: From all eternity, before we ever live, God decided to save some members of the human race and to let the rest of the human race perish. God made a choice—he chose some individuals to be saved unto everlasting blessedness in heaven and others he chose to pass over, to allow them to follow the consequences of their sins into eternal torment in hell.
Is this true? Does this faithfully represent the God of the Holy Scriptures? What does the Bible tell us when this word occurs in its pages?
When looking at the Scriptures, one finds the words “predestination” and “predestine” used only six times, two of which occur in Ephesians (1:5, 11). The other instances are found in Acts 4:28, Romans 8:29-30, and 1 Cor. 2:7. Shockingly, not one of the six instances of this word are used in reference to unregenerate people being determined beforehand to go to Heaven or the Lake of Fire. Seeing as how this word carries a great deal of theological baggage, it is important to unfold a word study on “predestination” in order to come to a Biblical conclusion.
In examining the word for “predestination,” we find in Strong’s #4309 that the Greek word is proorizein (proorizo) which is defined as “to limit in advance.” In Perschbacher’s Lexicon the word is defined as “to limit or mark out beforehand; to design definitely beforehand, ordain beforehand, predestine.” Some have even suggested that the word “pre-appointed” would stand as a good representation. This is a compound word that is derived from two Greek words: “Pro” (Strong’s # 4253) meaning “fore, in front of, prior” and “horizo” (Strong’s # 3724) meaning “to mark out or bound, to appoint, decree, or specify.” One scholar who has thoroughly examined this word is Gordon Olson. He notes that “this is a very rare word, and there is a serious question as to how it should actually be translated. It never occurred in the Septuagint Old Testament and is found only once in classical Greek literature before the New Testament (Demosthenes) and a few times in secular Greek from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD.” Such scarcity should cause the studying saint to consider each usage of the word as it occurs in Scripture, paying special attention to the surrounding context in each instance.
Researching each occurrence of the word “predestination” or “predestined” in the Bible, we find that the crucifixion of Christ was predestined (Acts 4:28), the believers’ sanctification in conforming to the image of Christ was predestined (Romans 8:29-30), the secret and hidden wisdom of God for the understanding of mature believers has been predestined (1 Corinthians 2:7), and the believers’ place in being adopted as a son (Ephesians 1:5) and being to the praise of God’s glory has been predestined (Ephesians 1:11). All of these instances, with the exception of Christ’s death on the cross, deal with a privilege that the believer has by being “in Christ,” or an aspect of sanctification that is involved that makes what has been predestined a reality. Laurence Vance writes, “Not only is there no mention of when this predestination took place, it had nothing to do with who should or should not become a Christian. Predestination concerns only our destiny as Christians.” It cannot be overstated that this is an important point, one which requires for its ramifications to be understood.
The death of Jesus Christ is sufficient for all people everywhere, at all times (John 1:29; Rom 5:12-18; 1 Tim 2:4-6; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2). This means that the sin barrier that existed due to the fall of Adam, which kept an unregenerate person from believing in Christ, has been destroyed by the all-sufficient work of Jesus on the cross. But it keeps getting better! For those who believe in Jesus Christ, their certain and assured glorification has been predestined by the Lord Himself, so that the great possibilities of bringing God maximum glory have been afforded to the saint (more on this in the commentary on Eph 1:5b-6).
Harwood has provided this helpful summary in his systematic work:
Acts 4:28
God predestined the cross of Christ.
Rom 8:29
Believers are predestined to be like Jesus.
Rom 8:30
Believers predestined to be like Jesus are called, justified, and glorified.
1 Cor 2:7
God predestined to include gentiles among God’s people.
Eph 1:5
Believers are predestined for adoption (a future event).
Eph 1:11
Believers are predestined to obtain an inheritance.
From examining the Scriptures, it become undoubtedly clear that predestination has nothing to do with conversion and everything to do with the converted. In each occurrence of “predestine” and “predestination” one does not find its emphasis on the concept of justification. Conversely, no one is disputing the clear fact that God is the One Who has predestined the saints, but the crux issue would be found as to “what” the saints have been predestined to. It is clear from the “already,” past tense nature of the blessings that God has bestowed upon the saints “in Christ” that this predestination is something that has occurred after one’s justification. Thus, God’s predestination is not for the lost to justification, but to the saints for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, which is a future event (see the argument below).
The word “predestined” in 1:5 is in the aorist tense in Greek. “The aorist verb tense is used by the writer to present the action of a verb as a ‘snapshot’ event. The verb’s action is portrayed simply and in summary fashion without respect to any process.” Beal and Radmacher comment,
The circle described by the aorist is large. As sons of God it extends until the time of the believer’s resurrection. In verse 6 the aorist verb “blessed” (or “graced”) tells us something was done at a point in time. Is it a point no larger than a pin prick, the point of conversion, or is it a circle embracing a great span? By itself the verb does not say. The implication is that it is a large circle, for it was something done for the purpose of bringing glory to God, and surely that glory was not for the brief moment of one’s conversion.
The idea here is for us to consider the scope of God’s predestination that is to the praise of His glorious grace (Eph 1:6). Is God’s predestination simply that one being “adopted as a son” is referring to justification only, or is it referring to something that has an even greater scope of one’s being? I believe that the latter designation is the best understanding due to all that is contained in the idea of being adopted as sons and daughters of God. It is also helpful to note that this predestination is communicated to the recipients with Paul using the personal inclusive pronoun (PIP), making himself an equal recipient of this grace.
Remember, God the Father “has blessed” the saints (believers) “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). Everything that the Apostle Paul is expounding upon in 1:4-14 is found to be within the sphere of “every spiritual blessing” that all saints have already been blessed with. As stated before, these are our “already blessings” in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Hoehner writes, “when people are the objects of predestination, there are two accusatives. God has predestined us to something.” This is plainly concluded from the text, but those who would hold to choosing and election as pertaining to the salvation of the lost, would also (like Hoehner) hold that predestination is intimately linked to the concept of election, though remaining distinct. Hoehner concludes that “In the counsels of God, the reason he chose the saints out of (ἐκ) the mass of humanity is because he predetermined their destiny.” But this is not what Paul has stated in the text. The saints were not chosen out of the masses of humanity but were chosen as those being already “in Christ” for the mission of being holy and blameless at the Judgment Seat of Christ in regards to their agapē love for one another (1:4). By misunderstanding God’s election as being unto salvation (salvific) rather than to a task, calling, mission, etc., one’s reading of the apostle’s meaning when speaking of predestination also becomes distorted. While predestination is certainly unto something, it is not that only some were chosen out of the world to go to Heaven when they died.
If God’s predestination where understood as pertaining to one’s eternal standing before Him based on His choice or non-choice of those individuals, all of life and existence would be deterministic. Anderson gives insight into this, writing:
Pure determinism eliminates human choice. Everything from the beginning of time has been and will be determined by fate. A thoroughgoing dependence on fate is at the core of each of these pagan philosophies. An election before creation fit(s) right into a fatalistic understanding of the universe. And Augustine was the first church father to go against the Regula Fide (the Rule of Faith) of the fathers before him. All of the church fathers before Augustine, without exception, believed in free will, or human choice. Augustine was the first to remove it through his deterministic system. And with this introduction of Greek philosophy into Christianity, some Eastern Orthodox scholars believe the schism between eastern and western Christianity began. The east rejected Augustine, even as a church father. The west, in time, embraced him.
One must come to terms with the conclusions of holding such thoughts about God and His dealings with humanity. If only those who are chosen are saved, and therefore predetermined to come to Christ at a moment in time, having no other choice but to do what has already been set in place for them to do, then God is not only meticulously in control, but He is solely responsible, as well as morally and ethically contradictory.
Embracing God’s arbitrary selection of some for salvation opens the door for the conclusion that His love is Self-limited, meaning that He does not love His entire creation of humanity, and since He alone is the deciding factor for one’s eternal destiny and His decision to either choose or not choose one for a blessed eternity with Him, it has been stated that Jesus did not pay the penalty for the sins of those who were not chosen (a truth clearly refuted in Scripture- John 3:16, 2 Cor 5:15, 19; 1 Tim 2:4-6; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2). To think of God in this way is to negate the human response (for who can respond to the Gospel except for those whom God has chosen beforehand?), to deem evangelism as participation in God’s divine “hide-and-seek” game with humanity, and if one were to conclude that the proper punctuation in 1:4 should have “in love” included with the predestination of 1:5, that love is favoritism at best, seeing that He could have chosen all and did not, that He could have predestined all and did not, and that He knowingly (having created the Lake of Fire- Matt 25:41) committed many to an unswerving destiny of torment, anguish, and torture willingly. Such conclusions are the things of swindlers and monsters.
Such views on election and predestination corrupt the totality of the attributes of God, rather than enhancing them. Many level the argument that God’s sovereignty must be upheld. With this all saints should agree, but sovereignty is not the only attribute that God has, and it should not be exalted at the expense of the others. Upholding His sovereignty speaks to His divine authority as Master, Creator, and Redeemer. It is not because the free choices of His creatures should stand as a possible threat to the outworking of His plan for the ages. El Elyon is much greater than such thoughts and stands as much more personal than many may give Him credit. As John 3:16 begins, “For God so LOVED the world,” not that God was so SOVEREIGN over the world. Love was God’s motivation to give Jesus for our sins, not His sovereignty.
Just as was the case with the thought of believers being “chosen” to a calling, service, ministry, or mission, so with being “predestined” should the saints be asking the question, “Being predestined to what?” Without apologies, we desire to take the text for its word in understanding that God has determined beforehand believers in Christ to an unchangeable destination, and a glorious one, at that! This moves us into the matter of the “adoption as sons.”