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Does Ephesians really teach the doctrine of election? Is there a deeper message that we are overlooking?
Let us first deal with the problems of dispensationalism, and then we will discuss the main idea of the doctrine of election. Most dispensationalists base their ideas on the Old Testament, without viewing it from the New Testament. As the old saying goes, The Old is in the New Contained, The New is the Old Explained. One cannot understand the ideas of the Old Testament without viewing it from a New Testament point of view. The main thrust of the epistles and the gospels was to explain the eternal purpose of God in saving humanity. Paul and the other writers primarily preached Jesus and Him crucified from where? They didn't carry a small New Testament around! They preached Jesus from the Old Testament. With that in mind, we must listen to Paul as he over and over again reveals to the Church the eternal purposes of God by showing what God did historically in the Old Testament in types and shadows. Paul and others repeatedly state that the Old Testament was like a picture show for the world to view. The stage was the earth. The actors were primarily Israel. In the tabernacle and every Old Testament Passage, God was showing to the world His power, majesty, and plan to redeem mankind from sin and the power of Satan. Paul explains that the Old Testament Tabernacle was a picture of Jesus, and His Church. He explains how the mountains and various Bible characters in the Old Testament were allegories (Galatians 4:24). He explains how that the Old Testament was our schoolmaster (Galatians 3:24) to do what? To teach us to come to Christ. That was the purpose of the Old Testament in a nutshell: to bring us to Christ.
The theme of Ephesians is generally taught from the perspective of the sovereignty of God, His eternal purposes, and the position that Christ has placed His Church in for His own sake. The text generally revolves around the three verbs: sit, stand, walk. We sit with Christ is the first theme. We stand with Christ is the second. We walk with Christ is the third.
The problem again with dispensationalists is that they somehow often disregard the writings of Paul in Romans and Ephesians where he emphatically states that the purpose of God was to redeem ALL OF HUMANITY, and not just the Jews. In fact the Jews, Paul states in Romans 2:28-29,9:8 and Ephesians 2, are NOT the chosen people of God. Why? Because God did not lose the Jews, He lost Humanity! So Paul explains that it was always the purpose of God to extend His salvation to the Gentiles, and to make of the two, that is Jew and Gentile, one new man (Ephesians 2:11-17). In fact, this is the theme of most of Paul's writings, especially the book of Ephesians. Paul was saying basically: Hey people, God's eternal purpose has always been that Christ would be rejected, and that His gift of salvation would be available to every man, Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 3:6). God's plan is to make of the two: one person; one Church; one body; one nation; one people. There is no difference between the Old Testament saints and the New Testament saints because both have been redeemed by Christ. Both have come by way of the cross. Both have been graffed into the exact same tree (Romans 11, Galatians 3). God's Israel is a holy nation and a royal priesthood, and is no longer the type and shadow of a nation made up of physical decendents of Abraham, but now we are counted for the seed (Galatians 3:29). So as we read the book of Ephesians, we must grapple with the idea of What was Paul trying to convey in what he said? Then, we must approach our reading with the idea that the theme of this book is God's plan to create not two chosen people, but one. The idea of the one new man must continually be in our thoughts as we meditate on the words of Paul.
Jesus said about the Pharisees that they were blind leaders of the blind (Matthew 15:14). Paul said about natural Israel, the Jews, that they were blinded (2 Corinthinans 3:14). What does this mean, to be blind? It means one cannot see. When we were sinners, we were blind. We could not see the light. Jesus is the Light. He is the revelation. He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The Jews wander around in the dark because they cannot see the truth about the Old Testament, that is, they interpret the Old Testament from the Old Testament, so that they are wandering around in circles, blind. For instance, when we read Psalms 16:10, Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption, we know that David is speaking of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. How do we know this? Because we have the light of the New Testament to interpret this scripture, based upon the words of the apostle Peter in Acts 2:27. Without this light, we are as the Jews today, who argue until they are blue in the face that every Messianic scripture is referring either to king David or Israel. Why? They are blinded.
With that in mind, when we read the Old Testament, we must always have it in our mind that David is speaking of Jesus in his Psalms, or else we miss completely what he is trying to convey. In the same way, when we read the gospels, or epistles, we must keep in mind where the author is going, by reading it more than once. When we read the book of Ephesians therefore, we need to keep in mind that Paul's main emphasis is this idea that God's eternal purpose has always been that Jesus would be a light unto the Gentiles, and by reconciling us all to God, He would gather all things unto Himself, and make of two peoples, one. So then, let us look at Ephesians chapter one, and find out what it is that Paul is talking about. I think that we will find that even though many people preach the doctrine of election from this book, we will find upon closer study that they have not bothered to see the whole picture, but have jerked some scriptures out of their natural context to build a case for preconceived ideas.
As I write this message, I have been attempting to take my time, lay a foundation for my arguments, build my case, and hopefully pull everyone around to see the picture from the same angle that I am viewing it from, at least temporarily. Whether it is an author of a novel, or a preacher preparing a sermon, or Paul writing an epistle, most good writers take the time to build a case for their position. Like an attorney in a courtroom, a writer must slowly build his case and then rise in crescendo to the main point. This is how essays are written. First the introduction, then the body which builds to a main idea, and then the conclusion, which restates the thesis of the paper. So then, if we see where Paul is going before we begin, then we can safely conclude that everything before the main idea is an attempt at building up to that main idea. The book of Ephesians consists of introductory arguments (chapter 1), and then the climax or main idea, (chapter 2), and then concluding chapters restating the main thesis, (chapters 3,4 and 5). Notice several things. Firstly, notice that in chapter 1, Paul introduces the idea that he will be discussing. In chapter 2 Paul states the present tense idea, by opening his statements with And you hath he quickened.... In chapter 3 Paul continues his ideas from chapter 2, and then states a conclusion about chapter 2, or in other words, because of these truths that I just explained to you.... Then in chapter 4 Paul again comes to a conclusion about all the previous thoughts by beginning his statement with I THEREFORE.... Then in chapter 5, Paul ends his conclusions from his discussion with a benediction, again using the words Be ye therefore... . The repeated use of therefore indicates that Paul is coming to a conclusion about something that he has said previously.
Now let us look, beginning with Ephesians chapter 1:
Verses 1-5
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.
Now many people read those verses, and conclude the idea that Paul is saying that we as individual believers have been chosen by God before the foundation of the world, based on His sovereingty, whether or not we would be saved or damned, without any consideration of the availability of grace to all men, but only to those who are "elect". But then two arguments are presented: 1. The Book of Ephesians is thought by some to have been a circular letter, (which I disagree with). But even so, that has absolutely no bearing on what Paul is saying. 2. That Ephesians teaches the idea that God is saving a community, and not individuals per se. To this idea I completely agree. The theme continuously throughout the New Testament almost always deals with us and we the corporate church as a group and not individuals. Here is the problem. How do we know that the we that Paul is refering to here in the opening of Ephesians is not we the apostles, or we the elders of the church or we the Jews? How do we know who the we Paul is refering to is we as individual believers? We do not. How do we know then? By the context of Paul's writing. The emphasis of this book is on two groups of people:Jews and Gentiles. So when Paul states in verse 4 that he hath chosen us, who is the us? The us is the two groups of people that Paul talks about throughout this entire epistle! In fact he restates this exact same idea in chapter 3:6. Paul is so fixed on the idea that God has made us one, that he includes himself in almost every discussion. In fact the whole reason that Paul says you at all is to point out the separation that did exist at one time between himself, a Jew, and the people he is writing to, the Gentiles. In fact, who are the saints that Paul refers to in chapter 1:1? The same exact Gentiles in Chapter 3:1! Notice:
EPHESIANS 1:1 PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Who are these saints? Paul tells us who they are:
EPHESIANS 3:1 FOR this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles...
So who is the us that Paul says are chosen and predestinated? He tells us if we just keep reading!!!
EPHESIANS 2:11-15 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision, by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;(the Jews)
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;(That is, Jew and Gentile)
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
So the idea of Paul in this letter is this: That at one time only the Jews were the chosen, only the Jews were elect, only the Jews were heirs of the promise and of salvation, only the Jews had access to God. But now, the mystery of the gospel has been revealed through Jesus Christ and that mystery is simply this: That God's eternal purpose has always been that not only the Jews would have access to salvation, but that God had also chosen and predestined the Gentiles to be included in this plan.
Notice in chapter 3:6, Paul states this idea emphatically: That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
That sums it up in a nutshell. Who is chosen? Who is predestined? Those individual believers who God picked? NO! It has absolutely nothing to do with individual believers at all! It has everything to do with the mystery of the gospel, which is that God preordained both Jews and Gentiles to be saved. It goes no deeper than that, and anyone who tries to make it so is simply in error. Even Jesus said this same thing! In John chapter 10:14-16: I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
This is the whole idea! Jesus again said the same thing in Matthew 21:43. Peter said in 1 Peter 1:1 that we were elect according to foreknowledge of God the Father. So then comes the argument that we are trying to say that God chose us because we chose God. No, it has nothing to do with individuals!!! It has everything to do with the two groups of Jews and Gentiles. This is why Peter goes on to say that God made us elect how? ...through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:... . In other words Peter is saying that we, both Jews and Gentiles, are now made one through the blood of Jesus and regeneration of the Spirit, that we were both chosen by God before creation that we would both be saved and be one body. This was the plan and eternal purpose of God. This is the foreknowledge that Peter is talking about. It is not refering to the idea that God chose us because he knew that we would choose Him. So then, Peter addresses his audience as simply strangers. Paul says that we were both sinners, that we were both chosen, that we were both saved, and now we are both one. This is the same idea repeated by Peter. Again James addresses his epistles to the twelve tribes. Why? Again it is this same idea. The Israel of God is a spiritual nation made up of two preordained groups of people both graffed into one and exact same tree, so that there is now only one Israel, the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16).
So now we believe that the gospel of Christ is freely available to all men everywhere.