The ultimate goal of divine election, that is to say, the preeminent reason why God did not leave all humanity in the just reward of their sin, was so that the glory of his steadfast love and grace might be praised. 

God’s Spiritual Family

Predestination is that act in eternity past in which God ordained or decreed that those he had set his steadfast love on would inherit eternal life. So predestination refers to an action taken by God before the world existed. It points to his eternal, pre-temporal decree of what he would bring to pass in time, in history (see also John 10:14–16, 24–30; Acts 13:44–48; 2 Thess. 2:13).¹

The ultimate purpose of predestination was the establishment of God’s spiritual family, his adopted sons and daughters in union with the Son of God, Jesus Christ. God foreknew us and predestined us to become like Jesus—spiritually, morally, and physically. This is what it means “to be conformed” to his “image” (Rom. 8:29).

Predestined in Love

Other than Romans 8–9, Paul’s comments on predestination in Ephesians 1 are generally regarded as among the more important explanations we have of this doctrine in the New Testament. Let’s look at six truths concerning election that Paul emphasizes. As we make our way through each point, don’t lose sight of how each step is simply the outworking or unfolding of God’s steadfast love for his people.

1. Election Is Pretemporal

First, election is pretemporal. As I briefly noted above, it was “before the foundation of the world” that God the Father chose us in Christ (see 2 Tim. 1:9–10; 2 Thess. 2:13; see also 1 Thess. 1:4). This shows that the divine decision concerning human destiny is wholly unaffected by human deeds. To say that God chose us before the existence of all created things is to say that he chose us without regard to any created thing. Election is not something that awaits some event in human history, either the work of Jesus on the cross or the faith of people. It antedates all human history. God’s choice is not dependent on human merit or temporal circumstances. God sovereignly elects us unto eternal life before we exist and without our consent. That isn’t to say that our voluntary consent isn’t important—we must still believe in Jesus. But our belief is itself the historical and experiential fruit or effect of God’s pre-temporal elective decree and steadfast love (see Eph. 2:8).

2. The Objects of Divine Election Are People

Second, the objects of divine election are people. Contrary to what some have suggested, the object of God’s elective choice in Ephesians 1:4 is not Christ but “us” (hēmas). In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul declares that “God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation” (see also Acts 13:48). Paul uses the plural in Ephesians for two reasons. First, it would be impossible to use the singular. Second, what is a multitude if not a composite of the many individuals who comprise it? Remember that Paul is writing to every person in the church at Ephesus, each of whom is the object of this particular “spiritual blessing” that extends to the entire church. In other words, what is the corporate church if not a collection of individuals to each of whom the blessing comes? The plural here simply indicates that all believers in Ephesus are chosen by God. It is a blessing common to everyone. That includes us as well.

3. The Immediate Purpose of Election

The third truth Paul emphasizes in this passage is the immediate purpose or goal of election. God chose us so that we might be “holy and blameless” in his glorious presence. Some argue that Paul is using these terms to refer to the daily experience of each believer, what we call progressive sanctification (see Titus 2:14; 1 Thess. 4:7; 1 Pet. 1:1–2). No one doubts that the word “holy” is frequently used to describe the character of Christian living, but what about the word “blameless”? It is a word that sounds as if it means “sinless perfection,” but in Philippians 2:15, Paul urges believers “to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (see Rev. 14:5). Therefore, it is surely possible that in Ephesians 1:4 Paul is referring to the holiness and blamelessness of the Christian in the here and now of daily life.

If our personal holiness and blamelessness are the effect or end for which we were chosen, they cannot be the ground or cause of our election. It cannot be the case that God foreknew any degree of holiness or blamelessness in us and on that basis chose us in his Son because we were not holy before he decided to make us holy. It would be absurd for Paul to say, “God chose you to become holy and blameless because he foresaw that you are holy and blameless.”

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