In his epistle to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul wrote the following words, words clearly intended to be an encouragement to the believers there:

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, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself 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 him 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. (Eph. 1:3–10)

Paul is telling the Christians at Ephesus that God chose them before the foundation of the world, predestining them for adoption as sons according to the purpose of His will. Because of this, Christians have redemption through the blood of Christ. This is true not only of the Christians of Ephesus but of us as well.

In these words of Paul, we find one of the clearest statements of the doctrine of election in all of Scripture, and we find it being used by the Apostle Paul to encourage the Ephesian believers. Many Christians, however, do not find these words to be the least bit encouraging. They find them to be a source of anxiety.

Why? Why is the doctrine of election, which Paul used as a source of encouragement, a source of stress for many believers today? The answer can be found in a single question: How can I know if I am elect? If only those whom God has chosen from before the foundation of the world are redeemed, how can I know that I was chosen before the foundation of the world?

God has not placed a special physical birthmark on the elect. The elect do not have the word elect divinely tattooed behind their right ears or anywhere else. The elect are not members of a particular identifiable race or ethnic group. The elect are from every tribe and tongue and nation. But how do I know that I am one of those of whom Paul speaks, one of those who has been blessed “in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”?

This is an important question and one that was dealt with at the Synod of Dort in the early seventeenth century. The Synod of Dort was an assembly of Reformed theologians called to deal with a controversy that had arisen due to the teachings of Jacob Arminius. Arminius and his followers differed with the Reformed church in the Netherlands on a number of doctrines, including the doctrine of election. The Arminians taught that “faith and perseverance in the true faith” are “a condition prerequisite for electing.”¹ In other words, the Arminians taught the doctrine of “conditional election.” According to this idea, God foresees who will have faith and persevere in faith, and He elects those people to salvation.

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