Jesus was the one in whom we were chosen

JESUS WAS THE ONE IN WHOM WE WERE CHOSEN
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Ephesians 1:11, NIV: "In him we were also chosen,
having been predestinedaccordingto the plan of him
who works out everything in conformity with the
purpose of his will,"
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Believer's Inheritance
Ephesians 1:11, 12
T. Croskery
This is for the children, who are not only partakers of the knowledge of
redemption, but heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ Jesus (Romans
8:17). Property in this world usually goes by inheritance, but it is not so with
Heaven's highest blessings. Theyare "not of blood, neither of the will of
man," but of God. The serious question suggestsitself - Have we any part or
lot in the greatgathering togetherin Christ of which the apostle has just
spoken? "We have obtained an inheritance."
I. THE NATURE OF THIS INHERITANCE. It is difficult to describe it,
because "itdoth not yet appear what we shall be;" but it is describedmore
negatively than positively in Scripture, rather by the absence ofcertain things,

that we may the better understand the things that are really present in it. It is
"incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading;" there shall be in our future life no
more death, nor curse, nor night, nor weeping, nor sin, nor transitoriness. But
it is possible to gather up from Scripture some of the positive elements in our
future inheritance. Man's twofoldnature, as body and spirit, demands a
twofold satisfaction.
1. There are many mansions in our Father's house; there are heavenly places
not made with hands; there is a better and more enduring substance in store
for us. The promise of Jesus, "Where Iam, there ye shall be also," carries
with it the assurancethat our future home will be adorned with all the art and
workmanship and glory our Redeemerhas lavished upon this world, with all
its sins and miseries. It cannotbe that the Son, the Creator, will be less
powerful when he stands at the head of a redeemed world, or less willing to
show forth his glory as the Author of all the beauty which has been ever seen
or dreamt of. Whether our future home is to be a star, or a galaxy of worlds,
or a vast metropolis, it is reasonable to suppose that it will display infinitely
more material glory, as the expressionof his creative genius and his infinite
love, than he has ever lavished upon this beautiful world, with all its deep
scars and its traces of sin and sorrow.
2. But there are certain spiritual aspects ofour future inheritance, concerning
which we may speak with more confidence.
(1) There will be a vast increase ofknowledge as wellas of the capacityof
knowing. We shall know even as we are known (1 Corinthians 13:12). It will
be a knowledge which will dispel error, disagreement, ignorance, whichwill
make us marvel at our own past childishness.

(2) There will be holiness, for "without holiness no man shall see the Lord;"
and the Church will be presented to him at last "without spot," because
without a trace of corruption; "without wrinkle," because without one trace
of decay, but "holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:27).
(3) There will be rest and satisfactionof heart. The weary heart of man says,
"I have seenan end of all perfection," but the believer cansay in happy
assurance, "Ishall be satisfiedwhen I awake in thy likeness" (Psalm17:15).
"Blessedare the dead which die in the Lord, for they shall rest," not from
their works, but only "from their labors." Their rest will be that of joyful
strength, of congenialemployment, in a perfectworld.
(4) It will be a socialblessedness;for the electshall be gatheredfrom the four
winds, that they may dwell together, seeing the same glory, singing the same
songs, and rejoicing, in the presence of the same Lord. "To be with Christ" is
not inaptly described as the hope of the believer, for he is the chief and central
Source of the heavenly joy.
II. BELIEVERS HAVE THE INHERITANCE THROUGH CHRIST. "In
whom we have obtained an inheritance." It is not a hereditary possession, like
an entailed estate;for grace does not run in the blood. It comes to us through
Christ. He purchasedit with his blood. His righteousnessgives us a title to it,
as his grace gives us "a meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light;"
and now he keeps possessionofit for us, writing our names upon the royalties
of heaven, and will put us into full and final Possessionatthe lastday.
III. THE INHERITANCE IS ACCORDING TO THE DIVINE PURPOSE;
for we are "predestinatedaccording to the purpose of him who workethall
things after the counselof his "ownwill." We are predestinated, not to
adoption merely, but to the inheritance that it involves. The Lord provides a

heavenly portion. It is a sure portion, because it is according to a purpose that
cannot be frustrated. Grace is the key-note of this Epistle. Our salvationis
first and lastof grace.
IV. THE END OR DESIGN IS TO PROMOTE GOD'S GLORY. "Thatwe
should be to the praise of his glory." Believers are either in their lives to be
"living epistles of Christ, to be known and read of all men," as instances ofthe
powerof Divine grace, orthey are to set forth his praises by ascribing
everything to his grace and nothing to their own merit. - T.C.
Biblical Illustrator
In whom also we have obtained an Inheritance, being predestinated:
according to the purpose of Him who workethall things after the council of
His own will.
Ephesians 1:11

Priority in the purpose of redemption
R. Finlayson.
The connecting thought is the divulging of the purpose of redemption (ver. 9),
in which there is development and a consummation (ver. 10).
I. THE EASIER BORN JewishChristians are described. as those who before
hoped in Christ. The hoping in Him before He came implies the trusting in
Him as come, and it is as believers that they were made possessors, ofthe
inheritance. Why were they thus the first in privilege? "To the praise of His
glory." It must have been the best method by which Godcould accomplishthe
end He had in view.
II. THE LATER BORN. Gentile Christians.
III. The earlierborn and the later born have CERTAIN THINGS IN
COMMON.
1. A common seal.
(1)What the sealis — the Holy Spirit of promise.
(2)What is sealedon us — the Divine image.
(3)What is sealedto us — that we are the sons of God.
2. A common guarantee.

(1)To what the guarantee pertains — our inheritance.
(2)How far the guarantee extends — until the redemption of the purchased
possession.
(3)In what the guarantee consists — the earnestof the Spirit.
3. They canjoin in a common doxology.
(R. Finlayson.)
The Christian inheritance
W. Alves, M. A.
1. It is implied in this that it is a goodof a most substantial and enduring kind.
It is worthy of: the soul of man with all its cravings, aspirations, and desires,
when these, too, have been purified, ennobled, and strengthenedin the highest
degree.
2. The secondreflectionwe would point out from the expressionhere used, is
that our everlasting happiness is a free gift from God. It is an inheritance; and
what can be less merited on our part than that which we inherit by the will
and deed of another?
(W. Alves, M. A.)

Heaven through Christ alone
T. Guthrie, D. D.
In the terms of a court of law, it's theirs, not by conquest, but by heritage.
Won by another arm than theirs, it presents the strongestimaginable contrast
to the spectacleseenin England's palace that day when the king demanded to
know of his assemblednobles, by what title they held their lands? "What
title?" At the rash question a hundred swords leaptfrom their scabbards.
Advancing on the alarmed monarch — "By these," they replied, "we won,
and by these we will keepthem." How different the scene which heaven
presents!All eyes are fixed on Jesus;every look is love; gratitude glows in
every bosom, and swells in every song.
(T. Guthrie, D. D.)
God accomplishes His purposes gradually
R. W. Dale, LL. D.
Paul has just said that it is the Divine purpose to "sum up all things in Christ,
the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth." This is the destiny of
the universe. Unmeasured ages ofimperfection, conflict, sin, and suffering lie
behind us; and it may be that there are unmeasured ages ofimperfection,
conflict, sin, and suffering still to come. But at last the whole creationis to
illustrate and fulfil the Divine thought, and is to reachits perfectunity and
ideal perfection in Christ. That coarse conceptionof the Divine omnipotence
which assumes that a Divine purpose is never obstructed or delayed, and that
every Divine volition is immediately accomplished, receivesno sanction either
from the Jewishor the Christian Scriptures. It receives no sanctionfrom those
discoveries ofGod which are accessible throughthe physical universe and
through the moral nature of man. It looks as though God did nothing at a
single stroke, nothing by an immediate and irresistible exercise of mere force.
It is His will that the summer should be beautiful with flowers, and that the
autumn should bring the brown corn and the purple grapes;but flowers and
grapes and corn are not commanded to appear suddenly, out of nothing; the

Divine will accomplishes itselfgradually, and by processes extremelycomplex
and subtle. The world itself came to be a fit home for our race as the result of
a history extending over vast and awful tracts of time. God intended that it
should become what it now is; but His intention was accomplishedby the
action, through age after age, ofthe immense forces which are under His
control. "Fire and hail, snow and vapour, and the stormy wind," have fulfilled
His word. He gave a commissionto millions upon millions of living creatures
to build the limestone rocks. Through untold centuries vast forests grew and
perished, to form the coalmeasures. Volcanic eruptions, frost and heat, the
slow movements of glaciers, the swift rush of rivers, have all had their work to
do in bringing the earth which is our home into its present condition. This
seems to be the Divine manner of working. The Divine purposes are not
achievedsuddenly. God "fainteth not, neither is He weary." Chaos, with all its
confusions, is only gradually being reduced to order; the great work is not
completed yet; it will reachits term only when all things are finally summed
up in Christ. The same law holds in relation to the moral and spiritual
universe. We see it illustrated within narrow limits in the individual lives of
goodmen. They only gradually approach the Divine conceptionof what they
ought to be; their perfection is not consummated in an hour; their knowledge
of God and of the will of God gradually widens and deepens; their moral and
religious strength is very slowly augmented. It is God's will that they should
know Him, and know their duty, but they have to be taught. It is God's will
that they should be righteous, but they have to be disciplined to righteousness.
The law is illustrated on a largerscale in the religious history of the race. The
greatrevelation of God in Christ was not made in the earlier ages ofthe
world. There was a long preparation for it. God began with the most
elementary moral truths, and with the most elementary religious truths. He
taught and disciplined the electrace by picture lessons,by a visible temple, a
human priesthood, and a whole system of external rites and ceremonies.
There were faint prophecies of the future redemption, but at first they were so
obscure as to excite only the most vague and undefined hopes of a Divine
deliverance from the evils by which human life was oppressed;and when they
became clearerand more vivid, they were easilymisunderstood. One
generationof saints after another passedaway, and the Divine purpose was
still delayed. And even when the Christ came at last and the kingdom of

heaven was setup among men, the hopes excited by that transcendent
manifestation of God were not at once fulfilled. After eighteenhundred years
the final triumph of the Divine righteousness andlove seems still remote.
(R. W. Dale, LL. D.)
God's sovereignwill
T. B. Baker.
I. THE WILL OF GOD IS THE SOVEREIGN GUIDE OF ALL THINGS,
BOTH NATURAL AND SPIRITUAL, IN THE WORLD AND IN THE
CHURCH.
1. His sovereignrill is that His people should be saved (Jeremiah23:6;
Jeremiah30:10; Isaiah49:25).
2. That they should be savedby coming to Christ (John 6:37; Romans 5:1; 1
Corinthians 15:57).
3. That they should be holy (1 Thessalonians 4:7;Hebrews 12:10, 14).
II. THE DIVINE WILL IS THE RESULT OF GOD'S COUNSEL.
1. This counselwas Divine (Psalm89:1-4; 2 Timothy 1:9).
2. It was a wise counsel(1 Corinthians 1:24; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 3:9-
11).

3. It was an efficient counsel(Isaiah46:10; Isaiah53:10; Psalm105:3;
Ecclesiastes3:14).
III. THAT THE TRIUNE JEHOVAH WORKETHALL THINGS
ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE OF HIS OWN WILL.
1. This is evident in the choice of His people (2 Thessalonians 2:13;Titus 3:5).
2. He works out their new birth by the Spirit (Ephesians 2:10).
3. He works all things for the preservationof His people and their comfort by
faith (Romans 8:28; John 1:12; Acts 16:31).
(T. B. Baker.)
Doctrine of predestination
A. B. Grosart, LL. D.
I look upon this earth in which I live. I find it graspedand girded by God's
all-embracing laws, as of gravitation, of the ebb and flow of the tides, of light,
of the processionof the seasons — all utterly and absolutely beyond my
control. They reachabove, beneath, around, within me; I cannot touch them.
There they are, unalterable, unswerving, necessitated;in its profoundest sense
predestinated. And what is the issue of obedience to these laws?
(A. B. Grosart, LL. D.)

Happiness in the measure of such obedience
A. B. Grosart, LL. D.
Is that no revelation of the characterofthe God of the universe? No
revelation? I could shut my Bible, and from creation, from the meanestflower
that blows, up to the stars that hang like lamps before the greatwhite throne,
find infinite proofs that my God is also my Father. Exactly so;I cannot tell
how free will, choice, contingencyaccordwith predestination, election, fore-
ordination, substitution. I do not feel that I am calledupon to do so. But, as we
have seen, our own consciousnessattests the former, while the Word of God
recognizes andaddresses them, recognizes andaddresses manas free to think,
feel, will, choose,reject. Equally does the Word of God affirm the latter. I
therefore acceptthem also, and can defer knowing how the All-wise
harmonizes them, until He is pleasedto reveal them to me. Nay more, I have
deepestbelief that even as the physical world is graspedand girded by its
greatlaws, so must the other and grander world of mind have underneath it
— like the granite base of the everlasting hills; above it — like the dome of the
sky — kindred laws. These laws I recognize and acceptin predestination,
election, fore-ordination, substitution. Remove the law of gravitation, and
many a fair star "flaming on the foreheadof the sky," yea, the big sun, and
the whole stupendous universe, would rush to ruin, and wander off from the
throne of God. Similarly, I believe, remove the laws of predestination, and you
snap the many linked chain that binds man to God. And just as I have the
powerto violate God's greatlaws, to my destruction, so may! His laws in the
plan of redemption, equally to my destruction. Obey His physical laws, and
until the appointed hour I live. Obey His spiritual laws;accept"eternallife"
according to His predestinated way, even in and from Godthe Son, as offered
in the gospel — and I am saved.
(A. B. Grosart, LL. D.)
God's predestination overruling man's presumption

It is said, that on the eve of Napoleon's departure on his Russiancampaign, he
related his schemes in detail to a noble lady, with such arrogantpositiveness,
that she tried to check him, exclaiming, "Sire, man proposes, but God
disposes."To which the emperor haughtily replied, "Madame, I propose and
dispose also." We find how, but a few months later, the disastrous retreat
from Moscow, and the loss of his crown, army, and liberty vindicated the
powerof God.
The purpose of Him who workethall things after the counselof His own will.
God's effectualworking
Paul Bayne.
1. Being in Christ, we find not only righteousness, but life everlasting.(1)In
this life we receive the first fruits, "the earnestof the Spirit." Wards, while in
their minority, have some allowance from their inheritance; and parents will
prove their children with a small allowance, to see how they will behave,
before they place in their charge the full estate they mean to leave them; and
so does God.(2) We receive the fulness in the life to come.
(a)Prerogatives, kings and priests to God, etc.
(b)Glory put Upon our persons;the soul filled with the light of knowledge, etc.
(c)Things given us to possess. "All things are yours."
2. The ground of all these benefits is our predestination.
3. Everything which comes about is God's effectualworking.
(1)He originally made all things out of nothing.

(2)He continually sustains all things by His power.
(3)He directs all things according to His own will.
4. WhateverGod works or wills, He does it with counsel.
(1)Let this assure us that all things are working togetherfor good.
(2)Let rash, self-willed persons take example by their Maker, who does
nothing unadvisedly.
5. What God wills, He brings about — "effectuallyworking." Where there is
full powerto work anything applied to the working of it, the thing wrought
must needs follow.
(Paul Bayne.)
God's decrees
J. Hubbard.
OF THE COUNSELOR PURPOSE OF GOD CONCERNING ALL HIS
WORKS OR ALL THINGS IN GENERAL. Here let us consider —
1. The extent or objects of God's purposes.

2. The properties of them.
I. AS TO THE EXTENT OR OBJECTSOF GOD'S PURPOSES,IT
APPEAERS THAT EVERYTHING WHICH HAPPENS HAS A PLACE IN
THE DIVINE DECREESIN A MANNER SUITABLE TO ITS NATURE.
And, indeed, if we go about to except anything, there would be no knowing
where to stop: such is the series and connectionof one with another. Let us
take a brief survey of some instances, especiallysuchas relate to our world.
As(1) The work of creationwith all the effects of God s providence over the
natural world.(2) The purpose of God has before determined all the great
revolutions and events of nations, kingdoms, and societiesofmen.(3) All
events that befall particular persons in this world were likewise settledby a
Divine decree.(4)The actions ofmen also are not exempted from God's
previous purpose.(5) The dispensation of the gospeland means of grace, the
revelations of the Divine will which have had a respectall along to the
economyof salvation by Christ as welt as that economyitself, were adjusted in
the counsels ofGod. These revelations were appointed to be made in that
variety of ways, and in those parts and degrees, as also to such persons, and at
such and for so long a time as has since fallen and will fall out.
II. As TO THE PROPERTIESOF GOD'S DECREES.(1)Theyare sovereign
and free acts of His will. God, though a necessaryBeing, is not a necessary
Agent. To suppose this would be to make Him no Agent at all.(2) They are
eternal. Not indeed in the same absolute sense as God's nature is, which
always was, and could not but be what it is. Forhow would that consistwith
their being acts of will and liberty? But they are so eternal, as that it is
impossible to assignor conceive any time when they were first formed.(3)
They are infinitely wise. Forthey form a scheme of a prodigious compass,
which reaches to endless ages, and whose various parts are all laid out and
disposedtogetherfor executionin the best manner and to the best ends.(4)
They are holy (Psalm145:17). ConsequentlyHe is holy in all His purposes,
which are the beginning of His ways, and which are accomplishedin them.

The infinite rectitude and blessednessofGod is sufficient security, that He
could neither design nor act anything contrary to justice and goodness. His
counsels ofold are faithfulness and truth (Isaiah 25:1). Let us now briefly
improve this subject. And —
1. Hence we learn that there is no such thing as chance or necessaryfate, or
the supreme independent government of two opposite principles, goodand
evil, but all events are subject to the purpose and providence of one intelligent,
all-knowing, infinitely wise, powerful, holy and goodBeing. Nothing can ever
arise to surprise Him, or castany difficulty and perplexity on His way, He
having alreadyfrom eternity settled the proper measures of conduct in every
case that shall emerge.
2. Let us own, and let us quietly submit to the supreme will of God as fulfilled
in all that befalls us. We should considerthat, even when we suffer wrongfully
from men, the will of God so is (1 Peter3:17). Let us then receive all our
allotments with this language of resignation, "The will of the Lord be done"
(Acts 21:14).
3. This doctrine of God's decrees may inspire us with a goodconfidence about
the final issue of all things. How securelymay we trust in God for a fair
accountat last of the worstappearancesofthe most corrupt and disorderly
state of the world, since they have not escapedHis eternal foresightand
provision!
4. What a spring is it, too, of generous, brave, and noble undertakings in the
cause ofGod! When we believe that He has taken, even from eternity, the
wisestand best care of all events, what remains for us to care about, but only
to do our duty, and to apply to it so much the more vigorously, as we have no
need to distract our minds about the issues of things! With what serenity and

fortitude may a goodman commit himself to God in well-doing!
APPLICATION: What abundant cause does this excellentorder which God
observedin framing the world, as well as the quality of the creatures, which
had all their parts fitted to a proper use, and were made subservient to one
another for the goodof all, afford us to break forth into that celebrationof
Divine wisdom! (Psalm104:24, "O Lord, how manifold are Thy works!in
wisdom hast Thou made them all!"). Thus also the new creationof grace in
Christ Jesus is executedgradually after the same model, which is the more
from hence confirmed to be a point of wisdom and beauty. And how will the
conducting it from a spiritual chaos of darkness and wild disorder through
various periods and gradations to a glorious issue excite the most ravishing
admiration in the saints, when they shall be able to carry their views from the
beginning to the end of both these creations at once? How should we adore
likewise the Divine power as infinitely greatand wonderful in creation? Here,
as in its proper province, omnipotence actedillustriously from first to last,
and was only laid open to a more distinct survey in the wise order of its
procedure.
(J. Hubbard.)
Of the decrees ofGod
T. Boston, D. D.
I. I am to explain THE NATURE OF A DECREE. The text calls it a purpose,
a will. For God to decree is to purpose and fore-ordain, to will and appoint
that a thing shall be or not be. And such decrees must needs be granted, seeing
God is absolutely perfect, and therefore nothing can come to pass without His
will; seeing there is an absolute and necessarydependence of all things and
persons on God as the first cause. But there is a vast difference betwixt the
decrees ofGod and men; whereofthis is the principal. Men's purposes or
decrees are distinct from themselves, but the decrees ofGod are not distinct
from Himself. God's decrees are nothing else but God Himself, who is one

simple act;and they are many only in respectof their objects, not as they are
in God; even as the one heat of the sun melts wax and hardens clay.
II. I proceedto considerTHE OBJECT OF GOD'S DECREES. This is
whatsoevercomes to pass. He workethall things, says the text. We may
considerthe extent of the Divine decree under the three following heads.
1. God has decreedthe creationof all things that have a being.
2. He has decreedto rule and governthe creatures whichHe was to make. He
has decreedthe eternal state of all His rational creatures.
III. I come to consider THE END OF GOD'S DECREES. And this is no other
than His own glory. Every rational agentacts for an end; and God being the
most perfect agent, and His glory the highest end, there can be no doubt but
all His decrees are directedto that end.
1. This was God's end in the creationof the world. The Divine perfections are
admirably glorified here, not only in regard of the greatnessofthe effect,
which comprehends the heavens and the earth, and all things therein; but in
regard of the marvellous way of its production.
2. The glory of God was His chief end and designin making men and angels.
The rest of the creatures glorified God in an objective way, as they are
evidences and manifestations of His infinite wisdom, goodness, andpower. But
this higher rank of beings are endued with rational faculties, and so are
capable to glorify God actively. Hence it is said (Proverbs 16:4), "The Lord
hath made all things for Himself." If all things were made for Him, then man
and angels especially, who are the masterpieces ofthe whole creation. We
have our rise and being from the pure fountain of God's infinite powerand

goodness;and therefore we ought to run towards that again, till we empty all
our faculties and excellenciesinto that same oceanof Divine goodness.
3. This is likewise the end of electionand predestination.
4. This was the end that Godproposed in that greatand astonishing work of
redemption. In our redemption by Christ we have the fullest, clearest, and
most delightful manifestationof the glory of God that ever was or shall be in
this life.
IV. I come now to considerTHE PROPERTIES OF GOD'S DECREES.
1. They are eternal. God makes no decrees in time, but they were all from
eternity. So the decree ofelectionis said to have been "before the foundation
of the world" (Ephesians 1:4).
2. They are most wise, "according to the counselof His will." God cannot
properly deliberate or take counsel, as men do; for He sees allthings together
and at once.
3. They are most free, according to the counselof His own will; depending on
no other, but all flowing from the mere pleasure of His own will (Romans
11:34). "Forwho hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been His
counsellor?"
4. They are unchangeable.

5. They are most holy and pure.
6. They are effectual. Whatever God decrees comesto pass infallibly (Isaiah
46:10).Iconclude all with a few inferences.
1. Has God decreedall things that come to pass? Then there is nothing that
falls out by chance, nor are we to ascribe what we meet with either to goodor
ill luck and fortune.
2. Hence we see God's certainknowledge ofall things that happen in the
world, seeing His knowledge is founded on His decree. As He sees allthings
possible in the glass ofHis own power, so He sees allthings to come in the
glass ofHis own will; of His effecting will, if He hath decreedto produce
them; and of His permitting will, if He hath decreedto suffer them.
3. Whoeverbe the instruments of any goodto us, of whatever sort, we must
look above them, and eye the hand and counselof God in it, which is the first
spring, and be duly thankful to God for it. And whateverevil of crossesor
afflictions befalls us, we must look above the instruments of it to God.
4. See here the evil of murmuring and complaining at our lot in the world.
How apt are ye to quarrel with God, as if He were in the wrong when His
dealings with you are not according to your own desires and wishes? You
demand a reason, and call God to an account, Why am I thus? But you should
remember that this is to defame the counsels ofinfinite wisdom, as if God had
not ordered your affairs wisely enoughin His eternal counsel.

5. There is no reasonfor people to excuse their sins and falls, from the
doctrine of the Divine decrees. Wickedmen, when they commit some villainy
or atrocious crime, are apt to plead thus for their excuse, Who can help it?
God would have it so; it was appointed for me before I was born, so that I
could not avoid it. This is a horrid abuse of the Divine decrees, as if they did
constrainmen to sin: whereas the decree is an immanent act of God, and so
can have no influence, physical or moral, upon the wills of men, but leaves
them to the liberty and free choice of their own hearts;and what sinners do,
they do most freely and of choice.
6. Let the people of God comfortthemselves in all casesby this doctrine of the
Divine decrees;and, amidst whateverbefalls them, rest quietly and
Submissively in the bosom of God, considering that whatever comes orcan
come to pass, proceeds from the decree of their gracious Friendand
reconciledFather.
(T. Boston, D. D.)
The Divine decrees and the free agencyof man
T. Raffles, D. D.
I. TO EXPLAIN AND ESTABLISH THE DOCTRINEOF THE DIVINE
DECREES. The Divine decrees are the eternalpurpose, will, or plan of God,
whereby He hath, for His own glory, predetermined whatsoeverhas, or shall
come to pass.
1. This purpose is eternal. If, therefore, God has existed from eternity, He has
known from eternity what is the best plan by which to govern the universe;
He has from eternity had a preference for that which is best, and from
eternity determined to adopt and pursue it, and that is all that is intended by
His eternalpurpose — the determination of God, from all eternity, to do that,

in every possible case, whichit appeared most desirable to Himself that He
should do.
2. His purpose is immutable. It cannot alter. An alterationin the Divine
purpose would necessarilyimply an alterationin the Divine mind, which
would be, in fact, to suppose a fickle, changeable God.
3. His purpose is sovereign — not arbitrary. There are some who always
understand the word sovereignas though it were synonymous with arbitrary;
and, therefore, reject the idea of the Divine sovereigntyaltogether. No;in the
purpose of God there is an end to be securedinfinitely worthy of Himself,
namely, His own glory; and that purpose is nothing more than the
determination to secure this end by the best possible means. The sovereignty
of His purpose lies in this, that it is perfectly independent of His
foreknowledge, as its cause;and that in the adoption and prosecutionof it, He
is not, in any way, responsible to any of His creatures.
II. TO STATE WHAT IS NECESSARYTO THE CONSTITUTIONOF A
FREE AGENT, OR ACCOUNTABLE CREATURE, AND TO SHEW THAT
MAN IS SUCH A CREATURE.
1. To constitute an accountable creature, ora free agent, there must be
intelligence.
2. The exercise of will is absolutely essentialto free agency, and it is in this
especiallythat our own consciousnessinforms us our free agencyconsists. The
actions which are not the result of choice or will, but contrary to it, are not,
properly speaking, our own.

3. Where actions are concerned, sufficiencyof means is also requisite to the
constitution of a free agent, or an accountable creature. No man can be justly
chargeable with guilt, in failing to accomplishwhat he had not sufficiency of
means to perform.
III. THAT THE DIVINE DECREES, THUS UNDERSTOOD, AND THE
FREE AGENCYOF MAN, THUS DEFINED, ARE NOT INCOMPATIBLE
THE ONE WITH THE OTHER;in other words, that the purpose of God
does not destroythe freedom of human actions. If, indeed, the doctrine of the
Divine purpose be established, and the free agencyofman admitted, then the
proposition is at once demonstrated. It is not the fact, but the mode of that
fact which is the subject of inquiry,
1. Hypothetical reasoning, or reasoning by supposition, is a legitimate mode of
argument on topics such as these, where the object is not so much to establish
the truth of a doctrine or proposition, as to show the possibility of its
existence, by an appealto some supposable cases. There are only two ways in
which the Divine purpose or decree canbe supposed to affectthe free agency
of man — either by rendering his actions certain, before they take place;or by
compelling or constraining those actions againsthis will. Now, canwe not
suppose a finite being in every sense perfectlyfree — a being under no system
of moral government whatever, left in every respectto himself, and whose
actions should be, in the philosophical sense ofthe word, contingent? Would
not such a being be allowedto possesseveryrequisite qualification of a free
agent? But the circumstance that all the actions of that being, and every
volition of his mind, are perfectly foreknownby God, would not render them
less free.
2. But we may appeal, as another ground of argument on this difficult subject,
to our own consciousness.Are we ever conscious, eitherin our vicious or
virtuous actions, of acting againstour inclination? Were we ever conscious of

choosing a thing againstour choice, orof preferring a line of conduct contrary
to our preference?
3. But we shall finally appeal to some scriptural illustrations of the doctrine.
The first we shall introduce is that furnished by the text. Now the counseland
purpose of God are infallibly certain, but faith in Christ is the voluntary actof
an intelligent creature;by this we mean, an act done with the full consentof
the will. It may be asked, then, "Is the will of man free to receive or free to
rejectChrist, so that it canas easilydo the one as the other?" We answer, No;
for by reasonof the Fall, his will has naturally a bias to that which is evil, and
would, therefore, in every case,without a Divine influence, reject Christ.
Here, then, is the difference betweenfree agencyand free will. A free agentis
one who has the powerof willing and of acting according as his will shall
dictate! but free will, in its popular sense, is an ability, in the will itself, to
choose goodorevil; and this is not the case withman; for the will that
spontaneouslyand of itself choosesholiness, cannotbe a depraved will; this
supposition would, therefore, falsify the doctrine of human depravity, and, at
the same time, annihilate the doctrine of the influence of the Holy Spirit; for
the will that can choose holiness withouta Divine influence, does not require a
Divine influence; and, therefore, the office of the Holy Spirit is, in that case,
unnecessary. The will, indeed, is uncoerced;the idea of a coercedwill is
absurd. But the will of a finite being is limited and bounded by the
circumstances ofhis nature, and in man that nature being fallen, limits the
exercises ofhis will to that only which is in harmony with his fallen nature.
While the will to sin, then, is perfectly free (we use the term as opposedto
coercion), he cannot, from the very necessityof his nature, will holiness
without a Divine influence on the heart; and that influence is such as not to
coerce the will, or render the will to holiness less free than was the previous
will to sin. The one was the will of a corrupt and depraved nature — the other
is the will of a renewednature, both equally uncoerced;but, in the one
instance, the principle was from within himself — in the other, it was from
God.

(T. Raffles, D. D.)
Predestination
Reuen Thomas.
When St. Paul speaks ofour being predestinated or foreordained, he is
speaking about this nature of ours and what it was made for? He says in
effect, that the idea of a thing is in the constitution of the thing itself — but it
is also in the mind of God before it is in our mind. Fore-ordinationis that to
which the thing was ordained before it was actuallymade. The idea of this
building was in the mind of the architectbefore it was ever put on paper,
before it was evertranslated into material visibility. And the idea of every
part of it was in other minds before it was in his. The idea of Gothic
architecture was suggestedto the mind of the first man who attempted it, by
an avenue of trees, their branches hanging towards eachother, forming a
peculiar kind of arch. The idea of man and the destiny of man was in the
Divine mind before this world was. Man was made according to a Divine idea,
and for a definite purpose. Now, when Jesus Christcomes into the world Paul
sees that there is God's idea and purpose for man fully and clearly revealed.
And so he begins to speak of that for which man was predestinated;of that for
which he was fore-ordained. His mind is full of it. It does not depress him; it
inspires him; animates him, makes life purer and sweeter, granderand more
glorious. So much so, that in speaking to the Romans with these ideas of
predestination in his mind, he cries out, "If God be for us, who can be against
us." Fore-ordination is God for us, according to the apostle. Predestinationis
God for us, according to the apostle. And there can be no room for doubt that
to the mind of St. Paul these ideas had nothing in them of gloomor
depression. But they have been so used as to bring gloom and depressionto
many minds. Predestinationmeans purpose. It implies an end. And it implies
the provision necessaryto carry out that purpose and to accomplishthat end.
Rightly viewed, it means that the Creatordoes not work at random, nor
blindly, but according to a preconceivedidea and along the line of the law
which leads up to making that idea into a fact. In every department of life

there is the perfecttype. The perfect thing is the complete thing — that which
cannot be improved upon. To me predestination speaks ofthe end which God
had in making man, of the type of man that the Creatorintended, and of the
unchangeable purpose that He has to produce that type — that type, the
perfection and consummation of which we have in Jesus the Christ. A man
conformed to that type is a man after God's own heart; not conformed to it he
is breaking away from the destiny which God intended for him.
(Reuen Thomas.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(2 c.) Ephesians 1:11-14 form the third part of the Introduction, applying the
generaltruth of electionby God’s predestination in Christ, first to the original
believers (the Jews), and then to the subsequent believers (the Gentiles).
MacLaren's Expositions
EPHESIANS
GOD’S INHERITANCE AND OURS
Ephesians 1:11A dewdrop twinkles into greenand gold as the sunlight falls on
it. A diamond flashes many colours as its facets catchthe light. So, in this
context, the Apostle seems to be haunted with that thought of ‘inheriting’ and
‘inheritance,’ and he recurs to it severaltimes, but sets it at different angles,
and it flashes back different beauties of radiance. For the words, which I have
wrenchedfrom their contextin the first of these two verses, are more
accuratelyrendered, as in the RevisedVersion, in ‘whom also we were made,’

not ‘have obtained’-’an inheritance.’ Whose inheritance? God’s! The
Christian community is God’s possession. Then, in my secondtext, we have
the converse thought-’the earnestof our inheritance.’What is the Christian’s
possession?The same God whose possessionis the Christian. So, then, there is
a deep and a wonderful relation betweenthe believing soul and God, and
howeverdifferent must be the two sides of that relation, the resemblance is
greaterthan the difference. Surely that is the deepest, mostblessed, and most
strength-giving conceptionof the Christian life. Other notions of it lay stress,
and that rightly, upon certain correspondencebetweenus and God. My faith
corresponds to His faithfulness and veracity. My obedience corresponds to His
authority. My weaknesslays hold on His strength. My emptiness is
replenished by His fulness. But here we rise above the region of
correspondencesinto that of similarity. In these other aspects the convexity
fits the concavity; in this aspectthe two hemispheres go togetherand make the
complete globe. We possessGod, and God possessesus, and it is the same set
of facts which are set forth in the two thoughts, ‘We were made an
inheritance, ... the earnestof our inheritance.’
I. Now, then, let me ask you to look first at this mutual possession.
We possess God;Godpossessesus. What does that mean? Well, it means
plainly and chiefly this, a mutual love. Forwe all know-and many of us
thankfully canbear witness to the truth of it in our earthly relationships,-that
the one way by which a human spirit can possess a spirit is by the sweet
mutual love which abolishes ‘mine’ and ‘thine,’ and all but abolishes ‘me’ and
‘thee.’ And so God sets little store by the ownershipwhich depends on divinity
and creation, though, of course, that relation brings with it a duty. As the old
psalm has it, ‘It is He that hath made us, and we are His’; still, such a
relationship as this, basedupon the connectionthat subsists betweenthe
Makerand the work of His hands, is so purely external, and harsh, and
superficial, that God does not reckonit to be a possessionatall.

You perhaps remember how, in the greatword which underlies all these New
Testamentconceptions ofGod’s ownership of His people, viz. the charter that
constituted Israelinto a nation, He said, ‘Ye shall be unto Me a people for a
possessionabove allnations, for all the earth is Mine.’ And yet, though that
ownership and mastership extended over everything that His hands had
made, He-if I might so say-contemnedit, and relegatedit to a secondary
position, and told the people that His heart hungered for something deeper,
more real, more vital than such a possession, and that therefore, just because
all the earth was His, and that was not enough to satisfy His heart, He took
them and made them a peculiar treasure above all nations. We have, then, to
think of that greatDivine Love which possessesus when He loves us, and
when we love Him.
But remember that of this sweetcommerce and reverberationof love which
constitutes possession, the origination must be in His heart. ‘We love Him
because He first loved us.’ The mirrors are setall round the greathall, but
their surfaces are cold and lifeless until the great candelabrum in the centre is
lit, and then, from every polished sheetthere flashes back an echoing,
answering light, and they repeatand repeat, until you scarce cantell which is
the originaland which is the reflection. But quench the centre-light, and the
daughter-radiances vanish into darkness. The love on either side is on one side
spontaneous and underived, and on the other side is secondaryand evoked,
but it is love on both sides. His possessionofus is, as it were, the upper side,
and our possessionofHim is, as it were, the underside of the one goldenbond.
It matters not whether you look at the stream with your face to its source or
with your face to its mouth, the silvery plain is the same;and the deepesttie
that knits men to God is the same as the tie that knits God to men. There is
mutual possessionbecause there is mutual love.
Then again, in this same thought of mutual possessionthere lies a mutual
surrender. For to give is the life-breath of all true love, and there is nothing
which the loving heart more desires than to be able to pour itself out-much

rather than any subordinate gifts-on its object. But that, if it is one-sided, is
misery, and only when it is reciprocal, is it blessed. Godgives Himself to us, as
we know, most chiefly in that unspeakable gift of His Son, and we possess Him
by virtue of His self-communicationwhich depends upon His love. And then
we possess Him, and He possesses us, not less by the answering surrender of
ourselves, whichis the expressionof our love. No love subsists if it is only
recipient; no love subsists if it is only communicated. Exports and imports
must both be realisedin this sweetcommerce, and we enrich ourselves far
more by what we give to the Belovedthan by what we keepfor ourselves.
The last, the hardest thing to surrender, is our own wills. To give them up by
constraint is slaverythat degrades. To give them up because we love is a
sacrifice whichsanctifies, evenin the lowestreaches ofdaily life. And the love
that knits us to God is not invested with all its blessedpossessionof Him, until
it has surrendered its will, and said, ‘Not as I will, but as Thou wilt.’ The
traveller in the old fable gatheredhis cloak around him all the more closely,
and held it the more tightly, because ofthe tempest that blew, but when the
warm sunbeams fell he dropped it. He that would coerce my will, stiffens it
into rebellion; but when a beloved one says, ‘ThoughI might be much bold to
enjoin thee, yet for love’s sake I rather beseech,’thenyielding is blessedness,
and the giving ourselves awayis the finding of God and ourselves.
I need not touch, in more than a word, upon another aspectof this mutual
possession, broughtinto view lovingly in many parts of Scripture, and that is
that there is in it not only mutual love and mutual surrender, but mutual
indwelling, ‘He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.’ Jesus
Christ has said the same thing to us, ‘I am the Vine, ye are the branches. He
that abideth in Me bringeth forth much fruit.’ We dwell in God, possessing
Him; He dwells in us, possessing us. We dwell in God, being possessedby
Him. He dwells in us, being possessedby us. And He moves in the heart that
loves, as the Masterwalking through His house, as the divinity is present in
the temple, and as the soul permeates the body, and is sight in the eye and

colourin the cheek, and force in the arm, and deftness in the finger, and
swiftness in the foot. So the indwelling God breathes through all the
capacities,and all the desires, and all the needs of the soul which He inhabits,
and makes them all blessed. The very same set of facts-the presence ofa divine
life in the life of the believing spirit-may either be lookedat from the lower
end, and then they are that I possessGod, and find in Him the nutriment and
the stimulus for all my being, or may be lookedatfrom the upper end, that He
possesses me and finds in me capacities and a nature the emptiness of which
He fills, and organs which He uses. In both casesmutual love, mutual
surrender, mutual inhabitation, make up God’s possessionofme and my
possessionofGod.
II. And now let me point you in a very few words to some of the plain,
practicalissues of this mutual possession.
God’s possessionofus demands our consecration. ‘Ye are not your own, ye
are bought with a price,’ therefore, to live for selfis to fly in the face of the
very purpose of Christ’s mission and of God’s communication of Himself to
us. There are slaves who run awayfrom their masters and ‘deny the Lord that
bought them.’ We do that whenever, being God’s slaves, we setup anything
else than His will as our law, or anything else than His glory as the aim of our
lives. To live for self is to die, to die to self is to live. And the solemn
obligations of that most blessedpossessionby God of us are as solemn as the
possessionis blessed, and can only be dischargedwhen we turn to Him, and
yield the whole control of our nature to His merciful hand, believing that He
has not only the right to dispose of us, but that His disposition of us will
always coincide with our sanestconceptions ofgood, and our wisestdesires for
happiness. Yield yourselves to God, for He has yielded Himself to you, and in
the yielding we realise our largestand most blessedpossession. It is a good
bargain to give myself and to getGod.

God’s possessionofus not only demands consecration, but it ensures safety.
Remember that greatword, ‘No man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s
hand.’ God is not a carelessownerwho leaves His treasures to be blown by
every wind, or filched by every petty robber. He is not like the king of some
decrepit monarchy, slices of whose territory his neighbours are for ever
paring off and annexing. What God has God preserves. ‘He is able to keep
that which I have committed unto Him againstthat day.’ ‘They are Mine,
saith the Lord, My jewels in the day which I make.’But our security depends
on our consecration. ‘No man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.’
No! But you can wriggle yourself out of your Father’s hand, if you will. And
the security avails only so long as you realise that you belong to God, and are
living not for yourself.
Possessing Godwe are rich. There is nothing that is truly our wealth which
remains outside of us, and canbe separatedfrom us. ‘Shrouds have no
pockets,’says the Spanish proverb. ‘His glory shall not descend after him,’
says the grim psalm. But if God possessesme He is not going to let His
treasures be lostin the grave. And if I possessHim then I shall pass through
death as a beam of light does through some denser medium-a little refracted
indeed, but not brokenup; and I shall carry with me all my wealth to begin
another world with. And that is more than you cando with the money that
you make here. If you have God, you have the capital to commence a new
condition of things beyond the grave.
And so that mutual possessionis the real pledge of immortal life, for nothing
can be more incredible than that a soulwhich has risen to have God for its
very own, and has boweditself to acceptGod’s ownershipof it, can be
affectedby such a transient and physical incident as what we call death. We
rise to the assurance ofimmortality because we have an inheritance which is
God Himself. And in that inexhaustible Inheritance there lies the guarantee
that we shall live while He lives, because He lives, and until we have

incorporatedinto our lives all the majesty and the purity and the wisdom and
the powerthat belong to us because they are God’s.
But we have to notice the two words that lie at the beginning of our first text-
’In whom we were made an inheritance.’ That opens up the whole question of
the means by which this mutual possessionbecomespossible for us men. Jesus
Christ has died. That breaks the bondage under which the whole world is
held. Forthe true slaverywhich interferes with the free service and the full
possessionofGod is the slaveryof self and sin. Jesus Christ has died. ‘If the
Son make you free ye shall be free indeed.’ That great sacrifice notonly
‘breaks the power of cancelledsin,’ but it also moves the heart, in the measure
in which we truly acceptit, to the love and the surrender which make the
mutual possessionof which we have been speaking. And so it is in Him that we
become an Inheritance, that God comes to His rights in regardto eachof us.
And it is in Him that we, trusting the Son, have the inheritance for ours, and
‘are heirs with God, and joint heirs with Christ.’ So, dear friends, if we would
‘be meet for the inheritance of the saints in light,’ we must unite ourselves to
that Lord by faith, and through Him and faith in Him, we shall receive ‘the
remissionof sins and inheritance among all them that are sanctified.’
BensonCommentary
Ephesians 1:11-12. In whom also we — Believing Jews;have obtained an
inheritance — Namely, that of the promises made to the children of Abraham
and of God, even the blessings of grace and of glory, the privileges belonging
to the true members of the church militant and triumphant. Being
predestinated — To it when we became true believers, and as long as we
continue such, see on Ephesians 1:5; according to the purpose of him — Of
God; who workethall things — As he formed and governs all things; after the
counselof his ownwill — The unalterable decree, He that believeth shall be
saved: which is not an arbitrary will, but a will flowing from the rectitude of
his nature; otherwise what security would there be that it would be his will to
keephis word even with the elect? The apostle seems to have added this clause
with a view to convince the believing Jews that God would bestow on them,

and on the believing Gentiles, the inheritance of heaven through faith,
whether their unbelieving brethren were pleasedor displeasedtherewith.
That we — Believing Jews;should be to the praise of his glory — Should give
men occasionto praise God for his goodnessand truth; who first trusted —
Or hoped, as προηλπικοτας signifies;in Christ — That is, believed in him, and
hoped for eternal salvationfrom him, before the Gentiles did. And this was
the case,not only in Judea, but in most places where the apostles preached;
some of the Jews generallybelieving before the Gentiles. Here is another
branch of the true gospelpredestination: he that believes is not only electedto
eternal salvationif he endure to the end, but is fore-appointed of God to walk
in holiness and righteousness, to the praise of his glory.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
1:9-14 Blessings were made known to believers, by the Lord's showing to them
the mystery of his sovereignwill, and the method of redemption and salvation.
But these must have been for everhidden from us, if God had not made them
known by his written word, preachedgospel, and Spirit of truth. Christ united
the two differing parties, God and man, in his own person, and satisfiedfor
that wrong which causedthe separation. He wrought, by his Spirit, those
graces offaith and love, whereby we are made one with God, and among
ourselves. He dispenses all his blessings, according to his goodpleasure. His
Divine teaching led whom he pleasedto see the glory of those truths, which
others were left to blaspheme. What a gracious promise that is, which secures
the gift of the Holy Ghostto those who ask him! The sanctifying and
comforting influences of the Holy Spirit sealbelievers as the children of God,
and heirs of heaven. These are the first-fruits of holy happiness. For this we
were made, and for this we were redeemed; this is the greatdesignof God in
all that he has done for us; let all be ascribed unto the praise of his glory.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance - We who are Christians. Most
commentators suppose that by the word "we" the Jews particularly are
intended, and that it stands in contradistinction from "ye," as referring to the
Gentiles, in Ephesians 1:13. This construction, they suppose is demanded by

the nature of the passage. The meaning may then be, that the Jews who were
believers had "first" obtained a part in the plan of redemption, as the offer
was first made to them, and then that the same favor was conferred also on
the Gentiles. Or it may refer to those who had been first converted, without
particular reference to the factthat they were Jews;and the reference may be
to the apostle and his fellow-laborers. This seems to me to be the correct
interpretation. "We the ministers of religion first believed, and have obtained
an inheritance in the hopes of Christians, that we should be to the praise of
God's glory; and you also, after hearing the word of truth, believed;"
Ephesians 1:13. The word which is rendered "obtained our inheritance" -
κληρόω klēroō - means literally "to acquire by lot," and then to obtain, to
receive. Here it means that they had receivedthe favor of being to the praise
of his glory for having first trusted in the Lord Jesus.
Being predestinated - Ephesians 1:5.
According to the purpose - On the meaning of the word "purpose," see the
notes, Romans 8:28.
Of him who workethall things - Of God, the universal agent. The affirmation
here is not merely that God accomplishes the designs of salvationaccording to
the counselof his own will, but that "he does everything." His agencyis not
confined to one thing, or to one class ofobjects. Every object and event is
under his control, and is in accordance withhis eternalplan. The word
rendered "worketh" - ἐνεργέω energeō - means to work, to be active, to
produce; Ephesians 1:20; Galatians 2:8; Philippians 2:13. A universal agency
is ascribedto him. "The same God which "worketh" allin all;" 1 Corinthians
12:6. He has an agencyin causing the emotions of our hearts. "God, who
workethin you both to Will and to do of his goodpleasure;" Philippians 2:13.
He has an agencyin distributing to people their various allotments and
endowments. "All these workeththat one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to
every man severallyas he will;" 1 Corinthians 12:11.

The agencyof God is seeneverywhere. Every leaf, flower, rose-bud, spire of
grass;every sun-beam, and every flash of lightning; every cataractand every
torrent, all declare his agency;and there is not an objectthat we see that does
not bespeak the control of an All-present God. It would be impossible to
affirm more explicitly that God's agencyis universal, than Paul does in the
passagebefore us. He does not attempt to prove it. It is one of those points on
which he does not deem it necessaryto pause and reason, but which may be
regardedas a concededpoint in the discussionof other topics, and which may
be employed without hesitationin their illustration. Paul does not state the
"mode" in which this is done. He affirms merely the fact. He does not say that
he "compels" men, or that he overbears them by mere physical force. His
agencyhe affirms to be universal; but it is undoubtedly in accordance withthe
nature of the object, and with the laws which he has impressed on them.
His agencyin the work of creationwas absolute and entire; for there was
nothing to act on, and no establishedlaws to be observed. Over the mineral
kingdom his controlmust also be entire, yet in accordance withthe laws
which he has impressed on matter. The crystal and the snow are formed by
his agency;but it is in accordance withthe laws which he has been pleasedto
appoint. So in the vegetable worldhis agencyis everywhere seen;but the lily
and the rose blossomin accordance withuniform laws, and not in an
arbitrary manner. So in the animal kingdom. God gives sensibility to the
nerve, and excitability and power to the muscle. He causes the lungs to heave,
and the arteries and veins to bear the blood along the channels of life; but it is
not in an arbitrary manner. It is in accordancewith the laws which he has
ordained and he never disregards in his agencyover these kingdoms.
So in his government of mind. He works everywhere. But he does it in
accordancewith the laws of mind. His agencyis not exactly of the same kind
on the rose-bud that it is on the diamond nor on the nerve that it is on the
rose-bud, nor on the heart and will that it is on the nerve. In all these things he

consults the laws which he has impressed on them; and as he choosesthatthe
nerve should be affectedin accordance withits laws and properties, so it is
with mind. God does not violate its laws. Mind is free. It is influenced by truth
and motives. It has a sense of right and wrong. And there is no more reasonto
suppose that God disregards these laws of mind in controlling the intellectand
the heart, than there is that he disregards the laws of crystalization in the
formation of the ice, or of gravitation in the movements of the heavenly
bodies. The generaldoctrine is, that God works in all things, and controls all;
but that "his agencyeverywhere is in accordance withthe laws and nature of
that part of his kingdom where it is exerted." By this simple principle we may
secure the two greatpoints which it is desirable to secure on this subject:
(1) the doctrine of the universal agencyof God; and,
(2) the doctrine of the freedom and responsibility of man.
After the counselof his own will - Notby consulting his creatures, or
conforming to their views, but by his own views of what is proper and right.
We are not to suppose that this is by "mere" will, as if it were arbitrary, or
that he determines anything without goodreason. The meaning is, that his
purpose is determined by what "he" views to be right, and without consulting
his creatures orconforming to their views. His dealings often seemto us to be
arbitrary. We are incapable of perceiving the reasons ofwhat he does. He
makes those his friends who we should have supposedwould have been the
last to have become Christians. He leaves those who seemto us to be on the
borders of the kingdom, and they remain unmoved and unaffected. But we
are not thence to suppose that he is arbitrary. In every instance, we are to
believe that there is a goodreasonfor what he does, and one which we may be
permitted yet to see, and in which we shall wholly acquiesce.

The phrase "counselof his own will" is remarkable. It is designed to express
in the strongestmanner the factthat it is not by human counselor advice. The
word "counsel" - βουλή boulē - means "a council" or "senate;" then a
determination, purpose, or decree;see Robinson's Lexicon. Here it means that
his determination was formed by his own will, and not by human reasoning.
Still, his will in the case maynot have been arbitrary. When it is saidof man
that he forms his own purposes, and acts according to his own will, we are not
to infer that he acts without reason. He may have the highest and best reasons
for what he does, but he does not choose to make them known to others, or to
consult others. So it may be of God, and so we should presume it to be. It may
be added, that we ought to have such confidence in him as to believe that he
will do all things well. The best possible evidence that anything is done in
perfect wisdom and goodness, is the fact that Goddoes it. When we have
ascertainedthat, we should be satisfiedthat all is right.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
11. In whom—by virtue of union to whom.
obtained an inheritance—literally, "We were made to have an inheritance"
[Wahl]. Compare Eph 1:18, "His inheritance in the saints":as His inheritance
is there said to be in them, so theirs is here said to be in Him (Ac 26:18).
However, Eph 1:12, "That we should BE TO … His glory" (not "that we
should have"), favors the translation of Bengel, Ellicott, and others, "We were
made an inheritance." So the literal Israel(De 4:20; 9:29; 32:9). "Also" does
not mean "we also," noras English Version, "in whom also";but, besides His
having "made known to us His will," we were also "made His inheritance," or
"we have also obtained an inheritance."
predestinated—(Eph 1:5). The foreordination of Israel, as the electnation,
answers to that of the spiritual Israelites, believers, to an eternal inheritance,
which is the thing meant here. The "we" here and in Eph 1:12, means Jewish

believers (whence the reference to the electionof Israelnationally arises), as
contrastedwith "you" (Eph 1:13) Gentile believers.
purpose—repeatedfrom "purposed" (Eph 1:9; Eph 3:11). The Church
existed in the mind of God eternally, before it existed in creation.
counselof his … will—(Eph 1:5), "the goodpleasure of His will." Not
arbitrary caprice, but infinite wisdom ("counsel")joined with sovereignwill.
Compare his address to the same Ephesians in Ac 20:27, "All the counselof
God" (Isa 28:29). Alike in the natural and spiritual creations, Godis not an
agentconstrainedby necessity. "Wheresoevercounselis, there is election, or
else it is vain; where a will, there must be freedom, or else it is weak"
[Pearson].
Matthew Poole's Commentary
In whom we;we apostles and others electof the Jewishnation, we who first
trusted in Christ, Ephesians 1:12.
Have obtained an inheritance; are called, or brought into the participation of
an inheritance, or have a right given us to it as by lot: in allusion to the twelve
tribes having, in the division of the land of Canaan, their inheritances
assignedthem by lot. He shows that they did not first seek it, much less
deserve it, but God castit upon them: their lot fell in the heavenly inheritance,
when others did not.
Being predestinated; this, as well as the forementioned privileges, was
designedto us by eternal predestination, and though it be free, and without
our procuring, yet in respectof God it is not casual, but of his ordering.

Who workethall things, powerfully and effectually,
after the counselof his own will; i.e. that infinite wisdom of God, which is
always in conjunction with his will, whereby he acts wisely as well as freely,
and though not by deliberation, which falls beneath his infinite perfection, yet
with his greatestreasonand judgment.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance,.... Ora part and lot; that is,
have obtained one in Christ, in his person, and in his fulness of grace, in the
blessings and promises which are in him; or have obtained to be the Lord's
clergy, or heritage, to be his portion and inheritance; or rather to have an
inheritance in him by lot, meaning the incorruptible and eternal inheritance
of glory and happiness in heaven; to which electmen are chosenin Christ, and
are begottento a lively hope of through his resurrectionfrom the dead; and
which his righteousness gives a right unto, and his grace a meetness for; and
which is now in his hands, and will be given to them through him: and this is
said to be obtained by lot, as the word signifies, in allusion to the land of
Canaan, which was divided by lot to the children of Israel;and to show that it
is not by works of righteousness done by men, but by the sovereigndisposalof
God; and that everyone shall have his share, and that certainly; for this is not
designedto represent it as a casual, or contingentthing. The Alexandrian
copy reads, "in whom also we are called";and so the Vulgate Latin version,
"in whom also we are calledby lot"; and the Syriac version, "in him", or "by
him we are chosen", whichagrees withthe next clause:
being predestinated according to the purpose of him, who workethall things
after the counselof his own will: predestination is not only to sonship, but to
an inheritance; it not only secures the grace of adoption, but prepares and
provides an heavenly portion: and this act of predestination proceeds
according to a purpose; according to a purpose of God, which can never be
frustrated; and according to the purpose of "that God", as one of Stephens's

copies reads, that is the author of all things but sin; of the works ofcreation
and of providence, and of grace and salvation;and who works allthese
according to his will, just as he pleases, andaccording to the counselof it, in a
wise and prudent manner, in the best way that canbe devised; for he is
wonderful in counsel, and excellentin working;wherefore his counselalways
stands, and he does all his pleasure:and hence the inheritance which the
saints obtain in Christ, and are predestinatedto, is sure and certain.
Geneva Study Bible
{15} In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh{o} all things after the counsel
of his own will:
(15) He applies respectivelythe benefit of calling to the believing Jews, going
back to the very source, so that they also may not attribute their salvation
either to themselves, nor to their stock, norany other thing, but only to the
grace and mercy of God, both because they were called, and also because they
were first called.
(o) All things are attributed to the grace of God without exception, and yet for
all that we are not statues, for he gives us grace both to want, and to be able to
do those things that are good; Php 2:13.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Ephesians 1:11. Ἐν αὐτῷ]resumes with emphasis the ἐν Χριστῷ (Herm. ad
Viger. pp. 734, 735;Bernhardy, p. 289 f.), in order to attach thereto the
following relative clause (Kühner, II. § 630, 5); hence before ἐν αὐτῷ a comma
is to be placed, and after it not a full stop, but only a comma (so, too,
Lachmann, Teschendorf). Comp. on Colossians1:20.

ἐν ᾧ καὶ ἐκληρώθημεν]in whom (is the causalbasis, that) we have also
obtained the inheritance. καί, in the sense ofalso actually introduces the
accomplishmentcorresponding to the preparation (which was expressedby ἣν
προέθετο ἐν αὐτῷ εἰς οἰκονομίανκ.τ.λ.). SeeHartung, Partikel. I. p. 132;
Klotz, ad Devar. 636 f.; Baeumlein, Partik. 152. It has reference to the thing,
not to the persons, since otherwise it must have run καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐκληρ., as in
Ephesians 1:13; hence the translationof the Vulgate: “in quo etiam nos,” etc.,
and others (including Erasmus, Paraphr., and Rosenmüller), is incorrect. The
subject is not the JewishChristians (Grotius, Estius, Wetstein, Rosenmüller,
Meier, Harless, Schenkel, andothers), because there is no antithesis of ἡμεῖς
and ὑμεῖς, Ephesians 1:13, but the Christians in general. ἐκληρώθημενmeans:
we were made partakers ofthe κλῆρος (Acts 26:18; Colossians 1:12), that is,
of the possessionof the Messianic kingdom, which before the Parousia is an
ideal possession(Ephesians 1:14;Romans 8:24), and thereafter a real one. The
expressionitself is to be explained in accordancewith the ancienttheocratic
idea of the ‫נ‬ַ‫ָלֲח‬‫ה‬ (Deuteronomy 4:20; Deuteronomy 9:26; Deuteronomy 9:29),
which has been transferred from its original Palestinianreference (Matthew
5:5) to the kingdom of the Messiah, andthus raisedto its higher Christian
meaning (see on Galatians 3:18); and the passive form of this word, which is
not met with elsewhere in the N.T., is quite like φθονοῦμαι, διακονοῦμαι,
πιστεύομαι (see onGalatians 4:20), since we find κληροῦντινί used (Pind. Ol.
viii. 19; Thuc. vi. 42). Others (Vulgate, Ambrosiaster, Chrysostom, Erasmus,
Estius, de Wette, and Bleek) have insisted on the significationof being chosen
by lot (1 Samuel 14:41-42;Herod, i. 94;Polyb. vi. 38. 2; Eurip. Ion. 416, al.),
and have found as the reasonfor the use of the expression:“quia in ipsis
electis nulla estcausa, cur eligantur prae aliis” (Estius), in which case,
however, the conceptionof the accidentalis held as excluded by the following
προορισθ. κ.τ.λ. (see Chrysostomand Estius); but it may be urged againstthis
view that, according to Paul, it is God’s gracious will alone that determines
the ἐκλογή (Ephesians 1:5; Romans 11:16 ff.), not a θεῖα τύχη, which would be
implied in the ἐκληρ.;comp. Plato, Legg. vi. p. 759 C: κληροῦν οὕτω τῇ θεῖᾳ
τύχῃ ἀποδιδόντα.

προορισθέντες κ.τ.λ.]predestined, namely, to the κλῆρος, according to the
purpose of Him, who workethall things according to the counselof His will.
The words are not to be placed within a parenthesis, and τὰ πάντα is not to be
limited to what pertains to the economyof salvation (Piscator, Grotius), but
God is designatedas the all-working (of whom, consequently, the
circumstances ofthe Messianic salvationcanleastof all be independent).
Comp. πανεργέτης Ζεύς, Aesch. Ag. 1486. But, as God is the all-working, so is
His decree the παντοκρατορικὸνβούλημα,Clem. Cor. I. 8.
As to the distinction betweenβουλή and θέλημα, comp. on Matthew 1:19. The
former is the deliberate self-determination, the latter the activity of the will in
general.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Ephesians 1:11. ἐν ᾧ καὶ:in whom also we. The ͅκαί does notqualify the
subjects (for there is no emphatic ἡμεῖς, nor is there any such contrast
betweenἡμεῖς and ὑμεῖς here as appears in Ephesians 1:12-13), but refers to
what is expressedby the verb and presents that as something additional to
what has been expressedby the preceding verb. The “we,” therefore,
designates Christians inclusively, and the καί gives the sentence this force—
“not only was it the purpose of Godto make known the secretof His grace to
us Christians, but this purpose was also fulfilled in us in point of fact and we
were made His own—notonly chosenfor His portion but actually made that”.
The AV “in whom also we” seems to follow the erroneous rendering of the
Vulg., in quo etiam nos. Equally at fault are those (including even Wetstein
and Harless)who limit the “we” to JewishChristians here.—ἐκληρώθημεν:
were made a heritage. The reading ἐκλήθημεν, found in a few uncials and
favoured by Griesb., Lachm., Rück., may be a gloss from Romans 8:13, or
possibly a simple case ofmistakentranscription due to the faulty eyes of some
scribe. The verb ἐκληρώθημενis of disputed meaning here. This is its only
occurrence in the NT. The compound form προσκληροῦνalso occurs in the
NT, but only once (Acts 17:4). In classicalGreek κληροῦνmeans to castthe
lot, to choose by lot, and to allot. Both in the classicsandin the NT κλῆρος

denotes a lot, and then a portion allotted. The cognate κληρονομεῖνmeans to
get by lot, to obtain an allotted portion, and so to inherit; and κληρονομία, in
the LXX often representing ‫נ‬ַ‫ָלֲח‬‫ה‬, signifies a property inherited, or a
possession. In the OT it is used technically of the portion assignedby lot to
eachtribe in the promised land, and of the Holy Land itself as Israel’s
possessiongivenby God (Deuteronomy 4:38; Deuteronomy 15:4). In the NT it
gets the higher sense ofthe blessednessofthe Messianickingdom, the
Christian’s destined possessionin the consummation of the Kingdom of God.
The affinities of κληροῦνshow that it may have the definite sense ofheritage.
It is allegedindeed by some (e.g., Abb.) that the only idea expressedin
κληροῦνis that of assigning a lot or portion, and that the notion of an
inheritance does not belong to it. But the portions of land assignedby lot to
the tribes of Israelon their entrance into Canaanwere securedinalienably,
and the lots belonging to eachfamily were so securedto the family from
father to sonthat it was impious to let them go into the hands of strangers (cf.
the case ofNaboth, 1 Kings 21:3). Thus the idea of lot or portion passedover
into that of inheritance. Thus, too, in the OT the blessings ofthe people of
God, recognisedto be possessedby God’s free gift and not by the people’s
merit, came to be describedin terms of a heritage, and God Himself, the Giver
of all, was lookedto as the supreme portion of His people, the possessionthat
made their inheritance (Psalm 16:5-11). But in the OT there was also the
counter idea that Israelwas the portion or inheritance of the Lord, chosenby
Himself to be His peculiar possession. At times these two ideas meet in one
statement(Jeremiah 10:16). The question, therefore, is—whichof these two
conceptions is embodied in the ἐκληρώθημενhere? Or may it be that the word
has a sense somewhatdifferent from either? Some take this latter view,
understanding the word to mean appointed by lot, or electedby lot, sorte
vocatisumus as the Vulg. makes it. So Syr., Goth., Chrys., Erasm., Estius, etc.
So also the GenevanVersion gives “we are chosen,” and the Rhemish “we are
calledby lot”. The point thus would be againthe sovereigntyof the Divine
choice, the Christians in view being describedas appointed to their Christian
position as if by lot. But when our appointment or electionis spokenof it is
nowhere else said to be by lot, but by the purpose or counselof God.
Retaining, therefore, the generalconceptionofan inheritance, some take the
passive ἐκληρώθημενfor the middle, and render it simply “we have obtained

an inheritance” (AV., Conyb.). The passive, however, must be acceptedas a
real passive, and the choice comes to be betweenthese two interpretations: (a)
we were made partakers ofthe inheritance, in hereditatem adsciti, enfeoffed
in it (Eadie), and (b) we were made a heritage (RV), God’s λαὸς ἔγ κληρος,
takenby Him as His ownpeculiar portion. The former is the view of Harl.,
Mey., Haupt, etc., and so far also of Tyndale and Cranmer, who translate “we
are made heirs”. It deals with the pass. κληροῦσθαι onthe analogyof such
passives as πιστεύομαι, φθονοῦμαι, διακονοῦμαι;it has the advantage of being
in accordancewith the idea regularly conveyedby the cognate terms
κληρονομία, κληρονομεῖν;and it points to a third gift of God of the same
order with the previous two—forgiveness, wisdom, inheritance. The other
interpretation, however—“made a heritage,” “takenforGod’s inheritance”—
is to be preferred (with Grot., Olsh., De Wette, Stier., Alf., etc.)as being on the
whole more consistentwith usage;more in harmony with the import of the
other passives in the paragraph; sustained, perhaps, by the use of
προσκληρουνin Acts 17:4, where the idea is rather that of being allotted to
Paul as disciples than that of joining their lot (AV and RV = “consortedwith”)
with Paul; and, in particular, as suggestedby the εἰς τὸ εἶναι that follows—εἰς
τὸ ἔχειν rather than εἰς τὸ εἶναι being what would naturally follow the
statementof an inheritance which we received.—προορισθέντες κατὰ
πρόθεσιν: having been foreordained according to the purpose. The fact that
we were made the heritage of Godis thus declared to have been no incidental
thing, not an event belonging only to time or one having its explanation in
ourselves, but a change in our life founded on and resulting from the eternal
foreordaining purpose of God Himself. The purpose of God is expressedhere
by the term πρόθεσις, the radical idea in which is that of the setting of a thing
before one. It occurs six times in the Pauline Epistles, and is not confined to
one class ofthese, but appears alike in the Primary Epistles, the Epistles of the
Captivity, and the PastoralEpistles (Romans 8:28; Romans 9:11; Ephesians
1:11; Ephesians 3:11; 2 Timothy 1:9; 2 Timothy 3:10). Outside these Epistles
it occurs only twice in the NT, both times in Acts (Acts 11:23, Acts 27:13) and
of human purpose.—τοῦ τὰ πάντα ἐνεργοῦντος:of Him who workethall
things. The πάντα has the absolute sense, and is not to be restrictedto the “all
things” that belong to the Divine grace and redemption. The foreordination of
men to a specialrelation to God is connectedwith the foreordination of things

universally. The God of the chosenis the God of the universe; the purpose
which is the ground of our being made God’s heritage is the purpose that
embraces the whole plan of the world; and our position as the κλῆρος and
possessionofGod has behind it both the sovereigntyand the efficiencyof the
Will that energisesoris operative in all things.—κατὰ τὴνβουλὴν τοῦ
θελήματος αὐτοῦ:after the counselof his will. The distinction betweenβουλή
and θέλημα. is still much debated, scholars continuing to take precisely
opposite views of it. On the one hand, there are those who hold that θέλειν and
its cognates express the will as proceeding from inclination, and that
βούλεσθαι and its cognatesexpress the will as proceeding from deliberation
(Grimm, Wilke, Light., etc.). On the other hand, there are those who contend
that θέλειν is the form that conveys the idea of deliberation and βούλεσθαι
that which carries with it the idea of inclination. In many passagesit is
difficult, if not impossible, to substantiate any real distinction, the terms being
often used indiscriminately. But in connections like the present it is natural to
look for a distinction, and in such casesthe idea of intelligence and
deliberation seems to attachto the βουλή. This appears to be supported by the
usage which prevails in point of fact in the majority of NT passages, andin
particular by such occurrencesas Matthew 1:19. Here, therefore, the will of
God which acts in His foreordaining purpose or decree, in being declaredto
have its βουλή or “counsel,”is set forth as acting not arbitrarily, but
intelligently and by deliberation, not without reason, but for reasons, hidden it
may be from us, yet proper to the Highest Mind and MostPerfectMoral
Nature. “They err,” says Hooker, with reference to this passage, “who think
that of God’s will there is no reasonexceptHis will” (Ecc. Pol., i., 2). It is also
implied in this statementthat the Divine foreordination, whether of things
universally or of men’s lots in particular, is neither a thing of necessityon the
one hand nor of caprice on the other, but a thing of freedom and of thought;
and further, that the reasons forthat foreordination do not lie in the objects
themselves, but are intrinsic to the Divine Mind and the free determination of
the Divine Will.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges

11. In whom also we]“We” is not emphatic. The emphasis (“also” or“even”)
is on the actual attainment, not on the persons attaining. Not only was the
“mystery made knownto us,” but we came in fact to share its blessing.
have obtained an inheritance] Better, were takeninto the inheritance, made
part of “the Lord’s portion, which is His people” (Deuteronomy 32:9). The
Gr. verb occurs here only in N. T. and not at all in LXX. In later Church
language the verb was used of ordination, reception among the clergy(clêros,
lot; men selectedby lot).
predestinated] to this admissionamong the Lord’s own.—Onthe word, see
note above on Ephesians 1:5.
according to the purpose of him who worketh, &c.]The stress is not only upon
the sovereigntybut upon the effectuality of the Divine purpose. He Who
supremely wills, going in His will upon reasons which are indeed of His own,
also in fact carries out that will; so that with Him to preordain is infallibly to
accomplish.—The Gr. verb rendered “worketh” is a compound; lit. “in-
worketh.” The usage ofthe verb warns us not to press this, but on the other
hand the “in” comes out more often than not in the usage. This suggests the
explanation, “workethin us;” a specialreference ofDivine powerto the
process ofgrace in the soul and the Church. Cp. Php 2:13.
Bengel's Gnomen
This is repeatedfrom Ephesians 1:9, so that Ephesians 1:10 is a parenthesis.—
ἐκληρώθημεν)He here speaks in the personof Israel, we were made ‫,נחלה‬
ΚΛῆΡΟς or ΚΛΗΡΟΝΟΜΊΑ, the lot, the inheritance of the Lord. Comp.
Deuteronomy 32:9. The antithesis is you, Ephesians 1:13. He is, however,
speaking ofa spiritual benefit: ΚΛΗΡΟῦΣΘΑΙ is not only to obtain the lot:
see Chrysost. on this passage:he interprets it, ἐγενήθημεν κεκληρωμένοι, we

were put in possessionby lot.—ΤᾺ ΠΆΝΤΑ) all things, even in the kingdom of
His Son.—βουλὴν, the counsel)which is most free.
[12] Ephesians 1:11; Ephesians 1:13. ἡμεῖς—ὑμεῖς, we—you)Israelites—
Gentiles.—V. g.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 11. - Even in him - in whom we wore also made his inheritance. This is
the literal rendering of ἐκληρώθημεν, and it is more expressive than the A.V.,
"In whom also we have obtained an inheritance." God taking us for his own
heritage involves more than our getting an inheritance from God (see
Deuteronomy 4:20, "The Lord hath taken you... to be unto him a people of
inheritance"). It is implied that God will protect, care for, improve, and enjoy
his owninheritance; he will be much with them and do all that is necessaryfor
them. Formerly God's inheritance was Israel only; but now it is much wider.
All that God was to Israel of old he will be to his Church now. Having been
predestinated according to the purpose. The reasonwhy the reference to
predestination is repeatedis to show that this new privilege of the whole
Church as God's inheritance is not a fortuitous benefit, but the result of God's
deliberate and eternal foreordination; it rests therefore on an immovable
foundation. Of him who workethall things after the counselof his will.
Predestinationis not an exceptionto God's usual way of working; he works,
or works out (ἐνεργοῦτος)all things on the same principle, according to the
decisionto which his will comes. Whenwe think of the sovereignwill of God
as determining all things, and in particular determining who are to be his
heritage, we must remember how differently constituted the will of an
infinitely holy Being is from that of frail and fallen creatures. The fallen
creature's will is often whimsical, the result of some freak or fancy; often, too,
it is the outcome of pride, avarice, sensualaffection, orsome other evil feeling;
but God's will is the expressionof his infinite perfections, and must always be
infinitely holy, wise, and good. Willfulness in man is utterly different from
willfulness in God; but the recoil we often have from the doctrine of God's
doing all things from his mere bene placitum, or according to the counsel of

his ownwill, arises from a tendency to ascribe to his will the caprice which is
true only of our own.
Vincent's Word Studies
In Him
Resuming emphatically: in Christ.
We have obtained an inheritance (ἐκληρώθημεν)
Only here in the New Testament. Fromκλῆρος a lot. Hence the verb means
literally to determine, choose, orassignby lot. From the customof assigning
portions of land by lot, κλῆρος acquires the meaning of that which is thus
assigned;the possessionorportion of land. So often in the Old Testament. See
Sept., Numbers 34:14;Deuteronomy 3:18; Deuteronomy15:4, etc. An heir
(κληρονόμος) is originally one who obtains by lot. The A.V. here makes the
verb active where it should be passive. The literal sense is we were designated
as a heritage. So Rev., correctly, were made a heritage. Compare
Deuteronomy 4:20, a people of inheritance (λαὸν ἔγκληρον). Also
Deuteronomy 32:8, Deuteronomy 32:9.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCEHURT MD

Ephesians 1:11 also we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined
according to His purpose who works all things after the counselof His will
(NASB: Lockman)
Greek:en o kai eklehrothemen(1PAPI) prooristhentes (AAPMPN)kata
prothesin tou ta panta energountos (PAPMSG)kata tenboulen tou
thelematos autou,
Amplified: In Him we also were made [God’s]heritage (portion) and we
obtained an inheritance; for we had been foreordained (chosenand appointed
beforehand) in accordance withHis purpose, Who works out everything in
agreementwith the counseland designof His [own] will, (Amplified Bible -
Lockman)
NLT: Furthermore, because of Christ, we have receivedan inheritance from
God, for He chose us from the beginning, and all things happen just as He
decided long ago. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: And here is the staggering thing - that in all which will one day
belong to Him we have been promised a share (since we were long ago
destined for this by the one Who achieves his purposes by his sovereignwill),
(Phillips: Touchstone)
Wuest: in Whom also we were made an inheritance, having been previously
marked out according to the purpose of the One Who operates allthings
according to the counselof His will,

Young's Literal: in whom also we did obtain an inheritance, being
foreordainedaccording to the purpose of Him Who the all things is working
according to the counselof His will,
ALSO WE HAVE OBTAINED AN INHERITANCE:en o kai eklehrothemen
(1PAPI):
Ep 1:14; Psalms 37:18;Acts 20:32;26:18; Romans 8:17; Galatians 3:18;
Colossians 1:12;3:24; Titus 3:7; James 2:5; 1Peter1:4; 3:9
Ephesians 1 Resources -Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
In Him (last phrase in Eph 1:10-note) (See relateddiscussion"in Christ") fits
more appropriately at the beginning of verse 11 than at the end of verse 10.
Jesus Christ is the ground or source ofour divine inheritance and apart from
Him the only eternal thing a person can receive from God is condemnation.
These truths are life changing...ifwe lay hold of them and live in the light of
them as Ray Stedman exhorts us to do...
The question dear readerthen is are you enjoying your inheritance? Do you
wake in the morning and remind yourself at the beginning of the day, "I'm a
child of the Father." "I've been chosenby him to be a member of his family."
"He imparts to me all the richness of his life." "His peace, his joy, his love are
my legacy, my inheritance from which I candraw every moment of life. And
have them no matter what my circumstances maybe." Do you reckonon
these unseen things which are real and true? -- because, if you do, when you
trust in God's grace to be your present experience, you can know of yourself
what the Fathersaid three times about his Son Jesus. Godthe Father, looking
down at you can say, "This fellow here, this girl there, this man, this woman --

this is my beloved child in whom I am wellpleased." Thatis our inheritance.
(Readfull messageEphesians 1::3-14: Foundations)
Obtained an Inheritance (only use in NT) (2820)(kleroo relatedword kleros)
means to choose ordetermine by lot. In the passive sense (as in this use -
passive voice)it means to obtain an inheritance or be appointed an heir.
Believers became heirs of God because He predestined us according to His
purpose. The “lot” in a sense then fell to believers not by chance but solely
because ofHis gracious sovereignchoice.
Paul uses the aorist tense to refer to a definite action in past. When something
in the future was so certain that it could not possibly fail to happen Greek
often spoke as if it had already occurredas in this case (prolepsis or proleptic
in English = representationof something as existing before it actually becomes
reality). To be sure, to an extent all believers have already receivedan
inheritance (cf Eph 1:3 "everyspiritual blessing...")but there is a certain
future inheritance awaiting every believer for as Peter reminds his readers
undergoing various trials, believers possess...
an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away,
reserved(perfect tense = speaks ofthe abiding nature or permanence of the
inheritance) in heaven for you (1Pe 1:4-note)
Paul explains to the Ephesianelders how in this present life to have a greater
assurance ofone's inheritance
And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, whichis able to
build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are
sanctified. (Acts 20:32-note)

Comment: It follows from this verse that study the Word of His grace results
in a greaterrichness and understanding of our glorious inheritance
John MacArthur explains the two ways that this verse can be translated...
The passive form of the verb (kleroo)in Eph 1:11a allows for two possible
renderings, both of which are consistentwith other Scripture. It canbe
translated “were made an inheritance” or, as here, have obtained an
inheritance. The first rendering would indicate that we, that is, believers, are
Christ’s inheritance. Jesus repeatedlyspoke ofbelievers as gifts that the
Father had given Him (John 6:37, 39; 10:29;17:2, 24; etc.). Jesus wonus at
Calvary—as the spoils of His victory over Satan, sin, and death—and we now
belong to Him. “ ‘And they will be Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘on the day
that I prepare My own possession’” (Mal. 3:17). From eternity past the
Father planned and determined that every person who would trust in His Son
for salvationwould be given to His Sonas a possession, a glorious inheritance.
Translatedthe other way, however, this word means just the opposite:it is
believers who receive the inheritance...
Both of the translations are therefore grammatically and theologically
legitimate. Throughout Scripture believers are spokenofas belonging to God,
and He is spokenof as belonging to them. The New Testamentspeaks ofour
being in Christ and of His being in us, of our being in the Spirit and of His
being in us. “The one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him”
(1Cor. 6:17). Paul could therefore say, “Forme, to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21).

The practicalside of that truth is that, because we are identified with Christ,
our lives should be identified with His life (cf. 1Jn 2:6). We are to love as He
loved, help as He helped, care as He cared, share as He shared, and sacrifice
our own interests and welfare for the sake ofothers just as He did. Like our
Lord, we are in the world to lose our lives for others.
Although either rendering of eklērōthēmencan be supported, Paul’s emphasis
in Ephesians 1:3-14 makes the secondtranslation more appropriate here
(MacArthur, J: Ephesians. Chicago:MoodyPress)
HAVING BEEN PREDESTINED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE:
prooristhentes (AAPMPN) kata prothesin:
Isaiah46:10,11
Spurgeoncomments that...
The enmity of men's hearts to this doctrine of predestination was seenin the
House of Common, not a fortnight ago, whenone who ought to have known
better talked about "the gloomy tenets of Calvin." I know nothing of Calvin's
gloomy tenets;but I do know that I read here of predestination, and I read
here that God hath his own way, and his own will, and that he reigns and
rules, and so he will until the world's end; and all who are loyal subjects wish
God to rule. He is a traitor who would not have God to be King; for who is
infinitely goodand kind as God is? Let him have his divine will. Who wishes
to restrain him? Whether we wish is or not, however, the Lord reigneth; let
the earth rejoice, and let his adversaries tremble. Our predestination is
"according to the purpose of him who workethall things after the counselof
his ownwill."

Having been predestined (4309)(proorizo [word study] from pró = before +
horízo = to determine) means to mark out with a boundary beforehand.
Believers are what they are because of what God chose to make them before
any man was created. Neitherfate nor human merit determines our destiny.
The peace ofthe Christian Church has been disrupted due to the
misunderstanding which surrounds the verb proorizo. It behooves believers to
considerthe divinely intended meaning of this word by carefully examining
the criticalpassages where it is used...
Proorizo - 6x in 6v - Acts 4:28; Rom 8:29, 30;1Co 2:7; Eph 1:5, 11
According to (2596)(kata)means not a portion of but proportional to. In
other words, if a billionaire gives you $10 it is OUT OF his fortune, that would
be a "portion" but if he gives you a million dollars, he is giving you
"according to" (kata)his riches and thus is giving in proportion to his wealth.
In the present contextPaul is referring to God's purpose.
His purpose - Godhas an eternalpurpose for all things. If God is God at all,
He is sovereign. He cannot work independently of His own nature, for then He
would cease to be God, something that is impossible. He is a wise God;
therefore, His eternalpurpose is a wise one. He is a powerful God; therefore,
He is able to accomplishwhat He purposes. He is a loving God; therefore,
what He purposes will manifest His love. He is an unchanging God; therefore,
His purpose is unchanging.
Purpose (4286)(prothesis [word study] from protíthemi = setbefore oneself;
purpose or plan) means a placing in view or openly displaying something (eg,

prothesis is the Greek word used for the shewbreadin the Holy Place as set
before God). The idea is that of a setting forth, a plan in advance, or that
which is planned or purposed in advance. In other words, it speaks ofan
intention or plan, and is like a "blueprint" or design of God in calling men in
general, Gentiles as well as Jews"
Prothesis - 12x in 12v - Matt 12:4; Mark 2:26; Luke 6:4; Acts 11:23; 27:13;
Rom 8:28; 9:11; Eph 1:11; 3:11; 2 Tim 1:9; 3:10; Heb 9:2. NAS =
consecrated(3), purpose(7), resolute(1), sacred(1).
William Hendriksen sums up this passage writing that...
Neither fate nor human merit determines our destiny. The benevolent
purpose—that we should be holy and faultless (Ep 1:4-note), sons of God (Ep
1:5-note), destined to glorify him forever(Eph 1:6-note, cf. Ep 1:12, 13, 14-
notes Ep 1:12; 1:13; 1:14)—is fixed, being part of a larger, universe–
embracing plan. Not only did God make this plan that includes absolutely all
things that ever take place in heaven, on earth, and in hell; past, present, and
even the future, pertaining to both believers and unbelievers, to angels and
devils, to physical as wellas spiritual energies and units of existence both large
and small; He also wholly carries it out. His providence in time is as
comprehensive as is His decree from eternity. (Hendriksen, W., &
Kistemaker, S. J. New TestamentCommentary Set, 12 Volumes. Grand
Rapids: BakerBook House)
WHO WORKS ALL THINGS AFTER THE COUNSELOF HIS WILL: tou
ta panta energountos (PAPMSG)kata tenboulen tou thelematos autou:

Eph 1:8; Job12:13; Proverbs 8:14; Isaiah 5:19; 28:29;40:13,14;Jeremiah
23:18;32:19; Zechariah 6:13; Acts 2:23; 4:28; 20:27;Romans 11:34; Hebrews
6:17
Works (1754)(energeo fromen = in + érgon = work. English = energetic)
means to work effectivelyto cause something to happen. To energize, to
operate, to work effectually in. It means power in exercise, andis used only of
superhuman power. To work energetically, effectivelyand/or efficiently. To
put forth energy. To be at work. To produce results.
God energizes everybeliever with all the power necessaryfor his spiritual
completion. Godoperates with His divine energyin all things. The same word
occurs in Eph 1:19-note and Eph 1:20-note, in reference to the energetic
operationof the Father's infinite might which He energeticallyexertedin
Christ when He raised Him from the dead. The conclusionis that nothing,
absolutely nothing canupset the elect’s future spiritual blessings in glory.
The present tense indicates continuous actionand the active voice indicates
God is the initiator. In short, God is continually working out His perfectwill
whether we see it or acknowledgeit in our lives.
MacArthur has an interesting comment noting that...
God’s creating and energizing are one in His divine mind. When He spoke
eachpart of the world into existence it began immediately to operate precisely
as He had planned it to do. Unlike the things we make, God’s creations do not
have to be redesigned, prototyped, tested, fueled, charged, and the like. They
are not only createdready to function, they are createdfunctioning.
(MacArthur, J: Ephesians. Chicago:MoodyPress)

Energeo - 21x in 19v - Matt 14:2; Mark 6:14; Rom 7:5; 1 Cor 12:6, 11; 2 Cor
1:6; 4:12; Gal 2:8; 3:5; 5:6; Eph 1:11, 20; 2:2; 3:20; Phil 2:13; Col 1:29; 1
Thess 2:13;2 Thess 2:7; Jas 5:16. accomplish(1), brought about(1),
effective(2), effectuallyworked(2), performs...work(1), work(6), working(2),
works(7).
All (3956)(pas)has idea of “whole” as wellas the idea of oneness ora totality
According to (2596)(kata)So what God energizes He will complete
Counsel(1012)(boule) when used of man expressesa decision, a purpose or a
plan which is the result of inner deliberation. Boule is that which has been
purposed and planned. Boule has in it the ideas of intelligence and
deliberation. In other words boule describes the result of deliberate
determination which in the present context reflects the product of not just a
"mastermind" but God's heart of infinite love.
NIDNTT says that in secularGreek boule...
denotes an intention, a deliberation. It also stands for the result of a
deliberation in the sense ofa decisionof the will, a resolution, a counselor an
edict. So already in Homer (Il. 2, 53)an assemblyof men is calleda boule,
when it became an institutional body (e.g. the Council of the Five Hundred in
Athens, Herodotus 5, 72;9, 5).

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