"He Chose Us" (Ephesians 1:4)

As a Christ follower, do you rejoice in being chosen by God for salvation? In other words, do you consider being chosen for salvation a precious blessing from God? You should because apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, surely did! When Paul wrote (1:3), "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ," the very first blessing he mentions is (1:4), "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world......." It's very obvious that Paul saw that being chosen by God for salvation was something precious! As Christ followers, we can't and won't praise God properly for His great salvation if we don't understand and embrace the truth of His choosing us! The biblical teaching of God's choosing us for salvation is one of His greatest blessings because it guarantees our salvation! Have you ever thanked God for what you can not lose? We have no problem thanking God for things like health, friendships, houses, cars, etc. And there's nothing wrong about giving thanks for these things. But, all these things can be lost or taken away. God's saving of you can never be lost or taken away from you! God's choosing of those for salvation is called the doctrine of election. What does election mean? It's defined as, "An act of God before creation in which He chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of His sovereign good pleasure." The Greek verb translated "chose" means, "to select or pick for oneself." From our text, we can see that no one is ever capable or inclined to choose God unless God first chose him! Election teaches us that God did not base His choosing on His foreknowledge of whether certain people would choose to believe in Jesus Christ. If He had done so, it would be a denial of His amazing grace, because then their salvation would be based on something in which they did in and of themselves. But the Word of God is very clear that salvation is completely by God's grace! Furthermore, if God's choosing us were based on His foreknowledge that we'd choose Him, then He really did not choose us at all. Rather, He only would have responded to our choosing Him by then choosing us! But, this can't be true, for it would make God's plan of salvation depend on the choices of fallen sinners, rather than on His purpose and glory! It would at best be puzzling as to why Paul plainly says, "He chose us," if in fact, it were the other way around. The Father's choosing of us is what guarantees our salvation because God says, "My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure," (Isaiah 46:10). Your move. Be encouraged!