To Choose or Not To Choose
In recent weeks, I have been in a Bible study with a group of men at
Urban Hope Church. We have been studying
the book of Ephesians. I’ve read this
many times over the years. Each time I
do, I discover something new. This time
through, I’m very aware or the idea of choosing.
So, with that in mind, I’m writing this.
What follows below is the text of the first chapter of Ephesians as
found in the New Living Translation of the Bible. After that, I’m breaking down this chapter to
share my thoughts.
EPHESIANS 1
Greetings from Paul
1This letter
is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am
writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus,* who are faithful followers of Christ
Jesus. 2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Spiritual Blessings
3All praise
to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
4Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy
and without fault in his eyes. 5God decided in advance to adopt us into his own
family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted
to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6So we praise God for the glorious grace
he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.* 7He is so rich in kindness
and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave
our sins. 8He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and
understanding. 9God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding
Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. 10And this is the plan: At the
right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—
everything in heaven and on earth.
11Furthermore, because we are united with
Christ, we have received an inheritance from God,* for he chose us in advance,
and he makes everything work out according to his plan. 12God’s purpose was
that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory
to God. 13And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that
God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own*
by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14The Spirit is God’s
guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has
purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify
him.
Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
15Ever since
I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s
people everywhere,* 16I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you
constantly, 17asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give
you spiritual wisdom* and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of
God. 18I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can
understand the confident hope he has given to those he called— his holy people
who are his rich and glorious inheritance.* 19I also pray that you will
understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This
is the same mighty power 20that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in
the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21Now he is far
above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else— not only in
this world but also in the world to come. 22God has put all things under the
authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of
the church. 23And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by
Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.
Arterburn, Stephen; Stoop, David. The
Life Recovery Bible NLT (LRB: Full Size) (Kindle Locations 68364-68405).
Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
EPHESIANS 1
Greetings from Paul
1This letter
is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ
Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus,* who are faithful
followers of Christ Jesus. 2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give
you grace and peace.
This idea of choosing or being chosen
does not start with me. Paul points out
that God chose him to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. (Quick note: Along the way, I’m adding end notes to
provide definitions of some words that might not be familiar to you.)
God chose Paul. Now it’s our turn to choose. Look at the phrase above: “…who are faithful
followers of Christ Jesus.” Before we
can be a faithful[i]
follower of Christ Jesus we must choose to follow. Virtually every action we take in life has
choosing to do that action just before the action itself. Choosing to follow Jesus involves the same
process. Choosing (or not choosing)
becomes the pattern of Ephesians[ii]
as we will now see. The indented
portions are my commentary or insertion of words to make my point.
Spiritual Blessings
3All praise
to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
3All praise to God, the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who chose to bless us with every spiritual blessing[iii]
in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
4Even before
he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without
fault in his eyes.
4Even before he made the world, God chose
to love us and chose us in Christ to be holy[iv]
and without fault in his eyes.
5God decided
in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through
Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
5God chose to decide in advance
to adopt[v]
us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is
what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
6So we
praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his
dear Son.*
6So we choose to praise God for
the glorious grace[vi]
he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.*
7He is so
rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his
Son and forgave our sins.
7He is so rich in kindness and grace
that he chose to purchase our freedom with the blood of his Son and
forgave our sins.
8He has
showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
8He has chosen to shower his
kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
9God has now
revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own
good pleasure.
9God has now chosen to reveal to
us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good
pleasure.
10And this
is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the
authority of Christ— everything in heaven and on earth.
10And this is the plan: At the right
time he will choose to bring everything together under the authority of
Christ— everything in heaven and on earth.
11Furthermore,
because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God,*
for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his
plan.
11Furthermore, because we have
chosen to be united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God,*
for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his
plan.
12God’s
purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring
praise and glory to God. 13And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the
Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified
you as his own* by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.
12God’s purpose was that we Jews who
were the first to choose to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory
to God. 13And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that
God saves you. And when you chose to believe in Christ, he chose to
identify you as his own* by giving you the Holy Spirit[vii],
whom he promised long ago.
14The Spirit
is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he
has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and
glorify him.
Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
15Ever since
I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s
people everywhere,* 16I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you
constantly, 17asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give
you spiritual wisdom* and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of
God.
15Ever since I first heard of your chosen
strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your chosen love for God’s people
everywhere,* 16I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you
constantly, 17asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give
you spiritual wisdom* and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of
God.
18I pray
that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the
confident hope he has given to those he called— his holy people who are his
rich and glorious inheritance.*
18I pray that you will choose to
allow your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the
confident hope he has given to those he chose to call— his holy people
who are his rich and glorious inheritance.*
19I also
pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us
who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20that raised Christ from the
dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly
realms.
19I also pray that you choose to
seek to understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who choose
to believe him. This is the same mighty power 20that raised Christ from the
dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly
realms.
21Now he is
far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else— not only
in this world but also in the world to come. 22God has put all things under the
authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of
the church. 23And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by
Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.
Arterburn, Stephen; Stoop, David. The
Life Recovery Bible NLT (LRB: Full Size) (Kindle Locations 68364-68405).
Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Take a
moment now to go back to the top and read this chapter with a new understanding
that it is your choice to choose or not to choose to follow Jesus Christ.
To be
continued…
[i] consistently
trustworthy and loyal, especially to a person, promise, or duty
[ii] a
book of the Bible, originally a letter to the church in Ephesus and
traditionally attributed to St. Paul.
[iii] help
from God
[iv] devoted
to the service of God
[v] to
raise a child of other biological parents as if it were your own
[vi] the
infinite love, mercy, favor, and goodwill shown to humankind by God AND the condition of being free of sin,
e.g. through repentance to God
[vii] the
third person of the Trinity, understood as the spiritual force of God
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