Ephesians 1:4-144According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:4‑14)
God has purposed in Himself to have before Him that which shall reflect His own blessedness — He taking pleasure in us, and we taking pleasure in Him; as it is said here, “that we should be holy, and without blame before Him in love.” He will have His people of the same nature as Himself, gathered around Himself, happy here, and for Himself. His thought is not merely that we should have an inheritance; more than this, God is working for the display of the riches of the glory of His grace.
This lifts up the soul. God has taken up poor sinners that He might act towards them worthily of Himself, to the praise of the glory of His grace. Of course it remains true that God is a Judge, and “we have redemption, forgiveness of sins, through His [Christ’s] blood”; we must understand this before we can enjoy our privileges in Christ.
Our very existence in the new creation is the fruit of His purpose and thoughts about us. This has a double bearing. It shows how we measure what God is doing for us, as a question of His purpose, and it makes us understand the source of it all. And this has a most happy effect: instead of looking at ourselves, and judging from ourselves, we look at God. Our thoughts about God are that He is the source of all our blessing.
Adoption
God has “predestinated us unto the adoption of children.” We cannot boast in anything, except in this, that God has taken delight in us to give us the adoption. The effect is most blessed; we know Him — “after ye have known God, or rather are known of God.” What He has predestinated us unto is not a distant thing, nor yet merely salvation; it is the nearest place He could have put us into; we are adopted with the “adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.” Here we get not only the source but the manner — the source, God’s love; the manner, in Christ.
“The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” — the Word that was in the beginning with God, and was God. Predestinated unto the adoption of children, it is in Him. Called according to God’s purpose, we are to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. We are brought into the presence of God in Jesus Christ. Therefore, when Jesus goes away, He says, “I ascend unto My Father, and your Father, unto My God and your God.”
God’s Delight
It is God’s delight to bring us, in Christ, and by Christ, into His own presence. We can go no farther; “truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ,” writes John. We may enjoy it more and more, we may delight in it in deepened measure, but we cannot have anything beyond. When God speaks of glorifying Himself, or of our glorifying Him, it means through the display of what He is; it is God’s glory to display Himself; therefore, in this, which is to the glory of His grace, we have the display of Himself. And let us not suppose that this goes beyond what we may think about. The Apostle says further on, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ... that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man: that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith: that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:14-1914For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. (Ephesians 3:14‑19)). It is not a matter of human wisdom, learning, or attainment; in proportion as we become simple as little children, we shall understand these things, through the Holy Spirit.
The Good Pleasure of His Will
“The good pleasure of His will” is not simply sovereignty. God is acting in His love, displaying the will of His grace, and ministering of the fullness of His blessing to us. Here the soul gets established. The measure of His goodness is not the measure of what we are; it is His good pleasure — the good pleasure of His grace. And further, to learn what He is, to be delighting in the goodness of God, is that which sanctifies. If I could be always thinking of what He is, I should be perfectly happy, and there would be the reflection in me of that with which my soul was occupied. It is such a comfort, to get to God and feel that all is in Him, and from Him.
My thought of being accepted is not merely that my sins are put away, so that I could stand before Him. I am the object of His delight; holy affections are drawn out, and I pass through the world as a beloved one of God. When Christ was going through this world, He was the beloved One of God, and He was going through the world as such. Thus, too, should the Christian walk through the world with the consciousness of being beloved of God. With this, we do not want the world; without it, we are obliged to turn to something that makes self the center.
Having placed the saints in all this fellowship and blessing, He imparts unto them His thoughts. Not only has He accepted us in Christ, but He will have everything brought under Christ’s dominion and power. He is to gather together in one, all things in Christ — “even in Him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will: that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.” We are joint-heirs with Christ; hence the prayer at the end of the chapter.
We have obtained an inheritance in Christ, and all things are going to be put under Christ; meanwhile “having nothing and yet possessing all things,” the Christian walks through the world, as one beloved of God, in the consciousness that he is the object of God’s purposes, and of God’s delight. Our proper delight is in knowing that we are beloved of God, and that God will have us before Himself, and for Himself — His delight in us, and our delight in Him. It is as a consequence of this love, that we shall have the glory of the inheritance.
Adapted from J. N. Darby