We are going through a series called “Identity: Who Do You Think You Are? We are examining various identity markers of a Christ-follower found in the New Testament letter of Ephesians. We must know who we are to be able to live the life that is intended for us. Sadly, many people live because they have allowed the wrong sources to tell them who they are. Thankfully, we have the Word of the One who has created us to show us our true identity.

Ephesians 1:3 tells us that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavens. In this post, we are going to look at one of the spiritual blessings of a Christ-follower.

For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.

Ephesians 1:4 (CSB)

When someone picks us for a team or project, it is usually because they see something within us that will help them achieve success. That tends to make us feel good and needed. We all like to feel needed and valuable.

When we examine this identity marker of a Christ-follower – being chosen – there is a different take on it. As much as we would like to think that we are chosen because there was something special that we alone could bring to the table, we see from Scripture that is not the case.

Who chose us?

Ephesians 1:4 says, “He chose us.” The “He” that is referred to here is God the Father. We get that from verse 3. If you remember from last week, I shared that verses 3-14 were one long run-on sentence in the original language. As Paul begins verse 3 talking about God the Father, we see that he continues that thought in verse 4.

This brings up a doctrine that is known as the doctrine of election. The doctrine of election states that God chooses people based on His purposes and desires to show them grace. It is linked closely to His sovereignty or the reality that He is Lord over all creation and rules.

This doctrine has troubled some people in the past. The trouble usually comes when we try to reconcile the idea that God is in complete control with the free will of mankind. On the surface, it appears that these two ideas cannot coexist but rather contradict one another.

There have been thousands of godly scholars who have tried to explain this whole concept throughout the centuries. I admit that I have even had to wrestle with this myself for a long time. The conclusion that I (along with many others) have come to is that both are true. These are two sides of the same coin. God is indeed sovereign. In His sovereignty, God has created mankind with free will. The two do not contradict one another but work together. I cannot fully explain how this works, but I know that since the Bible clearly teaches both ideas, both are true and work together. One day, God may reveal the details of how that all works out. In the meantime, we accept this by faith knowing that some mysteries are not fully explained but left to us so that we can express faith in the fact that God has got this.

Ephesians 1:4 tells us that God has chosen us. It is not because of what He saw in us. It is solely by His good pleasure. Jesus reminds of us this in John 15:16.

You did not choose me, but I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.

John 15:16 (CSB)

This should be a great comfort to us. God decided to choose us for Himself even though He knew all the sins that we would commit. We call this the wonder of grace.

How did God choose us?

We have talked about this a little already, but in case we miss it, Paul writes it out in Ephesians 1:4: He chose us in him. This sentence by itself can be very confusing. You have two masculine pronouns together. We said that the “He” here refers to God the Father. The “him” here refers to God the Son, Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:4 shows us that it is through Jesus that the Father chooses us. It is not based on what we have done or will do. It is solely based on what Jesus Christ has done and who He is. That should be a comfort to us as well.

Some think that God judges based on whether or not our good outweighs our bad. This idea is not found in the Bible. Truth be told, if God were to do that, then none of us would make it.

Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

Psalm 51:5 (CSB)

We see that God the Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. “Before the foundation of the world” is a phrase that talks about the event of creation. Somewhere in eternity past, before anything was created, God chose us in Jesus. God knew that we would fall hopelessly into sin, and He still provided the only remedy – forgiveness and new life through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Here we have another reason for us to praise God. As I have said many times before and will continue to say, God was not obligated to provide a way for our salvation. He could have condemned every human being to an eternity in Hell, and He still would be rightly considered holy, pure, and good. The reason for this is we are guilty. It is because of His grace that there is a way of salvation.

You may be hearing this today, and it is clicking for the first time. I want you to know that is not your intelligence kicking in. That is the Holy Spirit opening your eyes to the fact that the holy God of the universe has provided a way of salvation for you, and it is only through His Son, Jesus. This lightbulb that has come on suddenly is God calling you to come and receive this undeserved gift because it was provided for you by what Jesus has done on the cross and by rising from the grave. Will you receive it?

Why did God choose us?

I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble with this, but the truth is that God didn’t need us. God did not create everything that we see and know because He was lonely or needed anything. He did so simply because He wanted to. If God didn’t need us, then why did He not only create us but choose us? Paul answers this question with the remainder of Ephesians 1:4.

God has chosen us because He has a purpose for us. You may have wondered what your purpose in life is. Bringing glory to God is the ultimate purpose of everything in creation. Now, we have seen that we are broken because of our sin, and we cannot do that left to ourselves. Part of this gift of being chosen is that it’s not just salvation from our sins, but it is the power to fulfill our purpose.

Paul shares that we are chosen to be holy. We have said before that holy means “set apart for God.” The idea behind this word in the original language is one of moral purity. As Jesus forgives our sins when we trust and follow Him, the Holy Spirit begins working in us the new life. Our desires begin to change from what is sinful to what pleases God.

Paul also shares that we are chosen to be blameless. This is such a good word for us. Blameless deals with the guilt that comes from our sin. Through Jesus’ work on the cross, we have been set free from the guilt that so easily drags us down. We have been chosen so that we can live in the freedom that Christ has bought for us.

Being holy and blameless is the work that the Holy Spirit does in each person who comes by faith to Christ. He moves us to the masterpiece that God had in mind when He chose us. He helps us to fulfill this purpose and experience all that it brings to us.

Conclusion

Like we said at the beginning, there is something special about being chosen. Whether being chosen on the playground, at work, or at home, it is encouraging to know that we are not forgotten or overlooked. As good as those things are, they pale in comparison to the fact that God would choose us. He chose long ago and set the path so that we could answer the call when He calls us to come to Him.

If we have trusted in Jesus, then one of the key identity markers of who we are is that we are chosen. We have been chosen to experience salvation, but we have also been chosen to live a new life by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Are we living out this part of our identity?