Paul continues saying: "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherewith He hath made us aecepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:5,6.
Let's look at these words in greater detail. "Having predestinated us ..." Whio is this? God the Father. What does the word 'predestinated' mean? Preplanned; planned ahead of time. So, God preplanned. Now we need to be clear that preplanning didn't mean that God was insisting that things turn out a certain way. Nor are we suggesting that He would manipulate circumstances to only allow one outcome. However, He preplanned--He mad provision--that every person could have a place in His family as adopted children. How? "Adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will." Ephesians 1:5.
God desired to bring the universe into perfect harmony, 'to the praise and glory of (notice) His grace." There's that word 'grace' again. Do you remember what we learned about it? Do you remember what word can be substituted in its place? "Character." According to what we learned
'grace' is God's character. So we can read Ephesians 1:6 as follows: "to the praise and glory of His character". The word character makes perfect sense, since God was choosing Jesus Christ to demonstrate and reflect His character to the universe. What was the purpose of His plan then? Learning to love God on the basis of His character of love.
When we say, "To know Him is to love Him," we are not referring to sentimental love. John said,"Ht that loveth not, knoweth not God" 1 John 4:8. If you know God, you will love Him; if you don't know Him you won't love Him. You may have heard about Him--heard lots about Him, but if you don't know Him, you ean't love Him. To know God is to love Him' you can't help but love Him if you know Him!
"In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. Ephesians 1:7.
The first chapter of Ephesians is probably the richest chapter in all Scripture when it comes to unfolding God's plan of salvation. The summary provided for us in Ephesians recaptures what Jesus was telling His disciples only hours before He died on the cross. In His remaining twenty-four hours, Jesus needed to have a very serious conversation with His disciples. What would you say if you only had six hours to communicate your final thoughts to your loved ones? I'm guessing little time would be spent talking about the piano or the automobile.
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