October 1st, 1942

We promised again in our last issue to try to write some more for this issue on the subject of election and predestination. We will now try to comply with that promise. This time we will call attention to (Ephesians 1:1-5) “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according 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: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” In this language we find Paul embraced, and the saints at Ephesus are embraced, and all the faithful in Christ Jesus are embraced. The expression, “Faithful in Christ Jesus,” means all those who are full of faith in Christ Jesus. That includes all who are full of faith in Christ Jesus in every age and every clime, in all the habitable parts of the world. The word our embraces Paul, the writer, and the saints at Ephesus and all those who are full of faith in Christ Jesus. It embraces the writer and those he was writing to-all the persons addressed. God is our Father;
and the Lord Jesus Christ is ours. It is our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul's language means that “He is mine, and He is yours.” Then the word us embraces the same people, the same number-no more, and no less. He “hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Has He done this according to what we
have done? Has He done this according to, or in harmony with, or in consequence of, some good thing done by us? No. What, then, is it according to? “According as He hath chosen us in Him.” The pronoun Him refers to Christ; “according as He hath chosen us in Christ.” He hath chosen in Christ the Apostle Paul, the saints at Ephesus, and all  those who are full of faith in Christ Jesus. Did He choose them in Christ because they first made choice of Him? No. They did not exist before the foundation of the world, and they would have to be in existence before they could make choice of anything. He made choice of them before they had existence, for He made that choice “before the foundation of the world.” Before the foundation of the world was laid He made that choice. The expression, “before the foundation of the world,” literally means “before the ages of time began.” Before time was, before time began, He made choice of them. The choice was in Christ, for He chose them in Christ; and He did this before the ages of time began. God did not save people before the ages of time began; but persons who did not then exist were chosen in Christ before time was. The Father had a definite purpose in view in making this choice. What was that purpose? Was it to give them an opportunity to become children of God? Was it to give them an opportunity to be saved, or to become holy and without blame by doing His commandments? No; that was not the object of the choice. What was it, then? It was “that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” He chose them to be holy, and not because they were holy, or because they would be blameless by their doing. The end of His choice was that they be made holy and without blame, and not that He chose them because they became holy and without blame. The choice was first, and they are made holy and without blame before Him as a result of that choice. To say that they were chosen in Him as a result of, or because of, them becoming holy and without blame reverses the order and puts the effect for the cause, and the cause for the effect. God's choice is the cause; and the effect of that cause is that they are made to be holy and without blame before Him in love. It is because God loved them, and not because of something in them. There is no cause of God's love, as here brought out, outside of Himself. The cause is all within and of Himself. Certainly, language could not be any plainer that God made choice of persons of Adam's race; and that this choice was made before the ages of time began. We remember being in conversation years ago with a man who denied the doctrine of election. We read these verses to him, and when we read the fifth verse we read it this way: “Having predestinated us unto the apostleship by Jesus Christ to Himself.” He interrupted us to say, “There it is; you see He did not predestinate that people should be saved: but He predestinated to make some apostles.” Well, you know, we had to
laugh right in his face. Then we read the text just as it is in the Book, and as quoted above: “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself,” The. apostle here plainly tells us that some were predestinated unto the adoption of children. How many were predestinated unto the adoption of children? All those who were chosen in Christ before time began. God determined beforehand that all the chosen ones should be adopted and brought into His heavenly family. He predestinated them unto the adoption of children. Those who are made to be His children, those who are finally brought into His heavenly family, were chosen in Christ to that end, and the choice and purpose existed before time began. They are brought into divine relationship with Him, and will be adopted into His family in heaven, as a result of His choice and predestination. God does not save sinner;; by accident; but He saves them on purpose, and according to His choice. God purposed to save the sinner that He does save, and the purpose was before the saving was done. God intended to save the sinner before He does the saving'. It was God's purpose and intention to save every sinner that He does save.

If any are saved who were not embraced in God's choice, and that God did not purpose to save, then some must be saved that God did not choose to save, and that He did not intend to save. If any are saved that God did not choose and intend to save, then God does not save them. And if God does not save them, please tell
us who does save them? God has a place to put all those whom He saves-and that place is called heaven. Where will those be placed that God does not save? Some other place will have to be fixed up for them, because the place God has fixed will be filled with those that He saves. Where is your faith fixed? Are you depending on societies, churches, preachers, or some other human being for your salvation? Do you expect to get to heaven by and because of what you do, or can do, or expect to do? If so, is your faith in Christ? If your faith is in Christ, then your dependence is all in Him: your whole trust and confidence is in Him; you are depending alone upon Him and upon what He has done. and is doing, and upon what He has promised to do, for your home in heaven-that place where His people will finally be landed. And if your faith and hope and trust and confidence are all in Him, then it is true that you were embraced in God's choice. God made choice of you before time began, and predestinated you unto adoption of a child. Yon will be taken home to live with Him in eternal glory, when all the trials and conflicts of life are over. You will live with Him in that world where sorrows and trials can never be. There will be no wars there. There will be no sin there. He wept that we might weep; Each sin demands a tear: In heaven alone no sin is found, And there's no weeping there.
There'll be no sorrow there; There'll be no sorrow there; In heaven above, where all is love, There'll be no sorrow there. The Lord willing, we will try to write some more en this subject for next issue. May the Lord's richest blessings rest upon you, is our humble prayer. C. H. C.