Does Ephesians 1 Teach Calvinism?

A clip from a video I made a couple years ago talking about Ephesians 1 and why I do not think this passage can or should be used to teach the concept of unconditional election or Calvinism.

The topic of Calvinism is something that I have personally spent a lot of time studying and thinking about for the past decade. In recent years this theology has grown a lot in popularity, being propagated by popular and prominent pastors and christian leaders like John Piper, James White, John Macarthur, RC Sproul and ministry organizations like the Gospel Coalition and Apologia Studios.

This theology is based on a particular understanding of passages like Romans 9, John 6 and Ephesians 1, which are interpreted by Calvinists in a way that results in the conclusion that God has determined before the foundation of the world which individuals he will save and has ultimately created a countless mass of humanity throughout history for the purpose of condemning them to eternal torment in hell for committing sins that he himself determined that they commit. This may be a bit more of an abrasive and pointed way of putting it, but I think if you come to understand the claims and beliefs of the theologians mentioned above who teach these doctrines, you will see that this is an accurate and honest representation of their ultimate conclusions.

I personally find the view of God that is communicated in Calvinism to be immoral and a gross misrepresentation of what the bible actually describes God to be like. Although I do have moral and emotional apprehensions toward this theology, that is not ultimately the reason why I came to reject it. I came to reject it on biblical grounds. After examining the many Calvinistic proof texts like Romans 9 and Ephesians 1, I became convinced that Calvinists are simply misunderstanding and misinterpreting these texts.

I make videos about this topic because it is important to me and I believe that bad theology (bad ideas about God) are harmful to people emotionally, mentally and spiritually. My goal in making videos like this is not to demonize Calvinists who teach these things or to say they are evil heretics or anything of the sort, but to simply explain why I strongly disagree with their conclusions and offer what I consider to be a better way of understanding the many biblical texts that are often used to support these views.

GREAT LIGHT STUDIOS FILMS:

FEAR NOT ONLY BELIEVE

METAMORPHOSIS | From Violent Drug Dealer To Jesus Follower

SEEK FIRST (Freedom From Anxiety And Fear)

#calvinism #calvinismdebate #christianity #soteriology #LeightonFlowers #provisionism #JohnPiper #apologiastudios

[mikelyons]

Great teaching Brother. It (Calvy interpretation of Eph 1) also necessitates "Irresistible coercion unto salvation" (If God Predestined it, it WILL come to pass) another extra biblical teaching they impose on scripture for their version of soteriology.

[LovesHugItOut]

Can’t wait to watch this when I come home from work 😊 🍿

[gintas]

Good point. Fits perfectly with the master plan a couple of lines below - summing up everything in heaven or earth in Christ - the mystery hidden and now revealed. Christ is central.

Another interesting and alternative or additional point is considering meaning of usage of “us” and “you” (plural) in Ephesians. A good case can be build by checking the full story of chapters 1-3 where the group “us” (those who had first hope in Messiah, eph 1:12) are joined by group “you” (gentiles eph 2:11) to become in Christ “us both” or a new man (eph 2:14). Interestingly that ephesians gives explicit definitions who are “us” and “you”. Several sources made these observations. Good example is an article of Kurt Jairos which can be found in the app academia. Tertulian from early Christians made that point too…

Blessings

[davevandervelde]

I so appreciate your genuine struggle to unpack this biblically. I am a calvinist but not before I wrestled and tried to understand every view of this. In anything I have studied I say to myself " why has this person come to this conclusion? what is the piece that is missing to cause this difference?"
I have heard this interpretation of Ephesians 1 before and I still don t really get it. The term " in Christ " is the difference. Am I seeing this wrong? I don't think so. I think 3 things should be considered
1. When we interpret one part of scripture, it is helpful to find other areas the Bible that deal with the same topic. Systematic theology helps to do this. I believe that all over the Bible it is clear that God is doing the choosing.
2. I believe that your illustration with a timeline is not applicable since God is not in any timeline whatsoever. Therefore it is not possible to for Him to not have the final results of our lives already determined. We always see things in a timeframe, God does not.
3. Our salvation is a personal matter. Jesus told the disciples that I have made a room in heaven for you. He tells them that He chose them and that God has made it possible for them to see and confess who Jesus is. Therefore God already knows and it is not a surprise to Him. God is not needing to put His hope in man.

i am going to link a couple videos that are helpful

[jcthomas]

I have wondered why a calvinist view even needs Jesus if they are already in him prior to the foundations of the world. This is a great explanation of Eph 1.

[paulmann]

Any chance you could get Nick Craig from 'John 17 apologetic's' on your channel for a chat?

[SheepDog]

Excellent 👍.
They seem to forget that "nobody comes to the father except through me" John 14:6

[tomanderson]

I don't understand why it's so hard to just admit the Bible means what it

[truth]

You do realize that Hitler according to Calvinism could have been Elect. Therefore nothing he did would condemn him because he is Elect. God chose everything he did and forced him to do him service.
Hitler idolized Luther because Luther gave Hitler the blue print to destroy the Jews. At the war crimes trials after the war one of Hitlers generals said that if Luther was here he would defend what we did!

John Piper: quote:... "God . . . brings about all things in accordance with his will. In other words, it isn’t just that God manages to turn the evil aspects of our world to good for those who love him; it is rather that he himself brings about these evil aspects for his glory (see Ex. 9:13-16; John 9:3) and his people’s good (see Heb. 12:3-11; James 1:2-4). This includes—as incredible and as unacceptable as it may currently seem—God’s having even brought about the Nazis’ brutality at Birkenau and Auschwitz as well as the terrible killings of Dennis Rader and even the sexual abuse of a young child . . .

John Calvin : “The devil, and the whole train of the ungodly, are in all directions, held in by the hand of God as with a bridle, so that they can neither conceive any mischief, nor plan what they have conceived, nor how muchsoever they may have planned, move a single finger to perpetrate, unless in so far as he permits, nay unless in so far as HE COMMANDS, that they are not only bound by his fetters but are even FORCED to do him service” (John Calvin, Institutes of Christian Religion, Book 1, Chapter 17, Paragraph 11)

Well Calvinists is this the Cult you are in and defending?

Truth in Love

[eugenelombard]

Matthew 23:12
“And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”

[contemplate-Matt.G]

There is another non-Calvinistic view of Eph 1 that actually makes more sense. It has to do with the pronouns used and who they depict. Vs 3-12 are actually speaking solely of the "first that hoped in Christ". Only they were predestined unto a specific purpose.

[JayMagnaye-uinp]

But Is not God the Father and God the Son and God the Spirit as one?
Was not Abraham credited as righteous by God?
Was not Abel's sacrifice accepted by God?
Was not Jacob received the blessing after wrestling with God?
Was not Moses able to see the glory of God when He was covered as he stood on the cut on the rock?
Was not Noah saved from the Flood?
Was not Adam and Eve not die when they ate the fruit and were clothed by God to hide their nakedness?
Are not these by His grace, His works of Salvation prior to Christ?
Or are not these as well if Father and Son and Holy Ghost are one, salvation by Jesus himself prior to his time on Earth?
Did not Jesus say before Abraham was, I am?

[SSNBN]

Ephesians 1:1-12 is about the Apostles only.
Then v13 is about the rest of us.

[MariusVanWoerden]

Well It does but you cannot see it for this reason, Matthew 15:14 They are blind leaders ( YouTubers) of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”

Ephesians 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

Ephesians 1:11-12 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

[tedfordhyde]

Romans 8:9, "If any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his." You are not his chosen, you are not his beloved, you are not his elect, you are nothing of his until you are in Christ.

[joelauretta]

The choice of the bride to be in Christ is before the foundation of the world.
This happens in eternity, not subject to time as we know it.
Just like Jesus Christ paying for our sins plural past present and future on the cross.
Yet when we are saved by God we spend our earthly life repenting for the very same sins that we're already paid for on the cross.
Jesus Christ paid an eternal debt.

You can't confuse eternal things with earthly realities.

If i choose to adopt a child, is it my child before it's made official ? No.
I can still choose that child to be mine even if the adoption process takes a long time to accomplish.

Maybe that's why scripture uses the metaphor adoption in relation to our salvation !
Ephesians 1:5
He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

We had to be chosen in eternity past prior to our natural birth so that no one can see He chose me because of this ect....
He didn't have to look down the corridors of time to see who would choose Him.
Because that also would make it about that person having something unique about them choosing God when others don't.

I find it interesting that there's less evidence of the Trinity in scripture than God's sovereign choice of a bride for His Son.
Yet both are true yet you only believe the one with less evidence ?
Maybe because it effects your human pride to admit God has every right to save people that way !

[guillermodominguez]

We were predestined for adoption…


“he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭

How do you get around this plain and simple truth

[TerrenceTheodore]

God chose us in Christ to be saved. Have you not read “God has chosen you from the beginning to salvation” (2 Thes 2:13)? Or again, “all those who were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). Why is it so hard to believe God chose people to salvation?

[lawrencestanley]

First, every Christian was *created in Christ, * chosen *before* the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4, 2:10) called as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9, cf. Hebrews 5:4), and was also in Christ as our federal head and representative when He died and rose again (Romans 6:1–14; Colossians 2:12; 3:1–2).

According to 1 Corinthians 1:9, those whom the Father has given to the Son (John 6:37) are brought into union with Christ when they are effectually called (cf. John 6:44) and embrace Christ by faith; faith being the fruit and justification of salvation (Galatians 5:22-23, Romans 3:28, 5:1, John 20:31). Our faith in Him is the effect and definite result of the work of God (John 6:29, Hebrews 12:2, Philippians 1:6); it is “not of ourselves” (Ephesians 2:8-9), because it could never be (Romans 8:7); the wicked do not even have the right to covenant with God (Psalm 50:16), therefore faith is something that we receive from God (2 Peter 1:1); only then does 1 Corinthians 1:30 become true of us: “and because of him you are in Christ Jesus.”

Essentially, faith is a product of man’s fellowship with God, and it is the means of mediation initiated by God through which the Mediator works to save those whom He has both chosen and called, bringing about our sanctification (Acts 26:18).

Think of our union with Christ as a coin with two sides. From the divine side, our union with Christ is secured by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who is the bond of that eternal union (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13–14). From the human side, the bond of our union with Christ is the Spirit-granted faith (Philippians 1:29, Acts 13:48) that embraces Him as He is presented to us in the gospel (cf. Acts 5:14; Romans 16:7b, Philippians 3:9).

The power (the Spirit) to believe comes from God; but the act (faith) is our act, though it is guaranteed for and given by the Lord to His elect (after all, we possess the gifts that He has given us, this includes faith). Until we believe, we are outside of Christ, and we must believe to enjoy the full benefits of salvation that He has purchased for His elect.

Next, since Ephesians 1:1 and 3 are Paul’s first use of the phrase “in Christ” here, it sets the context for how the phrase will be used in later verses, and in verse 3, the phrase “in Christ” is used to describe the sphere into which God’s blessing and choosing takes place, that is, based on who Christ is, and through His work of redemption, God has both blessed and chosen individuals. This meaning is more apparent in verses 19-20 where the phrase “in Christ” is shown to be the sphere of God’s operation.

Also, the words “in Him” is a very specific phrase used by Paul in Romans 5 and elsewhere to describe the Federal Headship of Christ over His people. That is, Christ represented those who were given to Him by the Father (John 6:44), that His work was specifically for them (cf. Romans 6:6, 8, Matthew 1:21), to bring them life (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Therefore, in verses 3 and 4, The phrases “in Christ, ” and “in Him” do not modify the word “us, ” as if to describe WHO God blessed and chose, as if God chose those who have already chosen Him, for that would make His act of choosing superfluous, but it instead modifies the word “chose, ” and it describes HOW God chose, and this is PRECISELY what Verse 5 says - “through Jesus Christ…” it speaks to the sphere, or the context in which God’s choosing took place. It is a reminder of the Federalism spoken of in Romans 5 whereby Christ is the representative of all of those who from eternity past were relationally foreknown, predestined, called, justified, and glorified (Romans 8:28-30) by Him (Romans 6:1–14; Colossians 2:12; 3:1–2). Simply stated, God’s choice of electing love in eternity past must be understood in terms of its relationship to Christ.

[jaggedlines]

I find your exegesis of these verses of Ephesians, your own personal interpretation. Am I correct?

I believe this to be an unfortunate mistake on your part.
You talk about a " mysterious " event taking place that you say you do not understand.

Allow me to ask a question : " have you been born-again ?"
If you have not, then I completely understand that you are struggling to find the answer.

Your timeline chart is correct but your interpretation lacks understanding.

I was converted at the age of 22.
Before I was converted I was in darkness. I was separated from God.
However as you say in your timeline, I was chosen by God before He even created the world.
Just as the bible says regarding Christ : in the fullness of time, Christ entered thus world.
Also in the fullness of time God decreed that I would be converted at age 22.

I am now In-Christ. Have been since my conversion.
Before that time, I was not In-Christ, I was chosen back then, still in darkness, but will be converted to the Light at 22 years of age.
I am presently 71 years of age. Praise God!

Ephesians must be interpreted correctly through correct exegesis, not by how we feel it should be interpreted.😅
Our feelings must be subservient to correct exegesis of any bible passage.

God bless you.