EPHESIANS 1:4 Just as He chose us in Him, we should be Holy and without blame before Him in love,
So for this one, I am going to dive a bit into some Lectures in Systematic Theology from Robert Dabney. The comments cover Ephesians 1:4-6, 11-12.
Daney states - If we have been predestined to adoption as sons and to an inheritance, it is therefore not possible that we can lose it.
---My notes: this backs up my belief that scripture is clear that we cannot lose our salvation. We are sealed in the Holy Spirit which has the idea of ownership. Our sin is not enough to overpower God's ownership.
--- Dabney continued, Otherwise God's predestination will fail. It depends on whether or not God can accomplish His intentions "When anyone is born again of the Holy Ghost and justified in Christ, it is because God has formed, from eternity, the unchangeable purpose to save that soul. The work of grace in it is the mere carrying out of that unchangeable purpose. As the plan is unchangeable, so must be its execution."
Chose us, has the idea that God chose us to that in Jesus Christ we would be blameless before Him. This is a clear demonstration of His Majesty's love.
Romans 8:28-30 And we know all things work together for good to those who love God, those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
The word love in Ephesians 4:1 is agape in the Greek. This is a love of choice or will, it is not a sentimental feeling. Having predestined us: this isn't a heartless determinism and doesn't have the idea of a set fate. Rather this is a loving choice on God's part.
In the next verses, these ideas are expanded on, but I thought this verse was enough to cover in one study because it carries a lot of heavy concepts we don't often think about. One of those things is to understand that there is no such thing as "I used to be Christian". You were either saved by God's grace and love or that person never was Christian to begin with.
My pastor used to call this a mountain-top feeling where a person hears the word of God and embraces salvation but they are really just looking for a genie or magician to fix all their problems. On an eternal level, "all things work together for good to those who love God" but this does not mean everything is going to go your way or that you will not have pain and suffering in this life. I try to keep things in my thinking on an eternal level. Yes, having loved ones, pets, and your toaster die is hard to swallow, but in eternity if those loved ones knew Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they will see you again. It's hard to embrace in the moment that they are in fact with the Father sometimes.
As far as the toaster. Sorry. That toaster is toastercaked. Just get a new one.
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