Ephesians 1:3–6 - Predestinated Unto the Adoption of Children
Chosen in Christ and Received into the Family of God
Primary Text: Ephesians 1:3–6 KJV
Introduction
Ephesians 1 contains some of the richest language in the New Testament concerning God's purpose of salvation.
Paul speaks of believers as being:
Blessed in Christ.
Chosen in Christ.
Predestinated unto adoption.
Accepted in the beloved.
These truths begin not with what humanity has accomplished for God, but with what God purposed and accomplished through Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:5 declares:
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.”
To understand this verse correctly, we must examine it within its context.
Blessed With Spiritual Blessings in Christ
Paul begins:
Ephesians 1:3 KJV
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”
Notice the repeated emphasis throughout this chapter:
“In Christ.”
The blessings Paul describes are inseparable from Jesus Christ.
We are not discussing an abstract doctrine detached from Christ. Paul is describing God's redemptive purpose in Christ.
Before Paul discusses predestination, he establishes the location of the believer's blessing:
“In Christ.”
“Chosen Us in Him”
Ephesians 1:4 KJV
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world...”
Three words are especially important:
“In him.”
God's saving purpose centers upon Christ.
Before the foundation of the world, God's redemptive purpose was not an afterthought or emergency response to humanity's fall.
God already knew His purpose in Christ.
But notice also what follows:
“...that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.”
Election is not presented merely as a theological concept to debate.
It has a moral purpose.
Holiness.
Those who belong to Christ are called to live as those who belong to Christ.
What Does “Predestinated” Mean?
Ephesians 1:5 KJV
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself...”
The Greek word translated “predestinated” is proorizō (προορίζω).
It carries the basic idea of determining or appointing beforehand.
The word combines the idea of “before” with determining or marking out.
But we must allow the verse itself to tell us what Paul says was determined beforehand.
Paul says:
“Having predestinated us unto...”
Unto what?
“The adoption of children.”
God determined beforehand that His redemptive purpose in Christ would bring His people into the standing and privileges of His family.
Predestination in this passage therefore points toward a destination:
Adoption through Jesus Christ.
What Does “Adoption” Mean?
The Greek word Paul uses is huiothesia (υἱοθεσία).
It literally carries the idea of placement as a son or receiving the standing of sonship.
This is richer than merely saying that God decided to treat people kindly.
Paul is describing a change of standing and relationship.
Through Christ, those who were outside are brought near.
Those who did not possess the privileges of sonship receive them.
Those who had no claim upon the inheritance are made heirs.
This is why Paul's adoption teaching is closely connected with inheritance.
Adoption Through Jesus Christ
Ephesians 1:5 does not merely say that we receive adoption.
It says:
“...the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself.”
Jesus Christ is central.
We do not enter God's family independently of the Son.
John writes:
John 1:12 KJV
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
The next verse explains that this new relationship does not arise from natural descent:
John 1:13 KJV
“Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Natural ancestry cannot produce spiritual sonship.
Family heritage cannot produce it.
Human effort cannot manufacture it.
Our standing with God comes through Christ.
Adoption and the New Birth
Adoption and the new birth are closely related truths, but they emphasize different aspects of salvation.
The new birth emphasizes receiving new spiritual life from God.
Adoption emphasizes receiving the standing, relationship, privileges, and inheritance of God's children.
Jesus told Nicodemus:
John 3:3 KJV
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Paul emphasizes another aspect:
Through Christ, believers receive the adoption of sons.
We are not merely forgiven criminals released from condemnation.
God brings His redeemed people into His household.
“Abba, Father”
Paul develops this truth further in Romans.
Romans 8:15 KJV
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
Adoption changes our relationship with God.
The believer does not merely know God as Creator.
Through Christ, we know Him as Father.
And the Holy Spirit bears witness to that relationship.
Romans 8:16 KJV
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”
Then Paul immediately connects sonship with inheritance.
Children and Heirs
Romans 8:17 KJV
“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ...”
Here we see one of the great privileges of adoption.
Children become heirs.
The inheritance belongs to God's children because of their relationship with Him through Christ.
Paul makes the same connection in Galatians.
Galatians 4:4–5 KJV
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,”
“To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
Notice the order:
God sent His Son.
Christ accomplished redemption.
Those redeemed receive adoption.
Once again, adoption is through Christ.
God Sent the Spirit of His Son
Paul continues:
Galatians 4:6 KJV
“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all present in Paul's description of salvation.
The Father purposes.
The Son redeems.
The Spirit dwells within God's children.
This relationship is not merely a legal designation written on a heavenly document.
God gives His Spirit to His children.
“No More a Servant, but a Son”
Galatians 4:7 KJV
“Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
Again:
Sonship leads to inheritance.
And again:
It is “through Christ.”
Our confidence does not rest upon our own worthiness.
It rests upon what God has accomplished through His Son.
According to the Good Pleasure of His Will
Return now to Ephesians 1:5:
“...according to the good pleasure of his will.”
Adoption originated in God's purpose.
God was not reluctantly persuaded to receive His people.
Salvation reveals His gracious purpose.
The next verse says:
Ephesians 1:6 KJV
“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
What a statement:
“Accepted in the beloved.”
The Beloved is Christ.
Our acceptance before God rests upon our relationship with His Son.
“Accepted in the Beloved”
This truth protects us from trying to earn the position God gives through grace.
The believer does not have to spend life attempting to persuade God to accept him or her.
In Christ, God has provided acceptance.
This does not produce careless living.
Remember Ephesians 1:4:
“Holy and without blame before him in love.”
Grace establishes our relationship with God and then calls us to live consistently with that relationship.
Identity and conduct belong together.
Adoption Does Not Mean We Become Divine
Biblical sonship must also be carefully defined.
Becoming God's children does not mean that human beings become gods or become divine by nature.
There remains an eternal distinction between the Creator and His creatures.
Jesus Christ is uniquely the eternal Son.
Believers become God's children by grace through Christ.
Our sonship is received.
His Sonship belongs uniquely to who He is.
That distinction protects the biblical doctrine of adoption.
Predestination and Human Response
Ephesians 1 strongly emphasizes God's initiative.
But the same chapter also speaks about the human response to the gospel.
Ephesians 1:13 KJV
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”
Notice the progression:
They heard the word of truth.
They believed.
They were sealed with the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, we should not use the doctrine of predestination to eliminate the Bible's commands to hear, believe, repent, receive Christ, and continue in faith.
Scripture presents God's sovereign purpose and the genuine call to faith without requiring us to erase either truth.
The Holy Spirit Is the Earnest of Our Inheritance
Paul continues:
Ephesians 1:14 KJV
“Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
Once again we find inheritance.
The Holy Spirit is described as the earnest—a pledge or guarantee connected with what God has promised.
Our adoption therefore has a present and future dimension.
We are presently God's children.
Yet Romans 8 also speaks of something we still await.
Waiting for the Adoption
Romans 8:23 KJV
“...even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”
At first this might seem strange.
If believers have already received the Spirit of adoption, why are they still waiting for adoption?
Because salvation has both present and future dimensions.
We presently belong to God's family.
But the full manifestation of our adoption awaits bodily redemption.
Our bodies still experience weakness, aging, suffering, and death.
The resurrection will bring the full realization of what God has promised His children.
Adoption Was God's Purpose Beforehand
Now we can return to the central statement:
Ephesians 1:5 KJV
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself...”
Paul's emphasis is magnificent.
God's family was not an accident.
Redemption was not God's emergency plan.
Before the foundation of the world, God's purpose centered upon Christ.
And those who are in Christ are brought into the family of God.
We are:
Chosen in Him.
Redeemed through Him.
Adopted through Him.
Accepted in Him.
Given an inheritance through Him.
And sealed by the Holy Spirit.
Everything points back to Christ.
Key Observations
Ephesians 1 places God's saving purpose in Christ.
Predestination means determining or appointing beforehand.
Ephesians 1:5 identifies adoption as the destination in view.
Biblical adoption concerns receiving the standing and privileges of sonship.
Adoption comes through Jesus Christ.
The new birth emphasizes new life; adoption emphasizes relationship, standing, and inheritance.
The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of adoption.
God's children are also His heirs.
Believers are presently God's children while awaiting the redemption of their bodies.
Adoption should produce holiness, gratitude, security in Christ, and praise for God's grace.
Personal Application
Understanding adoption changes how I approach God.
I do not come before Him as someone attempting to persuade Him to receive me.
I come through Jesus Christ.
My acceptance rests in the Beloved.
When fear tells me that I have no place with God, I can remember that the Spirit of adoption teaches me to cry:
“Abba, Father.”
When I feel insignificant, I can remember that God's children are heirs.
When I struggle with sin, I must remember that I was chosen in Christ “that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.”
Adoption gives me both privilege and responsibility.
I belong to God's household, so my life should increasingly reflect the character of my Father.
Reflection Questions
Why does Paul repeatedly emphasize the words “in Christ” in Ephesians 1?
What does predestinated mean in Ephesians 1:5?
What is the specific destination mentioned in that verse?
How is adoption different from the new birth?
What does Romans 8:15 teach about our relationship with God?
What relationship exists between adoption and inheritance?
Why can believers call God “Abba, Father”?
How should knowing that I am accepted in the Beloved affect the way I live?
What does Romans 8:23 reveal about the future completion of our adoption?
Am I living as someone who belongs to the household of God?
Closing Prayer
Father, I thank Thee for Thy gracious purpose in Jesus Christ. Thank Thee that through Thy Son I may receive the adoption of children and come before Thee as Father.
Thank Thee for making me accepted in the Beloved. Help me never to place my confidence in my own works, goodness, or worthiness, but in Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished.
Teach me to live as one who belongs to Thy household. Let my conduct reflect the holiness, love, and obedience becoming of Thy children.
When fear arises, remind me that I have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Keep my eyes upon Jesus until the day when the redemption of the body is complete and Thy children enter fully into the inheritance Thou hast prepared.
In Jesus' name, Amen.