Chosen in Him—Ephesians 1:4-6

"“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” (Ephesians 1:4-6)

Do you remember a time when toys came in cereal boxes? In my family, we all raced to see who could get the toys first. I remember one prize—a special pair of glasses used to read the “secret” message on the box. To the naked eye, the message looked like only patterns and colors, but after I put on the glasses, I saw the true message.

To the casual observer, this is probably how believers also look—just like everybody else. But God sees us as holy and blameless because He looks at us through the lens of Christ Jesus and that colors everything!

Paul reminds us in this passage that God chose us in Him from the very beginning to be holy and blameless and then Paul goes on to reveal the other benefits of being chosen. We are adopted (Eph. 1:5), accepted (Eph. 1:6), redeemed (Eph. 1:7), forgiven (Eph. 1:7), enlightened with all wisdom and understanding (Eph. 1:8-9), filled in on the mystery of His will (Eph. 1:9), chosen and predestined (Eph. 1:11), marked with a seal (Eph. 1:13), and given a deposit to guarantee our inheritance (Eph. 1:14). No wonder Paul said that we are blessed with “every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).

But here’s the thing…we are not chosen on our merit but solely on the basis of Christ Jesus. Peter tells us that Jesus was chosen before the foundation of the world and because we believe in Him, our hope is secure (1 Pet 1:20-21). Because of that belief, we benefit from being chosen by the Father because Jesus was chosen first and we are in Him. God loves us dearly on the basis of Jesus! (Eph. 1:6).

What Should Our Response Be?

Here’s what’s made a huge difference in my life: I’ve started to look at myself through the lens of Christ. By this I mean that, if the scriptures say I am holy and blameless before God because of Jesus, then that’s what I am. I do not let sins and mistakes hold me at arm’s length from the Father. Rather, I know that I have the privilege, as His daughter, to approach Him and find grace to work through those things instead of feeling bad about them. The result is that I have become God-conscious rather than sin-conscious and this makes a difference in how I live each and every day.

Today, I pray you’ll take a moment to recognize the work of God in your life. Where have you seen Him move and change you? Where have you struggled with sin only to find that His grace has been enough in that situation? Take a moment to thank Him for making you holy and blameless in Christ Jesus.