As I mentioned in the sermon this week, sometimes the wonder of Ephesians 1 is overshadowed for us with our struggles with the idea of Predestination. And in a western culture where individual rights and freedoms are seen as self evidently true, trying to understand how God can be in control of history, and by implication, our future, is hard for us not to object to.
The most popular and perhaps natural way to get around this is to suggest that the election of Christians is in some way conditional. This view has been around for a long time and was pushed very hard by Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609) in response to the very formative and influential writings of John Calvin (1509-1564). Amongst other things, Arminius proposed that humans are equipped with a free will and that God in his foreknowledge chooses the elect knowing what their response to his grace will be. This particular view (Arminianism) is probably the majority view in protestant Christian circles today and was championed by some of the greats like John Wesley.
The difficulty with holding to this view is it’s very hard to support Biblically especially in view of passages like Ephesians 1; Acts 13:48; Romans 9-11; Matthew 11:25ff; John 6:35ff. Also, it seems hard to argue that we indeed have a free will. If anything, the Bible is clear that we have a depraved will. There is not a part of our mind or body that has not been infected and effected by sins power.
However, before you triumph our inabilities and God's sovereignty there is another mistake we can make on the other end of the spectrum as well. Christians over the years have used Predestination as a reason not to engage in evangelism and even prayer because God’s plan will (so they say) be realised whether we do anything or not. Some have called this view ‘Hyper-Calvinism’ – although it seems to bear little resemblance to Calvin’s theology in the matter. The difficulty with this position is the countless verses that urge us to act, to choose, to repent and to be responsible. Indeed if you have a close look at the context of Ephesians 1 and Matthew 11 you see this very clearly in view.
So what is the way forward? Well the Bible teaches clearly that Christians are responsible and elect and holds out unapologetically the reality of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility.
Don Carson affirms both these truths well in the following statements.
1. God is absolutely sovereign, but his sovereignty never functions in Scripture to reduce human responsibility.
2. Human being are responsible creatures – that is, they chose, the believe, the disobey, the respond, and there is moral significance in their choices; but human responsibility never functions in Scripture to diminish God’s sovereignty or to make God absolutely contingent.
If you take on what he is saying, then it quickly dispels some of the myths and the negativity surrounding Predestination. It also affirms what all Christians know and believe anyway, that is God can and does and indeed must work in and through us. I also think more importantly, that it captures the scope and truth of the Bibles position.
Still confused? Well like some other Christian teaching (The Trinity, the divine & human nature of Jesus) it is hard for us to logically hold some things all in our heads at once. But God can. He ensures his good will is done and secured; ye he does it in a way that never violates our responsibility to trust and follow him.
What this means, as I said on Sunday night, is that we should not be driven to confusion by Predestination, but rather be driven to comfort and joy. That seems the tone and part of Paul’s intent in Ephesians 1.
Suggested further reading:
Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God J.I.Packer
A Call to Spiritual Reformation , Chapter 9 D.A.Carson
