Ephesians 1:4-5 “Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love, having predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will…”
Predestined: The Greek word used here, proorizō, means “to choose” or “to decide beforehand.” With this predestined theme, God chose us before hand, it is not something we have anything to do with–except, to believe in Jesus the Christ of God.
Adoption Refers to the bestowing of familial rights and privileges on a person born outside the family. Paul uses this metaphor to illustrate believers’ privileges in Christ. As children of God, we now have a heavenly inheritance. We do not become Hebrew (Jews), nor do we inherit the promises God made to them, and we do not inherit any covenants God made with the Hebrew people. We do not replace God’s chosen people–He is not done with them yet. Just as God chose Israel as His treasured possession, He now elects believers to receive the blessings mediated through Christ.
Romans 8:23 “Not only this, but we ourselves also, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves while we await eagerly our adoption, the redemption of our body.”
In Romans, unlike in Ephesians there seems to be a future adoption. In Romans, the adoption does not occur at conversion, but after we are dead, awaiting the resurrection into a new glorified body. The use of “first fruits” represents the first of the harvest. Follows along with Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since through a man came death, also through a man came the resurrection of the dead. For just as in Adam all died, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own group: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s at his coming…”
Romans and Corinthians are harmonized in that the adoption mentioned in Romans takes place at the resurrection. So, the question is: Is Ephesians also concerning adoption at the resurrection or during the believer’s lifetime?
Note: I’m trying to keep these posts short. There is obviously much more to be discussed and that I’ll leave up to the reader and the readers Pastor or Sunday School Teacher.
Mike Kovach
1 October 2021
The Christian Underground Journal
TheChristianUndergroundJournal@gmail.com
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