So you don't believe Gods Word in Ephesians 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
The text states that He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world?, but you reckon 'He chose us, after we repent. That forces me to either believe what you say or what God says.
God never choose to condemn anyone to hell and nobody would every suggest something so silly. You just made that up.
There is nothing in the bible that supports your theory that God offers salvation to every single person in the world. Why would He offer the gift of salvation to those whom He knows can't receive it. It's impossible for the natural (unregenerate) man to receive it.
Yes, I believe Eph. 1:4 and harmonize it with the rest of that sentence as follows:
EPH 1:1b Paul addressed his epistle “to the saints (in Ephesus), (and) the faithful
in Christ Jesus.”
The term “saint” means set apart or sacred, referring to those who are saved because of faith in Christ, which is why they are called faithful and in Christ Jesus. Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province called Asia, which was located on the western side of modern Asia Minor across the Aegean Sea from Athens. None of the best early manuscripts have the words “in Ephesus”, which supports the view that this was a circular missive. Some ancient texts say to the saints in Ephesus AND the faithful in Christ, also possibly indicating that the epistle is meant to circulate among all of the churches in Asia Minor that Paul founded (cf. Acts 19:1 & 20:31), although sometimes in Scripture “and” is used as an equals sign rather than as a plus sign.
EPH 1:2, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Grace means gift or unmerited favor, and in a Christian salutation means God’s blessing. Peace means the cessation of war, which in this context refers to fellowship with God, as in Rom. 5:1, “This is why Paul wrote in 1Tim. 2:5, “There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” Describing God as Father implies the Sonship of Jesus through whom saints may call God “our Father” (cf. Matt. 6:9). Thus, in Rom. 8:29 Paul called Jesus “the firstborn among many brothers”.
Calling Jesus “Lord” implies his deity as the Son, as indicated by Heb. 1:2-3a. which reflects John 1:1-3 & 14. Calling Jesus “Christ” in Greek is the word for “Messiah” in Hebrew, meaning the Anointed One, referring to the One God anointed or chose to provide the possibility of salvation for humanity by the sacrifice of Himself on the cross (Rom. 3:25, Heb. 9:26&10:14, 1John 2:2).
EPH 1:3, “Blessed/Praised be the Father/God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all/every spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms
in Christ.”
The OT says that God is worthy of being praised (2Sam. 22:4, 1Chron. 16:25, Psa. 48:1), and Psalms says it is fitting for people to praise God (33:1), because He is good (34:8) and forgives those who confess their sin (32:5). Praising is akin to thanksgiving (Psa. 100:4) for God’s blessings of love and justice (Psa. 101:1). The primary blessing is heaven, and spiritual blessings includes the fruit listed in Gal. 5:22-23 and other goodness. “Us” here and in the rest of the passage refers to those who are “in Christ”, which means oneness with Christ via faith as in Eph. 1:1b (cf. Eph. 4:13 & 5:31-32).
EPH 1:4, “For he chose us
in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
The reason God created the entire universe was to serve as the stage upon which to enact His plan of salvation (POS): setting apart human sinful souls whose faith satisfies the condition for crediting them with the righteousness of Christ, as in Rom. 3:20 (cf. Phil. 3:7-9).
EPH 1:5, “In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons
through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.”
God is love (1John 4:8, cf. Rom 5:5-8). and He preplanned those in him (v. 4) to be spiritual children by receiving the Holy Spirit and becoming co-heirs with Christ (cf. Rom. 8:23 & 9:4) per His will for saints to be holy, as in v.4.
EPH 1:6, “to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
This harps back to v.3. and refers to God’s blessing (cf. Eph. 2:8-10), which is not merited but instead credited, as in v.4. by virtue of being “in the Anointed One or Messiah/Christ. “One” connoted God in Jewish scriptures ever since Moses wrote what is called the Shema (Deut. 6:4).
EPH 1:7, “
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the abundance/riches of God’s grace”.
This refers to salvation promised in the Law and Prophets because of Christ’s death on the cross, and to the redemption that is valued as spiritual wealth, echoing v. 5 and connecting with v. 3 as well as with the grace of God in v.6, even though some may reject it (cf. Eph. 3:8 & 16).
EPH 1:8, “that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding”,
This denotes generosity or fullness, and wisdom and prudence will be mentioned again in Eph. 3:10.
EPH 1:9, “and he revealed to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he himself purposed,”
This mystery/POS will be explained later in this epistle, and per God’s pleasure echoes or parallels 1:5, a technique used throughout this passage.
EPH 1:10, “to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together
under one head, even Christ.”
This refers again to God’s POS and mystery, explained later in Ephesians, and the time of fulfillment indicates God’s timing and would have mean the “last days” (in ACTS 2:17, 2TM 3:1 and 2PT 3:3) or “end of the age” (MT 24:3, 10, 19, 21, etc.), when all things are brought together under one head/Jesus, seemingly indicating world unification–but other passages indicate that “all” does not include God’s enemies (1Cor. 15:25). Christ’s first advent was for the purpose of creating his spiritual body/church, but his second coming will be on Judgment Day (Heb. 9:26-28)
EPH 1:11, “
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.”
“Chosen” means saved by faith in Christ, including Paul, and predestined repeats the term used in v.5 to refer to “from creation” per v.4. according to God’s POS or will as in v. 9-10. God’s sovereignty is stressed by the repetition and means that God is in control of history so that His plan will be achieved as He determines.
EPH 1:12, “in order that we, who were the first to hope
in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”
This refers to Paul and other apostles or disciples of Jesus who received the Gospel before the Ephesians, whose lives should be a reason for praising deity because of the Christlike behavior/love.
EPH 1:13-14, “And you also were included
in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
The believers being addressed heard Paul’s Gospel and believed, so they received the Holy Spirit, who is like a seal stamped on a letter or an advance deposit on an account, guaranteeing their future in heaven, again so that God would be praised, echoing v.12. EPH 1:3-14 is one sentence in the Greek.
