Ephesians 1:1–13 is one of the passages most often cited in Calvinist arguments for Unconditional Election. Paul writes that God "chose us in him before the foundation of the world" and "predestined us for adoption" (1:4–5). The Calvinist argument is that before creation God chose specific individuals to be saved, and that He then brings each of them to faith. Nearly everyone agrees that this passage teaches election and predestination. The real question is the one we should always ask when those words come up: who is predestined, and to what?

The Passage

Paul addresses the letter "to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus" (1:1). He then opens with praise for "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" that God has given "in Christ" (1:3). The phrase "in him" or "in Christ" runs through the whole passage, and every blessing Paul names is located there:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…" (Ephesians 1:3–5)

Paul goes on to praise God for redemption and forgiveness (1:7), for making known "the mystery of his will… to unite all things in him" (1:9–10), and for the inheritance believers have obtained (1:11). He ends by telling the Ephesians how they came to share in all of it (1:13–14).

The Calvinist Reading

Calvinists read "us" in verses 4–5 as the specific individuals God chose before creation to be saved. God chose them "according to the purpose of his will" (1:5), not because of anything He foresaw in them, and He "works all things according to the counsel of his will" (1:11) to bring each of them to faith. GotQuestions summarizes the view this way:

Calvinists hold this reading to protect the truth that salvation is God's work and that no one can boast of having chosen God first. We affirm that truth. What we question is whether Ephesians 1 teaches that God chose which individuals would be saved, so the passage needs to be read carefully for what it actually says God chose and predestined.

Predestined for What?

When reading a passage about predestination, look for "to be" statements. Consider how the meaning of a sentence changes when the destiny moves:

• "I am destined to be on the plane going to Chicago."
• "I am on the plane destined to be going to Chicago."

The first means that I, as an individual, was destined to be on the plane. The second means that the plane is destined for Chicago, and because I am on the plane, I am going to Chicago too.

Ephesians 1:4–5 reads like the second sentence. Notice that Paul does not say God chose us to be in Him before the foundation of the world. He says God "chose us in him," and then names what we were chosen and predestined for:

• Chosen "that we should be holy and blameless before him" (1:4).
• Predestined "for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ" (1:5).

We are not predestined to be in Him; we are predestined for adoption. Before the foundation of the world, God chose that those in Christ would be made holy and blameless, and He predestined those in Christ for adoption. This passage is not about God predetermining which individuals will be in Christ. It is about God predetermining what will become of those who are in Christ.

How Does One Become "In Him"?

If the choice and the destiny belong to those in Christ, the natural question is how a person comes to be in Christ. Paul answers it a few verses later:

"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:13–14)

The NIV puts it plainly: "you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth." The Ephesians were included in Christ, not at the foundation of the world, but when they heard the gospel and believed (see Ephesians 1:13).

The next chapter confirms it. Before they believed, these same Ephesians "were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind" (2:3), and "separated from Christ… having no hope and without God in the world" (2:12). They were not in Christ until they believed. What existed before the foundation of the world was God's plan for everyone who would be in His Son.

Holy, Blameless, and Adopted: A Destiny Still Ahead

The things believers are predestined for are not yet complete. Paul says Christ will "present the church to himself in splendor… that she might be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:27), and that Christ reconciled believers "in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him" ( Colossians 1:22 - 23). Being made holy and blameless is the end of a process: "we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him" (1 John 3:2; see Philippians 3:20–21).

Adoption is also still ahead. Believers are already children of God through faith (John 1:12; Galatians 3:26), and yet Paul says "we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" (Romans 8:23). In the Greco-Roman world, adoption was the formal ceremony in which a son received his full status and inheritance, and Paul uses it for the day believers are glorified. That is why the Spirit is called "the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it" (Ephesians 1:14).

So the destiny Paul describes in verses 4–5 is glorification: those in Christ will be made holy and blameless and receive their full adoption as sons.

A Destination Set Before the Foundation of the World

This is the heart of corporate election. Picture a boat named Christos, set to leave port ahead of a coming storm. The boat's destination was set before the foundation of the world: anyone who is in Christos will arrive safely in the land of the holy and blameless, where they will be glorified. The boat has a single door, and there is no other way in. Everyone is invited to come aboard. Anyone who is in Christos is protected from the wrath to come and chosen to be redeemed. As Jesus said, "many are called, but few are chosen" ( Matthew 22:14).

This also explains the language of God's will in verses 5, 9, and 11, which is the strongest part of the Calvinist argument. Paul tells us what that will is: "the mystery of his will… a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him" (1:9–10). In chapter 3 he spells the mystery out: "the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel" (3:6). That is why Paul moves from "we who were the first to hope in Christ" (1:12), the Jewish believers, to "you also" (1:13), the Gentile Ephesians. God sovereignly determined the plan, the destination, and the door. He did not determine beforehand which individuals would walk through it.

Conclusion

Ephesians 1 is a song of praise for what God has given to those who are in Christ, and both Calvinists and non-Calvinists can sing it gladly. Who is predestined? Those who are in Christ. To what? To be made holy and blameless and to be adopted as sons. And how does a person come to be in Christ? By hearing the gospel and believing it. Biblical predestination is God's predetermined plan to justify, sanctify, and glorify whoever believes in Jesus Christ as Lord. For the wider argument, see Election.