Acts 10 describes the first time full Gentiles become Christians. An angel is present, but it does not force Cornelius, a Roman soldier, to submit. Instead the angel tells Cornelius,
“[Peter] will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household” (Acts 11:14).
The Holy Spirit is present, but He works through Peter’s message to convert Cornelius. This is how the Spirit “sanctifies” or sets people apart for God.
“God chose you… through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).
…it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:21).
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5).
God’s selection tool is His Gospel, and it requires humans to decide for or against Christ. All who trust and obey the Gospel enter into Christ. By so doing, they enter the group God has already chosen. Paul, the Jewish writer, is “in Him.” Therefore Paul is chosen. Faithful Gentile readers are “in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1). Therefore they are chosen. Together, both Jews and Gentiles in Christ form the “us” of Ephesians: “He chose us in Him.”
Today we hear the same Gospel calling us. We enter Christ in the same way Paul and the Ephesian believers entered. If we are “in Christ,” then we are among those chosen by God. Today, we are the “us” of that great assurance: “He chose us in Him.” Are you in Christ? Are you in His family? Then the names that once set Israel apart40 now find their fulfillment in you.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession…Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Yes, you fit into God’s plans for “a chosen people.” God, even “before the creation,” chooses this family, which He calls “the church.” Some people call it an accident, or an afterthought, or a detour from God’s original plan for Israel.41 But God calls us His “workmanship” for which He has long prepared (Ephesians 2:10). Indeed, Christ and His bride, the church, stand together as the glorious centerpiece of God’s “eternal purpose” (Ephesians 3:10-11,20; 5:31-32). This is the family where you belong, or ought to belong!
Can you feel the Father pulling you closer? He draws people by teaching them, and now you are being taught. Jesus assures you,
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me (John 6:44-45).
Are you listening to God? Are you learning? Are you willing to do His will?42 Then God draws you to Christ, and “in Christ” you are chosen.
40. Exodus 19:5-6; Deuteronomy 4:20; 7:6; 10:15; Isaiah 43:20-21
41. See Study Note Five: The Family Foretold.
RESEARCH SUBJECTS
- The Book of Life
- “The Seed” (Offspring, Descendant)
- God’s covenant made Israel special
- Holy separated from unholy
- Baptism as the beginning of new life
- God wants to save all
STUDY NOTES
- The Family Foretold
- The Context of John 3
The letter to the Ephesians begins with greetings from God. It then says, “He chose us in Him (Christ) before the creation of the world.”
God’s choice is a theme that runs throughout the Bible. God chose Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob, also called Israel. Among the Israelites, God chose the kings to come through David’s family.
Ultimately, “the Chosen One” is David’s unique descendant, Jesus Christ. Like many of us, however, the Ephesians were non-Jews (Gentiles). That fact seems to leave them (and us) out of God’s loving plan. But God reveals that He chooses us “in Christ.” All who trust and obey the Good News enter into Christ. There “in Christ” we enjoy the special relationship with God that He reserves for His chosen ones. What a privilege!
MEMORY VERSE
- Ephesians 1:4 – …even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him…
Eternal God, the very thought is astounding to us, that You made plans for us long before the creation itself!
Why You would love us and choose us, even knowing us as You do, is just amazing.
What can I say to You but “Thank You”? I am deeply grateful for Your thoughtfulness and care, and I want to thank You with my life…
Picture: Roman soldiers, wearing helmets like this, forced many nations into submission. But God did not force the soldier Cornelius to submit. God simply offered a saving “message,” the Gospel, for Cornelius to believe (Acts 11:14).