In
the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“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.”
With these words, St. Paul begins his letter to the saints at
Ephesus, giving thanks to God that He had called the Ephesian
Christians to faith, as He had planned to do from before all ages.
Like the Ephesians, you too have been chosen before the foundation of
the world. What a wonderful comfort this message gives! God has
chosen you! Of all the people who have ever lived, God has foreknown
your life and being, and He has chosen that you should be saved from
sin, death, and hell.
God has chosen you, that He might
bless you “with every spiritual blessing”
through Jesus Christ. He has predestined you to be created, redeemed,
and sanctified by His holy Word and Spirit. He has predestined you
“for adoption as sons”,
that you might be His own dear children, just as He is your own dear
Father. He has elected you for salvation, that you might “be
holy and blameless before Him”
by the forgiveness of your sins in Jesus Christ. What a wonderful,
comforting, hope-giving message St. Paul preaches.
