Ephesians 1:4: Holy and Blameless

The doctrine of Election includes not only God's gracious choice to rescue underserving sinners. It also includes the goal or purpose behind that choice and that rescue. Paul is very clear. God's purpose in salvation is the reformation of the life. In fact, God's whole plan of redemption is aimed at reclaiming and reforming all that sin corrupted so that creation, and the souls of men and women, boys and girls might once again fulfill their original creative design. God created all things to declare His glory, but sin marred God's masterpiece and the corruption has been ongoing and thorough. The depravity of the human soul, though kept in check by vehicles of God's common grace such as conscience and government, is dramatically displayed everywhere we look. Man's heart is wicked, and he is desperate to prove it.

At the first, in Genesis 3, God had provided all that Adam and Eve needed for life and happiness. They had only one law and absolutely no need to transgress it. But Satan pushed the button of independence and pride and they responded in rebellion against God. Sin came rushing into God's creation, though at this point in the story we aren't sure just what the will mean.

In the wake of Adam's insolence, God certainly could have turned away. He could have allowed the full consequence of sin to run its course through his creation, including humanity. But it turns out God is a competitor! He had already determined that sin would not win, and immediately set in motion the greatest rescue mission in history. He determined that He would reclaim and restore creation through the seed of the woman, the 'He' of Genesis 3:15.

The entire story of the Bible can legitimately be summarized as the rescue mission of God through the "He" ... Jesus Christ! And now in Ephesians 1, as Paul begins to enumerate the many blessings enjoyed in Christ, we find among the first this promise: "He chose us in Him ... that we would be holy and blameless before Him." God's saving action in and through Jesus Christ reforms our lives, and promises to make us conspicuously holy. And even though we will never match the perfection of the holiness of Christ, it is still to be the case that those who are in Christ are becoming more and more like Him.

The New Testament knows nothing of invisible Christians. The idea that a God-chosen, Christ-enveloped, Spirit-indwelt person could fail to give off the aroma of holiness, truth and love is a modern fiction, not a biblical description. And while we do understand that the "young" in the faith may lack definitive fruit at first, can we truly allow someone to remain a baby over time? The fact is God has chosen us for the purpose of transformation. His saving power doesn't stop at the time of first faith. Rather, it continues by Word and Spirit to root out sin, build up knowledge, and live out the traits of the family of God. God continues to work in us so that first faith becomes firm faith, and firm faith overflows in conspicuous Christ-exalting lives. And that is what God loves. In fact, it is in holy living that we begin once again to live up to our original created purpose. We once again reflect the glory of our Creator.

This conspicuous holiness, while pleasing to God, will not always be admired among men. Our holiness, while not ever to be a source of pride, certainly will be a distinguishing characteristic that separates the Christ-follower from the unbeliever in real ways. Our loves will differ, as will our virtues, our goals, and our pleasures. When Paul asserts that God's choice to save had as a further purpose to make us "blameless" he certainly wasn't talking about the world's opinion of us. God's choice was intended to so transform our lives that we are no longer blameworthy before the court of Heaven. And it is here that we must be clear. Our own holy living will never be the foundation of our acceptance before God. While necessary, our holiness is only the evidence of a change that has taken place wholly by God's grace, as the death and righteousness of Christ are imputed to our account. We are blameless before God because of Christ, and the holiness of our lives is the definitive evidence that God has chosen us in Christ, gifted us the indwelling Spirit, and adopted us into His family forever.