Who God Chooses
for us to be holy and without blemish before Him in love Ephesians 1:4
Before – Verbal imagery from the ancient world is often lost in contemporary language. Here we have a seemingly common preposition, but if we only could see the Greek, we would recognize something quite significant. The word is not the common Greek preposition for “before.” It is the rather complicated word kataenopion instead of pro. Why does Paul choose this particular word? Because he wants to create a picture that will communicate what it means to stand before the Lord of the universe. It is the imagery that matters most because this imagery is about a very important part of the ancient world – granting honor.
In the Old Testament, we often find the phrase, “found favor in the eyes of.” This is a description of ascribed honor. In other words, someone who already possesses honor grants or ascribes that honor to someone who does not possess it. The king recognizes the subject. The lord grants favor to the servant. Honor is not honor unless it is publicly acknowledged, and one way that this acknowledgement occurs is “in the eyes.” This motif was common throughout the ancient world, in both Hebrew and Greek cultures. The source of acknowledged acceptability came from the face (the eyes) of the noble.
Now look at our word. It is made up of many parts. Literally it means “in relationship to the face”, but it carries the sense of lowered before the eyes of another. In other words, this word conveys the same thought of prostrating oneself before the eyes of the king. Why does this matter? Because the verse tells us that the purpose of God’s electing choice is to give us the status of “holy and blameless” before His eyes. God intends that we be ascribed the honor achieved by His Son. In His courtroom, we can look up because in His eyes, He sees us holy and blameless.
The purpose of election is not to issue us a ticket to heaven. Heaven is hardly of any interest at all when it comes to God’s choice. To think this way is to put the emphasis on the wrong person – me. God chooses in order that He might favor us with the honor of His Son. God chooses because He delights in acknowledging His Son’s obedience, and there is no better way to do so than to touch us with the results of that obedience. Election is not about us. It is about Jesus.
How will this change your perspective about your salvation? Will you begin to see that all God’s choosing in your life is not about you? Will you recognize that your participation is intended to glorify the Son? Will that make a difference in your own choices? Will the honor you receive reflect the honor He achieved?
