Ephesians

Ephesians 1:11 sits in a rich section of Paul’s letter, where he praises God for the blessings believers have in Christ. Many read this verse as a statement about God predestining everything that happens—including who will believe. But that interpretation stretches Paul’s meaning beyond the context. Verse 11 actually restates and builds on what Paul already said in verse 5. Far from supporting determinism, this passage highlights God’s loving plan for those who choose Christ. Paul affirms God’s sovereignty without suggesting that anyone is irresistibly forced into salvation.

The last few articles focused on what Ephesians 1:3-5 does not mean about predestination. To embrace biblical truth, we must first unlearn errors. Erroneous teachings cloud our understanding, and we must replace them with Scripture. Surprisingly, many errors in Western churches trace back to the Protestant Reformation. This quote of NT Wright’s hits the nail on the head:

“For too long, we have read scripture with nineteenth-century eyes and sixteenth-century questions. It’s time to get back to reading with first-century eyes and twenty-first-century questions.”¹

Human free will is a foundational biblical truth. But what happens to free will when someone redefines God’s sovereignty in a way that clashes with scripture? Calvinism claims sovereignty means God causes everything. That includes everything from atomic vibrations to your lunch choice. If God controls every detail, then human choice is just an illusion. This creates a problem: if God determines all events, how can people be truly responsible for their choices? A philosophy known as “compatibilism” has been introduced to address this tension. It tries to solve the contradiction by redefining free will in a way that fits Calvinistic sovereignty.