Ephesians 1:11 - God's Eternal Decree

Ephesians 1:11
also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,

Message: God's Eternal Decree

Time: Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians sometime in AD 60–61, around the same time he wrote Colossians and Philemon. Ephesians deals with topics at the core of being a Christian - faith and practice, no matter the situation.

What the Lord is Saying:

God's sovereignty over all is something I trust and believe in. It is a doctrine that I feel like is a prevailing doctrine in the lives of Christians, more so those that hold to the infallible word of God. This idea that He is in control of all things is taught in the Bible. God MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM (Acts 4:24) and we trust this. Though we talk about God's sovereignty often, its definition varies it would seem. The simple definition is that God actively controls all that occurs in His creation.

The text today from Ephesians 1:11 calls attention to this with Paul saying God works all things after the counsel of His will. For me it is one thing to say "God is in control" and quite another thing to start talking about specifically what that means. For me the difficulty comes about when we start talking about what God controls. If God controls all, does man still have a will? Is every action of man predetermined?

Going back to Ephesians 1:11, the phrase who works is a present active participle of the verb meaning "to work," thus meaning that the Lord is active today, right now, in working out His purposes in all things. Here is the seemingly hard part of this as it would include good and evil. It would include our choices and include nature and weather. There is nothing that the Lord does not determine and control. Thus, he wills things to occur in the way that they do.

This text states that these actions are after the counsel of His will. Thus, he has a plan. He has a purpose. He has a decree.

It will take some time in these lessons to unpack all that this means. For now, there is the premise that He works out all things according to His will. In verse 9 he says that He made known to us the mystery of His will. Our knowledge of God came from God. Our knowledge of Him came from Him.

Promise: All that God does is in accordance with His decree. Everything in our lives has a specific purpose even though we may not know the purpose.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being in control and helping me to see this doctrine. Now Lord help me to trust You in Your decree and trust that who You are is what I need. Help me to not get ahead of myself but stay strict to the reading of your Word.


Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with March being about the sovereign providence of God and looking at how the Bible reveals His control over all things.