ESOCS Devotional 19 October 2025 – Chosen By God For His Glory
MEMORY VERSE: “He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” Ephesians 1:5-6 NIV
TEXT: EPHESIANS 1:1-12
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
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Paul emphasizes predestination (v 5), which is the idea that God knew before creation that He would choose certain people to be His followers (v 4). Paul also highlights the importance of grace (v 6). Further, Paul reminds his readers of the redemption through the blood of Christ (v 7), noting the revelation of God’s mystery through Jesus, as a fulfilment of the plan of God (vv. 9–10).
Paul further describes the inheritance of believers (v 11), which results in the glory of God (v 12). Paul’s readers shared in this inheritance when they heard and believed in the gospel (v 13) and were sealed with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the guarantee of the believer’s future heavenly hope (v 14).
Predestination is a clear theme in this section, noted directly twice (v 5, 11). God chose “us” Christian believers in general—for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ” (v 5). He also “predestined” believers for certain purposes (v 11). The salvation believers receive is “sealed” by the Holy Spirit (v 13), as a guarantee of the believer’s future heavenly home. These words strongly support the teaching of eternal security. This is the doctrine that a person who truly believes in Jesus for salvation can never be separated from the love of God (Romans 8:37–39).
We praise God’s glory because of our position in Christ. God’s glory is the ultimate purpose of the believer. God deserves full credit for our status of salvation. All believers, whether Jew or Gentile, should give God full credit for our status with Him. God’s glory is the ultimate purpose of redemption. If Christians are to live the Christian life properly by glorifying God in their lives, they have to think about God’s attributes and virtues.
You will note from these verses that everything we have been talking about, all these spiritual blessings, are ‘in Him’ or ‘in Christ’. That is, they are purchased by Jesus, for all those in Jesus. Every blessing is directly associated with what He did and no spiritual blessing comes apart from what He did. This verse tells that as sons of God, we have redemption. The word for redemption speaks of liberation, freedom, through the payment of a debt.
One purpose of redemption is that man would be restored to the image of God. One purpose of creation is that we should bear the image of God. Salvation’s goal and the goal of creation merge in redemption. Hallelujah!
CHALLENGES
- As a believer, can you see what He has done for you and the incredible position given to you?
PRAYER POINT
- Thank you Lord for choosing me to be part of your kingdom through Christ. Amen.
FURTHER READING: 2 Samuel 1:17-27; 2 Kings 18:1-9; Revelation 22:1-7
ESOCS Devotional 18 October 2025
