Dr Paul Allen

“God chose us in Him…” This statement from Ephesians 1 is personal, not impersonal.  The us refers to Paul and his audience, and the ‘in Him’ refers to Christ.   Christ is the locus of the choice, not apart from him, not in the abstract, not merely in the mind of God but ‘in Christ’.  Now what exactly does that mean?  If the choice is personal and of person, and in the context of a person namely Christ, who exactly existed before the creation of the universe to be chosen?  Only Christ.   He was there, and even participated in the creation of the universe.  We were certainly not there.  Paul does not believe in the notion of pre-existent or immortal souls or a well of souls in heaven that at some point are placed into human bodies.   Election happens ‘in Christ’ because he is the Chosen of God, as the recent movie series’ title suggests.   Now since it is Christ who has been chosen to redeem humanity, it should be obvi...

How does a person know if they have been predestined by God for heaven? The shortest answer to the question is also the best: Do you love Jesus? If so, then you have been predestined. Unpacking that short answer shows you the Trinitarian nature of salvation. The Father predestined us before time (Ephesians 1:4). This predestination is expressed through adoption into his family through faith in his Son, Jesus (Ephesians 1:5). This faith is expressed by confessing Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:10), and nobody can do that unless the Holy Spirit is indwelling them (1 Corinthians 12:3). When the Holy Spirit saves a person, He gives them a new nature—He gives them a heart of faith to replace their heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:26). The person goes from living for himself to living for Christ. The person goes from hating God to loving God through Jesus. Thus an individual knows they have been predestined for salvation only when they believe the gospel, and see in their heart faith and love ...