In this portion of Ephesians 1, we have seen that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, and at the very foundation of those blessings is this staggering truth: He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. But the sentence does not end there. God did not simply choose us and leave it at that. He chose us with a purpose—“that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love.” Election is not a license to live however we want; it is unto holiness. Because sin separates us from a holy God, the cross was necessary. Christ bore our sins in His body, and through justification by faith alone, His perfect righteousness has been credited to us. We stand even now holy and blameless before Him—not on the basis of our merit, but on the basis of Christ’s finished work received by faith.
Yet there is both an already and a not yet. Already we have been declared righteous; already there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And yet the Holy Spirit is progressively working in us, conforming us to the image of Christ so that what is true of us positionally becomes increasingly evident in us practically. True holiness expresses itself in love—love for God and love for others—because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Spirit. So we rest confidently in our justification, we pursue practical holiness as the evidence of that grace, and we look forward with hope to the day when we will stand before Him completely faultless, fully conformed to Christ, holy and blameless in His presence.
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As you turn in your copy of God’s Word to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, let me remind you where we are. We have reached halfway through verse 4 of chapter 1. In four weeks, we have covered three and a half verses. That is likely how this first section of the letter will go, because there is so much packed into it.
Remember that verses 3 through 14 in the original language form one long sentence. Breaking it into phrases is not a bad approach, because otherwise we would have to take the entire sentence at once. In verse 3, Paul declares that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Then in verse 4, he reveals the foundational reason for this praise: God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
But the sentence does not end there. You cannot separate that truth from what follows. Paul continues by giving the specific purpose for which we were chosen: that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love. It is not enough simply to say, “God chose me.” There is a purpose in His choosing. He must deal with the problem of our sin. Sin creates a real separation between us and a holy God. Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.” If left in our sin, even the elect would remain alienated and hostile toward God, as Colossians 1 teaches.
Therefore, God’s eternal choice has always been tied to the cross. Jesus had to die for the sins of His people. God chose us in Christ so that Christ would be our substitutionary atonement, bearing our sins in His body on the cross. Through His death and resurrection, we are reconciled to God and presented not as sinners, but as holy and blameless before Him. The cross is necessary. Christ is necessary.
Paul writes, “Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” The phrase “that we should be” shows purpose. We were chosen in order that we would be holy and blameless. Election is not a license to live however we want. It is unto holiness.
The word “holy” means pure and set apart. It refers to being consecrated for God’s own purpose and reflecting His character. There is a moral dimension here—living in obedience to God’s law. Sin is disobedience to God’s law. Leviticus 19:2 says, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” First Peter 1:15–16 echoes this command. Holiness is not optional for the Christian. It is not something we add to our lives if we feel like it. God chose us in order that we would be holy.
Paul also says “blameless.” This word means without defect or stain, like an unblemished sacrifice acceptable to God. Colossians 1:21–22 says that Christ has reconciled us by His death “in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him.” Ephesians 5 describes Christ presenting the church without spot or wrinkle. Jude 24 praises God who is able to present us blameless before His glory with great joy.
Then Paul adds, “before Him.” This speaks of being in God’s presence. He is the standard of holiness and blamelessness. It is not about our opinion or our version of righteousness. If we are to stand in His presence, we must meet His standard. Philippians 1 speaks of being pure and blameless for the day of Christ. First Thessalonians 3:13 speaks of being established blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Here is the dilemma: if God chose us before the foundation of the world, and we must be holy and blameless to stand before Him, how do we get there? Not by working harder. Not by perfectly keeping the Ten Commandments. None of us is holy and blameless on our own. Even as believers, we still battle indwelling sin.
The answer lies in the cross and in justification by faith alone. Romans 5:1 says, “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Second Corinthians 5:21 says that God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. All of our sin—past, present, and future—was placed on Christ. In return, His perfect righteousness is credited to us.
Romans 4 says that God justifies the ungodly by counting faith as righteousness. Philippians 3:9 speaks of a righteousness that comes through faith in Christ. Those who trust in Christ’s death and resurrection are declared righteous—holy and blameless—before God. This is a legal declaration: not guilty, and more than that, righteous in Christ.
This declaration becomes the foundation for our ongoing holiness. Because we have already been declared holy and blameless in Christ, we can now pursue holiness in our daily lives. There is an “already” and a “not yet.” Already we stand righteous before God in Christ. Not yet are we fully perfected in practice. We are being sanctified, progressively conformed to the image of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
Think of a developing photograph. The image has already been captured, but it gradually becomes visible. In a similar way, the image of Christ has been impressed upon the believer’s heart. Nothing will change who we are in Christ, but His likeness becomes more visible over time.
Paul adds the phrase “in love.” This describes the character of the holy and blameless life. True holiness expresses itself in love. Scripture commands us to walk in love, to speak the truth in love, and to love God and neighbor. Love is not mere sentiment; it is an act of the will that seeks the good of another. It fulfills the law and proves genuine holiness. Romans 5:5 says that God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. First John 4 says, “We love because He first loved us.”
Some argue that election refers only to God choosing a corporate body—the church—to be holy, rather than choosing individuals unto salvation. However, the context of Ephesians 1 speaks clearly of salvation blessings: adoption, redemption, forgiveness, and inheritance. God saves individuals and gathers them into the church. Second Thessalonians 2:13 says, “God chose you to be saved.” Romans 8 links God’s elect with justification and glorification.
Holiness and blamelessness describe the goal of election, not the entirety of it. Election secures salvation so that holiness will result. Romans 8 teaches that those whom God predestined, He called; those He called, He justified; and those He justified, He glorified. Reducing election to a mere corporate call to moral improvement weakens the assurance Paul intends. Our salvation was planned and secured in Christ before the world began.
God chose us before the foundation of the world so that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love. We stand holy and blameless now, not because of our righteousness, but because Christ’s righteousness has been imputed to us by faith. The Holy Spirit is progressively conforming us to Christ until the day we stand fully and finally perfected before God.
This truth calls us to respond in three ways.
First, we rest confidently in our justification. When we feel guilt or doubt, we remember that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We confess our sins and find cleansing and peace.
Second, we pursue practical holiness. Holiness is not optional. Hebrews 12 tells us to strive for peace and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Our pursuit of holiness does not earn salvation; it demonstrates that we have been made holy.
Third, we look forward with hope to the day of full and complete holiness. The day is coming when we will stand before God, blameless in His presence, not because of our effort but because of Christ’s finished work.
Until that day, let this blessed hope motivate our pursuit of holiness and our worship of God. Amen.