Group Guide: Ephesians 1:11-14

What is God up to? Why is He doing what He is doing? And how can anyone be sure that he or she is part of what God is up to? These three questions are answered in this one sentence that Paul writes in Ephesians 1:3-14. In short, these verses reveal to us three things; God’s Plan, God’s purpose behind His plan, and God’s promise, or pledge, to those who are part of His plan.

First, God’s plan from before the foundation of the world was to possess a people, a special people unto Himself.These people would be the people that He would redeem, forgive, adopt, and lavishly bestow His grace upon.These people would be a chosen nation, a unique possession unto God Himself. We see this in verses 11 and 14. In the original language, verse 11 reads that “we have been appointed, by lot, an inheritance. The idea isn’t so much that God’s people will receive an inheritance as it is that God’s people are actually His inheritance ( see Deuteronomy 4:20; 9:29; 32:8-9). The New Testament refers to these people in various ways; the church, the bride of Christ, a peculiar people, the flock of God, etc. It is important to note two things about this plan. This plan is according to God’s will (verses 5 and 11) and this plan includes not just Jews but also the Gentiles (verses 12-13).

Second, we see the purpose behind God’s plan. That purpose is the glory of God. Verses 6, 12, and 14 all speak of God doing what He does for the sake of His glory. God’s glory is God’s brilliance, His majesty, His holiness. The glory of God is all of the perfection of all of His attributes. God’s desire is to have His glory be known and seen and He has chosen to make His glory known by gathering a people unto Himself. And since God’s glory is a stake, His plan must rest in His hands and not ours. He is the one who holds His people fast for all eternity. Salvation is secure because salvation is the work of God and not man. God dares not entrust His glory to man. Man is weak, feeble, and prone to wonder. God is mighty to save for His name's sake.

Finally, we see in this passage the assurance of knowing that we are part of this family that God is gathering for His glory. Paul mentions two things. First, God’s people believe the truth. In this one sentence, we see both God’s sovereign choice and man’s responsibility. No one is part of God’s family without acknowledging and believing the truth, the gospel, the bad news about the fallen man, and the good news about Jesus the redeemer. Men are not lost because they are not chosen, men are lost because they rebel against God and do not believe. Everyone who truly believes is part of God’s family.

But a second way to know that we are part of this family is because we have been given the pledge of the Holy Spirit (verses 13-14). When a fallen man is infused with the very Spirit of God, radical changes begin to take place in how that man thinks, reasons, values, and behaves. We know that we have the Spirit if we see and believe the truth, if we hate our sin, if we fight sin, if we show forgiveness and grace if we love our brothers and sisters in Christ as family. It is the Spirit that causes us the see God as our Father and creates in us a heart and passion to honor Him with the totality of our lives. Therefore, it is the Spirit of God dwelling within us and changing us into the image of Christ himself that provides the blessed assurance of our salvation and inclusion in the wonderful plan of God that He works for His glory.