The “Foundation” of the World

Passage: Ephesians 1:4

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, 

The Scripture is a unit.  Ultimately, though ti had many human authors, it has one, single, Divine Author.   Just as we would expect in any human writing; this Divine Author is consistent in His writing and in the facts that He presents to us.  We could expect it to be so, and we would be suspicious if it were not so.  Inconsistency in the text can only be indicative of a couple things.  It might mean that the text that we have is not the text that God inspired.  Or, it might mean that the text is not from God at all.  Or it might mean that God is not consistent, but is flawed and subject to error in His assertions.  None of those are acceptable ideas to any true believer.  They are, however, things that must be dealt with by any honest and thinking student of the Bible.

Fortunately, the Bible gives ample testimony to its internal consistency.  There are no genuine contradictions or inconsistencies in its text that cannot be reconciled easily with a bit of thought and a little spiritual elbow grease.  Additionally, there a quite a number of passages that are simply powerful testimonies to the truths elsewhere taught in the Bible.  This short phrase is one of those testimonies.

Paul makes reference to the “foundation of the world”.  This does far more than indicate when God made His decrees.  As we noted, the word translated “foundation” most often refers to the origin of its referent.  It is translated “creation” or “beginning” many times in its use, both inside and outside of the Bible.  One of the rules of interpretation, the science of Hermeneutics, is that we always prefer the easiest and most simple explanation of a passage that accounts for all of the issues it raises.  It is a variation (more properly an application) of a logical principle called “Occam’s Razor” – the simplest explanation of all of the facts is likely the correct one).  The simple and most normal way to understand this word is in what would have been its normal sense – as a reference to the creation of the world.

This does far more than indicate that Paul believe that the world was created – though it certainly does indicate that.  Remember that Paul is the human author of this passage, but that he spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God.  Unless we are willing to deny the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, or challenge the consistency of the Spirit in what He caused to be recorded; we must, then conclude that Holy Spirit believed that the world was created as well.

For many, this is something that goes without saying.  Most believers accept as axiomatic (indisputable and fundamental to their understanding of reality) the truth of creation.  However, we live in a world that does not, any longer, accept that truth.  What we see here then, in an affirmation of that truth that lends credence to the doctrine of creation.

It is especially compelling because creation is not what Paul was speaking about in this passage.  Because this is true, his mention of it carries more weight than we would otherwise think.  It indicates the consistency that we mentioned before.  Paul genuinely believed that the world had been created by God, and that belief permeated his entire world view and peppered his preaching and his writing with the principle.  This is powerful testimony to its truth.  However, as we have mentioned, the greater testimony is the fact that the Scripture is inspired and that God, ever consistent and never inconsistent, makes “casual” mention of it as well.  It is solid and powerful evidence that the world did not simply evolve or happen by chance but that it was deliberately and thoughtfully created by an intelligent and purposeful God.

We can rejoice in this truth and we ought to look, as we read the Bible devotionally, for such wonderful and meaningful indications of God’s consistency and His nature as Giver and Protector of truth.