The Timing of Our Adoption - “Having Predestinated Us”

Ephesians 1:5

“…having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,…”

Paul is nothing if not logical and consistent. He frequently builds thought upon thought toward a logical conclusion and moves us there step by step until we are face to face with the conclusion he wishes us to draw. Verse 3 thru 14 is one long sentence in the original language. Most English versions divide it up into 3 or more. Paul takes these verses and builds, phrase by phrase, and thought by thought, toward his conclusion. Each phrase and idea rests on what he has already said.

This is what we see here. The concept of election in verse 4, and the concept of predestination here in verse 5 are virtually identical in this context. There is some difference in the specifics of how they are applied in other contexts; but here they are virtually synonyms. We saw that election spoke of God's choosing or calling out a people from among the mass of unredeemed humanity. The word "predestined" refers to the idea of being determined beforehand. As you can see, the ideas are pretty similar. Election speaks of the act of calling itself while predestination speaks more to the timing of the action.

We need to say a word about grammar here once again. The verb is a participle and is past tense. A participle is commonly described as a "nounal verb". That is, it is a verb used like it was a noun. Verbs normally describe action of one kind or another. Participles take that active quality and, placing it in past, views it as an accomplished matter of fact, and uses it as the subject or the object of the sentence.

The "predestinating" here is pictured as having taken place in the past from the author's point of view. Thus, it is certainly past from our point of view. The nature of the word tells us that this decreeing or determining happened before (pre-) the actually out working of that which was decreed; in this case the Adoption of the elect.

The point of all of this is that adoption is a part of the end result of election. Adoption refers to the final and full realization of our being grafted into God's family. We will one day realize the fullness of the Sonship given to us at salvation. That eventual adoption is sure and certain because it was predestined to be so by God. The implication is that this predestining occurred at the same "time" the electing in verse 4. We saw that the electing took place in eternity past and thus the predestinating took place at that time as well.

God, in eternity past, elected to call Himself out a people for His glory and to enjoy fellowship with Him.  That people He predestinated to be adopted into His family and to enjoy the full benefits of Sonship.  Paul’s initial point here is that this was entirely the action of god and that it took place long before you or I had any ability to impact it in any way.  The beginning of the salvation process is viewed in election – God determining to begin the salvation mechanism.  Adoption views the end of that mechanism, if you will, the full integration of the redeemed sinner into the family of God in glory for all eternity future.

Adoption is a fact now, but we do not see the fruit of adoption now.   The realization of our adoption, though fully certain and assured by the faithfulness of God and our actual possession now, is yet to be realized, awaiting our presence with God upon our going to be with Him forever.  We can revel in that truth – in the knowledge that the end of the matter is sure and certain and that it rests, not on our merit or our effort, but on the finished work of Jesus Christ and that work alone!