In Christ, he chose us before the world was made. He chose us in love to be his holy people–people who stand before him without any fault.
Paul begins this letter by blessing our God who has blessed us with “blessings of the Spirit” (v 3). Then our verse for today explains what that means. God has blessed us with this blessing: in Christ, “He chose us.” Paul talks about time in this chapter: the past, present, and future. In the past, before the world was made, God made a choice. Before we existed, He loved us. Through Christ, He chose us to be His people. God chose you before you could choose Him. And His way to get to you and show you who He is and how much He loves you is Jesus. Jesus is God’s grasp on you.
God choses us in Christ so that we could be holy, standing before Him without any fault. This is similar to “God’s holy people” and “believers” in verse one, but now Paul is explaining things. We do not make ourselves holy. We are not capable of being holy on our own. Holy means set apart, and God’s choice sets us apart. God has chosen Jesus to be the Lord of our lives, and that makes us holy.
This is not just any choice; it is a choice in Christ. In Christ, God blesses us with blessings. In Christ, God chooses us to make us holy. God chose Jesus, and we are called to God in Christ. When we understand God’s choice of us came first, we understand what it means to be holy. It is not about what we do; it is about us participating in what God does.
Being holy and standing without fault does not mean you are morally perfect. It means you have been chosen and perfected because of what someone else did for you. Our true identity is only revealed in Christ. Jesus is holy and without any fault, and we are in Him.
But we are not unchanged. This means His grace exposes any fault in us and His love compels us to let go of the faults. This is how we live, reacting to God’s choosing choice of us in Christ, learning to adjust and respond to His love throughout our lifetimes.
By Daniel Rodriguez, Bible League International staff, Texas U.S.
