The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet #5161 KCEphesians1

God did not inspire Paul to attend a tent revival to convert him,
nor did Paul come forward to an altar call.
Jesus Christ simply knocked him off his horse
with a lightning bolt and said "you're mine, dude"!

How is it that a person can get so excited about the Word of God?

 It is sad, but many people think of the Bible as just a book containing "stories" and lists of restrictive religious do's and don'ts and the biggie "Thou shalt nots".

But it is not so!

The Bible contains knowledge and revelation from the Creator of the Universe.

And guess what!

He's smarter and wiser than any scientist, physicist, philosopher, or theologian.

Within the pages of 66 books can be found many answers that continue to baffle those who look through large and/or small scopes but ignore the vast scope of God's Word.

We will discover some of these "mysteries" and "secrets" even in this Book of Ephesians.

It was written by Paul, the apostle, from prison in Rome, around 62 A.D.

It begins:

Ephes. 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
An "apostle" (Gr. apostolos) is one who is "sent forth", i.e. an ambassador.

Paul was made an apostle by the "will of God",
not by the "will of Paul".

Paul's "will" was to persecute Christians and he was very zealous in his efforts.

With an attitude like that you would think it might be tough to convert him to Christianity.

Maybe it would be for man, but not for God.

God did not inspire Paul to attend a tent revival to convert him, nor did Paul come forward to an altar call.

Jesus Christ simply knocked him off his horse with a lightning bolt and said "you're mine, dude"!

This method of recruiting is quite effective as it tends to instantly soften and make ready the "clay".

Here's Paul's reaction:

Acts 9:6
And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
See what I mean?

Let's return to Ephes. 1:1.

Ephes. 1:1
... to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
To whom is this great Book of Ephesians written?

Answer: To the "saints" and to the faithful in Christ Jesus, who ARE the saints.

 "Saints" are "consecrated" ones or "set aside" ones.

[2] Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul gives a salutation.
[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
..."who through Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm." Moffat
[4] According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:
This is one of the most profound and exciting verses in the Word of God!
Proper understanding of this statement by the Apostle Paul can add new meaning to your life and for some, even provide an explanation for some of their life's experiences.

There are three major components of this verse that require a background of understanding in order to fully comprehend.

1.) foundation of the world
2.) without blame
3.) chosen...before
1.) foundation of the world

The Greek word for "foundation" is "katabole" which comes from the prime "kata ballo" meaning to "throw down" or "cast down".

In almost all cases where this word is used it is connected with the "world" or cosmos.

"Foundation of the world" would then be more properly translated "ruin or disruption of the world".

When was the world ruined or disrupted?

Answer: At the time of rebellion of Satan.

Let's go back to  the beginning:

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Most people understand this verse (even those who don't believe it).
[2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
But to understand two verses in a row seems way too difficult for many, so at this one they err!

Look up the words "without form, and void" in a Strong's Concordance.

They are tohu and bohu which mean waste and desolate, i.e. undistinguishable ruin!

Question! Do you know any manufacturers who create things in undistinguishable ruin?
               Does Detroit create "wrecked" cars?
               Of course not.
               And neither does God create things "wrecked".

Here's proof that He did not create the earth in undistinguishable ruin (tohu):

Isaiah 45:18
For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, He created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
This statement is from God Himself, "thus saith the LORD", the One that created the heavens and that formed the earth and MADE IT.

He ought to know how He MADE IT!

"He created it NOT in vain (tohu).

He formed it to be inhabited!"

The word "was" in verse 2 (the earth was without form) is exactly the same Hebrew word used in Gen 2:7 and translated "became", as in man "became" a living soul.

It should also be translated "became" in Gen 1:2, And the earth "became" without form and desolate (tohu va bohu).

It wasn't created that way... it became that way.

Now that makes sense. Read Jeremiah 4:23-26; Jeremiah explains that the earth BECAME without form , and void, i.e., the birds fled and the cities were broken down due to the LORD'S fierce anger.

You will read in Revelation 12 that Satan drew a third of the stars (sons of God) after his perverted ways in what Peter calls "The world that then was" (2 Pet 3:6).

You can be sure God gave Satan every opportunity to repent, but alas, he would not and God sentenced Satan to die, which is why he is called the "son who will perish" or the son of perdition.

But then, rather than having trial and judgment for the 1/3 who defected as well as the rest of His sons, God laid out His loving plan of salvation.

As part of that plan He destroyed the world that then was, just as Gen 1:2 says, and the earth became a ruinous desolation .

Read about it Jeremiah 4:

Jeremiah 4:23-26
I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. [24] I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. [25] I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. [26] I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.
How do you supposed God caused all that destruction?

It is quite evident that He knocked the earth off its true polar axis.

That is why magnetic north and true north are 90 miles apart and we have the jet stream.

He also knocked it out of its perfect orbit.

The latest theory I saw was that a giant meteorite once crashed into the Caribbean where there exists a huge crater.

Could be!

It works for me.


Now let's read Ephes. 1:4 again
Ephes. 1:4 According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:
Were you chosen back then, during the first earth age, to do what you do?

2.) without blame
3.) chosen...before

Now let's consider the number 2 and 3 components of Ephes 1:4, "without blame" and "chosen".

In addition to the 1/3 of the sons of God who joined Satan's camp, there were also those who stood against Satan at that rebellion and remained loyal to our Father.

They "earned" the right to be "chosen", used by God, as instruments in fulfilling His will, His plan.

God is completely fair, He is no respecter of persons.

From this group of faithful sons, God chose His elect, to be present at the final generation, and the remnant who would carry forth throughout history.

So you can see He chose the first to be last (to be born) and the last (chosen) to be first.

 Those who were chosen were also justified, found blameless before God.

They had exercised their free will and chose to love our Father.

All that Paul is saying in Ephes. 1:4 is that we, God's elect, were "chosen" before the "katabole".I know this is "new territory" for some of you reading this, but hang in there, it gets easier.

Beginning in Gen 1:3 our Father then created this earth age, which included a resurfacing of the earth.

He then created mankind, male and female, and told them to go and replenish the earth... not to plenish it, but re-plenish it, for it had been populated in the world that then was.

So as part of the plan of salvation (to bring back His children) it was given unto every man to die once, i.e. all the sons of God would be born of flesh woman, from umbilical cord to umbilical cord.

Hebrews 9:27
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
All would pass through this flesh age, born innocent of woman, meaning that they would have NO prior knowledge of the events that had transpired in the world that then was!

In other words, their "hard disks" or "hard heads" would be newly formatted with NO data, just the operating system.

That way they could be free to make-up their minds whether they would follow God or Satan.

Now understand this next statement in light of what we've covered so far:

"God will not interfere in a person's life without their asking UNLESS you already are one of HIS."

If He did, He would be accused at judgment of interfering with a person's chance and right to choose freely.

Jonah would be an example of one of God's remnant whom God would use.

God told Jonah to go to Nineveh. Jonah, exercising his free will, jumped on a boat and headed the opposite direction.

But Jonah had no choice in the matter, he was going to Nineveh.

God interfered in his life, big time.

Jeremiah was named BEFORE he entered his mother's womb.

Why not?

Where was he before he entered his mother's womb?

With our Father, the same place you and I were before we were born!

We already saw how Paul was converted.

Is it no wonder that the Lord says in Act 9:15 that Paul is a chosen vessel unto me?

Christ then intercedes on behalf of His elect.

Romans 8:27
And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
God interceded in Paul's life.

Again, there was no altar call.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
"Called" according to His will and His plan.

You may have wondered about some of the events in your life.

If you are one of His, there is a reason, a purpose, you have a destiny.

Ephes. 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
We were already adopted as children of God... before the "katabole", according to the good pleasure of His will.

That doesn't mean God's elect are better than others.

Remember, God is always and completely fair.

Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
For those whom He knew before hand, He predetermined their "destiny", not their day to day decisions of life.
[30] Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
This verse should now be self explanatory.
[31] What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
If God, who has all power in heaven and on earth, has predetermined our destiny because of our loyality to Him during the first earth age, and has us "under His wing", who in the world, including Satan, the false-christ, can be against us?

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.


1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them {the ancient Israelites} for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

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