Does Ephesians 1 Imply OSS (Eternal Security) Once Saved, Saved!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ: even as
he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love:
having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
to the praise of the glory of his grace,
which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved:
in whom we have our redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to
his good pleasure which he purposed in him unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say, in whom also
we were made a heritage,
having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will; to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,—
in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
Let us meditate on the implications of this passage:
who hath blessed us with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ:
Does this mean that it is a done deal -- in the past He has already given us ever spiritual blessing in the heavenlies? Is eternal life & never perishing already a gift given in the past to every believer?
even as
he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love:
Does this mean that long before the believer was born it was already determined that the believer would eventually be holy & without blemish before Him in love, without blemish indicating no indwelling sin, no sin nature, no capacity to sin?
having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Does this mean that the sonship of the believer was already determined by God's good pleasure, by His will long before man was created?
to the praise of the glory of his grace,
which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved:
Does this mean that man's purpose in creation was to show God's attribute of grace (favor contrary to man's merit) and that to try to be justified by works is an attack on the very purpose of man's creation?
in whom we have our redemption through his blood,
Does this mean that the believer has been bought out & set free? If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.
the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
Does this mean that forgiveness is never a compensation for good works?
according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him . . . to sum up all things in Christ, . . . in whom also
we were made a heritage,
having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will;
Does this mean that the believer's blessed status is a matter of God's foreordaining it long before anyone was born, and that this status is ultimately the result of God's sovereign irresistible will? Could it be that God never asked man's opinion when he decided how things were going to be? Could it be that God does not respect the puny will of man?
to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory,
Does this mean that when the Lord determined what was going to be what, he did it to praise His own glory, not man's glory?
we who had before hoped in Christ: in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,—
in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance,
to the redemption of God’s own possession,
to the praise of his glory.
Does this mean that the Holy Spirit is like earnest money in a real estate deal?
The seal of the Spirit guarantees our inheritance.
Does this mean that we must be eternally secure?
The seal of the Spirit guarantees that we are God's property.
Does this mean that the Lord will never let us go, no more than He would consider that the Holy Spirit should be removed from the Trinity?
Are you warmed all over and down to your deepest most innermost being to contemplate those verses? Does it thrill you to realize that before you were ever born you were already chosen to be holy & without blemish before God Almighty in love?
Does this motivate you to trust the Lord Jesus as your only & sufficient Savior, to rest in His love, to depend on Him completely for your eternal destiny? Can you believe that He is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy? Can you believe that He is not only the author (in eternity past) but the perfecter of your faith? Can you believe that He Who started the work, will complete it in you?