Thoughts from The Message to the Ephesians by John R.W. Stott

• “The doctrine of election is divine revelation not a human speculation” (John R.W. Stott).
  It was not invented by Augustine of Hippo or Calvin of Geneva. On the contrary, it is without question a biblical doctrine, and no biblical Christian can ignore it.

(Ephesians 1:3–6 NKJV)

• ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 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, ⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Dave thoughts following …

Must realize who was it written to …
What we must realize is that this was written to “the saints” (Ephesians 1:1). The saints are those who have trusted in Jesus Christ and received the gift of eternal life, the holy ones who have been set apart for service to God. To this group God through the writing of Paul begins instructing them as to who they are and what God has done in their behalf.

This is not …
This is not a discussion on whether God is fair or not, and following that thought, it is not a discussion as to why some are chosen and others are not. Neither is it an explanation as to how God goes about his process of choosing.

It is …
It is a very simple and clear statement. He chose us (the saints, believers in Jesus Christ) before the foundation of the world. And he predestined us (chose ahead of time, foreordained) to be the sons and daughters of God.

God speaking to his people …
This text is about God speaking to his people and teaching us who we are in Christ and the greatness of our salvation in Christ.