We were chosen by God the Father before the foundation of the world. God chose us according to His infinite foresight before He created us. The expression, “before the foundation of the world,” implies the entire universe, not only the earth. This indicates that the universe was founded for man’s existence to fulfill God’s eternal purpose. Without such a universe, it would be impossible for man to exist. Man’s existence is for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose. Therefore, the universe was founded so that man could exist to fulfill God’s eternal purpose. God chose us before the foundation of the world, that is, before the creation of the universe. This indicates that God’s selection was made not in time but in eternity. God foresaw us before we were born and selected us before the foundation of the world.
In Ephesians 1:4 we also see that God in eternity chose us in Christ. Christ was the sphere in which we were selected by God. Outside of Christ we are not God’s choice.
God chose us so that we should be holy and without blemish before Him. To be holy is to be separated from everything other than God. It means to be distinct, different, from all that is not God. In the universe God alone is holy. He is different from everything else and is distinct. Therefore, to be holy means to be one with God.
In order for us to be holy, we first need to be separated unto God positionally. Normally, once a person is saved, he should also be separated. This is the reason a believer is called a saint. To be holy in the sense of being separated unto God is a matter of position. As believers in Christ, we are separated unto God by the redeeming blood of Christ (Heb. 9:14), by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 15:16), and in the name of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 6:11).
To be holy means not only to be separated unto God positionally but also to be saturated with God dispositionally. This is deeper and more subjective than positional sanctification. In subjective sanctification we are saturated with God dispositionally. Separation can take place rather easily and in a very short time, but it takes a long time to be saturated with God dispositionally. God intends to saturate us with Himself, a process that requires time. He chose us in eternity for the purpose of saturating us with Himself. He wants to work Himself into our being so that we may be holy, just as He is.
All believers have been chosen by God the Father to be holy. First, we are separated unto God; second, we are saturated with God; and eventually we become one with God. One day, we shall be just like Him. That will mark the completion of our sanctification, the process that begins with separation, continues with saturation, and is completed with the full redemption of our body. At that time, from within to without, we shall be the same as He is. We shall be holy. It is for this purpose that we were chosen by God the Father before the foundation of the world.
Ephesians 1:4 also says that we were chosen by God to be without blemish. A blemish is like a foreign particle in a precious gem. God’s chosen ones should be saturated only with God Himself and have no foreign particles, such as the fallen natural human element, the flesh, the self, or worldly things. This is to be without blemish, to be without mixture, to have no element other than God’s holy nature. God has chosen us to be so holy and so pure that we shall be without blemish, without any foreign particles, having only the divine element.
We shall be holy and without blemish “before Him.” This means that we shall be holy and without blemish in the sight of God according to His standard. This qualifies us to remain in His presence and to enjoy His presence. We shall be holy and without blemish not according to our standard or in our own sight, but according to God’s standard and in His sight.
In eternity we were also predestinated by God the Father (Rom. 8:29b; Eph. 1:4b, 5). The Greek word translated “predestinated” in Ephesians 1:5 can also be rendered “marked out beforehand.” Marking out beforehand is the process, whereas predestination is the purpose to determine a destiny beforehand. God first selected us and then marked us out beforehand, that is, before the foundation of the world, unto a certain destiny.
We all need to have the realization that we have been marked out by God for the accomplishment of His economy. Because God has put His mark on us, we cannot run away from Him. We were marked out by God before we were born, even before the foundation of the world. Since we have been pre-marked, we have no choice except to give ourselves to the Lord for His recovery and even to be beside ourselves for the church life.
Other human beings cannot see God’s mark on us, but all the beings in the spiritual world can see it. The angels, the demons, and Satan himself know that we have been marked out by God. This mark is not merely outward but something very inward. We are a selected and marked-out people. This was accomplished by God in eternity past.
Because we were marked out by God in eternity, we have been saved. One day we believed in the Lord Jesus. It may have been that seemingly we believed in Him for no reason. The reason we came to believe in Christ is that we were predestinated, marked out beforehand, by God the Father.