God’s predestinating us to sonship is for the praise of His expression in His grace. Probably the angels will be the first to praise God for this. As the angels are praising God for our sonship, the demons may be shocked and say, “Those sinners who were usurped by us have become the sons of God.” Not only will the angels praise God for our sonship, but also every positive thing in the universe will praise Him. This will take place at the time of the manifestation of the sons of God (Rom. 8:19). Presently the creation is groaning under bondage, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. When that takes place, the entire universe will praise God. Thus, Ephesians 1:6 will be fulfilled at the time of Romans 8:19. At that time all the positive things in the universe will praise God because the glory of God’s grace will be seen in the revelation of the sons of God. We, the sons of God, may be surprised by the praises offered to God by the angels, for they will be praising God because of our sonship. This is the praise of the glory of God’s grace.
Sonship means a great deal. According to Romans 8, the whole creation is waiting for the revelation of the sons of God. The liberation of creation from the bondage of corruption depends upon our revelation. To repeat, at the time of that revelation, Ephesians 1:6 will be fulfilled.
Ephesians 1:6 says that God has “graced us.” The word “graced” is a very unusual expression. For God to grace us means that He has put us into the position of grace that we may be the object of His grace and favor, that is, to enjoy all God is to us. In order to receive anything, we need to be in the proper position. Thus, God has positioned us in His grace. Having positioned us in grace, He makes us the object of grace. Here in the position of grace and as the object of grace we are fully accepted by God. Because we are in the position of grace and are the object of grace, God is pleased with us. His delight is in us, and we are happy with Him. Eventually, there is a mutual enjoyment: we enjoy Him, and He enjoys us. Here, in grace, He is our joy and satisfaction, and we are His joy and satisfaction. All this is implied in the term “graced us.”
Today we are not merely under God’s mercy, but we are the object of His grace in the position of grace. We are enjoying Him and becoming His enjoyment. Hence, there is a mutual delight, mutual enjoyment, and mutual satisfaction. We should no longer consider ourselves sinners, for we are no longer bound to earth or to time. Rather, we are in the heavenlies and in eternity. We are not in our condition—we are in the desire of God’s heart. This is what it means to say that God has graced us. Therefore, we should no longer look at ourselves, but lift up our eyes to the heavenlies and to eternity. Instead of talking so much about ourselves and thinking about ourselves, we should speak of God’s grace and think of how He has graced us.
Finally, 1:6 says that God has graced us in the Beloved. Here Paul does not say “in Christ” or “in Him”; he says “in the Beloved.” The Beloved is God’s beloved Son in whom He delights (Matt. 3:17; 17:5). We have seen that for God to grace us is to make us an object in whom He delights. This is altogether a pleasure to God. In Christ we have been blessed by God with every blessing. In the Beloved we were graced, made the object of God’s favor and pleasure. As such an object we enjoy God, and God enjoys us in His grace in His Beloved, who is His delight. In His Beloved we also become His delight.
God delights in the Beloved, and He delights also in us. The phrase “in the Beloved” conveys the full delight, satisfaction, and enjoyment God the Father has in us because we have been made the object of His grace and delight. In this sense we should all appreciate ourselves and ever esteem ourselves highly because we are the object of God’s delight. You should say, “Because God delights in me, I appreciate myself. I even esteem myself highly because I have been positioned in grace and made the object of God’s grace.” We should have such a view about ourselves, not according to our natural state, but according to the fact that we have been chosen, predestinated, regenerated, and graced. God delights in us, not in ourselves, but in His Beloved.