God’s plan for the believer begins with union with Christ. Paul structures Ephesians 1 around this controlling idea, expressed in the repeated phrases “in Him” (ἐν αὐτῷ) and “in Christ” (ἐν Χριστῷ), which define the sphere of every spiritual blessing. Election is therefore Christ-centered. Scripture identifies Christ as the chosen One, as Isaiah records, “My chosen one in whom My soul delights” (Isa. 42:1), and Peter affirms that He “is choice and precious in the sight of God” (1 Pet. 2:4). Believers, then, are elect only in relation to Christ. As Paul states, God “chose us in Him” (Eph. 1:4). The emphasis is not on isolated individuals, but on Christ as the Elect One and those who are united to Him by faith sharing in that election.
Tag: positional sanctification
The Life That Glorifies God
Phase one secures eternal life—a permanent possession guaranteed by the single decision to believe in Jesus as Savior (John 3:16; Eph 2:8–9). That life can never be lost, diminished, or revoked. Phase two, however, determines eternal rewards, which are also permanent but depend on faithfulness in time (2 John 1:8). These rewards are not given for salvation but for service—for living to the glory of God in every sphere of life (1 Cor 10:31), for sacrificially serving others in love (Phil 2:3–4), and for walking by faith as we appropriate divine grace moment by moment (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 11:6). Each decision to obey advances the believer toward spiritual maturity and future reward at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Cor 3:12–15; 2 Cor 5:10). Just as eternal life is secured by one act of faith, eternal rewards are secured through a lifetime of faithful choices aligned with God’s will (Rom 12:1; Gal 6:9).