Predestined in Christ (Ephesians 1:4-5)
“He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (Eph. 1:4-5).
This passage is often quoted by Calvinists in support of their view of predestination, which holds that certain individuals were chosen and predestined by God before the creation of the world to be Christians. It may seem to us like we chose to be Christians, but we really didn’t. It was all God’s doing. We are just doing what God had predestined us to do, Calvinists argue.
As for the rest of mankind (non-Christian humanity)…well, unfortunately, God just did not choose and predestine these people to be Christians. As Calvin said, these people were “doomed from the womb.”[1]
Are Calvinists Right?
Does Ephesians 1:4-5 really teach what Calvinist claim? Absolutely not! To start with, notice how the passage says, “He [God] chose us in Him [in Christ] before the creation of the world…” The passage does not say he chose us to be in him—which is how Calvinists interpret it. It says God chose us in him.
Check any reputable Bible version, whether the KJV, NKJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, ESV, LSB, YLT, etc. The passage does not say God chose us to be in him. It says God chose us in him. In other words, God chose those of us who are in Christ. That’s who God had decided from the creation of the world be saved: those in Christ, aka Christians.
How Did We Come to be in Christ?
Notice, also, what the passage goes on to say in verses 11-13:
“11 In him we [2] were also chosen having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:11-13).
As verses 13-14 say, “You were included in Christ when you heard and believed the message of truth.” That’s how we came to be in Christ. We heard and believed the message of truth. We did not come to be in Christ by God choosing and predestining us to be in Christ, as Calvinists claim. Rather, we came to be in Christ when we heard and believed the message of truth.
And these are the people God had decided (way back when he created the world) would be saved—Christians.
Moreover, it’s up to each one of us individually to decide whether we will be in Christ. If we choose to be in Christ—if we choose to be a Christian—then we are part of the group that God chose from the creation of the world would be saved. However, if we choose not to be in him—if we choose not to be a Christian—then we are not part of the group which God chose from the creation of the world would be saved.
That’s what Ephesians 1:4-5 is teaching in context.
By Alex Polyak, Answering Calvinism, 3/4/26.
[1] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, book 3, chapter 23, paragraph 6.
[2] Some commentators say the “we” refers to the apostles, while others say it refers to the Jews.