Ephesians 1:11, commentary and pictures

In Christ believers have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of God who works all things after the counsel of His own will, a purpose settled beforehand. This predestination is to the praise of His glory and belongs to His revealed purpose to gather together in one all things in heaven and on earth in Christ. The inheritance is spiritual and includes the recovery of the dominion lost through sin, when God fulfills His purpose in making the earth new and the eternal home of the redeemed. God governs all things and carries out His purposes according to His own will, above human plans and behind the course of history. It is received by those who respond to Christ, humble themselves and believe the gospel, not by human merit but by mercy and free grace, and those who believe are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

Inheritance in Christ

In Christ believers have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of God who works all things after the counsel of His own will, a purpose determined beforehand and appointed to them in Him. This obtaining is for those who respond to Christ's drawing, who humble themselves and receive and obey God's word and become His obedient children, with salvation resting on His mercy and grace and not on human merit. It is one of the privileges of the Christian, and it is to result in praise of His glory.

This inheritance and predestination are to the praise of God's glory, with that praise rendered especially by those who first trusted in Christ. Those who hear the word of truth, the gospel, and believe are also joined to this praise through trusting in Christ, and they are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. That sealing is the living God's mark of redemption, recognized by angels rather than human eyes, identifying Christ's adopted people whose guilt for breaking God's law has been removed and who are freed from that sin and are obedient and faithful to His commands. The inheritance belongs to God's made-known purpose and good pleasure purposed in Himself, even His made-known mystery, to gather together in one all things in heaven and on earth in Christ.

The inheritance includes recovery of the dominion humanity lost through sin. What was lost through the first Adam will be restored through Christ the second Adam. God's purpose in creating the earth as a home for holy and happy beings will be fulfilled when the earth is renewed, freed from sin and sorrow, and made the eternal home of the redeemed.

The inheritance is spiritual, appointed by God's purpose, and God is willing to give largely of all spiritual grace. The verse stands among the chapter's repeated assurances of God's promises and acceptance, together with redemption, forgiveness, adoption, and the Spirit's seal and pledge of the inheritance, which believers are to grasp and claim in their full depth. Knowing these truths through a living connection with God gives lasting knowledge and prepares believers for immortal life.

God's Sovereign Working

God governs all things and arranges matters in line with His own purpose, working all things according to the counsel of His own will. His ordering of events reaches to the placing of people in different circumstances and the assigning of duties suited to their times and conditions. When given room to work through whomever He chooses, He magnifies His holy name.

His purpose and methods stand above human plans and cannot be blended with worldly plans or adjusted to human ideas. He works out the purpose of His will patiently behind human events and interests through the course of history. Though the rise and fall of nations may appear to depend on human power, ambition, or chance, He carries out His purposes.

In ministry this same ordering means He gives different workers different appointments and gifts for reaching different classes. He lays out each one's work clearly and works with them all to give the increase when they do their best, keep their lights burning, and rest in trust.

Receiving the Inheritance

The inheritance in Christ is received by those who respond to His drawing, for the elect are those redeemed by Christ who humble themselves, receive and obey God's word, and become His obedient children. Every human being is of consequence with God in this predestined purpose. Salvation in this inheritance rests on God's mercy and grace and free grace, not on human merit. It is joined to trusting in Christ and to hearing the word of truth, the gospel, and believing.

Those who so believe are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. That seal is the living God's mark of redemption, recognized by angels rather than human eyes, identifying Christ's adopted people whose guilt for breaking God's law has been removed. They are freed from that sin and are obedient and faithful to His commands. Knowing these truths through a living connection with God gives lasting knowledge and prepares believers for immortal life. Prizing the light given enlarges and ennobles human faculties, opens broader views of truth, and enables spiritual understanding of eternal things, especially God's grace in the plan of redemption.

The passage sets a high standard for the church that God enables His people to labor toward: they are to pray to be filled with the fruits of righteousness, receive that blessing, and grow in Christ. As a people having great light they are to grow in faith and trust and confidence and hope and joyousness, praise God more by recounting His mercies, never murmur and complain, and let righteousness prevail everywhere. Receiving the inheritance requires submitting one's own will to God's will rather than insisting on one's own ideas, leaving God out of plans, or blocking His way. Those who insist on their own way rather than conforming to God's will will not enter the heavenly courts. The verse belongs to the Lord's order for His work, which requires full zeal, fervor, and energy in saving souls ready to perish, without sinking time and means in one line of work for a class that will largely not honor God and without misrepresenting the refined, elevated character of the truth, neglecting God's vineyard as a whole, or bringing in disproportion and swaying the work into wrong lines.