August 7th, 2022 - Pronouns and Predestination

Pronouns and Predestination
Scripture Passage:  Ephesians 1:3-14

Slide 1

Midsummer Sermon on favourite subjects:
difficult theology and grammar
Predestination and Pronouns

Slide 2

Definitions:
Predestination: God decided beforehand who is in
Pronoun: general term used to replace specific noun

Slide 3

Pay attention to the feel
3 Praise ... every spiritual blessing .... 4 ...chose us ... holy and blameless.... In love
5 ... his pleasure and will— 6 ... glorious grace, ...freely given

Slide 4

Bold relationship underlines point.
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

Slide 5

Exclamation Point
 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on
earth under Christ.

Slide 6

Oracle at Delphi
 "If you offer x and do y, then it is predestined that z will happen"

Slide 7

Who is the "we" here?
 11 In him we were also chosen,... 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ...

Slide 8

And who is "you"?
 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.

Slide 9

Dynamic interaction
 When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

Slide 10

God's Got this for God's Sake
...Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.