Tags
decrees, divine sovereignty, Election, glory of God, Grace, inheritance, providence, Redemption, Salvation
Ephesians 1:11-12
Paul hardly mentions the grace of eternal inheritance, before he passes on quickly to underscore its sovereign administration to us. Five different terms are used to highlight the sovereignty of God in his plans, purposes, operations, and distributions. Where one term by itself could have adequately conveyed divine sovereignty, Paul uses many terms to amplify God’s power and plans. The opening phrase of v12 accounts for this heaping up of terms as Paul discloses the purpose of God’s administration of the grace of inheritance when he declares that it was for the purpose of God’s glory. Paul’s basic message is that divine sovereignty is overwhelmingly exercised in administering grace in order order to secure the broader of aim of magnifying the glory of God.