Ephesians 1:4 Holy Before Him in Love

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Ephesians 1:4 (KJV)  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 

Holiness denotes a state of inward or internal purity. And “without blame”, one word in the original, means an outward or external condition of purity. Holiness is the greater and stronger term because it is concerned with the inward condition, but the outward condition is also important. These two terms put together mean an essential purity or a state of spiritual health. They mean a true and real life in the Lord. It means that we are in God’s presence[1] and having true fellowship for we serve a holy God. We come before Him with clean hands and pure hearts. 

But what does Paul mean practically speaking when he says “we should be holy and without blame before Him in love?” How do we apply this in our daily living? 

Well, the essence of holiness is love. Paul says in the Epistle to the Romans “that love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom 13:10). Love is the opposite of enmity, the opposite of hatred, the opposite of strife. When we become children of God, God’s love indwells us. Because of God’s choice of us, and the work of Christ and the Spirit in us, what happens is that sin is removed, the obstacle between us and God is removed, and so we can appear before Him, we appear before the presence of God “in love.” We no longer appear before Him as Judge but we appear before God “in love.”[2]

[1] D.M. Lloyd-Jones, God’s Ultimate Purpose 1:1-23 – Ephesians Series, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1978, 96-97.

[2]  D.M. Lloyd-Jones, God’s Ultimate Purpose 1:1-23 – Ephesians Series, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1978,98-99.