Ephesians 1:4 Holy and Without Blame Before Him

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: 

The “He” in verse 4 finds its subject in verse 3 referring to God the Father. This gives us the first thought. The church is a people chosen by the Father. The primary action is that of God the Father who chose unto Himself a people out of the whole of mankind before the foundation of the world. Three important words describe this chosen people of God. These are the words “saints” in verse 1 and the words “holy” and “without blame” in verse 4.^[1]

Verse 1 tells us this epistle was addressed to “the saints which are at Ephesus”. Who are the saints? The word “saints” means “a holy people”. To be holy is to separate from evil and be dedicated to God. It has the fundamental idea of separation – separation from sin, from that which defiles. More precisely, a saint is more than just one who separates from sin but one who is consecrated to God, devoted to sharing God’s purity and abstaining from the defilement of sin.

Verse 4 further emphasizes the description of these chosen ones of God that we have been chosen before the foundation of the world and 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^[2] and having true fellowship for we serve a holy God. We come before Him with clean hands and pure hearts. Amen.

^[1] D.M. Lloyd-Jones, God’s Ultimate Purpose 1:1-23 – Ephesians Series, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1978, 94.

^[2] Ibid., 96-97.