Looking into the Lectionary
Second Sunday of Christmas
January 4, 2026
Ephesians 1:3-14
There was a time when Presbyterians were so well known for one theological doctrine it became an intrinsic part of our personalities. If you told someone you were a Presbyterian, they would respond, “Ah, yes, so you believe in predestination.” But today many of us would scratch our heads and respond, “Predestination? Oh, well, um …”
The first Sunday of 2026, might be a good time to rediscover our theology of predestination with the opening chapter of Ephesians. The apostle Paul begins with an extended thanksgiving. Usually in his letters, Paul gives thanks for specific things about the particular congregation to which he is writing. However, the thanksgiving in Ephesians (actually one long sentence in Greek spanning 11 verses) is more cosmic in scale, perhaps even incorporating a traditional Jewish prayer of blessing to talk about the eternal plan and work of God through Jesus Christ.
The thanksgiving begins, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.”
A theology of predestination, or perhaps more precisely “election,” begins with the affirmation that God has chosen us in Christ. From Scripture’s beginning to its end, we find God choosing. God chooses to call creation into being. God chooses Noah; God chooses Abraham; God chooses Moses; God chooses Deborah; God chooses David; God chooses prophets; God chooses kings; God chooses a people; God chooses Mary. And here in Ephesians, God chooses us.
Several years ago, the hit television show “This is Us” followed the Pearson family with intertwining stories from several decades of the family’s life. It began with a young couple, Jack and Rebecca, expecting triplets. Rebecca goes into labor and gives birth to two healthy babies, but unfortunately the third tragically dies. Standing by the nursery, Jack sees an African American child, born on the same day as his children, but left on the doorstep of a fire station. Jack and Rebecca adopt this baby, whom they name Randall, so they bring home three babies from the hospital after all. The stories of this family, past, present, and in between, are moving illustrations of the power of love, the struggles all families face, and the bonds which are far deeper than blood.
In a later season, Randall is married to his wife Beth and they have two girls of their own. But Randall believes that they should also adopt a child and so he asks his mother about how she and Jack made the decision to adopt him. Rebecca responds in part,
“I said no. But your father was so sure. I was tired and I was grieving and he just kept pushing me. He was so determined that you were meant to be. Meant to be ours. … He pushed a stranger on me, and the stranger became my child and that child became my life. He became you.”
That is the doctrine of election. There was a baby, alone, every circumstance stacked against him, nothing to commend him to the world. And someone chose him. The apostle puts it this way: “God destined us for adoption as his children … according to the good pleasure of his will.” Out of God’s great love, God was so determined that you were meant to be that God chose you in Christ.
Being chosen in Christ is not just about an individual relationship with God, it is about being incorporated into a new family of God. A family that in the first century included both Jews and Gentiles. A family that gathers together today to praise God for a common calling and to share life and freedom with everyone — outsiders and insiders, enemies and friends; immigrants and citizens; Black and White; moral and immoral. The doctrine of predestination is a communal doctrine recognizing we are all made siblings of Jesus Christ.
I suspect many of us would like to know more about God’s choice. For example, who is chosen and is it everyone? We long to see behind the curtain of God’s mind. But as we begin a new year the mystery that has been revealed to us is this: God chooses us in Jesus Christ with a plan “to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” The doctrine of predestination can ultimately be a comfort for we know the God who chooses is the God who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whosoever believes in him might not perish.
So the next time someone asks you if you believe in predestination, you can respond, “Well yes, I believe God chooses us in Christ.”
Questions for reflection on Ephesians 1:3-14
- Has anyone ever asked you about the doctrine of predestination? What was your response?
- Does considering predestination through the lens of adoption present a different understanding for you than focusing on God’s eternal decrees?
- Do you find the doctrine of predestination or election to be comforting or challenging as you enter this new year?
- What additional questions do you have about the doctrine of predestination? You might search “Predestination” on pres-outlook.org to learn more.
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