Free Will vs. Predestination

Do we choose God, or does God choose us? This has been a question of the Church for years. My church, Calvary Chapel of Delaware County, explained the answer to this desired question by exploring the letter of Paul to the Ephesians. In Ephesians 1:5 Paul declares, "having predestined us to adoption a sons by Jesus Christ Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,"while in Ephesians 1:12 Paul says, "that who should first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory"(KJV). Paul just contradicted himself by saying that God chooses us before we were born, or we should be praised because we choosed God to be our Savior.

 God working in our lives through his presentation and our free-will

Answer: God's mind has a greater infidelity than ours. We can not understand His ways. God is more involved in our lives than we think. When we choose God's Salvation in free-will the Holy Spirit is right behind us leading us to the choice. My pastor described God's ways like a big dixie cup. The cup can be viewed  like a cone, circle, or triangle. There no easy human understanding of God. Only the divine knowledge of God knows the answer. The good news is God did not elect anyone for Hell. The Bible making these two contractions in the same chapter shows the Holy Spirt wrote those verses. Man would have perfected the contraction. We can not tend the Bible to our needs, but read it as it is. In the end, God's ways will be always higher than our ways.

Verse of Encouragement!

 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 

in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV).

Calvary Chapel of Delaware County, Chadds Ford, Pa
Speech Link: http://www.ccdelco.com/message-library/