Love Before the Foundation of the World

The opening section explains that the book of Ephesians was written by Apostle Paul while imprisoned in Rome and is divided into two main parts: the first part (chapters 1-3) teaches fundamental doctrines such as salvation, while the latter part (chapters 4-6) provides practical instruction about Christian living, marriage, family, work, and spiritual warfare. The word "Therefore" at the beginning of chapter 4 demonstrates that all practical teaching is grounded in the foundational doctrines from the preceding chapters.

The second section develops the thesis that doctrine and faith are absolutely essential and inseparable from Christian living. The author uses the Israeli-Hamas conflict as an example to prove that fundamental beliefs and doctrines are the foundation of human actions. He shows that Hamas followers commit acts of violence against Jews because of their religious belief, and even President Thomas Jefferson, though claiming doctrine is unimportant, actually based his philosophy on a fundamental doctrine—that only good deeds matter. Jefferson's words are self-contradictory because he says one should not persuade others to believe as he does, yet he attempts to persuade the woman to whom he writes to believe his philosophy.

The third section explains that Christian salvation doctrine is completely different from other religions. Buddhism teaches that through effort one can achieve nirvana; Islam teaches that through piety one can be saved. But Scripture teaches that no human effort, struggle, or merit can lead to salvation—only through God's grace alone, only through the love of God are we chosen before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:3-14 lists the wonderful blessings God gives to believers: chosen to be holy, adopted as God's children, redeemed, forgiven of sins, given grace, enabled to understand God's mystery, made heirs, and sealed by the Holy Spirit.

The fourth section analyzes the question "Does God choose me or do I choose God?" The sermon explains that from the human perspective, it appears we choose God when we believe; but from God's perspective, as taught in Scripture, God's choice comes first and is the basis for our choice. A pastor illustrates this with the image of heaven's gate: outside the gate you see the words "I choose God", but once you enter and look back, you see "God chose me". The reason God chose us is not because we are good, talented, or worthy, but entirely because of God's love and grace. This is crucial because it ensures that no one can boast about their salvation—all is due to God's grace.

The final section applies the message to practical life by explaining why, according to human nature, people cannot help but choose sin and cannot of themselves desire to come to God. Just as a dog naturally chooses meat over vegetables, human nature inherently does not want to come to God. But when the Holy Spirit touches someone's heart, when Jesus Christ knocks on their heart's door inviting them into life, then a person becomes willing to believe. This phenomenon can only occur because the Holy Spirit has done this work, proving that the person was appointed and chosen by God before the foundation of the world. The sermon concludes with a story of a pastor with a young woman of ill repute who feared her sins were too great for God to forgive, but when she felt a longing to seek God, that very longing proved the Holy Spirit had touched her heart.