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, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:3–14, ESV)Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Star Wars, Return of the Jedi, Episode VI in the Saga. Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader have it out in a last epic struggle. After a long series of blows, Luke finally wins the fight by cutting off Vader’s hand. The evil emperor, watching over the event, tells Luke to “fulfill his destiny,” kill the man he now knows to be his father and take his place at the emperor’s side and rule the galaxy with him. Luke refuses his “destiny”, at least the one the emperor said he had.
The idea of having a destiny is very popular in the movies and it isn’t outside of Christian belief either. It is in fact at the heart of what we believe. We are born with a particular future. But that leaves a question.
Is your destiny the destiny one that you would wish to fulfill?
The text says we are “predestined”, that “God has predestined us.” It gives some possibilities, doesn’t it? It’s a bit unnerving. We sometimes get the idea that our destiny with God is carved in concrete from all eternity. Like, being “destined” to meet the perfect spouse, or serving God in a particular vocation. If it’s not “meant to be” then you just lose out. If you make the wrong move you are out of God’s plan for your life.
John Calvin, a Swiss Theologian (and father of many of the non-Lutheran protestant denominations) that was a generation younger than Martin Luther talked a lot about Predestination. He said that everyone was predestined by God for one of two eternities. Heaven or Hell. Calvin said, before God made the world, he determined the final destination of every single human that would ever live. It was set in eternal concrete, God’s unchangeable plan. Some people were set for heaven and others set for hell.
John Calvin was wrong in one particular, very important way. Look at you: We have all been born destined to sin. Even though God created everything perfect, Adam and Eve brought sin into the world and saddled us with it. We say we are “by nature, sinful”. We sin often, and often we like it. And oh, how easy it is to sin with the world, and our sinful flesh, and the world, backs us up. Lots of people think that Christianity is a way to stop sinning. But we don’t. Our old sinful nature keeps up its bad habits, we are often tempted and often fall. Christians are often seen dishonoring the name of Christ. Are we just living up to our destiny?
Doesn’t God predestine us to be saved? Yes. It was always God’s plan to save his people. You might even say our destiny was born on Christmas morning. The baby in the manger, Jesus Christ, is God’s promised plan of salvation in a picture we can understand. The re-creation of everything begins with God-in-Human-Flesh Jesus. Our destiny is made perfect in his death on the cross. Forgiveness of sin is an essential part of our destiny.
And yet, God demands perfection. He can’t do anything else because he is perfect and holy. The great news is that he provides the perfection he requires. Jesus is God, perfect and holy. He takes on human flesh to be perfect for us, to live up to God’s expectation for us. Through faith in Jesus and his life, death and resurrection Jesus perfect life is accounted to us. Our destiny is in Christ Jesus. God declares us to be perfect because of Jesus. That is how we will be judged according to Jesus, not according to what we have done. We are predestined to heaven.
How can we know? Listen again:
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, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:3–6, ESV)“In love he predestined us”; “He chose us!” it’s done, not might be done, but a done deal. “He has freely given.” There is no fear, threat or uncertainty. John Calvin was just wrong. The bible only speaks of one predestination, that of those adopted as Sons through Jesus Christ. It doesn’t say that he predestines people to hell. It sounds like a contradiction. But we can only go by what scripture says. God views all people the same. God wants all people to be save. And yet, some go to hell. God has done everything necessary to save us, in Jesus Christ. If we are save God is the reason. If we are not, it is solely our own doing.
The great thing is that God has also chosen to save us from our destiny to sin. It is in the promises made to us in Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. In these wonderful gifts God gives the gift of Jesus himself. We are predestined always, in Christ Jesus. Baptism is a re-creation of who we are. We receive Jesus perfect life, and our old sinful nature is drowned in the water. We are called, that is baptized, into the perfect name of God. We receive forgiveness, life and salvation though Jesus. We have all the blessings promised by the Father to the ones he loves. And Baptism isn’t just true when your head is still wet. It’s true every day of your life after. It’s God’s way of giving you something to look at, see and feel. “I’ve been baptized!”
We are not destined to be enslaved by sin and death. We are predestined to be saved. Jesus became a complete human being, just like you and me. He chose to come and live a perfect life in the place of imperfect people. You have been baptized into Jesus. You have forgiveness of all your sins. Jesus perfect life has been accounted to you. Your destiny is to be raised from your death to eternal life with all those who are “in Christ”. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
