Ephesians 1:4

Then some common decency will not go amiss will it?

johnp.

 

Ben.

No I know that. I know what you mean but I live in the Spirit.
Some time ago a girl at my Church said she believed herself to be fruitless and useless. I told her that God had said, "JER 17:7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." 9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
It does not matter what we think if it is scriptural. The rebuke is scriptural.

What in Romans? Disturb and confuse is great what your problem with that? A valued technique bettered was it?

I am the JN 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Why should I not want anyone to arrive there? There is no 'a truths'.

I shall put the veil back on then when I talk to you ok? Thanks for telling me I reflect the Lord's glory.

HaHa! I thought you said that it was pointless to say 'heretic' because everyone can call everyone that. That is not a speck in you eyes it is the plank!

johnp.

 

THE MYSTERY OF SALVATION AND OF THE CHURCH, God's plan of salvation

Who else is it that anticipated the coming of the Christ, if not those whom God "elected" for his Chosen People, and out of whom Jesus "elected" his Apostles?....No, it was not the Ephesians who had not heard that there was a Messiah! Even if they had, they were gentiles, not of God's chosen race to whom the Messiah would come. So can that concept! Up to this point Paul is talking about the Apostles, the elect of God!

Now Paul is telling the Ephesians, that since you have heard the Gospel and chosen of your own free will to put your trust in it, you too have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise. And since Isaiah 40 declares that All mankind are grass, the Gospel message to mankind is therefore UNIVERSAL, meaning that Atonement is UNIVERSAL and that Salvation is UNIVERSAL. NO! It does not mean that ALL mankind are Saved, only that ALL mankind have equal opportunity to be SAVED through FAITH! For it is by grace that you are SAVED THROUGH FAITH.... (not election)

This clearly tells us that those who Anticipated the Messiah (Eph 3:12) had placed their hopes in a Messiah, before he came to them, and it is THOSE who anticipated the Messiah who ARE the disciples of the Christ (Messiah), and that Jesus chose from among them those that would be HIS Apostles! Those who anticipated the Messiah, were not the Priests, or the Sadducees and Pharisees or any other leaders of Israel, but were instead the "grass-roots" folks like lowly fisherman, tax-collectors, etc., just as it is now, some 2000 years after the Messiah was manifested in the flesh and walked among us!

This doesn't mean that All will believe and therefore experience salvation, but all will see it!

This simply points out that Ephesians 1 does not support Calvinism's theory of "the Elect" and Calvinism's adherents should stop using Ephesians 1 to support that doctrine!