In John Piper's profound sermon on Ephesians 1, we encounter one of the most mind-expanding concepts in Christian theology: the doctrine of election. Before time began, before the universe existed, God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless before Him. This isn't just abstract theology—it's the bedrock of our salvation and the source of our deepest joy.
The sermon begins by highlighting Paul's declaration in Ephesians 1:4: "He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." This verse immediately pulls us into the eternal mind of God, revealing that our salvation wasn't an afterthought but part of God's perfect plan from eternity past. Piper emphasizes that this is "the purpose of our election"—God didn't just save us from something, He saved us for something: holiness and blamelessness before Him.
What makes this doctrine so revolutionary is how it reframes our understanding of grace. As Piper eloquently argues, God's choice was completely unconditional. How do we know? Because He chose us "before the foundation of the world," before we existed, before we could do anything to merit His favor. This timing is crucial because it eliminates any possibility that God's choice was based on foreseen faith or good works. As Piper puts it, "He predestined you... and the point of stressing that you didn't exist is to say His grace was free, unconditional."
This understanding transforms how we view ourselves and our salvation. Many Christians have been taught that they were decisive in their salvation—that at the moment of conversion, they exercised their free will to choose God. But Piper challenges this notion by asking a penetrating question: When you moved from death to life, "was your decisive self-determination the key... or was the grace of God decisive?" The biblical answer, according to Piper, is unequivocally that God's grace was decisive.
The sermon then explores the deeper roots of God's election. Paul doesn't just tell us that God chose us; he takes us beneath election, beneath predestination, to what moved God to choose us. Phrases like "according to the purpose of his will" and "according to the good pleasure of his will" reveal that God's choice emerged from nothing outside Himself. It wasn't prompted by anything we would do or become—it flowed solely from His own good pleasure.
Perhaps the most powerful aspect of this sermon is how Piper connects this theology to worship. Why do Christians gather to sing and celebrate? Not to praise human self-determination but to marvel at sovereign grace. "I'm saved by sovereign grace. I didn't do this," Piper exclaims. "I was plucked out of that horrible, rebellious humanity for nothing in me." This realization produces genuine praise that no artificial intelligence could ever replicate. True praise isn't just words—it's feeling "the worth of grace, the glory of grace, the beauty of grace, the wonder of grace."
In conclusion, Piper reminds us that we were created for praise—not just to speak words but to feel and demonstrate the preciousness of God's grace. This is our eternal purpose: to be living testimonies to "the praise of the glory of His grace."
