A Look at Matthew 25:34 and Ephesians 1:4

 

Matthew 25:34 says, “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  Ephesians 1:4 says, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world…”

 

When looking at these two verses in the Greek New Testament (3rd Edition) we find that the Greek word kataboles is used in both the passages, though in English one is translated “from” and the other is translated “before.”  In Matthew 25, Jesus is still addressing what is referred to as the Olivet Discourse whose audience is the Jews and the future of Israel.  It is clear from both of these verses that the Sovereign God of the Bible does not make things up as the world progresses. Neither is He, as the deists claim, a God who sits back to watch the world unfold.  He is an immutable God who does not have a Plan B. Isaiah 46:10 reminds us of this, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will also do it.”  So, God is in complete control and knew everything about “the beginning and from ancient times…and things that are not yet done.” Nothing catches God off-guard or confuses Him.

 

In Matthew 25:34 we see that God had already prepared the kingdom “from the foundation of the world.”  This was not something that He had to suddenly do because of the circumstances. The purpose of this kingdom prepared is for the sheep which He mentions in verses 32 and 33.  Universalism is a false teaching that everyone will eventually go to heaven.  It is also a false teaching that God gives every single person the “opportunity” to go to heaven.  Here, scripture clearly states that there will be some who inherit the kingdom and some who will not.  That is why God does the separating and not man. And, when did God choose who was a sheep to inherit the kingdom of God and who was a goat who would go into “everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:46)?  It was “from the foundation of the world.” It did not happen following the creation or the Exodus or the destruction of the temple in AD 70 or after someone was born.  It did not happen under the influence of man. It happened “from the foundation of the world.”

 

In Ephesians 1:4a Paul writes, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world…” Again, this was not something that God did later on the following creation because the sinful man was so bad that he could not help himself to a salvific life.  God chose some to salvation “before the foundation of the world.” And, how did He do that? It clearly states, “Having predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself…” (Ephesians 1:5a).  And, why did He do that?  “According to the good pleasure of His will’ (Ephesians 1:5b).  Man is totally incapable of saving himself because scripture so clearly states over and over the inability and depravity of man.  God chose some unto salvation because all men cannot choose themselves for salvation, as so often is taught in pulpits today. This had to be done by God “before the foundation of the world” because God does not change because of man.

Once again, when the final judgment falls on man, God will separate the sheep from the goats, as He mentioned in Matthew 25 because He chose some unto salvation as is written in Ephesians 1.  And as a self-righteously smart man he thinks he is, man cannot always distinguish the sheep from the goats (Jude 4). When God did something before the “foundation of the world”, He did it for His “good pleasure.”  Man’s salvation is not a mystery to God Who waits upon man’s decision. He knew the sheep and the goats before “the foundation of the world” because He chose them as such.