Ephesians 1:4

Ephesians 1:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
• New International Version (NIV)For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
• English Standard Version (ESV)even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
• New King James Version (NKJV)just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

Context of Ephesians 1:4

2I pray that God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to help you. I pray that they will give you peace in your minds. 3We praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has blessed us in very many ways. Because we belong to Christ, we enjoy all the good things that come from heaven. God blesses our spirits with those good things. Before God made the world, he chose us to be his people because of Christ. He chose us so that we would please him. Because we belong to Christ, God accepts us as completely good. This shows how much he loves us. 5Long ago, he already decided to accept us into his family as his children, because of Jesus Christ. He chose us to belong to him because it made him very happy. 6As a result, we praise him, because he is great and he has been so kind to us. He has given us so much because of his Son, whom he loves very much.

Ephesians 1:4 word by word

καθὼς ἐξελέξατο ἡμᾶς ἐν αὐτῷ πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου εἶναι ἡμᾶς ἁγίους καὶ ἀμώμους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• According asκαθώςkathōs · as/just asG2531
• he hath chosenἐκλέγωeklegomai · to selectG1586
• usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• beforeπρόpro · beforeG4253
• the foundationκαταβολήkatabolē · beginningG2602
• of the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• should beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• without blameἄμωμοςamōmos · blamelessG299
• beforeκατενώπιονkatenōpion · beforeG2714
• loveἀγάπηagapē · loveG26

Cross-references for Ephesians 1:4

• Deuteronomy 7:6Remember that you are a special people who belong to the Lord your God. He has chosen you for himself out of all the other people who live on the earth. He loves you as his special people.
• Psalms 135:4The Lord chose Jacob's family for himself. Yes, he chose Israel's people to belong to him.
• Isaiah 41:8‘But you, Israel, are my servant. Yes, I have chosen you, descendants of Jacob. You are descendants of my friend, Abraham.
• Isaiah 42:1‘Here is my servant. I give him strength. I have chosen him. He makes me very happy. I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.
• Isaiah 65:8This is what the Lord says: ‘If grapes still have some juice in them, someone will say, “Do not destroy them. There is some juice there that we can use.” I will do the same thing for my servants. I will not destroy them all.
• Matthew 11:25At this moment, Jesus said, ‘Father, you rule over everything in heaven and on the earth! People who do not know many things can now understand your message. And so I thank you. But you have hidden these things from some other people. Those people think that they understand everything. They think that they are wise.
• Matthew 24:22God will cause those days of great trouble to be not so many. If he did not do that, there would be nobody still alive. But God will cause those days to come to an end. He will do that to help the people that he has chosen.
• Matthew 24:31People will hear the sound of a loud trumpet. The Son of Man will send out his angels. They will go in every direction. They will bring together all the people that God has chosen from every part of the earth and from every part of the sky.’
• John 10:16I also have other sheep, and I must bring them too. They do not belong to this group of sheep. But they also will listen to my voice. So all the sheep will become one group, and they will have one shepherd.
• Acts 13:48When the Gentiles there heard this, they were very happy. They thanked God for the message about the Lord Jesus. Many people believed in Jesus. They were the people that God had chosen to have true life with him.
• Acts 18:10I am here with you. Nobody will hurt you. There are many people in this city who will believe in me.’
• Romans 8:28We know that God works to help those people who love him. He uses everything that happens to them to bring something good. He does this for those people that he has chosen to serve him.
• Romans 9:23Other people are like valuable pots that God has chosen to make. God wants to be kind to people like that. He wants to use them to show people how great he is. He has prepared them to be with him for a special party in heaven.
• Romans 11:5It is the same at this time too. There is a small number of Israel's people that God has chosen to trust him. He has chosen them because he is very kind.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:13We always thank God for you, our Christian friends that the Lord loves. We ought to thank God, because he has chosen to save you. God chose you to belong to him, as some of the first people that he would save. You believed God's true message. And God's Spirit makes you separate from things that are bad.
• 2 Timothy 2:10So I continue to be patient and brave during all these troubles. I do that so that I can help the people that God has chosen to belong to him. I want God to save them too, because of what Christ Jesus has done for them. As a result, they will live with God for ever, in the beautiful place where he lives.

Commentaries on Ephesians 1:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4According as he hath chosen us in him - As he has decreed from the beginning of the world, and has kept in view from the commencement of the religious system of the Jews, (which the phrase sometimes means), to bring us Gentiles to the knowledge of this glorious state of salvation by Christ Jesus. The Jews considered themselves an elect or chosen people, and wished to monopolize the whole of the Divine love and beneficence. The apostle here shows that God…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4According as - The importance of this verse will render proper a somewhat minute examination of the words and phrases of which it is composed. The general sense of the passage is, that these blessings pertaining to heaven were bestowed upon Christians in accordance with an eternal purpose. They were not conferred by chance or hap-hazard. They were the result of intention and design on the part of God. Their value was greatly enhanced from the fact that…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-8Verses 3-8 Spiritual and heavenly blessings are the best blessings; with which we cannot be miserable, and without which we cannot but be so. This was from the choice of them in Christ, before the foundation of the world, that they should be made holy by separation from sin, being set apart to God, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, in consequence of their election in Christ. All who are chosen to happiness as the end, are chosen to holiness as the means…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4God's people are holy and without fault in his eyes because they trust in Christ's sacrifice to atone for their sins (see 1:7; 5:25–27; Colossians 1:22; Titus 3:5–7; Jude 1:24).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. hath chosen us--Greek, "chose us out for Himself" (namely, out of the world, Ga 1:4): referring to His original choice, spoken of as past. in him--The repetition of the idea, "in Christ" (Ep 1:3), implies the paramount importance of the truth that it is in Him, and by virtue of union to Him, the Second Adam, the Restorer ordained for us from everlasting, the Head of redeemed humanity, believers have all their blessings (Ep 3:11). before the foundation…Read the comment

Topics related to Ephesians 1:4

• Atonement
• Election
• God Continued...
• Holiness
• Predestination
• Righteous
• Salvation
• Sanctification

In the dictionaries

• Blame
• Decrees of God
• Election of Grace
• Ephesians, Epistle to
• Eye
• Holiness
• Mystery
• Obtain
• Predestinate
• Purpose

Commentaries on Ephesians 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings