Yesterday one of our pastors preached on Acts 20:17-38. In the sermon, Stan referred to Ephesians 1:3-14, which unpacks in some detail the "whole counsel of God" which Paul told the Ephesian elders he had made known to them (Acts 20:27).
As I read through Ephesians 1, I was struck by these words:
3 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, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace...
What particularly hit me was that in unpacking the extraordinary spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ, the very first things that Paul mentions are election ("Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world..."; the word "chose" is the Greek word for elect) and predestination.
A lot of Christians regard the doctrines of election and predestination as troublesome. To be sure, they are weighty matters. But they are often seen as divisive and more harmful than helpful. As a result, a lot of Christians avoid these doctrines when they come upon them in the Bible.
I found it interesting, then, that as Paul wanted to unpack the spiritual blessings that believers have in Christ, the first things he mentions are the doctrines of election and predestination. It doesn't seem that Paul regarded these doctrines as troublesome or harmful. He saw them as a wonderful part of the good that is ours in Christ.
So if you answered the question in the title of this post, "Yes!", then it might be a worthwhile use of time to explore these doctrines. For Paul sees them as great blessings that God is to be praised for, not as irrelevant, troublesome doctrines to avoid.
If you want to know where to get started in exploring these doctrines, I'd be happy to give some recommendations.
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