Charles Hodge on Ephesians 1:11

V. 11. God having formed and revealed the purpose of gathering the redeemed as one body in Christ, it is in the execution of this purpose, the apostle says: ἐν ᾧ καὶ ἐκληρώθημεν, in whom we also have obtained an inheritance. By we, in this clause, is to be understood neither the apostle individually, nor believers indiscriminately, but we, who first hoped in Christ; we as contrasted with you also in v. 13; you who were formerly Gentiles in the flesh, 2, 11. It is, therefore, the Jewish Christians to whom this clause refers.

Have obtained an inheritance. The word κληρόω, means to cast lots, to distribute by lot, to choose by lot, and in the middle voice, to obtain by lot or inheritance, or simply, to obtain. There are three interpretations of the word ἐκληρώθημεν in this passage, all consistent with its signification and usage. 1. Some prefer the sense to choose: ‘In whom we also were chosen, as it were, by lot, i. e. freely.’ The Vulgate translates the passage: Sorte vocati sumus; and Erasmus: Sorte electi sumus. 2. As in the Old Testament the people of God are called his inheritance, many suppose the apostle has reference to that usage and meant to say: ‘In whom we have become the inheritance of God.’ 3. The majority of commentators prefer the interpretation adopted in our version: ‘In whom we have obtained an inheritance.’ This view is sustained by the following considerations. 1. Though the verb is in the passive, the above rendering may be justified either by the remark of Grotius: as the active form signifies to give a possession, the passive may signify to accept it;His words are: κληροῦν, dicitur, qui alteri dat possessionem, κληροῦσθαι, qui eam accipit. or by a reference to that usage of the passive voice illustrated in such passages as Rom. 3, 2. Gal. 2, 7. With verbs, which in the active have the accusative and dative, in the passive construction what was in the dative, becomes the nominative. Hence ἐκληρώθημεν is the same as ἐκλήρωσε ἡμῖν κληρονομίαν; just as πεπίστευμαι τὸ εὐαγγελιον is equivalent to ἐπίστευσέ μοι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον. 2. The inheritance of which the apostle speaks in the context, as in vs. 14 and 18, is that which believers enjoy. They are not themselves the inheritance, they are the heirs. Therefore in this place it is more natural to understand him as referring to what believers attain in Christ, than to their becoming the inheritance of God. As the Israelites of old obtained an inheritance in the promised land, so those in Christ become partakers of that heavenly inheritance which he has secured for them. To this analogy such frequent reference is made in Scripture as to leave little doubt as to the meaning of this passage. 3. The parallel passage in Col. 1, 12, also serves to determine the sense of the clause under consideration. What is there expressed by saying: ‘Hath made us partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light;’ is here expressed by saying: ‘We have obtained an inheritance.’ Καὶ, also, belongs to the verb and not to the pronoun implied in the form of the verb. The sense is not we also, i. e. we as well as other; but, ‘we have also obtained an inheritance.’ We have not only been made partakers of the knowledge of redemption, but are actually heirs of its blessings.

There are two sentiments with which the mind of the apostle was thoroughly imbued. The one is, a sense of the absolute supremacy of God, and the other a corresponding sense of the dependence of man and the consequent conviction of the entirely gratuitous nature of all the benefits of redemption. To these sentiments he seldom fails to give expression on any fit occasion. In the present instance having said we have in Christ obtained a glorious inheritance, the question suggests itself, Why? His answer is: Having been predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. It is neither by chance nor by our own desert or efforts, that we, and not others, have been thus highly favoured. It has been brought about according to the purpose and by the efficiency of God. What has happened He predetermined should occur; and to his "working" the event is to be exclusively referred. We are said to be predestinated, κατὰ πρόθεσιν, according to the purpose of God. In v. 5 the same thing is expressed by saying: ‘We were predestinated according to the good pleasure of his will;’ and in Rom. 8, 28, by saying: ‘We are called according to his purpose.’ Two things are included in these forms of expression. 1st. That what occurs was foreseen and foreordained. The plan of God embraced and ordered the events here referred to. 2d. That the ground or reason of these occurrences is to be sought in God, in the determination of his will. This however is not a singular case. The bringing certain persons to the enjoyment of the inheritance purchased by Christ, is not the only thing foreordained by God and brought about by his efficiency, and, therefore, the apostle generalizes the truth here expressed, by saying: ‘We are predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.’ Every thing is comprehended in his purpose, and every thing is ordered by his efficient control. That control, however, is exercised in accordance with the nature of his creatures, so that no violence is done to the constitution which he has given them. He is glorified, and his purposes are accomplished without any injustice or violence.

The counsel of his will, κατὰ τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ, means the counsel which has its origin in his will; neither suggested by others, nor determined by any thing out of himself. It is therefore equivalent to his sovereign will.