Predestinating Them, Marking Them Out, 
unto Sonship, Making Them Sons 
to Himself with His Divine Life

In eternity past God predestinated us, marking us out, unto sonship, making us sons to Himself with His divine life (Eph. 1:5a). Thus, God blessed us in eternity past with two things—with His nature and with His divine life. This is the top blessing, which was given to us in eternity past before we were born.

According to the Good Pleasure of His Will 
to the Praise of the Glory of His Grace

God’s blessing us in eternity past with the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies was according to the good pleasure of His will (v. 5b) to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He graced us in Christ, His Beloved (v. 6).

This is God’s history in eternity past and this involves us. In eternity past God made an economy to produce the church for His manifestation and to head up all things, including us, in Christ. He also held a council to determine that the second of the Divine Trinity should come to die for us to carry out His economy. Then in eternity past He chose us to have His nature and to have His divine life so that we could be holy as He is and be His sons as His children to express Him. This is God’s history in eternity past, and this history is our history. The Christian life began from God’s choosing us and predestinating us in eternity past before the foundation of the world.

We need to know God in such a way from a deeper angle. Our God has a marvelous history, which includes us. Actually, whatever He has done, whatever He is doing, and whatever He will do in His history are all for our Christian life. His history builds up our Christian life.