In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will:
Read Chapter 1
George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
In Christ we also are called by lot; i.e. to this happy lot, this share and state of eternal happiness, (he seems to speak with an allusion to the manner by which the lands of a temporal inheritance was distributed to the Israelites, in Palestine) that we (ver. 12) who are saved, may be to the praise of his glory; might praise God for ever in the kingdom of his glory; particularly we Jews, who before hoped in the Messias to come, and also you Gentiles, who now having heard the gospel, have believed in Christ, and who, together with all Christians, have been now sealed as it were with the holy Spirit of promise; i.e. by the Spirit promised, and all those spiritual graces which are an earnest and pledge, which give us an assurance of our future glory and happiness. For our redemption from our sins, and in order to the acquired possession, to the possession of that glorious happiness which Christ, by his incarnation and death, hath acquired for us. (Witham)
Paul earnestly endeavors on all occasions to display the unspeakable loving-kindness of God towards us, to the utmost of his power. For that it is impossible to do so adequately, hear his own words. O! The depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God; how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past tracing out. Romans 11:33 Still, notwithstanding, so far as it is possible, he does display it. What then is this which he is saying; In whom also we were made a heritage, being predestinated? Above he used the word, He chose us; here he says, we were made a heritage. But inasmuch as a lot is a matter of chance, not of deliberate choice, nor of virtue, (for it is closely allied to ignorance and accident, and oftentimes passing over the virtuous, brings forward the worthless into notice,) observe how he corrects this very point: having been foreordained, says he, according to the purpose of Him who works all things. That is to say, not merely have we been made a heritage,...
Since inheritance is a matter of fortune, not of choice or virtue, it often depends on obscure or fortuitous circumstances, overlooking virtue. It may bring to the fore those who are of no account. But notice how Paul qualifies this statement. … He says “have been destined,” that is, God has set us apart for himself. It is as if to say God saw us before we became heirs. The foreknowledge of God is wonderful and sees all things before they occur. .
