You Are Adopted, Not Abandoned | Ephesians 1:3–6

You Are Adopted, Not Abandoned | Ephesians 1:3–6

September 13, 2026 · 44 min

A historic London cathedral just signed a four-year contract to double as a nightclub. Dr. Abidan Shah opens this message standing right outside it, warning that what's happening in Europe — secularization, empty church buildings turned into pubs and clubs — isn't as far from us as we think. His answer isn't panic. It's Ephesians.Beginning a three-part series on how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each bless us in salvation, this message starts with God the Father and a doctrine a lot of us have misunderstood: election. Working through the Greek word for "choice" and Isaiah's prophecy of Jesus as God's Elect One, Dr. Shah makes the case that Paul was never saying God arbitrarily picked some people and rejected others before they were born. We are chosen in Him, not chosen to be in Him — elect only because we are in the Elect One, Jesus Christ. The message closes with what that actually means for anyone who's ever felt like an outsider in God's family, ending with an old story about a prodigal son too afraid to even look out the train window for a sign of welcome.0:00 – A Church Turned Into a Nightclub4:18 – Why Ephesians Matters Now More Than Ever8:01 – Does God Pick Some People and Reject Others?11:13 – Context: What Kind of Church Was Ephesus?17:36 – Jesus, the "Choice One" (Isaiah 42:1 and 1 Peter 2)24:14 – Chosen in Him, Not Chosen to Be in Him28:51 – Why This Makes All the Difference32:52 – How You're Actually Made Holy (Ephesians 5:26–27)36:56 – Salvation Isn't Adoption — It's the Benefit of It41:20 – The Entire Tree Covered in White Cloths

Dr. Abidan Shah78.8K followers

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Dr. Abidan Shah is a New Testament text critic, author, professor, and pastor of Clearview Church in North Carolina. His desire is to make biblical scholarship accessible and applicable to all people.