Discovery BoxEphesians 1:11 
Context1:11 In Christ 1 we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, 2 since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will
Ephesians 1:21
Context1:21 far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
1 tn Grk “in whom,” as a continuation of the previous verse.
2 tn Grk “we were appointed by lot.” The notion of the verb κληρόω (klhrow) in the OT was to “appoint a portion by lot” (the more frequent cognate verb κληρονομέω [klhronomew] meant “obtain a portion by lot”). In the passive, as here, the idea is that “we were appointed [as a portion] by lot” (BDAG 548 s.v. κληρόω 1). The words “God’s own” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this sense of the verb. An alternative interpretation is that believers receive a portion as an inheritance: “In Christ we too have been appointed a portion of the inheritance.” See H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 226-27, for discussion on this interpretive issue.
sn God’s own possession. Although God is not mentioned explicitly in the Greek text, it is clear from the context that he has chosen believers for himself. Just as with the nation Israel, the church is God’s chosen portion or possession (cf. Deut 32:8-9).
