Eph 1:5 in the KJV reads as follows:
Having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the
good pleasure of his will.
In the Douay-Rheims, the verse is rendered
as follows:
Who hath
predestinated us unto the adoption of children through Jesus Christ unto
himself: according to the purpose of his will.
On the meaning of “good pleasure of his
will”/”purpose of his will,” Robert Sungenis wrote the following, showing that
it is not arbitrary or does not take into account free-will action of human
agents, etc:
7 “purpose
of his will”: Gr: τὴν εὐδοκίαν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ:, perhaps better translated as the more
subjective “good pleasure of his will” (as in vr. 9)
rather than the objective “purpose,” since εὐδοκίαν is
normally used as such in the NT (cf. Gl
1:15; Cl 1:19; 1Th 3:1; 2Pt 1:17). Paul does not say “according to his will”
but what is ‘pleasing to’ or the ‘good pleasure’ of his will. As such, the
election is not procured in an absolute sense (e.g., the Calvinistic or Lutheran concept of
supralapsarianism) wherein God saves or damns without regard of man’s free will
response. Neither does God have a “secret will” wherein the criteria for the
election is hidden since, as vr. 9
indicates, God already made “known unto us the mystery of his will” in the
Gospel, and the Gospel certainly includes man’s free will as an integral part
of salvation. (Robert Sungenis, The Epistles to the Ephesians and Hebrews
[Catholic Apologetics Study Bible VIII; State Line, Pa.: Catholic Apologetics
International Publishing, Inc., 2019], 5 n. 7)
In his excellent book on justification, Sungenis also noted that:
Paul uses three different words to describe man’s quest for God: The
first word, ζητειν (“to seek”), is the ordinary word the New Testament uses for
seeking God (e.g., Mt 6:33; 7:7-8; Lk 12:31; 17:33; Rm 2:7; Cl 3:1), and
is used here as an infinitive of purpose, i.e., it is the purpose of God for
men to seek him. The second word, ψηλαφησειαν (“reach out for him”), appears
three other times in the New Testament in reference to feeling or touching God
or Jesus (e.g., Lk 24:39; Hb 12:18; 1Jn 1:1). The third word, ευριεν is
the ordinary word for “find.” Both ψηλαφησειαν and ευριεν are optative verb
forms through which Paul is expressing a clear and distinct expectation from
men. Paul reinforces this expectation by καιγε ου μακραν απο ενος εκαστου ημων
υπαρχοντα (“though he is not far from each one of us”) preceded by the strong
conditional ει αρα γε (“so that” or more emphatically “if then” or “if
therefore” (as αρα γε is used in Mt 7:20; 17:26), and by the strengthened και
with the addition of γε to read “even being not far from each one of
us”). Also, the expectation of the each individual to seek
God, not merely men as a group seeking God, is made emphatic by Paul’s addition
of “each one of us.” (Robert A. Sungenis, Not by Faith Alone: The
Biblical Evidence for the Catholic Doctrine of Justification [2d ed.;
Catholic Apologetics International Publishing, Inc., 2009], 398 n. 483)
Further Reading
An Examination and Critique of the Theological Presuppositions Underlying Reformed Theology