Paul explicitly states the order in the previous chapter:
vv.13-14
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are Gods possessionto the praise of his glory.
Faith comes before the Holy Spirit seal. Ephesians 1:5 has not forgotten or ignored this fact. It just does not mention it until v.8 which has the grace coming through faith.
Perhaps it will surprise you to know that no Calvinist would disagree that faith comes before the indwelling of the Spirit. The problem here is that suddenly the definitions become fuzzy for you, such that you interchange regeneration with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and that without warrant, because they are not the same thing, at all...
If divine regeneration is the sine qua non of faith, then the Calvinist should be expected to explain why scripture does not say so. For it turns the Gospel on its head otherwise.
Divine regeneration the sine qua non of faith?? What ever are you going on about? Divine regeneration comes before faith, and is the reason that faith can be exercised toward Christ. It is the new birth, the beginning of spiritual life. It seems that many, if not most non-Calvinists are more concerned with single verses that state succinctly what they want to hear, than to understand that a theology built on single verses and soundbites is 10 miles square, and only half an inch deep.
Calvinists deal more in passages of Scripture, sometimes whole chapters, so that it can be more readily discerned the context and intent of the thoughts being expressed, and what they mean in the light of all of Scripture. We aren't big on soundbites, and single verses, which can seem to say one thing in isolation, but when considered in their context often say something far different.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever...that is, those He elected to regenerate...believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
Oh, aren't you clever, dragging that tired old straw man out yet again for another go at the flames! All for that magical word, "whosoever". It fairly rolls off the tongue, it sounds so-ooo spiritual, so authoritative. And yet all it means is "anyone who". It does not address ability, intent, or desire. The verse is in the literary form of "if A, then B", with an introduction which simply state that God loved the world in this way, and then proceeds with the "If A, then B", making a statement that by itself does not tell the whole of the Gospel, only the central part, that Christ died and in so doing, secured everlasting life for those who believe on Him. The verse does not concern itself with how they believe, why they believe, or even if anyone CAN believe. Those things are not addressed by this verse at all , in any way, shape, or form.
Because this verse does not impose limits, that doesn't mean that there are none. We find these things in other passages of the Scriptures, somewhat as a puzzle, that by study we can piece together and find the information that is not stated in one verse. Why God did it that way we may only speculate, but we do have to deal with it. We can only acknowledge that whatever His motives and reason for doing so, they were Good, Honorable, Just and Right, because as God, it is impossible for Him to fail to do and be those attributes of His Character.