Reference: Election
Fausets
(See ELECT.)
Hastings
The idea of election, as expressive of God's method of accomplishing His purpose for the world in both providence and grace, though (as befits the character of the Bible as peculiarly 'the history of redemption') especially in grace, goes to the heart of Scripture teaching. The word 'election' itself occurs but a few times (Ac 9:15 'vessel of election,' Ro 9:11; 11:5,7,28; 1Th 1:4; 2Pe 1:10); 'elect' in NT much oftener (see below); but equivalent words in OT and NT, as 'choose,' 'chosen,' 'foreknow' (in sense of 'fore-designate'), etc., considerably extend the range of usage. In the OT, as will be seen, the special object of the Divine election is Israel (e.g. De 4:37; 7:7 etc.); but within Israel are special elections, as of the tribe of Levi, the house of Aaron, Judah, David and his house, etc.; while, in a broader sense, the idea, if not the expression, is present wherever individuals are raised up, or separated, for special service (thus of Cyrus, Isa 44:28; 45:1-6). In the NT the term 'elect' is frequently used, both by Christ and by the Apostles, for those who are heirs of salvation (e.g. 24/22'>Mt 24:22,24,31; Lu 18:7; Ro 8:33; Col 3:12; 2Ti 2:10; Tit 1:1; 1Pe 1:2), and the Church, as the new Israel, is described as 'an elect race' (1Pe 2:9). Jesus Himself is called, with reference to Isa 42:1, God's 'chosen' or 'elect' One (Mt 12:18; Lu 9:35 RV, Lu 23:35); and mention is once made of 'elect' angels (1Ti 5:21). In St. Paul's Epistles the idea has great prominence (Ro 9; Eph 1:4 etc.). It is now necessary to investigate the implications of this idea more carefully.
Election, etymologically, is the choice of one, or of some, out of many. In the usage we are investigating, election is always, and only, of God. It is the method by which, in the exercise of His holy freedom, He carries out His purpose ('the purpose of God according to election,' Ro 9:11). The 'call' which brings the election to light, as in the call of Abraham, Israel, believers, is in time, but the call rests on God's prior, eternal determination (Ro 8:28-29). Israel was chosen of God's free love (De 7:6 ff.); believers are declared to be blessed in Christ, 'even as he chose' them 'in him'
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And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself. read more. 'Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel."
"Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
"Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power,
"For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah.
"Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an oak Whose stump remains when it is felled The holy seed is its stump."
Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait for the LORD who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for Him. read more. Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.
Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the LORD? You have seen many things, but you do not observe them; Your ears are open, but none hears.
"It is I who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire ' And he declares of Jerusalem, 'She will be built,' And of the temple, 'Your foundation will be laid.'"
Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: "I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. read more. "I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. "For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me. "I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God I will gird you, though you have not known Me;
"I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God I will gird you, though you have not known Me; That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other,
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."
"You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; read more. nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
"BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.
"Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
"And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!"
now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?
And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One."
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
"This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
"This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
"To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. "When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. read more. "A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. read more. "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.
But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,
When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."
to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.'
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies;
Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies;
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
But it is not as though the word of God has failed For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but: "THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED." read more. That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. For this is the word of promise: "AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON." And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,
for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,
for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,
for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, "THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER." read more. Just as it is written, "JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED." What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!
So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice.
In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice.
What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;
What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;
For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God's choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;
also greet the church that is in their house Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.
For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. read more. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him In love
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him In love
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him In love
to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.
Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,
so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.
looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,
Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,
Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.
Morish
??????, 'choice.' Spoken of :
1. the Lord Jesus: "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect (bachir) in whom my soul delighteth." Isa 42:1; 1Pe 2:6. He was fore-ordained to be a mercy-seat through faith in His blood. Ro 3:25, margin; 1Pe 1:20.
2. Cyrus, who was called by God to be His 'shepherd' to work out His will, saying to Jerusalem, "Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid." Isa 44:28; 45:1-4. It was Cyrus who released the captives to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Ezr 1:2-3.
3. When Jacob and Esau were born, Jacob was elected for blessing, and his descendants as the only nation chosen by God for His special favour. Ro 9:11-13; Am 3:2.
4. When God again restores Israel into blessing it will be a remnant that will be chosen, whom He calls His 'elect.' Isa 65:9,15,22; 24/22'>Mt 24:22,24,31; Ro 11:28.
5. Elect angels. 1Ti 5:21.
6. Election of persons to eternal life. Ro 8:29-30,33; 11:5,7; Col 3:12; 1Th 1:4; 2Ti 2:10; Tit 1:1; 1Pe 1:2; 5:13; 2Pe 1:10; 2Jo 1:13.
The reason Christians feel a difficulty as to the doctrine of election to eternal life, is because they do not see the extent of the fall of man, and his utterly lost condition. Were it not for election, and the prevailing grace that follows it, not one would be saved. Christ died for all, and the gospel is proclaimed to all, Ro 3:22; Heb 2:9; but alas, except for the election and grace of God, none would respond. Lu 14:18. God must have all the glory.
Another error that has caused a difficulty as to 'election ' is the idea which some maintain that as some are ordained to eternal life, others likewise are fore-ordained by God to perdition, called 'reprobation.' But this is not taught in scripture
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"Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, 'The LORD your God gives you rest and will give you this land.'
"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 'Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.
"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.
"It is I who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire ' And he declares of Jerusalem, 'She will be built,' And of the temple, 'Your foundation will be laid.'"
Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: "I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. read more. "I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. "For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me.
"I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, And an heir of My mountains from Judah; Even My chosen ones shall inherit it, And My servants will dwell there.
"You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones, And the Lord GOD will slay you But My servants will be called by another name.
"They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands.
"You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."
"Because of violence to your brother Jacob, You will be covered with shame, And you will be cut off forever.
but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness."
"Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
"And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, 'I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.'
even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies;
for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, "THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER." read more. Just as it is written, "JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED."
In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice.
What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;
From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God's choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.
Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,
not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.
But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you
Watsons
ELECTION. Of a divine election, a choosing and separating from others, we have three kinds mentioned in the Scriptures. The first is the election of individuals to perform some particular and special service. Cyrus was "elected" to rebuild the temple; the twelve Apostles were "chosen," elected, to their office by Christ; St. Paul was a "chosen," or elected "vessel," to be the Apostle of the Gentiles. The second kind of election which we find in Scripture, is the election of nations, or bodies of people, to eminent religious privileges, and in order to accomplish, by their superior illumination, the merciful purposes of God, in benefiting other nations or bodies of people. Thus the descendants of Abraham, the Jews, were chosen to receive special revelations of truth; and to be "the people of God," that is, his visible church, publicly to observe and uphold his worship. "The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth." "The Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you, above all people." It was especially on account of the application of the terms elect, chosen, and peculiar, to the Jewish people, that they were so familiarly used by the Apostles in their epistles addressed to the believing Jews and Gentiles, then constituting the church of Christ in various places. For Christians were the subjects, also, of this second kind of election; the election of bodies of men to be the visible people and church of God in the world, and to be endowed with peculiar privileges. Thus they became, though in a more special and exalted sense, the chosen people, the elect of God. We say "in a more special sense," because as the entrance into the Jewish church was by natural birth, and the entrance into the Christian church, properly so called, is by faith and a spiritual birth, these terms, although many became Christians by mere profession, and enjoyed various priviledges in consequence of their people or nation being chosen to receive the Gospel, have generally respect, in the New Testament, to bodies of true believers, or to the whole body of true believers as such. They are not, therefore, to be interpreted according to the scheme of Dr. Taylor of Norwich, by the constitution of the Jewish, but by the constitution of the Christian, church.
2. To understand the nature of this "election," as applied sometimes to particular bodies of Christians, as when St. Peter says, "The church which is at Babylon, elected together with you," and sometimes to the whole body of believers every where; and also the reason of the frequent use of the term election, and of the occurrence of allusions to the fact; it is to be remembered, that a great religious revolution, so to speak, had occurred in the age of the Apostles; with the full import of which we cannot, without calling in the aid of a little reflection, be adequately impressed. This change was no other than the abrogation of the church state of the Jews, which had continued for so many ages. They had been the only visibly acknowledged people of God in all the nations of the earth; for whatever pious people might have existed in other nations, they were not, in the sight of men, and collectively, acknowledged as "the people of Jehovah." They had no written revelations, no appointed ministry, no forms of authorized initiation into his church and covenant, no appointed holy days, or sanctioned ritual. All these were peculiar to the Jews, who were, therefore, an elected and peculiar people. This distinguished honour they were about to lose. They might have retained it as Christians, had they been willing to admit the believing Gentiles of all nations to share it with them; but the great reason of their peculiarity and election, as a nation, was terminated by the coming of the Messiah, who was to be "a light to lighten the Gentiles," as well as "the glory of his people Israel." Their pride and consequent unbelief resented this, which will explain their enmity to the believing part of the Gentiles, who, when that which St. Paul calls "the fellowship of the mystery" was fully explained, chiefly by the glorious ministry of that Apostle himself, were called into that church relation and visible acknowledgment as the people of God, which the Jews had formerly enjoyed, and that with even a higher degree of glory, in proportion to the superior spirituality of the new dispensation. It was this doctrine which excited that strong irritation in the minds of the unbelieving Jews, and in some partially Christianized ones, to which so many references are made in the New Testament. The were "provoked," were made "jealous;" and were often roused to the madness of persecuting opposition by it. There was then a new election of a new people of God, to be composed of Jews, not by virtue of their natural descent, but through their faith in Christ, and of Gentiles of all nations, also believing, and put as believers, on an equal ground with the believing Jews: and there was also a rejection, a reprobation, but not an absolute one; for the election was offered to the Jews first, in every place, by offering them the Gospel. Some embraced it, and submitted to be the elect people of God, on the new ground of faith, instead of the old one of natural descent; and therefore the Apostle, Ro 11:7, calls the believing part of the Jews, "the election," in opposition to those who opposed this "election of grace," and still clung to their former and now repealed election as Jews and the descendants of Abraham; "But the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded." The offer had been made to the whole nation; all might have joined the one body of believing Jews and believing Gentiles; but the major part of them refused: they would not "come into the supper;" they made "light of it;" light of an election founded on faith, and which placed the relation of "the people of God" upon spiritual attainments, and offered to them only spiritual blessings. They were, therefore, deprived of election and church relationship of every kind: their temple was burned; their political state abolished; their genealogies confounded; their worship annihilated; and all visible acknowledgment of them by God as a church withdrawn, and transfer red to a church henceforward to be composed chiefly of Gentiles:
and thus, says St. Paul, "were fulfilled the words of Moses, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish," ignorant and idolatrous, "people I will anger you." It is easy, therefore, to see what is the import of the "calling" and "election" of the Christian church, as spoken of in the New Testament. It was not the calling and the electing of one nation in particular to succeed the Jews; but it was the calling and the electing of believers in all nations, wherever the Gospel should be preached, to be in reality what the Jews typically, and therefore in an inferior degree, had been,
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What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;