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/type/darby'>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 of thee a great nation, and bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
And Moses went up to God, and Jehovah called to him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, and how I have borne you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. read more. And now, if ye will hearken to my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then shall ye be my own possession out of all the peoples for all the earth is mine -- and ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak to the children of Israel.
Or hath God essayed to come to take him a nation from the midst of a nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a powerful hand, and by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Jehovah your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
And because he loved thy fathers, and chose their seed after them, he brought thee out with his countenance, with his great power, out of Egypt,
For a holy people art thou unto Jehovah thy God: Jehovah thy God hath chosen thee to be unto him a people for a possession, above all the peoples that are upon the face of the earth. Not because ye were more in number than all the peoples, hath Jehovah been attached to you and chosen you, for ye are the fewest of all the peoples;
Unless Jehovah of hosts had left us a very small residue, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
But a tenth part shall still be therein, and it shall return and be eaten; as the terebinth and as the oak whose trunk remaineth after the felling: the holy seed shall be the trunk thereof.
Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait for Jehovah, who hideth his face from the house of Jacob; and I will look for him. read more. Behold, I and the children that Jehovah hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel, from Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion.
Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth! I will put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the nations.
Who is blind, but my servant? and deaf, as my messenger whom I sent? Who is blind as he in whom I have trusted, and blind as Jehovah's servant, seeing many things, And thou observest not? with opened ears, he heareth not.
that saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and he shall perform all my pleasure; even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him and I will loose the loins of kings; to open before him the two-leaved doors, and the gates shall not be shut: I will go before thee, and make the elevated places plain; I will break in pieces the brazen doors, and cut asunder the bars of iron; read more. and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places; that thou mayest know that I, Jehovah, who call thee by name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have called thee by thy name; I surnamed thee, though thou didst not know me; I am Jehovah, and there is none else; there is no God beside me: I girded thee, and thou hast not known me;
I am Jehovah, and there is none else; there is no God beside me: I girded thee, and thou hast not known me; that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the going down, that there is none beside me. I am Jehovah, and there is none else;
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I hallowed thee, I appointed thee a prophet unto the nations.
You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore will I visit upon you all your iniquities.
Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have become insipid, wherewith shall it be salted? It is no longer fit for anything but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot by men. Ye are the light of the world: a city situated on the top of a mountain cannot be hid. read more. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under the bushel, but upon the lamp-stand, and it shines for all who are in the house. Let your light thus shine before men, so that they may see your upright works, and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul has found its delight. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall shew forth judgment to the nations.
and if those days had not been cut short, no flesh had been saved; but on account of the elect those days shall be cut short.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall give great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the one extremity of the heavens to the other extremity of them.
and there was a voice out of the cloud saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
And shall not God at all avenge his elect, who cry to him day and night, and he bears long as to them?
And the people stood beholding, and the rulers also with them sneered, saying, He has saved others; let him save himself if this is the Christ, the chosen one of God.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him may not perish, but have life eternal.
All that the Father gives me shall come to me, and him that comes to me I will not at all cast out.
And this is the will of him that has sent me, that of all that he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up in the last day.
And this is the will of him that has sent me, that of all that he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up in the last day.
To him the porter opens; and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. When he has put forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. read more. But they will not follow a stranger, but will flee from him, because they know not the voice of strangers.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them life eternal; and they shall never perish, and no one shall seize them out of my hand. read more. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one can seize out of the hand of my Father.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and have set you that ye should go and that ye should bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide, that whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name he may give you.
to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel had determined before should come to pass.
And the Lord said to him, Go, for this man is an elect vessel to me, to bear my name before both nations and kings and the sons of Israel:
And the Lord said to him, Go, for this man is an elect vessel to me, to bear my name before both nations and kings and the sons of Israel:
And Peter opening his mouth said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons,
And when they heard these things they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then indeed God has to the nations also granted repentance to life.
to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.
But we do know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to purpose.
But we do know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to purpose. Because whom he has foreknown, he has also predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he should be the firstborn among many brethren.
Who shall bring an accusation against God's elect? It is God who justifies:
Who shall bring an accusation against God's elect? It is God who justifies:
For I am persuaded 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 creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Not however as though the word of God had failed; for not all are Israel which are of Israel; nor because they are seed of Abraham are all children: but, In Isaac shall a seed be called to thee. read more. That is, they that are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned as seed. For this word is of promise, According to this time I will come, and there shall be a son to Sarah. And not only that, but Rebecca having conceived by one, Isaac our father, the children indeed being not yet born, or having done anything good or worthless (that the purpose of God according to election might abide, not of works, but of him that calls),
the children indeed being not yet born, or having done anything good or worthless (that the purpose of God according to election might abide, not of works, but of him that calls),
the children indeed being not yet born, or having done anything good or worthless (that the purpose of God according to election might abide, not of works, but of him that calls),
the children indeed being not yet born, or having done anything good or worthless (that the purpose of God according to election might abide, not of works, but of him that calls), it was said to her, The greater shall serve the less: read more. according as it is written, I have loved Jacob, and I have hated Esau. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Far be the thought.
So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shews mercy.
So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shews mercy.
Thus, then, in the present time also there has been a remnant according to election of grace.
Thus, then, in the present time also there has been a remnant according to election of grace.
What is it then? What Israel seeks for, that he has not obtained; but the election has obtained, and the rest have been blinded,
What is it then? What Israel seeks for, that he has not obtained; but the election has obtained, and the rest have been blinded,
For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, that ye may not be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the nations be come in;
As regards the glad tidings, they are enemies on your account; but as regards election, beloved on account of the fathers.
and the assembly at their house. Salute Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first-fruits of Asia for Christ.
For we are God's fellow-workmen; ye are God's husbandry, God's building.
Ye are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read of all men, being manifested to be Christ's epistle ministered by us, written, not with ink, but the Spirit of the living God; not on stone tables, but on fleshy tables of the heart.
Because it is the God who spoke that out of darkness light should shine who has shone in our hearts for the shining forth of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But when God, who set me apart even from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,
Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ by God's will, to the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus who are at Ephesus. 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 heavenlies in Christ; according as he has chosen us in him before the world's foundation, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love;
according as he has chosen us in him before the world's foundation, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love;
according as he has chosen us in him before the world's foundation, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love;
to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has taken us into favour in the Beloved:
in whom we have also obtained an inheritance, being marked out beforehand according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his own will,
For ye are saved by grace, through faith; and this not of yourselves; it is God's gift:
for it is God who works in you both the willing and the working according to his good pleasure.
for it is God who works in you both the willing and the working according to his good pleasure.
giving thanks to the Father, who has made us fit for sharing the portion of the saints in light, who has delivered us from the authority of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love:
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering;
I testify before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, that thou keep these things without prejudice, doing nothing by favour.
Paul, bondman of God, and apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect, and knowledge of the truth which is according to piety;
that they may admonish the young women to be attached to their husbands, to be attached to their children,
not robbing their masters, but shewing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the teaching which is of our Saviour God in all things.
awaiting the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ;
But the God of peace, who brought again from among the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, in the power of the blood of the eternal covenant,
But the God of peace, who brought again from among the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, in the power of the blood of the eternal covenant, perfect you in every good work to the doing of his will, doing in you what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for the ages of ages. Amen.
perfect you in every good work to the doing of his will, doing in you what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for the ages of ages. Amen.
According to his own will begat he us by the word of truth, that we should be a certain first-fruits of his creatures.
But ye are a chosen race, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession, that ye might set forth the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness to his wonderful light;
But ye are a chosen race, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession, that ye might set forth the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness to his wonderful light;
These are they who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins: these are they who follow the Lamb wheresoever it goes. These have been bought from 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/type/darby'>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 that Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, saying, Jehovah your God has given you rest and has given you this land.
Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth has Jehovah the God of the heavens given to me, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all his people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah the God of Israel he is God which is at Jerusalem.
Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth! I will put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the nations.
that saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and he shall perform all my pleasure; even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him and I will loose the loins of kings; to open before him the two-leaved doors, and the gates shall not be shut: I will go before thee, and make the elevated places plain; I will break in pieces the brazen doors, and cut asunder the bars of iron; read more. and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places; that thou mayest know that I, Jehovah, who call thee by name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have called thee by thy name; I surnamed thee, though thou didst not know me;
And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah a possessor of my mountains; and mine elect shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there.
And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto mine elect; for the Lord Jehovah will slay thee, and will call his servants by another name:
they shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore will I visit upon you all your iniquities.
Because of violence against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
and I hated Esau; and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his inheritance to the jackals of the wilderness.
and if those days had not been cut short, no flesh had been saved; but on account of the elect those days shall be cut short.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall give great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the one extremity of the heavens to the other extremity of them.
And all began, without exception, to excuse themselves. The first said to him, I have bought land, and I must go out and see it; I pray thee hold me for excused.
righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ towards all,and upon all those who believe: for there is no difference;
whom God has set forth a mercy-seat, through faith in his blood, for the shewing forth of his righteousness, in respect of the passing by the sins that had taken place before, through the forbearance of God;
Because whom he has foreknown, he has also predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he should be the firstborn among many brethren. But whom he has predestinated, these also he has called; and whom he has called, these also he has justified; but whom he has justified, these also he has glorified.
Who shall bring an accusation against God's elect? It is God who justifies:
the children indeed being not yet born, or having done anything good or worthless (that the purpose of God according to election might abide, not of works, but of him that calls), it was said to her, The greater shall serve the less: read more. according as it is written, I have loved Jacob, and I have hated Esau.
Thus, then, in the present time also there has been a remnant according to election of grace.
What is it then? What Israel seeks for, that he has not obtained; but the election has obtained, and the rest have been blinded,
As regards the glad tidings, they are enemies on your account; but as regards election, beloved on account of the fathers.
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering;
who desires that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
I testify before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, that thou keep these things without prejudice, doing nothing by favour.
Paul, bondman of God, and apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect, and knowledge of the truth which is according to piety;
not robbing their masters, but shewing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the teaching which is of our Saviour God in all things.
but we see Jesus, who was made some little inferior to angels on account of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; so that by the grace of God he should taste death for every thing.
foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but who has been manifested at the end of times for your sakes,
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 is it then? What Israel seeks for, that he has not obtained; but the election has obtained, and the rest have been blinded,