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/emb'>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'
See Verses Found in Dictionary
That I may make thee into a great nation, And bless thee and make great thy name, And become thou a blessing; That I may bless them who bless thee, But him who maketh light of thee, will I curse, - So shall be, blessed in thee, all the families of the ground.
And when Moses, had gone up unto God, then called Yahweh unto him out of the mountain saying, Thus, shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, And tell the sons of Israel: Ye, have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, - And how I bare you upon wings of eagles, And brought you in unto myself: - read more. Now, therefore, if ye will, indeed hearken, to my voice, And keep my covenant, Then shall ye be mine as a treasure beyond all the peoples, For, mine, is all the earth; But, ye, shall be mine, As a kingdom of priests, And a holy nation. These, are the words, which thou shalt speak unto the sons of Israel.
Or did a god ever make trial of entering in to take unto him a nation out of the midst of a nation, by provings, by signs and by wonders and by fighting, and by a firm hand and by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors, - according to all that Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes?
And because that he loved thy fathers, therefore chose he his seed after him, - and brought thee forth with his presence with his great might, out of Egypt;
For a holy people, art thou unto Yahweh thy God: of thee, hath Yahweh thy God, made choice, that thou shouldest become his people as a treasure, above all the peoples that are on the face of the ground: not because ye were more in number than any of the peoples, did Yahweh become attached to you and make choice of you, - for, ye, were fewer than any of the peoples;
If, Yahweh of hosts, had not left us a very small remnant, Like Sodom, had we become, Gomorrah, had we resembled.
Yet still shall there be in it a tenth, Though it again be consumed, - Like an oak and like a terebinth Which when felled, have a stock in them, A holy seed, shall be the stock thereof. Courage.
Bind thou up the testimony, - Seal the instruction amongst my disciples. I will therefore long for Yahweh, Who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, - And will wait, for him. read more. Lo! I and the children whom Yahweh hath given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel, - from Yahweh of hosts, who is making his habitation in Mount Zion.
Lo! my Servant, I will uphold him, My chosen, well-pleased is my soul, - I have put my spirit upon him, Justice - to the nations, will he bring forth:
Who is, blind, like an intimate friend? Or blind like the Servant of Yahweh? Seeing many things, yet thou heedest not, Opening the ears yet he heareth not,
Who saith of Cyrus - My Shepherd! and All my pleasure, shall he make good Even saying of Jerusalem - She shall be built! And of the temple - Be her foundation laid!
Thus, saith Yahweh, to his Anointed, to Cyrus - Whose right hand I have firmly grasped To subdue before him, nations, And the loins of kings, will I ungird, - To open, before him, the two-leaved doors, And, the gates, shall not be shut: I, before thee, will go, And the hills, will I level - The doors of bronze, will I break in pieces, e And the bars of iron, will I cut asunder; read more. Then will I give thee The treasures of darkness, Even the hoards of hidden places, - That thou mayest get to know That I - Yahweh, who am calling thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For the sake of my servant Jacob, Even Israel my chosen Therefore have I called unto thee by thy name, I give thee a title though thou hast not known me, - I, am Yahweh, and there is none else, Besides me, there is no God, - I gird thee, though thou hast not known me:
I, am Yahweh, and there is none else, Besides me, there is no God, - I gird thee, though thou hast not known me: That men may get to know. From the rising of the sun And from the west. That there is none besides me, - I, am Yahweh, and there is none else:
Before I formed thee at thy birth, I took knowledge of thee, And before thy nativity, I hallowed thee, - A prophet to the nations, I appointed thee.
Only you, have I acknowledged, of all the families of the ground, For this cause, will I visit upon you all your iniquities.
Ye, are the salt of the earth; but, if the salt become tasteless, wherewith shall it be salted? it is good, for nothing, any more, save, being cast out, to be trampled on by men. Ye, are the light of the world: it is impossible for a city to be hid, on the top of a mountain, lying. read more. Neither light they a lamp, and place it under the measure; but upon the lampstand, and it giveth light to all that are in the house. In like manner, let your light shine before men, - that they may see your good works, - and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.
Lo! my servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom, my soul, delighteth, - I will put my Spirit upon him, and, justice, unto the nations, will he report:
And, except those days had been shortened, no flesh had been saved; but, for the sake of the chosen, those days shall be shortened.
For there will arise, false Christs, and false prophets, - and they will show great signs and wonders, so that, if possible, even the chosen, should be deceived: -
And he will send forth his messengers, with a great trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen - Out of the four winds, from heavens' bounds, unto their bounds.
And, a voice, came out of the cloud, saying - This, is my Son, the Chosen One: Unto him, be hearkening.
And shall, God, in any wise not execute the vindication of his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, although he beareth long with regard to them?
And the people were standing, looking on. But the rulers were sneering, saying - Others, he saved, let him save himself, - if, this, is, the Christ of God, the Chosen.
For God, so loved, the world, that, his Only Begotten Son, he gave, - that, whosoever believeth on him, might not perish, but have life age-abiding.
All that which the Father is giving me, unto me, will have come, and, him that cometh unto me, in nowise will I cast out, -
And, this, is the will of him that sent me, That, of all that which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
And, this, is the will of him that sent me, That, of all that which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
To him, the porter openeth, and, the sheep, unto his voice, hearken: and, his own sheep, he calleth by name, and leadeth them forth. As soon as, all his own, he hath put forth, before them, he moveth on, and, the sheep, follow him, because they know his voice; read more. But, a stranger, will they in nowise follow, but will flee from him, because they know not the voice, of strangers.
My sheep, unto my voice, hearken, - and, I, know, them, and they follow me, - And, I, give unto them life age-abiding, and in nowise shall they perish, unto times age-abiding; and no one shall carry them off out of my hand. read more. What, my Father, hath given me, is, something greater than all, and, no one, can carry off out of the hand of my Father: -
Not, ye, chose, me, but, I, chose you, and placed you, that ye should go your way and bear, fruit, - and, your fruit, should abide: that, whatsoever ye should ask the Father in my name, he might give unto you.
To do whatsoever, thy hand and thy counsel, marked out beforehand to come to pass.
But the Lord said unto him - Be going thy way; for, a choice vessel unto me, is this man, to bear my name before both thenations and kings, and the sons of Israel;
But the Lord said unto him - Be going thy way; for, a choice vessel unto me, is this man, to bear my name before both thenations and kings, and the sons of Israel;
And Peter, opening his mouth, said - Of a truth, I find that God is no respecter of persons;
And, having heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying - Hence, even unto the nations, God hath granted repentance unto life.
To open their eyes; that they turn from darkness unto light, and the authority of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins, and an inheritance among them who have been made holy by the faith respecting me.
We know, further, that, unto them who love God, God causeth all things to work together for good, - unto them who, according to purpose, are such as he hath called;
We know, further, that, unto them who love God, God causeth all things to work together for good, - unto them who, according to purpose, are such as he hath called; For, whom he fore-approved, he also fore-appointed to be conformed unto the image of his Son, that he might be firstborn among many brethren, -
Who shall bring an accusation against the chosen ones of God? God, who declareth righteous?
Who shall bring an accusation against the chosen ones of God? God, who declareth righteous?
For I am persuaded that - neither death nor life, nor messengers nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, Nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It is not, however, as though the word of God had failed; for, not all they who are of Israel, the same are Israel. Neither, because they are seed of Abraham, are all children, - but, In Isaac, shall there be called unto thee a seed. read more. That is - not the children of the flesh, the same are children of God; but, the children of the promise, are reckoned as a seed. For, of promise, is this word - According to this season, will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. And, not only so, but, when, Rebekah also, was with child, of one - Isaac our father, - They, in fact, not being yet born, nor having practised anything good or bad, - in order that the purpose of God by way of election might stand, - not by works but by him that was calling,
They, in fact, not being yet born, nor having practised anything good or bad, - in order that the purpose of God by way of election might stand, - not by works but by him that was calling,
They, in fact, not being yet born, nor having practised anything good or bad, - in order that the purpose of God by way of election might stand, - not by works but by him that was calling,
They, in fact, not being yet born, nor having practised anything good or bad, - in order that the purpose of God by way of election might stand, - not by works but by him that was calling, It was said unto her - The elder, shall serve the younger; read more. Even as it is written - Jacob, have I loved, but, Esau, have I hated. What, then, shall we say? Is there injustice with God? Far be it!
Hence, then, it is nor of him that wisheth nor of him that runneth, but of the mercy-shewing God.
Hence, then, it is nor of him that wisheth nor of him that runneth, but of the mercy-shewing God.
Thus, then, in the present season also, a remnant, by way of an election of favour, hath come into being.
Thus, then, in the present season also, a remnant, by way of an election of favour, hath come into being.
What then? That which Israel seeketh after, the same, it hath not obtained: - the election, however, have obtained it, and, the rest, have been hardened; -
What then? That which Israel seeketh after, the same, it hath not obtained: - the election, however, have obtained it, and, the rest, have been hardened; -
For I wish not, ye should be ignorant, brethren, of this sacred secret, lest within yourselves ye be presumptuous, that, a hardening in part, hath befallen Israel, until, the full measure of the nations, shall come in;
As touching the joyful-message, indeed, they are enemies for your sake, but, as touching the election, beloved for their father's sake;
Salute also the assembly at their house. Salute ye Epaenetus, my beloved, who is a first-fruit of Asia unto Christ.
For we are, God's, fellow-workmen: ye are, God's, farm, God's building.
Our letter, ye, are, inscribed in our hearts, noted and read by all men: Manifesting yourselves that ye are a letter of Christ, ministered by us, - inscribed - not with ink, but with the Spirit of a Living God, not in tablets of stone, but in tablets which are hearts of flesh.
Because, the God who said - Out of darkness, light shall shine! is he who hath shone in our hearts, in proportion to the radiance of the glorious knowledge of God, in the face of Christ.
But, when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me through his favour, was well-pleased
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, through God's will, unto the saints who are in Ephesusand faithful in Christ Jesus, -
Blessed, be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing, in the heavenlies, in Christ, According as he made choice of us, in him, before the founding of a world, that we might be holy and blameless in his presence; in love,
According as he made choice of us, in him, before the founding of a world, that we might be holy and blameless in his presence; in love,
According as he made choice of us, in him, before the founding of a world, that we might be holy and blameless in his presence; in love,
Unto the praise of the glory of his favour wherewith he favoured us in the Beloved One, -
In whom also we were taken as an inheritance, according to the purpose of him who energiseth all things according to the counsel of his will,
For, by his favour, have ye been saved, through means of faith, and this hath come to pass - not from you, of God, the free-gift!
For it is, God, who energiseth within you, both the desiring and the energising, in behalf of his good pleasure.
For it is, God, who energiseth within you, both the desiring and the energising, in behalf of his good pleasure.
Giving thanks unto the Father that hath made you sufficient for your share in the inheritance of the saints in the light, Who hath rescued us out of the authority of the darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love;
Put on, therefore, as men chosen of God, holy and beloved, tender affections of compassion, graciousness, lowliness of mind, meekness, long-suffering,
I adjure thee, before God, and Christ Jesus, and the chosen messengers, that, these things, thou observe, apart from prejudgment, doing, nothing, by partiality.
Paul, a servant of God - an apostle moreover of Jesus Christ, - according to the faith of the chosen ones of God, and the personal knowledge of the truth that is according to godliness, -
That they may constrain the young women to be, lovers of their husbands, lovers of their children,
not taking anything away, shewing, all good faith, - that, the instruction which is of our Saviour God, they may adorn in all things.
Prepared to welcome the happy hope and forthshining of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Christ Jesus, -
But, the God of peace, He that led up from among the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep, with the blood of an age-abiding covenant, - our Lord Jesus,
But, the God of peace, He that led up from among the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep, with the blood of an age-abiding covenant, - our Lord Jesus, Fit you, by every good work, for the doing of his will, doing within us, that which is well-pleasing, before him through Jesus Christ: to whom be the glory, unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Fit you, by every good work, for the doing of his will, doing within us, that which is well-pleasing, before him through Jesus Christ: to whom be the glory, unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Because he was so minded, he hath brought us forth with a word of truth, to the end we should be a sort of firstfruit of his creatures
But, ye, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a peculiar treasure, that, the excellences, ye may tell forth, of him who, out of darkness, hath called you into his marvellous light: -
But, ye, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a peculiar treasure, that, the excellences, ye may tell forth, of him who, out of darkness, hath called you into his marvellous light: -
These, are they, who with women, were not defiled, for they are, virgin. These, are they who follow the Lamb whithersoever he is going. These, were redeemed from mankind, as a firstfruit unto God and 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/emb'>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
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Remember the word which Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, saying, - Yahweh your God, is granting you rest, and doth give you this land.
Thus, saith Cyrus, king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth, hath Yahweh God of the heavens, given to me, - and, he himself, hath laid charge upon me, to build for him a house, in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there 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 Yahweh God of Israel, (he, is God!) which is in Jerusalem;
Lo! my Servant, I will uphold him, My chosen, well-pleased is my soul, - I have put my spirit upon him, Justice - to the nations, will he bring forth:
Who saith of Cyrus - My Shepherd! and All my pleasure, shall he make good Even saying of Jerusalem - She shall be built! And of the temple - Be her foundation laid!
Thus, saith Yahweh, to his Anointed, to Cyrus - Whose right hand I have firmly grasped To subdue before him, nations, And the loins of kings, will I ungird, - To open, before him, the two-leaved doors, And, the gates, shall not be shut: I, before thee, will go, And the hills, will I level - The doors of bronze, will I break in pieces, e And the bars of iron, will I cut asunder; read more. Then will I give thee The treasures of darkness, Even the hoards of hidden places, - That thou mayest get to know That I - Yahweh, who am calling thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For the sake of my servant Jacob, Even Israel my chosen Therefore have I called unto thee by thy name, I give thee a title though thou hast not known me, -
Therefore will I bring forth Out of Jacob, a seed, and Out of Judah, an inheritor of my mountains, That my chosen ones may inherit it, And, my servants, dwell there;
So shall ye leave your name for an oath, to my chosen ones, - So then My Lord Yahweh, will slay thee, - And his servants, will he, call by another name:
They shall not build, and another, dwell, They shall not plant, and, another, eat, - For as the days of a tree, shall be the days of ray people, And, the work of their own hands, shall my chosen ones, use to the full:
Only you, have I acknowledged, of all the families of the ground, For this cause, will I visit upon you all your iniquities.
For thy violence against thy brother Jacob, shall shame, cover thee, - so shalt thou be cut off, to times age-abiding.
And, Esau, have I hated, - and made his mountains a desolation, and his inheritance a dwelling for the jackals of the wilderness.
And, except those days had been shortened, no flesh had been saved; but, for the sake of the chosen, those days shall be shortened.
For there will arise, false Christs, and false prophets, - and they will show great signs and wonders, so that, if possible, even the chosen, should be deceived: -
And he will send forth his messengers, with a great trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen - Out of the four winds, from heavens' bounds, unto their bounds.
And they all began, one after another to excuse themselves. The first, said unto him - A field, have I bought, and have need to go out and see it: I request thee, hold me excused.
A righteousness of God, through faith in JesusChrist, unto all that have faith; for there is no distinction, -
Whom God hath set forth as a propitiatory covering, through faith in his blood, for a showing forth of his righteousness, by reason of the passing-by of the previously committed sins,
For, whom he fore-approved, he also fore-appointed to be conformed unto the image of his Son, that he might be firstborn among many brethren, - And, whom he fore-appointed, the same, he also called, and, whom he called, the same, he also declared righteous, and, whom he declared righteous, the same, he also made glorious: -
Who shall bring an accusation against the chosen ones of God? God, who declareth righteous?
They, in fact, not being yet born, nor having practised anything good or bad, - in order that the purpose of God by way of election might stand, - not by works but by him that was calling, It was said unto her - The elder, shall serve the younger; read more. Even as it is written - Jacob, have I loved, but, Esau, have I hated.
Thus, then, in the present season also, a remnant, by way of an election of favour, hath come into being.
What then? That which Israel seeketh after, the same, it hath not obtained: - the election, however, have obtained it, and, the rest, have been hardened; -
As touching the joyful-message, indeed, they are enemies for your sake, but, as touching the election, beloved for their father's sake;
Put on, therefore, as men chosen of God, holy and beloved, tender affections of compassion, graciousness, lowliness of mind, meekness, long-suffering,
Who willeth, all men, to be saved, and, unto a personal knowledge of truth, to come;
I adjure thee, before God, and Christ Jesus, and the chosen messengers, that, these things, thou observe, apart from prejudgment, doing, nothing, by partiality.
Paul, a servant of God - an apostle moreover of Jesus Christ, - according to the faith of the chosen ones of God, and the personal knowledge of the truth that is according to godliness, -
not taking anything away, shewing, all good faith, - that, the instruction which is of our Saviour God, they may adorn in all things.
But, Jesus, made some little less than messengers, we do behold: by reason of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour, to the end that, by favour of God, in behalf of every one, he might taste of death.
Foreknown, indeed, before the foundation of the world, but made manifest at a last stage of the 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,
See Verses Found in Dictionary
What then? That which Israel seeketh after, the same, it hath not obtained: - the election, however, have obtained it, and, the rest, have been hardened; -