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/moffatt'>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
You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes insipid, what can make it salt again? After that it is fit for nothing, fit only to be thrown outside and trodden by the feet of men. You are the light of the world. A town on the top of a hill cannot be hidden. read more. Nor do men light a lamp to put it under a bowl; they put it on a stand and it shines for all in the house. So your light is to shine before men, that they may see the good you do and glorify your Father in heaven.
Here is my servant whom I have selected, my Beloved in whom my soul delights; I will invest him with my Spirit, and he will proclaim religion to the Gentiles.
Had not those days been cut short, not a soul would be saved alive; however, for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.
for false Christs and false prophets will rise and bring forward great signs and wonders, so as to mislead the very elect, ??if that were possible.
He will despatch his angels with a loud trumpet call to muster his elect from the four winds, from the verge of heaven to the verge of earth.
but a voice came from the cloud, "This is my Son, my Chosen one; listen to him."
And will not God see justice done to his elect who cry to him by day and night? Will he be tolerant to their opponents?
The people stood and looked on, and even the rulers sneered at him, saying, "He saved others, let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One!"
For God loved the world so dearly that he gave up his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life, instead of perishing.
All those will come to me who are the Father's gift to me, and never will I reject one of them;
and the will of him who sent me is that I lose none of those who are his gift to me, but that I raise them all up on the last day.
and the will of him who sent me is that I lose none of those who are his gift to me, but that I raise them all up on the last day.
The gate-keeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice; he calls his sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought all his sheep outside, he goes in front of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice; read more. they will not follow a stranger, they will run from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."
My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them and they follow me; and I give them eternal life; they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. read more. My Father who gave me them is stronger than all, and no one can snatch anything out of the Father's hand.
are placed in the middle of verse 13:31] "I am the real Vine, and my Father is the vine-dresser;
You have not chosen me, it is I who have chosen you, appointing you to go and bear fruit ??fruit that lasts, so that the Father may grant you whatever you ask in my name.
mustering to carry out what thy hand had traced, thy purpose had decreed.
But the Lord said to him, "Go; I have chosen him to be the means of bringing my Name before the Gentiles and their kings as well as before the sons of Israel.
But the Lord said to him, "Go; I have chosen him to be the means of bringing my Name before the Gentiles and their kings as well as before the sons of Israel.
Then Peter opened his lips and said, "I see quite plainly that God has no favourites,
On hearing this they desisted and glorified God, saying, "So God has actually allowed the Gentiles to repent and live!"
that their eyes may be opened and that they may turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, to get remission of their sins and an inheritance among those who are consecrated by faith in me.'
We know also that those who love God, those who have been called in terms of his purpose, have his aid and interest in everything.
We know also that those who love God, those who have been called in terms of his purpose, have his aid and interest in everything. For he decreed of old that those whom he predestined should share the likeness of his Son ??that he might be the firstborn of a great brotherhood.
Who is to accuse the elect of God? When God acquits,
Who is to accuse the elect of God? When God acquits,
For I am certain neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, no powers of the Height or of the Depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to part us from God's love in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It is not, of course, as if God's word had failed! Far from it! 'Israel' does not mean everyone who belongs to Israel; they are not all children of Abraham because they are descended from Abraham. No, it is through Isaac that your offspring shall be reckoned ??8 meaning that instead of God's children being the children born to him by natural descent, it is the children of the Promise who are reckoned as his true offspring.
For when God said, I will come about this time and Sara shall have a son, that was a word of promise. And further, when Rebecca became pregnant by our father Isaac, though one man was the father of both children, read more. and though the children were still unborn and had done nothing either good or bad (to confirm the divine purpose in election which depends upon the call of God, not on anything man does),
and though the children were still unborn and had done nothing either good or bad (to confirm the divine purpose in election which depends upon the call of God, not on anything man does),
and though the children were still unborn and had done nothing either good or bad (to confirm the divine purpose in election which depends upon the call of God, not on anything man does),
and though the children were still unborn and had done nothing either good or bad (to confirm the divine purpose in election which depends upon the call of God, not on anything man does), she was told that the elder will serve the younger. read more. As it is written, Jacob I loved but Esau I hated. Then are we to infer that there is injustice in God? Never!
You see, it is not a question of human will or effort but of the divine mercy.
You see, it is not a question of human will or effort but of the divine mercy.
Well, at the present day there is also a remnant, selected by grace.
Well, at the present day there is also a remnant, selected by grace.
Now what are we to infer from this? That Israel has failed to secure the object of its quest; the elect have secured it, and the rest have been rendered insensible to it ??8 as it is written, God has given them a spirit of torpor, eyes that see not, ears that hear not ??down to this very day.
Now what are we to infer from this? That Israel has failed to secure the object of its quest; the elect have secured it, and the rest have been rendered insensible to it ??8 as it is written, God has given them a spirit of torpor, eyes that see not, ears that hear not ??down to this very day.
To prevent you from being self-conceited, brothers, I would like you to understand this secret: it is only a partial insensibility that has come over Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in.
So far as the gospel goes, they are enemies of God ??which is to your advantage; but so far as election goes, they are beloved for their father's sake.
Also, salute the church that meets in their house. Salute my beloved Epaenetus, the first in Asia to be reaped for Christ.
We work together in God's service; you are God's field to be planted, God's house to be built.
Why, you are my certificate yourselves, written on my heart, recognized and read by all men; you make it obvious that you are a letter of Christ which I have been employed to inscribe, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of the human heart.
For God who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," has shone within my heart to illuminate men with the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Christ.
But the God who had set me apart from my very birth called me by his grace,
PAUL, by the will of God an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the saints who are faithful in Jesus Christ: grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. read more. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who in Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly sphere! He chose us in him ere the world was founded, to be consecrated and unblemished in his sight,
He chose us in him ere the world was founded, to be consecrated and unblemished in his sight,
He chose us in him ere the world was founded, to be consecrated and unblemished in his sight,
redounding to the praise of his glorious grace bestowed on us in the Beloved,
For it is by grace you have been saved, as you had faith; it is not your doing but God's gift,
for it is God who in his goodwill enables you to will this and to achieve it.
for it is God who in his goodwill enables you to will this and to achieve it.
thanking the Father who has qualified us to share the lot of the saints in the Light, rescuing us from the power of the Darkness and transferring us to the realm of his beloved Son!
As God's own chosen, then, as consecrated and beloved, be clothed with compassion, kindliness, humility, gentleness, and good temper ??13 forbear and forgive each other in any case of complaint; as Christ forgave you, so must you forgive.
In the presence of God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels, I adjure you to be unprejudiced in carrying out these orders; be absolutely impartial.
Paul a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and for their knowledge of the Truth that goes with a religious life,
they must give good counsel, so that the young women may be trained to love their husbands and children,
not to embezzle, but to prove themselves truly faithful at all points, so as to be an ornament to the doctrine of God our Saviour in all respects.
awaiting the blessed hope of the appearance of the Glory of the great God and of our Saviour Christ Jesus,
May the God of peace who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, with the blood of the eternal covenant,
May the God of peace who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, with the blood of the eternal covenant, furnish you with everything for the doing of his will, creating in your lives by Jesus Christ what is acceptable in his own sight! To him be glory for ever and ever: Amen.
furnish you with everything for the doing of his will, creating in your lives by Jesus Christ what is acceptable in his own sight! To him be glory for ever and ever: Amen.
It was his own will that we should be born by the Word of the truth, to be a kind of firstfruits among his creatures.
But you are the elect race, the royal priesthood, the consecrated nation, the People who belong to Him, that you may proclaim the wondrous deeds of Him who has called you from darkness to his wonderful light ??10 you who once were no people and now are God's people, you who once were unpitied and now are pitied.
But you are the elect race, the royal priesthood, the consecrated nation, the People who belong to Him, that you may proclaim the wondrous deeds of Him who has called you from darkness to his wonderful light ??10 you who once were no people and now are God's people, you who once were unpitied and now are pitied.
They have not been defiled by intercourse with women ??they are celibates; they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they have been ransomed from among men, as the first to be reaped for 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/moffatt'>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
Had not those days been cut short, not a soul would be saved alive; however, for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.
for false Christs and false prophets will rise and bring forward great signs and wonders, so as to mislead the very elect, ??if that were possible.
He will despatch his angels with a loud trumpet call to muster his elect from the four winds, from the verge of heaven to the verge of earth.
But they all alike proceeded to decline. The first said to him, 'I have bought a farm and I am obliged to go and look at it. Pray consider me excused.'
but it is a righteousness of God which comes by believing in Jesus Christ. And it is meant for all who have faith. No distinctions are drawn.
whom God put forward as the means of propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to demonstrate the justice of God in view of the fact that sins previously committed during the time of God's forbearance had been passed over;
For he decreed of old that those whom he predestined should share the likeness of his Son ??that he might be the firstborn of a great brotherhood. Then he calls those whom he has thus decreed; then he justifies those whom he has called; then he glorifies those whom he has justified.
Who is to accuse the elect of God? When God acquits,
and though the children were still unborn and had done nothing either good or bad (to confirm the divine purpose in election which depends upon the call of God, not on anything man does), she was told that the elder will serve the younger. read more. As it is written, Jacob I loved but Esau I hated.
Well, at the present day there is also a remnant, selected by grace.
Now what are we to infer from this? That Israel has failed to secure the object of its quest; the elect have secured it, and the rest have been rendered insensible to it ??8 as it is written, God has given them a spirit of torpor, eyes that see not, ears that hear not ??down to this very day.
So far as the gospel goes, they are enemies of God ??which is to your advantage; but so far as election goes, they are beloved for their father's sake.
As God's own chosen, then, as consecrated and beloved, be clothed with compassion, kindliness, humility, gentleness, and good temper ??13 forbear and forgive each other in any case of complaint; as Christ forgave you, so must you forgive.
to the God who desires all men to be saved and to attain the knowledge of the Truth.
In the presence of God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels, I adjure you to be unprejudiced in carrying out these orders; be absolutely impartial.
Paul a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and for their knowledge of the Truth that goes with a religious life,
not to embezzle, but to prove themselves truly faithful at all points, so as to be an ornament to the doctrine of God our Saviour in all respects.
what we do see is Jesus who was put lower than the angels for a little while to suffer death, and who has been crowned with glory and honour that by God's grace he might taste death for everyone.
He was predestined before the foundation of the world and has appeared at the end of the ages for your sake;
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
Now what are we to infer from this? That Israel has failed to secure the object of its quest; the elect have secured it, and the rest have been rendered insensible to it ??8 as it is written, God has given them a spirit of torpor, eyes that see not, ears that hear not ??down to this very day.