Election

Recently I was asked a question about election with regards to predestination. I suppose in part I did not answer this question aptly as it is such a large one to tackle. I will try to simplify this subject as much as possible (if at all possible). In addition I will reference men of whom I deeply respect. There are so many that came before me that are far more wise, discerning, and men who have know Christ far longer than I; men who have prayed through difficult scriptures, working out their salvation with fear and trembling. As you read, know many of these thoughts are what I have come to believe. I am pulling from several different theologians that I will reference at the end. Please have your Bible by you as some verses are referenced and not added to the text. In addition, how ridiculous would it be to talk about better understanding God’s Word and not have our sword with us?! We are to test what is said and discern if it is edifying and trustworthy that we would not be led astray. Galatians 1:6-10. I would ask before reading that you’d take some time in prayer that only that which is of the Lord would you retain, and anything else would quickly be forgotten. I pray that you would search the scriptures yourself and come to know our Lord and Savior Jesus better as you strive to understand the Word.

Often times as this subject comes up we think strictly of salvational election. However, I believe the Bible teaches several different types of election: theocratic, vocational, and salvational. We will look at them in that order as the texts will flow better from Genesis to Revelation.

Theocratic election is just as the name suggests, God elects a person or people group. This can be seen in Deuteronomy 7:6 “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” We see here that God specifically choose a people. There is no works based salvation here. It is simply God choosing Israel to be His people. In Romans 4:11 “He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,” we see that it had nothing to do with the descendants of Abrahams work nor the covenant of circumcision. “But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but through Isaac shall your offspring be named” Romans 9:6-7 Indeed this argument is seen well in Genesis 17:12-14. There are foreigners that are allowed to partake in the circumcision! How glorious that early on in Genesis we see a veil lifted in the intentions of the coming Christ! This should move us to be so thankful that our Lord truly had a plan before the foundations of the world. I pray this leads you to pray deeply, thankfully, instilling desire to know Him more passionately!

The next election is vocational. I think of Hebrews chapter 7 here. (I recommend reading from chapter 4-7 to better understand 7 itself) We see this idea of a priest Melchizedek blessing Abraham prior to the Levitical priesthood being established. He blesses Abraham v.1 and Abraham gives him tithes v.6. Earlier in Hebrews the author establishes that the greater blesses the lesser and reiterates this point in v.7. We read in verse 9 that because of the lineage of Abraham it could be said Levi himself gave tithes to this priest. In Genesis 14:17-24 the greater story of Melchizedek takes place. It is seen to better comprehend the coming of Christ. Again, we should thank Jesus that He should so wisely orchestrate scriptures as to display Himself from the beginning. The point being that though the Levites were able to atone for sin through animal sacrifice it most certainly did not guarantee their salvation. There was one greater, Melchizedek and more importantly, Christ. I do not want to dismiss the Levites responsibility but only help to better understand there were vocationally elected to their position. A more familiar idea may be that of the disciples. Jesus elects twelve disciples but only eleven are granted the grace of salvation. After that Paul enters the Word and we come to a better comprehension of how God vocationally elects him to salvation Acts 9:15.

The final form of election is salvational. I would recommend reading Ephesians chapter 1 especially 3-14. In the original text these verses comprise on paragraph. It is one complete thought. In addition, it is the most comprehensive display of Father, Son, Holy Spirit displayed sequentially in the entirety of the Bible (in my opinion). “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” John 6:44a. In BlueletterBible it gives two definitions of the Greek word helkō 1.) to draw, drag off 2.) a metaphor; to draw by inward power, lead, impel. I still recall Him drawing me. The deepening of my desire to know Him. And my heart began to resonate well with the Psalmist:

Psalm 111
“Praise the LORD!
1I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
8 they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!

As you come to know Christ deeper I pray your heart responds to Him in the same way. If your heart does not respond to the Lord in this way, begin to pray earnestly that He would change your heart, that you would begin to trust more fully, that passion would fill you to come to Him in prayer, and desire to seek Him in His Word.

He chose us in Him before the foundations of the world Ephesians 1:4. Many years have passed since the foundations of the world. Yet the Lord choose people not based on what they had done, to whom they had been born, how much wealth you’ve accumulated, or how frequently you read the Bible. Christ knew and chose those whom He desired. Some may now get excited over the idea of mans will, or rather lack thereof. Paul establishes quite well in Romans 7 that we have a will, a sin nature. Yes God in His sovereignty allows us to Choose Him because He made it possible to do so. Joshua 24:15, John 5:40, Revelation 22:17. There are numerous scriptures such as these were individuals are allowed to repent and turn to Christ. Jesus offers us to come to Him and desire that people would be saved 2Peter 3:9. What would seem contrary to this in scripture is that no person can receive Christ and thus salvation unless they have been chosen. Romans 8:29*, 9:11. Again, there are numerous scriptures with the same idea. The combination of these two truths can be seen in John 6:37.

*Note: Often Romans 8:29 is taken out of context to say God’s divine foreknowledge sees who will choose Christ and then He then ‘elects’ them. However they were already called according to His purpose. That particular view takes all the glory to self, thus turning oneself into an idol. It diminishes the very glory of God, directly impacting the purpose of salvation.

God made us in such a way that it would be extremely difficult to wrap our minds around these ideas. Another idea perhaps is that the ‘two become one’ or how ‘a thousand years is but a day’. All scripture is God breathed, as such we should not try to hinder one truth of scripture by only believing another. It may be another good time to pray thanking God that He has done something beyond our comprehension yet continuing to magnify His glory and display His grace.

Early in Deuteronomy we get an understating of the Lord’s heart in why He would do such a thing as choosing us “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you” v.7-8a. He “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” 2 Timothy 1:9. We should continue on in the great commission Matthew 28:16-20 and do as Paul did, preaching that those whom God has elected would hear the Gospel “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory” 2 Timothy 2:10

“All Christians believe in divine sovereignty, but some are not aware they do, and mistakenly imagine and insist that they reject it. What causes this odd state of affairs? The root cause is the same as in most cases of error in the Church- the intruding of rationalistic speculations, the passion for systematic consistency, a reluctance to recognize the existence of mystery and to let God be wiser than men, and a consequent subjecting of Scripture to the supposed demands of Human logic. People see the Bible teaches man’s responsibility for his actions; they do not see (man, indeed, cannot see) how this is consistent with sovereign Lordship of god over those actions. They are not content to let the two truths live side by side, as they do in the Scriptures, but jump to the conclusion that, in order to uphold the biblical truth of human responsibility, they are bound to reject the equally biblical and equally true doctrine of divine sovereignty, and to explain away the great number of texts that teach it. The desire to over-simplify the Bible by cutting out the mysteries is natural to our perverse minds, and is not surprising that even godly men should fall victim to it. Hence this persistent and troublesome dispute. The irony of the situation, however, is that when we ask how the two sides pray, it becomes apparent that those who profess to deny God’s sovereignty really believe in it just as strongly as those who affirm it.” (J. I. Packer)

John MacArthur presents other situations in the Bible we find to be true yet seldom are they debated for their independent truths. “It is antinomous that Scripture itself is the work of human authors, yet the very words of God; that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man; that salvation is forever, yet saints must remain obedient and persevere to the end; that the Christian’s life is lived in total commitment and discipline to self, yet is all of Christ. Such inscrutable truths are an encouragement that the mind of god infinitely surpasses the mind of man and are a great proof of the divine authorships of Scripture. Humans writing a Bible on their own would have attempted to resolve such problems.” (John MacArthur, emphasis added)

This should give us more desire to read the Scriptures knowing that it truly was inspired, or there may well have been many more books devoted solely to harmonizing the two truths that we might fully understand. I pray this would strengthen you faith, you would pray with ferverancy, and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Come to know His desire for you, the magnificent plans He has for you, the deep love He has for you, and joy amidst time spent with Him.

Bibliography
1.) Bible, ESV, NASB
2.) J. I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, Chicago, Inter-Varsity, 1961, pp.16-17
3.) John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Ephesians, Chicago, The Moody Bible Institute, 1986, p.10-13
4.) Blueletterbible.org
5.) Biblegateway.org