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Soon after the beginning of the
church at Pentecost, it became apparent that Gentiles were
trusting in Christ in far greater numbers than Jews. It appeared
as though God had forgotten His chosen people! But that was not
the case! Paul recalled all the promises that God had given to
Israel alone (Rom. 9:1-5). Paul’s love for the Jewish people
came to the surface. He said that he could wish himself to be
accursed from God if it would mean the salvation of the Jews
(Rom. 9:3). But Paul went on to make known that Israel’s
rejection was really in God’s plan. It was for the purpose of
revealing the chosen people of God. Paul explained that
not all the descendants of Israel were in fact, Israel.
“But it is not as though the
word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are
descended from Israel.” (Rom. 9:6)
What exposed the true sons of
Israel? Faith! True descendants of Jacob would exercise the same
faith in God that Abraham had (Gen. 15:6). This was not the case
with all Jews. Paul gave some clear illustrations to show why
God’s word had not failed! Israel’s rejection was in His plan
and their refusal to believe would be used to reveal God’s
elect.
The first illustration Paul used
was the birth of Isaac. Not all of Abraham’s descendants were
brought into being “like Isaac.”
“Nor are they all children
because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: ‘through Isaac
your descendants will be named.’” (Rom. 9:7)
God had not given Paul some
special divine insight. Paul had simply read his Bible. He had
read carefully a portion of the book of Genesis.
“But God said to Abraham, 'Do
not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever
Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your
descendants shall be named.'” (Gen. 21:12)
The true children of Abraham were
to be born “like Isaac was born.” How was Isaac born? God
rejected Abraham and Sarah’s human means of bringing about the
promised child. Then God alone brought the promised child to be.
God did it all! That is the essence of grace! God does it all!
God gives life to the dead. (See “The
Isaac Connection.”)
Paul also used the illustration
of Rebecca’s twin sons, Esau and Jacob.
“And not only this, but there
was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man,
our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and
had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose
according to His choice would stand, not because of works
but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, ‘The older
will serve the younger;’ Just as it is written, ‘Jacob I
loved, but Esau I hated’.” (Rom. 9:10-13)
Here is a picture of God’s
distinguishing grace. We will never understand the depths of
this, but it is in the Bible and it is clear! God had told
Rebecca that twins were in her womb (Gen. 25:23). But before
the twins were born, God chose Jacob! God made the choice! God
made a decision! Paul quotes from the Old Testament book of
Malachi.
“‘I have loved you,’ says the
LORD. But you say, ‘How have You loved you? Was not
Esau Jacob’s brother?’ declares the LORD. ‘Yet I have loved
Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains
a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the
jackals of the wilderness.’” (Mal. 1:2-3)
To “hate Esau” is a Hebrew idiom.
It means that God had rejected Esau in order to fulfill His
divine purpose. It does not mean to hate in the way that we
understand the word. In fact, God blessed Esau and made him the
father of twelve princes. God’s hatred for Esau meant that Esau
was not to be a part of God’s divine purpose.
Paul said that God chose Jacob in
order that His purpose might be accomplished (verse 11). God’s
extended grace is based solely upon His choice. Paul anticipated
the many questions that would be raised in the minds of his
readers. In order to answer the questions, Paul turned to the
authority of scripture.
Paul used Moses to confirm God’s
sovereign choices of Isaac and Jacob.
“What shall we say then?
Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he
saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
So then it is not of him that willeth (chooses) nor
of him that runneth (strives) but of God that showeth
mercy." (Rom. 9:14-16)
Paul also used Pharaoh as an
illustration that God is the Potter and His creation is the
clay.
“For the Scripture says to
Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I raised you up, to
demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be
proclaimed throughout the whole earth.’” (Rom. 9:17).
Pharaoh was “raised up by God”
for a special purpose. This is hard to balance in our mind
unless we have a proper view of God. It is precisely what the
Bible says. Paul was not pulling this information out of the
air. He was quoting from the Old Testament.
“Then the LORD said to Moses,
‘Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and
say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, Let
My people go, that they may serve Me. For this time I will
send all My plagues on you and your servants and your
people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in
all the earth. For if by now I had put forth My hand and
struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then
have been cut off from the earth. But, indeed, for this
reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My
power and in order to proclaim My name through all the
earth. Still you exalt yourself against My people by not
letting them go” (Ex. 9:13-18).
As the sovereign Creator of the
entire universe, God retains the right to do with His creation
what He has chosen to do.
“So then He has mercy on whom
He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.” (Rom. 9:18)
“He desires” is from the Greek
word thelo. It means “a choice!” God shows mercy to those
whom He chooses to show mercy. The word “harden” is from the
Greek word scleros. The picture is that of baking clay in
the sun until it hardens. God hardens those whom He chooses to
harden. (See “The
Creator’s Privilege.”)
God Chose Us
God’s elective purpose was not
for Jews only; it was also extended to Gentiles.
“And He did so to make
known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which
He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He
also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among
Gentiles. As He says also in Hosea, ‘I will call those who
were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not
beloved, ‘beloved.’” (Rom. 9:23-25)
Notice that God prepared His
elect beforehand (both Jews and Gentile) for glory. The Bible
says that believers are “in Christ” because God has chosen them
to be in Christ.
“In love He predestined us to
adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according
to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the
glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the
Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of
His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight
He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to
His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to
an administration suitable to the fullness of the times,
that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in
the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have
obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according
to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His
will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in
Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you
also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of
your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him
with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of
our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own
possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Eph. 1:3-14;
emphasis mine)
God’s redemption of man is
based upon the will and work of God. We know the Lord Jesus
Christ as our Savior because God has chosen to set His love upon
us. He willed us to know Him long before this world began.
People do not choose God, God chooses people. Therefore, God
deserves all the credit and all the glory for His so great
salvation. That is what makes grace, grace! He chose us “in
Christ” before the foundation of the world that we should be
holy and blameless before Him. (See “What
does God know and How does He know it?”)
There are some who explain this
text by implying that Christ was the chosen one of God.
Believers are chosen only because they choose to believe
in Him. But that is not what the passage says. Paul is
emphasizing the “when” of this event. When were believer’s
chosen in Christ? Believers were chosen in Christ before the
foundation of the world. Christ was obviously chosen by God
before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:20).
But that is not Paul’s point!
Paul’s point is that believers were chosen in Christ before
the world began. Before anyone was born, believers were
chosen. From eternity past, believers were in God’s mind. He
chose believers to be made holy in Christ. God chose us just as
He brought Isaac into the world! God chose us just as He chose
Jacob. He chose us to be blameless in Christ. The verb “He chose
us” turns the action back on the one doing the choosing.
Paul preached the gospel of God’s
grace to a group of Jews who blatantly rejected the message! So
he turned his attention to a group of Gentiles.
“The next Sabbath nearly the
whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. But when
the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and
began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and
were blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and
said, ‘It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to
you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves
unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the
Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed
You as a light for the Gentiles, That You may bring
salvation to the end of the earth.’ When the Gentiles heard
this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of
the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life
believed.” (Acts 13:44-48)
Who were the ones who believed?
Those whom God had appointed to believe! God’s elective grace is
taught in the Bible and it is clear.
God’s Glory
Our life in Christ is based
entirely upon the purpose and work of God. God saved us in order
that He might be glorified. It is all of Him and from
Him, and it is all to His credit. He alone must receive all
the glory and all the praise. God has done it
in order to
display the riches of His glory
(Rom 9:23). Salvation must be all
of God’s grace, or man would have some basis for glory.
Why did He choose us? He chose
us because of the good pleasure of His will. He chose us because
He wanted to.
“But by His doing you are in
Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and
righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that,
just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the
Lord’” (1 Cor. 1:30-31).
“For you are a holy people to
the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a
people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are
on the face of the earth.
The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because
you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you
were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved
you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers,
the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you
from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of
Egypt” (Deut. 7:6-8).
Moses felt no compulsion to
explain why God chose Israel. God volunteered the information
that He did not choose Israel because they were large. He simply
chose to set His love upon them because He is the Creator. He
reserves that right.
We do not worship a frustrated
Deity. God did not sit up in heaven wringing His hands saying,
“I hope some nation chooses Me.” No! Out of all the people on
the earth, God chose Israel, and He called them “My elect.”
“For you are a holy people to
the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a
people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are
on the face of the earth.” (Deut 14:2)
“And He brought forth His
people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful shout.” (Psa.
105:43)
“For the Lord has chosen
Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession.” (Psa.
135:4)
“I say then, God has not
rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am
an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of
Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.
Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage
about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? ‘Lord,
they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your
altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.’
But what is the divine response to him? ‘I have kept for
Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to
Baal.’ In the same way then, there has also come to be at
the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious
choice. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis
of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.” (Rom. 11:1-6)
Although many in Israel rejected
God, there were some who did not. Why? Because God has always
kept for Himself a remnant according to His grace.
Grace is the means that God uses
to accomplish His plan. Grace means that what God planned from
eternity past, He will do! One cannot go beyond that! We cannot
know the depths of the mind of God.
The Word “Election"
“Who shall bring a charge
against God's elect?” (Rom. 8:33)
“As those who have been elect
of God, holy and beloved” (Col. 3:12; KJV).
The New American Standard Version
Bible correctly translates elect as “chosen.”
“So, as those who have been
chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Col. 3:12). The
word “elect” is taken from the Greek word eklego. Ek
is the preposition, “out from,” and lego is the verb “to
say or to call.” When placed together, the word means “to call
out.” Believers are those whose identity can be explained as
the “elect of God.” Christians are the ones who have been called
out by God. Dr. Charles Ryrie says, “When Paul uses the verb,
“elect” he uses the middle voice which indicates that God’s
choice is made freely and for His own purpose.” (Basic
Theology; Moody Press, 1999, p 360).
“For this reason I endure all
things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they
also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and
with it eternal glory.” (2 Tim 2:10)
“Paul, a bond-servant of God
and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those
chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is
according to godliness.” (Titus 1:1)
“The elder to the chosen lady
and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but
also all who know the truth.” (2 John 1)
“The children of your chosen
sister greet you.” (2 John 13)
“But you are a chosen (eklektos)
race, A royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s
own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of
Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous
light.” (1 Pet. 2:9)
“We give thanks to God always
for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers;
constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of
love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in
the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brethren
beloved by God, His choice of you.” (1 Thess. 1:2-4)
“But we should always give
thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because
God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through
sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was
for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brethren, stand
firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught,
whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.” (2 Thess.
2:13)
“But
by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us
wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and
redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who
boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:30-31)
The Called
God predetermines, predestines,
calls, justifies, and glorifies all whom He has chosen (Rom.
8:29-30).
“Even every one that is
called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I
have formed him; yea, I have made him” (Isa. 43:7).
God calls to Himself those whom
He has chosen! The two main Greek words for “call” are kaleo
and kletos. Kaleo means to be summoned and
kletos means to be invited. When the little preposition
ek is added to the Greek word kaleo, it is
translated. “To be summoned out of” or “called out.” It is
translated in the New Testament as “church,” or “called out
ones.” There is also the word klesis which is translated
“calling.” Notice how the words are used in the New Testament.
(The commentary used in these verses is my own.)
1 Corinthians 1:9
“God is faithful, through
whom you were called (kaleo, summoned) into
fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:24
“But to those who are the
called (kletos, invited) both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
Romans 1:6
“Among whom you also are the
called (kletos, invited) of Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 4:1
“Therefore I, the prisoner of
the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the
calling (klesis, the calling) with which you have
been called” (kaleo, summoned).
Ephsians 4:4
“There is one body and one
Spirit, just as also you were called (kaleo,
summoned) in one hope of your calling” (klesis,
calling).
1 Timothy 6:12
“Fight the good fight of
faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were
called (kaleo, summoned) and you made the good
confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
2 Timothy 1:9
“Who has saved us and called
(kaleo, summoned) us with a holy calling, (klesis)
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all
eternity.”
Jude 1:1
“Jude, a bond-servant of
Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are the
called (kletos, the invited ones) beloved in God the
Father, and kept for Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 1:15
“But like the Holy One who
called (kaleo, summonded) you, be holy yourselves
also in all your behavior.”
1 Peter 2:21
“For you have been called (kaleo,
summoned) for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for
you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.”
1 Peter 5:10
“After you have suffered for
a little while, the God of all grace, who called (kaleo,
summoned) you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself
perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”
2 Peter 1:3
“Seeing that His divine power
has granted to us everything pertaining to life and
godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called (kaleo,
summoned) us by His own glory and excellence.”
2 Timothy 1:9
“Who 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.”
The Called Will Come
Those who have been elected by
God will come to His call. Look closely at these words of Jesus
Christ and consider first of all the giving and then
the coming.
“All that the Father gives Me
will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will
certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven,
not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This
is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has
given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”
(Jn. 6:37-39)
The Father first gives the sheep
to the Shepherd, and then the sheep come to the Shepherd.
“The Jews then gathered
around Him, and were saying to Him, ‘How long will You keep
us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.’
Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe;
the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of
Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish;
and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who
has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is
able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the
Father are one’” (Jn. 10:24-30).
It is my understanding that many
shepherds often use the same watering holes in the Middle East.
Water is scarce, so it is common to see several shepherds with
their sheep around the same pool. The sheep are all blended
together. When a shepherd is ready to leave, he calls his sheep
to himself. His sheep recognize his voice, and they come to him.
They come because they belong to him, and they know his voice.
This is exactly what our Lord had
in mind. The sheep will come to the Shepherd by placing their
faith in Jesus Christ. That is the human responsibility to the
hearing of the gospel. The divine side is God’s election, and
the human side is to believe in Jesus Christ. Those who have
been called must respond to the call by faith.
But when did the sheep belong to
the Shepherd? They belonged to the Shepherd before they came.
The giving clearly precedes the coming. The sheep were sheep
before they came. If they were sheep, they came; and if they
were not sheep, then they did not come.
“I ask on their behalf; I do
not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have
given Me; for they are Yours” (John 17:9).
When God’s Son came to earth, He
chose the tax collectors and the prostitutes, the socially
rejected, and the poor. These were the ones whom the Father gave
to the Son. He turned away those who were religious and
self-righteous.
“For consider your calling,
brethren, that there were not many wise according to the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen
the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God
has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things
which are strong, and the base things of the world and the
despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He
may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast
before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who
became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and
sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is
written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Cor.
1:26-31).
“I speak not of you all: I
know whom I have chosen” (Jn. 13:18).
Century by century, year by year, and day by day,
many will trust Christ by means of the gospel of God's grace.
Those who have been elected by God
will come to His call by means of the gospel. They will come to
God because He has chosen them.
New American
Standard Bible
Chafer’s
Systematic Theology
S. Lewis
Johnson; tapes from Believer’s Chapel
Bible
Knowledge Commentary; New Testament
John
MacArthur
Charles
Ryrie; Basic Theology
Word Pictures
in the New Testament; A. T. Robertson
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