Featured The Doctrine of Election in a Nutshell

This doctrine is so simple it should never be misunderstood. I am going to put it on the bottom shelf so all can reach it.

If the reader can understand that God is a trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and they can believe it, then they can understand election in the NT as it relates to the church of Jesus Christ.

First, as a trinity, the Godhead is separate in their function in redemption and are yet one in purpose. The Godhead through counsel determined before the creation of the world how he would redeem sinful men and restore them to himself. If one will understand election he must take this division of the Godhead into consideration and honor what is said about each member. As a for instance, look at this;

Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

It is important to understand that when this passage says "God," it is speaking specifically of God the Father. The context of course demands it.

Who is it who justifies a believing sinner? It is God the Father. Is it the Son? No. Is it the Spirit of God? No. It is God the Father, the Judge of all the earth.

Now, notice the Son of the Father who has a specific function in our redemption. It is he who came as a man to pay the penalty for our sins, which is death. That is the penalty. But he had no sin and God the Father was propitiated by his sacrifice when he put him to death and the justice of the Father was realized through the Son and there can now be forgiveness of sins in his name. Since he did no sin and there was nothing on which to hold him in death, God the Father raised him from the dead and he lives today and gives his life to all who will believe the Father's testimony of him. Look at this.

34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Is it the Father who died and is risen? No. Is it the Spirit who died and is risen? No. It is the Son of God and the son of man, Jesus Christ.

Now, the next verse, Verse 35 says this;

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

What does that mean exactly. For that, we will need to know what is the function of the Spirit in this purpose of God. Chapter 8 is all about his function. He was the person of the Godhead who indwelt the body of Jesus Christ and empowered him to not sin in his body. It can be said without apology that he is the righteousness of Christ. Why is that important? Because of his function on our behalf. Watch this;

Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

The Spirit of life is a person of the Godhead. He was in Christ from conception until the 3rd hour on the cross when he suffered spiritual death. The Spirit left his body. Separation is the meaning of death. Then on the third day he raised the body of Jesus from the dead and 1 Peter 3:18 and Romans 8:11 says "quickening" it by indwelling him at the tomb at the resurrection.

He, the Spirit, is eternal and is the life of the body of the man who is redeemed. Look at this;

1 Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

This is the reason there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. It is because they are free now from the law of sin and death and they have the righteousness of Christ dwelling in their bodies. His and God's Spirit. He is eternal and will never leave us. Look.

9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Notice he is both the Spirit of God and of Christ at the same time.

Continued

 

Continued

Now, what has this got to do with election. It is because Jesus was chosen before the world began for the purpose of redeeming and perfecting the believers of this age and forming them into his body, the church. This body would be formed from the sword pierced side of our Lord Jesus, the blood that flowed forth representing physical life that he gave up and the water representing the Spiritual live that left his body at death. The creation of the church is dependent upon his death and resurrection because she is given to him as his bride.

We have a precedent of this with Adam and Eve. God the Father prepared a body for Adam. He put him into a deep sleep, representing death, and opened up his side and took what was needed from him and formed a woman, a bride for him. When she was complete he presented her to Adam as his wife.

We also have it in the picture of marriage between a man and a woman. They are two who becomes one at the marriage union, the woman being the helpmeet of the man, who is the head. Both these types are dealt with in the epistle of the Ephesians where the church is explained by the apostle Paul.

Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

One other function of the Spirit is to baptize, or immerse, the believer he indwells into this body he is forming as gifted and functional members of the body.

1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one member, but many.

When the Spirit puts the new believer into the body, God the Father elects them by virtue of electing Jesus Christ. The new believer is in Christ. They are justified and without sin and have the perfect righteousness in them, the Spirit, that God the Father demands and now they become his son.

This is how simple election is.

2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The context of the verses I quoted should be read.

 

The trinity. You do believe in the Godhead, no?

Here are some verses for your consideration.

Ps 33:11 The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

The thoughts of God's heart is his counsel, according to the above.

Pr 15:22 Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

Ge 11:5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

And the important counsel of the Godhead in eternity past that deals with election in the present time, here:

9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his (the ttriune God) will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he (the triune God) might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him (Christ):
11 In whom (in Christ) also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him (God the Father)(what does V 10 say the purpose is) who worketh all things after the counsel of his (the triune God) own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Who was the first to trust in Christ. Read the first seven chapters of Acts to get this answer.

Who was added later? Read Acts 10 & 11 for this answer. Acts is a history book. It tells what happened.

13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

One MUST distinguish between the WE and the YE in Ephesians.

Ponder these verses and we can chat some more. Remember the epistles are the explanation of the history of the apostles ministry, which, according to Eph 2:20 is foundational.

 

You need to reset. The NT scriptures tells us what is the beginning in the context of 2 Thess 2. We do not have to guess about it. We are told in multiple places. Take some time to think about this on your own. I will help you with it later if you still need help.

 

Do you know, and can you articulate what God's purpose according to election is? My guess is that you cannot, and therefore, will not. I hope you prove me wrong.

 

It is complicated for those who have a theology without a reliance on the words of God and the context of those words. This is a great error and is the way your teachers leads you astray, and you, by buying into this deception, leads others astray. I am acquainted with your MO. You can adjust it but it will take humility on your part.

 

No, you misunderstand. The theology you follow is the error because it does not rely on the words in a text, in context.

 

No, that interpretation is totally not what Romans 9 teaches. All the names in Romans 9 are those of OT personalities. Romans 9 follows Romans 8. Romans 8 tells how a sinner is justified by God the Father and becomes a son of God. He has the Spirit of Christ dwelling in him and quickening him. This is a faith issue rather than a law issue. In Romans 9 Paul under the inspiration of God is dismantling the proposition of the physical seed of Abraham as being the chosen of God and teaching rather that those who were born of Abraham and experienced the second birth, the quickening of of the indwelling Spirit, were the children of God. The emphasis in Romans 9 is to contrast the first born, with the second born. These are metaphors and the aim is to demonstrate how God chooses the second birth. Ishmael/Isaac, Esau/Jacob

8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

Even Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, could not save anyone as he ministered on earth under the weakness of his first physical birth. It was not until he had experienced his second birth that he made salvation available to every man. It was by his resurrection from the dead.

I can hear your brain shifting gears and grinding cogs now. Jesus, a second birth?

Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Now, caution, if you try to make that mean something other than what it says , it is because you do not believe the words. You can't have good theology unless you believe the words.

Rom 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures)
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
4 And declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

Compare these two passages:

Ps 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.


Ac 13:26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
27 For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled [them] in condemning [him].
28 And though they found no cause of death [in him], yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.
29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.
30 But God raised him from the dead:
31 And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.
32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

God is teaching through typology and metaphor.

Picture Israel, the 10 tribes in the OT as being the firstborn. Then picture Judah as being the second born. It is Israel that was cursed and called "not my people," and it was Judah who received the blessing. This metaphor is plainly set forth in Rom 9 to illustrate who of this people, who were born in the family of Abraham, are the children of God. It is those who have had the second birth after the type.

One must rightly divide the scriptures.