Jeremiah is my proof:
*Jeremiah 1:5*
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Here we see that Jeremiah was elected/chosen and consecrated (made holy and separate unto God) before he had been born.
Jesus prayer reveals that God chose those who would believe far before they were born.
*John 17:20-24*
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Finally we see God's appointment in this verse:
*Acts 13:48*
And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
So, the Bible makes no sense to you?
*Ephesians 2:4-5*
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
According to scripture we are saved...by grace.
A few verses later Paul adds...
*Ephesians 2:8-9*
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
I suggest you stop changing God's word to fit your humanist philosophy of free will salvation.
A vast amount of scripture has been provided to you that declares the Supremacy of God in saving you by His gracious choice, despite your wretched rebellion against God. God chose to love you, even while you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Like Jeremiah, God knew you before you were formed in the womb and God knew the plans he had for you. Your salvation was not left to chance or to the possibility that you would somehow choose God. If you believe there was a possibility you would not be saved, then you might as well join Greg Boyd and embrace his "open theism" where God doesn't know all that will happen and is taken by surprise by the events that are transpiring.
This is so much misinformation. I asked for you for proof that you, your name, whoever you are, be supplied as being chosen of God before the foundation of the world and some times before the creation of the world being predestined to be saved. You give me Jeremiah's name and nothing about him being chosen to be saved from the penalty of his sins, which is the second death in the lake of fire where those who meet that fate are forgotten of God. The context of Jeremiah is his call to be a prophet of God. God's omniscience does not preclude that he must choose someone to be saved before they are born and it does not exclude the fact that he can make a decision of how he will use someone whom he knows will be willing to be used, even before they are born.
You are wresting the scriptures.
Now, concerning John 17:20-24.
If Jesus Christ, the Son of God would have prayed this prayer to the Father AFTER the cross and resurrection, then I would throw my Bible over the hill and forget that I ever read it. He is praying to the Father for, first of all, his apostles and prophets that he has chosen and will be his preachers after his death, burial, and resurrection. In the same breath he is praying for all their converts and he is asking something very specific that is not true or possible before his sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection. Finally, These things will happen and then this prayer request will be answered and accomplished by the Father, who alone can answer it. What is the prayer request? As expected, you have highlighted the wrong thing in your comments and commentary. The request is this:
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
(
This is a prayer for a collective group, not for an individual. it is for believers present and believers future)
Here is the request, plain as day.
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
This prayer is answered after the resurrection when the CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST BEGAN TO BE FORMED when everyone who believes the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is his death, burial, and resurrection on behalf of the sinners of the world, were baptized (not with water) but by the Spirit into his body where he is in their bodies in the person of the Spirit and they are in his body as a functioning member according to the prerogative of the Spirit who chooses the role of each member he puts there. Read 1 Cor 12 and you will see the function of each member of the Godhead clearly distinguished in the body in this chapter if you have spiritual acumen, eyes to see.
The prayer in John 17 is not a good place for you to prove your Calvinism. The purpose of this "oneness" is so the world may see the wisdom of God in this body where the Father is one with the son and the Father and the Son are one with the collective church.
This was decided and was the aim in Jesus Christ before the creation of the world and Jesus Christ is praying now for it to take place through his sacrifice that he is on the eve of making. Look at it;
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should (
future tense - he must die and rise again before anyone has eternal life) give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.