Union with Christ Renders Election and Predestination Certain

[Iconoclast]

This spiritual union of the believer with Christ—the reality of the infallible, eternal redemptive purpose may be described and explained in the following terms:

• It is an organic union. Believers become members of Christ as members of an organism, albeit this organism is spiritual. This spiritual union is to find expression in the local assembly (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 4:11–16; Phil. 1:27).

• It is a vital union. The life of Christ becomes the dominating and energizing principle within the believer (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:11–14; 8:5–14; 2 Cor. 13:5).

• It is a spiritual union. Not only is this union spiritual in nature, it is mediated and sustained by the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9–16; Eph. 3:16–19).

• It is a personal union. Every believer is personally or individually united to Christ directly as to his spiritual life (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20).

• It is a legal or federal union. As the believer was once identified or in union with Adam, so he is now in union with Christ (Rom. 5:12–21). All the legal or covenant obligations of the believer rest on or are met in Christ, and all the legal or covenant merits accrue to the believer.

• It is a reciprocal union. This takes into account both the objective and subjective aspects. The initial action is on the part of Christ, to whom the believer in faith reacts, interacts, or reciprocates. This is not only union, but necessarily communion with the triune Godhead through Christ (Jn. 14:6, 9, 16–17, 20; Rom. 8:9–16; Eph. 3:16–19).

• It is a transforming union. Believers are changed into the image of Christ according to his human nature. This began at regeneration, when the image of God was restored in principle in righteousness, holiness of the truth and knowledge (Eph. 4:22–24564; Col. 3:9–10) and continues throughout the Christian experience as believers are “conformed to the image of his Son” in maturity, sufferings, etc. (Rom. 6:6, 14; 8:9–10; 14–17, 29; Eph. 2:10).



563 “…if we died with him…” (sunapeqa,nomen)., i.e., were identified or brought into union in his death. 564 Eph. 4:22–24 should read as does Col. 3:10—as a present condition based on a past fact, i.e., “you have [already] put on…you have [already] put off…” not as a command. Cf. the use of the aor. inf. of result, which views the action as past. 220



• It is an inscrutable union. This is what old Divines termed the “mystical union” of Christ and his own, i.e., this union is mysterious in the sense of being incomprehensible and incapable of intelligent comprehension in our finite state.

• It is an indissoluble union. This relation, identification or union between Christ and the believer can never be dissolved. Note that, in biblical teaching, justification by faith has an immediate relation to assurance of faith (e.g., Rom. 5:1–3). This relationship is both necessary and logical because of the reality of the believer’s indissoluble union with Christ.

Thus, the believer’s union with Christ stands at the very center of all redemptive truth and forms the objective scriptural basis for the final perseverance of the true people of God.



Union with Christ and Romans Chapter Six

The Relation between Romans 5:10–21 And 6:1–23

Romans chapter six, more than any other passage, deals with practical implications and necessary expression of the believer’s union with Christ in the life and experience. The basis of the teaching in this chapter on the believer’s union with Christ is laid in 5:10, 12–21:

• Believers are saved by [in union with] the resurrection–life of our Lord (evn th/| zwh/| auvtou/).

• As every believer was once identified with or considered in union with Adam, so now every true believer is considered as identified with or in union with Christ.

• As the sin of Adam was imputed to the human race, and everyone inherited his sin–nature, so everyone in union with Christ has both an imputed righteousness [justification] and an imparted righteousness [sanctification].

• As sin reigned unto death in Adam, so grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, a converted life is the expression of the reality of the believer’s union with Christ.

Calvinism /Arminianism pg171.

 

[Iconoclast]

There is nothing potential here at all, but rather actual.

There is no potential salvation, propitiation, reconciliation, justification, sanctification.
Many speculate on these things, but this teaching renders all such speculation , null and void.

 

[Reformed]

Brother, it is a good idea to give full credit to the author. What is the book and who is the author?

 

[Iconoclast]

Brother, it is a good idea to give full credit to the author. What is the book and who is the author?

W.R.Downing...Calvinism,Arminianism....used by permission.
Lulu

I will post the table of contents when I get on my laptop.
Also some free literature here;
SGBCSV.ORG
Go to literature.

 

[Iconoclast]

Brother, it is a good idea to give full credit to the author. What is the book and who is the author?

Here is the table of contents,
Preface 17Introduction 19Lectures On Calvinism 19The Texts 19The Principles 19
The Purpose And Nature Of These Lectures 21Concerning TheBibliography 22

Part I: The Nature And History Of Calvinism 23Who Was John Calvin? 23
Calvin As A Man 23A Biographical Sketch 23Personality And Character 25Calvin As A Reformer 29Calvin As A Second–Generation Reformer 29
Calvin In Relation To The Other Reformers 29Calvin And Geneva 30
Calvin And Servetus 31Calvin As An Author 31Calvin As A Humanist Author 32Institutes Of The Christian Religion 32
Calvin’s Treatises 33Calvin’s Commentaries 33Calvin’s Sermons 34
Calvin’s Letters 34Calvin As A Theologian 35
The Essence Of Calvin’s Theology 35Calvin Was The Great Systematizer Of The Reformation 35Calvin And The Reformation Of The Church 36Calvin As An Exegete And Interpreter 37
Calvin As The Father Of Modern Exegesis 37Calvin’s Qualities As An Interpreter Of Scripture 38Calvin As A Teacher And Preacher 38Calvin As A Teacher 3Calvin As A Preacher 39Calvin’s Teaching And Preaching Schedule 41

see pt2;

 

[Iconoclast]

pt2;
What Is Calvinism? 40Introduction 41The Deciding Issue: Grace Or Works? 41Calvinism And Determinism Or Fatalism 41
“Calvinists” Before Calvin 42The Terms “Calvinism” And “Calvinist” 44
Calvinism Considered Essentially 44Calvinism As An Attitude Or Approach 45Calvinism As A System 45Calvinism Considered Denominationally 47Calvinism Considered Historically 48
Calvinism Considered Soteriologically 49Calvinism Considered Inclusively 52What Is “Moderate Calvinism”? 54
Introduction 54Departures From The Truth 54Arminianism 54Amyraldianism 55Pajonism Or Congruism 55
Modifications Of The Truth 56What Is “Hyper–Calvinism”? 56
Introduction 57The Illogical Approach 57The Doctrinal Approach 58
Supralapsarianism 58A Doctrinal Imbalance 58The Practical Approach 59What Is The Legacy And History Of The “Calvinistic Tradition”? 60Introduction: What Is Meant By The “Calvinistic Tradition”? 60“Calvinistic” Or “Reformed” Tradition? 60The Key: A Consistent And Inclusive Application Of Scripture 60Summary 62
The “Calvinistic Tradition” And Theology 62The Doctrine Of The Scriptures 63Systematic Theology 63
Election, Predestination And Providence 64The Historic Reformed And Evangelical Confessions And Catechisms 64

see pt3

 

[Iconoclast]

pt3'
The Moral Law 66The Church 67Apologetics 69The Christian Ministry 69
Common Grace 70Summary 70The “Calvinistic Tradition”: Geographical And Historical Expansion 71Switzerland 71France 72Germany 73
Eastern Europe 74The Netherlands 74Scotland 75
Northern Ireland 76England 76America 77Summary 78
The “Calvinistic Tradition” And Political Issues 79The Relation Of Church And State 80Religious Liberty And Civil Rights 81
Lawful Authority, Religious Disobedience And Civil Resistance 83
Summary 87The “Calvinistic Tradition” And Social Issues 87
The Moral Law And Social Reform 87Secularization And Social Decay 88

Summary 90The “Calvinistic Tradition” And Economics 91
Economic Theories 91The Unique Nature Of Calvinistic Economics 92
Calvinism, Calling And Capitalism 93Summary 95
The “Calvinistic Tradition” And Philosophy 95The Christian And Philosophy 95Calvin And Philosophy 95Calvinism As A Philosophy 95
The Opposition Of Humanistic Philosophies And Other Systems To Calvinism 97Philosophers In The Reformed Or “Calvinistic Tradition” 100

Summary 101
The “Calvinistic Tradition” And Education 101The Significance Of Calvin In Education 101
The History And Significance Of The “Calvinistic Tradition” And State Education 104Christian Vs. State Education 104
A Case History Of Education In The “Calvinistic Tradition” 107
Summary 108The “Calvinistic Tradition”: The Arts And Sciences 108

The Arts 109The Sciences 111
Summary 111
The “Calvinistic Tradition” And Evangelism 111Calvinism Is Evangelistic 111An Inclusive Approach To Evangelism 112The History Of Calvinistic Evangelism 112
Summary 116The “Calvinistic Tradition” And Missions 116
The History Of Calvinistic Missions 116
Summary 121The “Calvinsitic Traditon” And Revival 121
What Are The Various Terms Associated With Revival? 121

What Is Revival? 122What Is “Revivalism”? 122
When And Why The Transition From Revival To “Revivalism”? 123
What Is The Testimony Of Scripture? 124What Is The Witness Of History? 125

Summary 129
Part II: The Five Points Of Calvinism Or The Doctrines Of Grace 130
Introduction 130
Covenant Theology Or The Eternal Redemptive Purpose 131

Introduction 131The Covenant Of Works 131
The Covenant Of Grace 133Every Human Being Is In One Of Two Covenants 137The Covenant Of Grace And The Doctrines Of Grace 138

Total Depravity Or Human Ability 139The Scriptures 139
The Canons Of Dort 145

The 1689 Baptist Confession Of Faith 147An Exposition Of The Doctrine 148
The Original State Of Man Before The Fall 148
The Fall Of Man 149The Consequences Of The Fall 149
The Nature Of Man’s Depravity And Inability 152
Human Inability, Free Will And Responsibility 153
Unconditional Election Or Foreordination To Eternal Life 154
The Teaching Of Scripture 154The Canons Of Dort 158
The 1689 Baptist Confession Of Faith 164
An Exposition Of The Doctrine 165

 

[Iconoclast]

Reformed....it goes on like this, giving doctrinal explanations, some extensive posting about Finney, etc...if you have any specific portions I can post them...if you want to see the rest of the table of contents let me know...

 

[Iconoclast]

THE PURPOSE AND NATURE OF THESE LECTURES

• The purpose of these lectures is to survey the nature and history of Calvinism, the “Doctrines of Grace,” and the history and theology of Arminianism. Many scholars have dedicated their entire academic lives to a study of Calvin and Calvinism. In these lectures, we can only survey and introduce the influence of John Calvin and Calvinism. The purpose is neither to degrade nor to deify either the man or the system that bears his name, but to state the truth biographically, doctrinally, philosophically and historically as accurately and simply as possible. It is intended that these lectures will be both informative and edifying. It is further hoped that they will convict and motivate all who read them toward a more consistent and inclusive, practical Christianity.

• The development of these lectures. This series of lectures consists of three parts: the first part is concerned with the nature and history of Calvinism, the second with the “Doctrines of Grace” or soteriological aspect of Calvinism, and the third with the history and theology of Arminianism.

There is, to our knowledge, no extant work on the history and theology of Arminianism available. The lectures in the third part of this volume form a general, basic approach that treats the salient doctrines, personalities and influence of what is commonly known as Arminianism [semi–Pelagianism] from a critical viewpoint.

• The inclusive nature of these lectures. Both Calvin and Calvinism have suffered a great amount of misunderstanding and misrepresentation. These have arisen from ignorance, prejudice or a designed effort to nullify their influence. Arminianism has become generally accepted as the foundational truth of modern Fundamental and Evangelical Christianity. Few, however, comprehensively understand either its history or its doctrinal development and tendencies. These lectures are intended to inform, educate and evaluate the truth biographically, doctrinally, philosophically and historically.



5 Philip Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, I, p. 445, footnote, quoted from Schaff’s Essay on Calvin in the Bibliotheca Sacra for 1857. 21

 

[Iconoclast]

Union with Christ | Monergism

What Is "Union With Christ"?
If this doctrine is, as John Murray wrote, "the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation," what does it mean and why is it so important?

First, union with Christ describes the reality of which Paul wrote in Romans chapter six. As a husband and wife are united through marriage and a parent and a child are united through birth, so we are united to Christ through the Spirit's baptism. Those who are familiar with the historical (if not contemporary) discourses of Reformed and Lutheran preaching will immediately recognize the emphasis on the objective work of Christ in history.

Themes such as election, the incarnation, the substitutionary atonement, the active and passive obedience of Christ, justification, adoption, and the objective aspect of sanctification (i.e., the declaration that we are already holy in Christ), form the diet of the best and most biblically faithful preaching. Each of these themes serves to remind the believer that his or her righteousness is found not within, but outside.

Nevertheless, there is a subjective aspect to our union with Christ which receives equal attention in Scripture and, therefore, commands equal attention from us. Calvin wrote, "We must understand that as long as Christ remains outside of us, and we are separated from him, all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless and of no value for us....All that he possesses is nothing to us until we grow into one body with him" (Institutes, III.i.1).

Union with Christ and Conversion
This doctrine is another way of saying, "Christ alone!" All spiritual blessings in heavenly places are found in him. Even the gifts of the Holy Spirit are through and for the ministry of Christ the Mediator. No one is baptized in the Holy Spirit, but baptized bythe Holy Spirit into Christ.

Regeneration, or the new birth, is the commencement of this union. God brings this connection and baptism even before there is any sign of life--"while you were dead...he made you alive" (Eph.2:1). The first gift of this union is faith, the sole instrument through which we live and remain on this vine. But this is a rich vine, pregnant with nourishing sap to produce an abundance of fruit. Though we are not attached to nor remain attached to this vine by the fruit (what branch depends on the fruit?), those who are truly members of Christ inevitably produce fruit. Through union with Christ, we receive his righteousness imputed (justification) as well as his righteousness imparted (sanctification).

So conversion to Christ is one aspect of a prior work of God's grace in uniting us to his Son. At this point, then, it is essential to relate this to contemporary concerns.

 

[Iconoclast]

Old Baptist: Union With Christ

Saturday, June 10, 2017
Union With Christ

Questions:

1) Does union with Christ precede or follow faith?

2) Does regeneration precede or follow union with Christ?

3) Does justification precede or follow union with Christ?

4) Does regeneration precede or follow justification?

Proposition - Union with Christ is by Faith

H.B. Smith in his Systematic Theology wrote (SEE HERE - emphasis mine):

"The doctrine of union with Christ is fundamental as to the mode in which He can be the ground of our justification. The Doctrine of the Vital or Mystical Union.—Larg. Cat., Q. 66: "The union which the elect have with Christ is the work of God's grace, whereby they are spiritually and mystically, yet really and inseparably, joined to Christ as their head and husband; which is done in their effectual calling."

Short. Cat., Q. 30. "The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling."

"This union is on the basis of the covenant of grace, and through it the blessings of that covenant are imparted to us. (e.) The life given by this union is none other than the life which the Holy Ghost imparts—yet it is a life, not of mere general divine influence, but in union with Christ...This life is given through faith as the instrument of our justification; it is a life not excluding, but including, justification." (533)

Wrote the great A. H. Strong (emphasis mine):

"The consequences of union with Christ may be summarily stated as follows:

(a) Union with Christ involves a change in the dominant affection of the soul. Christ's entrance into the soul makes it a new creature, in the sense that the ruling disposition, which before was sinful, now becomes holy. This change we call Regeneration.

(b) Union with Christ involves a new exercise of the soul's powers in repentance and faith; faith, indeed, is the act of the soul by which, under the operation of God, Christ is received. This new exercise of the soul's powers we call Conversion (Repentance and Faith). It is the obverse or human side of Regeneration.

Eph. 3:17—"that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith";

(c) Union with Christ gives to the believer the legal standing and rights of Christ. As Christ's union with the race involves atonement, so the believer's union with Christ involves Justification. The believer is entitled to take for his own all that Christ is, and all that Christ has done; and this because he has within him that new life of humanity which suffered in Christ's death and rose from the grave in Christ's resurrection,—in other words, because he is virtually one person with the Redeemer. In Christ the believer is prophet, priest, and king.

(d) Union with Christ secures to the believer the continuously transforming, assimilating power of Christ's life,— first, for the soul; secondly, for the body,—consecrating it in the present, and in the future raising it up in the likeness of Christ's glorified body. This continuous influence, so far as it is exerted in the present life, we call Sanctification, the human side or aspect of which is Perseverance.

(e) Union with Christ brings about a fellowship of Christ with the believer, —Christ takes part in all the labors, temptations, and sufferings of his people; a fellowship of the believer with Christ,—so that Christ's whole experience on earth is in some measure reproduced in him; a fellowship of all believers with one another,—furnishing a basis for the spiritual unity of Christ's people on earth, and for the eternal communion of heaven. The doctrine of Union with Christ is therefore the indispensable preparation for Ecclesiology, and for Eschatology.

 

[Iconoclast]

In the High Priestly pray of Jesus,union with Christ,being savingly in Christ, makes our election and predestination to be conformed to the image of the Son...certain as Jesus prayers are always answered. Jn 17:9, 20-26

 

[Iconoclast]

I posted this years ago;
Here is some J.L.Dagg...Manual of theology
1. By the will of God, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, that which is produced in regeneration, is immortal. This is signified by the language of the Scriptures: "The hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible."[176] "Being born of the incorruptible."[177] "Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him."[178] Grace in the heart is here represented as incorruptible and abiding, and as securing its possessor from sin, that is, from a life of sin, such as unregenerate men pursue.

The same truth is taught in these words of Christ: "He that believeth, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life."[179]

The new life which grace produces, is in the present possession of the believer, and is here called everlasting. Its perpetuity is asserted in another form, in the words "Neither shall he come into condemnation." If one who has been made a new creature, and justified by faith, can return to the state from which divine grace has rescued him, he will come again into condemnation; but this is declared in these words of the infallible teacher, to be impossible: "If they who have passed from death to life, may return again to death, their present life is not everlasting;" and the assurance, neither shall come into condemnation, is groundless.

The same truth is exhibited in another light, in these words of Paul: "Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no dominion over him; likewise reckon ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord."[180]


Here believers are taught to account the new life which they have received, to be like the life of Christ, raised from the dead. As death hath no more dominion over him, the resemblance would fail in a most important particular, if their spiritual life were not immortal. As death can have no more dominion over the risen Saviour, so, death can have no more dominion over those who, in regeneration, have passed from death to life, and have been raised up together with Christ.

2. The union of believers with Christ is indissoluble. His love holds them fast. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ," &c.[181] "Having loved his own, he loved them to the end."[182] "His power holds them fast; neither shall any pluck them out of my hand."[183] Such is their union to him, that their life is said to be in him, and he is called their life.[184] The life of the risen Jesus, is the life of his people, and such is their union with him, as to render this life operative in them.: "If when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."[185]

As his death was efficacious to bring us into a state of reconciliation with God, his life, now that he has been raised from the dead, and is ever living to make intercession for us, and is the source of our life, hid in the Godhead, will much more preserve us in this state of reconciliation, and secure our final and complete salvation.

3. The promises of God secure our preservation in Christ. When the new covenant is made with believers, by writing the law in their hearts, the accompanying promise is: "I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people."[186] It is true that the Israelites were once accounted the people of God; and that they departed from God, and were rejected by him; and the same departure and rejection might happen to believers in Christ, if they were under the same covenant. But God found fault with the old covenant precisely on this ground, that it did not secure his people from disobedience and rejection: "Because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not."[187] Having found fault with this covenant, which did not put the law in their hearts, and secure them from rejection, he abolishes that covenant, and makes a new one, founded on better promises: "I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me."[188]

"Believers are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation;"[189] and the power which keeps them through faith, keeps that faith in existence and exercise, or it would fail to preserve them.
This preservation of their faith, follows from the intercession of Christ,[190] who prayed for Peter, that his faith should not fail; and as he ever liveth to make intercession,[191] the preservation of faith is secured by the continued supplies of his grace, which otherwise would not be sufficient for his people. It is manifest that Paul entertained these views, when he wrote to the Philippians: "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."[192]

 

[Iconoclast]

Here is J.P. Boyce on Adoption, which deals with Union with Christ
CHAPTER XXXVI
ADOPTION.

ADOPTION is that privilege, bestowed upon those who are united with Christ, and justified by faith, by which they are admitted into the family of God, adopted as his children, and made joint heirs with his own Son.

In the strict sense of the word "Son," this title can be given only to the Eternal Son of God, who is the only begotten of the Father (John 1:14), and is exclusively "the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance." (Heb. 1:3).

But others are called participatively sons of God, as probably the angels (Job 1:6; 38:7), as Adam (Luke 3:38), and as Israel (Ex. 4:22; Hosea 11:1; cf. Rom. 9:4). The sonship of angels and of Adam, manifestly proceeds from their creation by God in his image, and likeness. That of Israel, however, is to be ascribed to the typical relation which that nation occupied to the true people of God. The application to Christ in Matt. 2:15, of the sonship declared of Israel in Ex. 4:22, and Hosea 11:1, together with the adoption to which Paul refers, Rom. 9:4, shows, that Israel's sonship, like Israel's election, was but a type, the fulfillment and reality of which were to be found only in the antitype. So far as Israel itself was concerned, the title could mean no more, than that that nation had been chosen by God to be outwardly his people, the depository of his holy oracles, and the means through which his salvation would come to man. John 4:22.

The sonship ascribed to the believer in Christ, will be best understood by considering its gracious origin, its peculiar nature, and the wondrous blessing which it confers.



I. Its Gracious Origin
1. It is not due to any natural relation, either originally possessed, or restored through justification.

2. Nor does it arise from any new image or likeness of God, which has come through regeneration.

3. It is the simple gift of God's love to those who by faith are brought into union with his proper Son.

4. It is an act originating entirely in the good pleasure of God. Eph. 1:5.

5. It is due, meritoriously, only to the work of Christ. It could be founded thus upon nothing else.

6. It is conferred like justification upon all who by faith receive Christ. John 1:12.

7. It is bestowed at the beginning of the Christian career, when there could be no ground for supposing it due to the character or acts of the recipient.



II. Its Peculiar Nature.
If what has been said shows that the gift of sonship to the believer is a gracious act of God, that fact will appear more plain as we study the peculiar nature of that sonship.

1. It is an act by which God chooses to take those who are not his children, and to make them such by adopting them into his family. Because of this they "are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." Eph. 2:19.

2. As they are united in this sonship with his own Son, who "is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation," (Col. 1:15), "the beginning of the creation of God." (Rev. 3:14), so does their sonship partake of the nature of his not in its divine relations, but in those by which he is also, even in that human nature, the Son of God. Luke 1:35.

3. It is an everlasting sonship; because its continuance depends not upon what they do, and are, but upon what he has done, and is.

4. It is one in which Christ Jesus "is made unto us wisdom from God and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 1 Cor. 1:30. Thus are all their deficiencies removed and exchanged for the glory of his abundant fulness.

5. It is one in connection with which is fulfilled the prayer of Christ, "that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in us; . . . . "that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be perfected into one." John 17:21-23.

6. To such a perfection of sonship do they consequently attain, that not of, nor through themselves, but solely through Christ Jesus, do they thus become "partakers of the divine nature," (2 Pet. 1:4), attaining as near as creatures may, to the position and character of proper sonship to God.



III. Its Wondrous Blessings.
The blessings connected with this sonship are scarcely less wonderful than is its nature.

1. Intimate fellowship with Christ and God. "Wherefore," says the apostle, "thou art no longer a bond servant, but a son." Gal. 4:7. "No longer," said Jesus, "do I call you servants; . . . but I have called you friends." John 15:15.

2. The guidance of the Holy Spirit; "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." Rom. 8:14.

3. The witnessing presence of the Holy Spirit: "the Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God." Rom. 8:16.

4. The conscious recognition in our hearts of God's relation to us as Father. "God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Gal. 4:6; also Rom. 8:15.

5. "If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." Rom. 8:17.

6. Unknown glory in future likeness to Christ: "it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him." 1 John 3:2.

7. The inheritance includes all things: "he that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." Rev. 21:7; cf. 1 Cor. 3:21-23.

 

[Iconoclast]

Thomas Goodwin,pg 118 vol1 sermons on Ephesians

1. I will shew you what he hath not. He was not the cause of God selecting us, for the Apostle, in the 9th verse of this first chapter, saith that it was < according to the good pleasure of his will, which he had purposed in himself. What is the cause of all God s purposes towards us
1 Himself. There is no other cause. And in the same verse it is also added, according to his good pleasure, &c. God, as he is the first being, so he and his own will are the first movers of himself. So that this, he chose us in Christ/ imports not that Jesus Christ was the cause of our predestination,
(taking him as God-man, as here he is meant.) And I will give you this great reason for it ; for he could not be the cause of our predestination who himself was predestinated. In 1 Pet. i. 20, it is plainly said of Christ, that he was pre-ordained before the world was founded. He himself was chosen as well as we ;
therefore he could not be the cause of our election. And both he and we being elected by one simple and entire act, the predestination, therefore, of one could not be the cause of the predestination of the other. And as Christ was not the cause of election for the substance of the act, so nor was he the cause of it for the persons elected. Jesus Christ, as God-man and Mediator, did not choose so much as one man. It was God that elected all those that are elected. * Thine they were, says Christ to his Father, and thou gavest them me. And it were a much more fond conceit to think that God chose such to be saved as he foresaw the human nature of Christ would love and choose. This were to make the Divine will conformed to that of the human nature ; whereas, Not my will, but thine be done, said Christ unto God the Father.

This, therefore, is not the meaning, that Christ as God-man is the cause of the act of our election, as it was in God.

The second caution is, that you take heed how you understand it, as if
that Christ alone were distinctly chosen, and that our persons were not as distinctly chosen too.
Yes, both Christ and we too were distinctly and particularly thought of, and so individually elected. The meaning, I say, of this our being elected in him, is not as if he only had been distinctly and by name chosen, and we all but confusedly, and in gross, and as in his election only.

God did not choose in the general, as a kingdom doth choose the children of a king that come after him, and are involved in him, in a general notion only, so as their distinct choice is of the king himself alone. No, the Scripture saith, God knoweth who are his; he knoweth the very persons fully and particularly; yea, and distinctly viewed them when he elected them.

And notwithstanding he thus chose us as distinct persons from Christ, yet still our election was in Christ. As suppose a kingdom, that chooseth a king and his children, should know by way of prophecy what manner of men all his sons to come would be, and how many he should have, and yet should choose him and them; though, I say, they did distinctly know all their persons and natures, yet still they chose them in him as the head of the family.

Now, Christ is the head of all the family of them that are named, both in heaven and earth.

 

[Alan Gross]

Thomas Goodwin,pg 118 vol1 sermons on Ephesians

1. I will shew you what he hath not. He was not the cause of God selecting us, for the Apostle, in the 9th verse of this first chapter, saith that it was < according to the good pleasure of his will, which he had purposed in himself. What is the cause of all God s purposes towards us
1 Himself. There is no other cause. And in the same verse it is also added, according to his good pleasure, &c. God, as he is the first being, so he and his own will are the first movers of himself. So that this, he chose us in Christ/ imports not that Jesus Christ was the cause of our predestination,
(taking him as God-man, as here he is meant.) And I will give you this great reason for it ; for he could not be the cause of our predestination who himself was predestinated. In 1 Pet. i. 20, it is plainly said of Christ, that he was pre-ordained before the world was founded. He himself was chosen as well as we ;
therefore he could not be the cause of our election. And both he and we being elected by one simple and entire act, the predestination, therefore, of one could not be the cause of the predestination of the other. And as Christ was not the cause of election for the substance of the act, so nor was he the cause of it for the persons elected. Jesus Christ, as God-man and Mediator, did not choose so much as one man. It was God that elected all those that are elected. * Thine they were, says Christ to his Father, and thou gavest them me. And it were a much more fond conceit to think that God chose such to be saved as he foresaw the human nature of Christ would love and choose. This were to make the Divine will conformed to that of the human nature ; whereas, Not my will, but thine be done, said Christ unto God the Father.

This, therefore, is not the meaning, that Christ as God-man is the cause of the act of our election, as it was in God.

The second caution is, that you take heed how you understand it, as if
that Christ alone were distinctly chosen, and that our persons were not as distinctly chosen too.
Yes, both Christ and we too were distinctly and particularly thought of, and so individually elected. The meaning, I say, of this our being elected in him, is not as if he only had been distinctly and by name chosen, and we all but confusedly, and in gross, and as in his election only.

God did not choose in the general, as a kingdom doth choose the children of a king that come after him, and are involved in him, in a general notion only, so as their distinct choice is of the king himself alone. No, the Scripture saith, God knoweth who are his; he knoweth the very persons fully and particularly; yea, and distinctly viewed them when he elected them.

And notwithstanding he thus chose us as distinct persons from Christ, yet still our election was in Christ. As suppose a kingdom, that chooseth a king and his children, should know by way of prophecy what manner of men all his sons to come would be, and how many he should have, and yet should choose him and them; though, I say, they did distinctly know all their persons and natures, yet still they chose them in him as the head of the family.

Now, Christ is the head of all the family of them that are named, both in heaven and earth.

All nice.

I am not 'a Calvinist'.

I am Baptist.

We were Teaching these Truths in the First Century, during Jesus' Ministry.

Prior to The New Testament, all faithful Worshippers of God, Preached them, since Time Began. Job/ Moses, etc.

However, I enjoy anyone who expounds the word.

 

[Iconoclast]

All nice.

I am not 'a Calvinist'.

I am Baptist.

We were Teaching these Truths in the First Century, during Jesus' Ministry.

Prior to The New Testament, all faithful Worshippers of God, Preached them, since Time Began. Job/ Moses, etc.

However, I enjoy anyone who expounds the word.

I have learned that God has had, and still has faithful men preaching truth,expounding the word throughout history.
The labels are helpful to identify what a person holds as the teaching of scripture.
These terms existed before either of us were born.
Believers before the flood, could not identify as a Baptist, or Calvinist, but they also believed the grace of God.
On the last day everyone will know as we are known.
When solid links are posted many will avoid those truths because they cannot answer to the scriptures offered.
It could be Gill, or Goodwin, or Owen, or Flavel, or a host of others.
It is not just preaching to the choir that there is no response, it is an inability, and an unwillingness to search anything more than two sentences long to see if these things are so.

 

[Revmitchell]

I agree with the words in the title of the op. However the biblical definition of election and predestination are in opposition to what the author of the op holds to. Both only apply to those who are already believe.

Ephesians 1:4 says election is based on those who are "in Him" and then they are predestined to be adopted to Christ.

These are very important distinctions and careful attention needs to be given to them.

 

[Iconoclast]

I agree with the words in the title of the op. However the biblical definition of election and predestination are in opposition to what the author of the op holds to. Both only apply to those who are already believe.

Ephesians 1:4 says election is based on those who are "in Him" and then they are predestined to be adopted to Christ.

These are very important distinctions and careful attention needs to be given to them.

No,actually the biblical definition of these words is clarified, by each post.
You and others depart from the confessional teaching and really fail to grasp the comprehensive nature of the teaching.
There are several reasons for this but you will not see anyone actually interact with the verses offered.