Question:
In your statement "Elected and Created for the Glory of Jesus Christ"
What do you mean by "elected?"
Answer:
You have just asked one of the most important and critical questions in all
of Christianity! Let me give a somewhat brief and simple explanation and
then mention a
couple of sermons on the subject that would be of great benefit, that you can
download and read if you so desire.
The subject of your question is the "Doctrine of Election" and also
called the "Doctrine of Predestination". It is a subject and a
doctrine that is clearly and simply taught in the Bible, and yet it has been,
and is today, one of the most hated doctrines in the Church.
Simply stated, the Doctrine of Election states that God sovereignly chose those
who would be saved (go to heaven) called the "elect" (He elected them
for salvation), and that He let those He did not choose (the non-elect) continue
in their sin, thereby eventually going to hell. I think you may already
see why the Church dislikes the doctrine, because it gives all the credit and
glory of salvation to God, and it "seems" unfair to the
"non-elect" (those not chosen), although, the non-elect are not
complaining, because they love their sin too much, and really don't want Jesus
messing with their lives anyway.
I contend, that this doctrine of Election is critical to understanding the
Gospel and much of the Christian life.
Bottom line, the Bible says it happened like this (this is the super-simple,
summary of the whole doctrine):
A very long time ago, before the universe or angels were "created,"
there was only the Trinity (Father--Son--Holy Spirit). They never had a
beginning, and received their power from themselves. They were three
distinct persons, and yet one. At some point in this eternity past, the
Father decided to give a love gift to another member of the Trinity--the Son.
So the Father wanted to give a gift to Jesus, a gift of a pure Bride, who would
worship and adore Jesus for all of eternity.
However, as God planned it all out in His mind, the creation of the universe and
mankind, He realized that He would give men and women a "freewill" and
with it, each one would reject Christ with that freewill. They would love
their sin more than Christ, therefore every human ever conceived would
eventually end up in Hell because of their sins against a pure and holy God.
It was at this point that God decided that He would indeed give that gift to His
Son. The Bible tells that before the creation of the universe, God chose
(from all the sinners that would ever be born) "some" to be His, a
love gift for Jesus, "He chose us in him before the creation of the world
to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us to be adopted
as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will."
[Ephesians 1:4-5]
We also know that whatever criteria He used to make the selection, it was not
based on any good found in us, for the Bible speaks of lost sinners:
"nothing good lives in [them]." [Romans 7:18]. "The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."
[Psalm 14:2-3]
At any rate God chose "some" to be His, He elected them and they are
thus forever referred to as the "elect" and those He did not choose
are the "nonelect." The most important thing to remember is that
God did not ask for our permission when He chose. We were only there in
His mind. He knew all of the wickedness we would commit in our lives, but
that didn't matter.
After the "election," God then ordained all the generations and when
each of us would be born and exactly where we would live ("From one man he
made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he
determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should
live." [Acts 17:26]). Then at some point in the life of the
"elect" person, who is living in rebellion to God and His Christ, God
sends His precious Word out to their hearts and plants the faith to believe, and
enables them to see the truth, it is then the elect person responds, with their
"freewill" to the irresistible" faith.
Note, all the "elect" will eventually be saved and enter heaven.
None of the "nonelect" will ever believe in Christ, not because they
can't, but because they won't.
In a nut shell that is the doctrine of election. Please read some sermons
I have on this critical subject at www.biblebb.com
located in the Spurgeon Collection, MacArthur Collection, and the Various Author's
Section.
Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "Tony Capoccia's Questions and Answers" by:
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 314
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
Websites: www.biblebb.com and www.gospelgems.com
Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986