According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1:4
Why does God allow us to comprehend the fact of being chosen? Isn’t it confusing? — answer: to bless us with a sense of destiny — To bless us with the sense of our special calling — To give us a sense of value — and, because it is true. We are:
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. 1 Peter 1:2
Aha, I was in God’s foreknowledge. He knew me before I was born, He knew about my choice, when I was 25 years old, for Him .
Can we say that God chose me based on His prior knowledge of my choice? Yes!
…Through sanctification of the Spirit.
God’s election was carried out as He snatched me out of this world, and separated me unto Himself, once for all. Hebrews 10:10 — on-going sanctification follows and future sanctification is coming. So:
Through the offering of the body of Christ, through the incorruptible seed, through the washing of regeneration, through the renewing of the Spirit, I am saved, and sanctified.
“Listen to the testimony of Charles Haddon Spurgeon: “One weeknight, when I was sitting in the house of God, I wasn’t thinking much about the preacher’s sermon, for I didn’t believe it. The thought struck me, ‘How did you come to be a Christian?’ I sought the Lord. ‘But how did you come to seek the Lord?’ The truth flashed across my mind in a moment – I shouldn’t have sought him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek him. ‘I prayed,’ thought I, but then I asked myself, ‘How came I to pray?’ I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that he was the Author of my faith, … ‘I ascribe my change wholly to God’” (Charles H. Spurgeon, Autobiography, Vol. 1, ‘The Early Years’ 1834-1859, Banner of Truth reprint, 1973, p. 165) alfredplacechurch
The verse continues:
…unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Obedience is an opened ear, and the blood of sprinkling continually cleanses us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you!
“be multiplied — still further than already. “Ye have now peace and grace, but still not in perfection; therefore, ye must go on increasing until the old Adam be dead” [Luther].
“And so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make my constant confession.” Spurgeon again. alfredplacechurch
The question comes up: did God chose some to go to hell? No, men do their own choosing, God honors the choice and brings into realization the decision. Next question, can we make a decision for God without God’s will-freeing enablement? No. Certainly Satan resists this decision and blinds the minds of men!
Friends, it takes God to know God.
Two railroad tracks, sovereignty and free will, run side by side but never intersect. We got plenty of verses to support each rail.
We were saved and God was involved, rejoice that God chose you; rejoice also that you responded and chose for Him. love ya
