Understanding God’s election

[brightfame52]

We know election is vitally important to the Gospel and to Spiritual understanding, for the Apostle Paul brings it to the forefront in his letter to the Ephesians, Eph 1:1-5

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4 According as he hath chosen[Election] us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Us here is corporately, the Church of which Christ is the Head as it consits of many members Col 1:18

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.

The word church which He is the Head and it His Body is the word ekklésia :

Church, assembly, congregation
Meaning: an assembly, congregation, church; the Church, the whole body of Christian believers.

Word Origin: Derived from the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek, "out of") and the verb καλέω (kaleō, "to call"), meaning "called out."

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: The concept of "ekklēsia" is somewhat paralleled by the Hebrew word קָהָל (qahal, Strong's H6951), which means assembly or congregation, often used in the Old Testament to describe the gathering of the Israelites.

Usage: In the New Testament, "ekklēsia" primarily refers to a gathering or assembly of people, often used to denote the community of believers in Jesus Christ. It is translated as "church" in most English Bibles. The term emphasizes the collective nature of believers who are "called out" from the world to follow Christ. It can refer to both local congregations and the universal body of Christ. https://biblehub.com/greek/1577.htm

Note: The congregation of believers were chosen to become believers, this choice took place before the foundation of the world.

 

[brightfame52]

We know election is vitally important to the Gospel and to Spiritual understanding, for the Apostle Paul brings it to the forefront in his letter to the Church at Thessalonia,

1 Thess 1:1-5

Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;

3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

5 For our gospel came not unto you[the election] in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

Later in 2 Thess 2:13-14

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[the election] by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[Mem]

Your logic clashes with the word of God, what's been revealed.

sayeth the load...

 

[Magenta]

John 15:16 plus from 1 Peter 2:9

 

[Cameron143]

The same limitless power of His grace and ability to reconcile people to Himself, and unite them
into one body, the church.

Ephesians 1:19-21
And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance
with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him
from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority
and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

The gospel is the full power of God piercing the darkness with the truth.

"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

The key phrase in Ephesians is, "in Him", everything predestined is always "in Him".

1 Corinthians 4:20
For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.

So...the power of the gospel to save is outside of a person? It is the power of God placed in a person? It's source is God?

How exactly does this power get transferred to the individual?

 

[cv5]

Faith is simply having the correct thinking to be able to synchronize with God in God working in your life.

Belief always precedes faith in any and every case, as you cannot have faith in something that you do not firstly believe in.

BTW, God's salvation is ultimately predicated upon His COVENANTS.
Not Calvinite gnostic whimsy or Biblical Twilight Zone episode conundrums as @Magenta @Rufus @Cameron143 think.

And the Marriage Covenant has certain GUARANTEES that are part of the WARRANTY.
And God is both the Guarantor and Warrantor.

And the very fact of underlying covenants, every conceptual element, every legal technical detail debunks Calvinite-ism.

The reformers took their eyes off the prize, jumped the curb and landed in the ditch.
The damage done was immense, and as you can see, persists to this present day.

 

[HeIsHere]

They are caught in a trap designed to trap others.
We are the body of Christ, and they think like a virus.

The abuse of scripture is mind boggling.

 

[HeIsHere]

No one saves themselves.

It is such an overused straw man by the "doctrines of grace" people

"You believed in/trusted in Christ Jesus and His good faith offer of salvation, that means you saved yourself."

Um no, I received a complete gift that is clearly presented in scripture.

 

[Magenta]

It is such an overused straw man by the "doctrines of grace" people

"You believed in/trusted in Christ Jesus and His good faith offer of salvation, that means you saved yourself."

Um no, I received a complete gift that is clearly presented in scripture.

You deny that you received the gift of faith. You deny that your stony heart needed to
be changed first before the Seed of God's Word could take root and produce good fruit.
You deny the goodness and justice of God and think you know better than Him, to
claim He is unfair for revealing Himself as He does, in NOT the exact same way to all.
There is a lot said of the natural man that you deny, confusing him with the spiritual man.
There is a lot more that could be said of what you deny... but you would just deny it LOL

 

[Magenta]

How exactly does this power get transferred to the individual?

Removing the heart of stone likely goes a long way to enabling people to co-operate with God .

I am thinking, like, a VERY long way .. Thank you, God, for circumcising my heart!!!

Deuteronomy 30:6~ The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

 

[HeIsHere]

So...the power of the gospel to save is outside of a person? It is the power of God placed in a person? It's source is God?

How exactly does this power get transferred to the individual?

That poor boy waiting each day....

hoping and praying to be one of the selected......

because his tribe does not believe the Gospel message is sufficient and inherently powerful life -giving and that he can be persuaded by the inherent truth in the message.

Why would God provide a sufficient means, I mean really that is asking an a lot of God, God seeks His glory first.

 

[Magenta]

hoping and praying

Lord's Prayer

 

[Magenta]

God seeks His glory first

The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth. But a time is coming and has now come when
the TRUE worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him.

 

[Mem]

That poor boy waiting each day....

hoping and praying to be one of the selected......

when there is nothing whether on earth or in heaven that prevents him from walking in it...

 

[Cameron143]

That poor boy waiting each day....

hoping and praying to be one of the selected......

because his tribe does not believe the Gospel message is sufficient and inherently powerful life -giving and that he can be persuaded by the inherent truth in the message.

Why would God provide a sufficient means, I mean really that is asking an a lot of God, God seeks His glory first.

Notwithstanding how his parents handled the explanation to the boy, you still haven't answered my questions. If the power to save is simply in the words of scripture, why doesn't everyone who physically hears the word of God get saved?

 

[cv5]

Notwithstanding how his parents handled the explanation to the boy, you still haven't answered my questions. If the power to save is simply in the words of scripture, why doesn't everyone who physically hears the word of God get saved?

Poor @Cameron143
All questions and no answers.

 

[cv5]

That poor boy waiting each day....

More likely mortified and appalled after hearing the doomer Calvinite message of abandonment hopelessness and certain damnation.

 

[HeIsHere]

Notwithstanding how his parents handled the explanation to the boy, you still haven't answered my questions. If the power to save is simply in the words of scripture, why doesn't everyone who physically hears the word of God get saved?

I myself know that God knows each person's life, internal heart/mind, and I trust Him and His knowledge of people, and

therefore do need have to create some elaborate philosophical explanation about how God has to glorify Himself through some secret

selection process.

But put simply some are persuaded and some are not, and as I recall you were not willing to add a personal component to the Gospel it was a matter of wait and see how it all pans out, or something to that effect.

Somehow the "Reformed" clan think they are entitled to more knowledge about this, which explains the creation and need for Reformed Doctrines.

 

[Cameron143]

Poor @Cameron143
All questions and no answers.

I didn't notice an answer in your response. Can you point it out to me please?

 

[cv5]

I myself know that God knows each person's life, internal heart/mind, and I trust Him and His knowledge of people, and

therefore do need have to create some elaborate philosophical explanation about how God has to glorify Himself through some secret

selection process.

But put simply some are persuaded and some are not, and as I recall you were not willing to add a personal component to the Gospel it was a matter of wait and see how it all pans out, or something to that effect.

Somehow the "Reformed" clan think they are entitled to more knowledge about this, which explains the creation and need for Reformed Doctrines.

Doomer cults are nothing new that's for sure.