27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,
Red words are who God chose. The blue words are the purpose His choosing in this context. Service, not salvation.
The things of
this world which
aren't deemed (
by this world) as foolish and weak, are the works of law for salvation. On the other hand, that which
is deemed foolish and weak by
this world, is in the
trusting of God for salvation-- that He brought forth a Savior who has fully provided it to the uttermost for those whom He has so chosen, with nothing remaining to be accomplished by them, hence, the Election.
Eph 1:4 - For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
Red words are who God chose. In this case, the "us" is defined in v.19 as "us who believe". Therefore, this verse is about God choosing believers. They are already saved. The blue words are the purpose of God's choosing. Which is service, not salvation.
True belief (faith) is given as a gift to the recipient upon becoming born again as one of the fruits of the Spirit - but not before, and not by their works. This is the only way that true faith is obtained. So, the believers you identified above, became true believers because they had been given faith by God as a gift. Faith is a work. Should we claim our faith as of our own doing, then we also claim that our works we have been saved, which would then be in direct contradiction of God's prohibition against such.
[Gal 5:22 KJV] 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith,
1 Pet 1-
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,
2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
2 Tim 1:9 - He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
"calling" is equivalent to election. This verse parallels 1 Pet 1.
Acts 9:15 - But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.
OK, your turn. I have given you 7 verses that directly and clearly speak to election to service.
Do you have any verses that speak directly to election to salvation?
"2
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit,
to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance."
Read the above verse again more closely. It informs of several things:
1) that they were specifically chosen, and chosen by foreknowledge of God
2) that they were sanctified solely by work of Holy Spirit, not of themselves
3) that obedience to Christ is in the following of His command to believe in Him. They received (were given) grace and
apostleship
[Rom 1:5 KJV]
5 By whom
we have received grace and apostleship,
for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
You forgot to include verses 3 and 9:
[1Pe 1:3 KJV]
3 Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
[1Pe 1:9 KJV]
9 Receiving the end of your faith, [even]
the salvation of [your] souls.
"OK, your turn. I have given you 7 verses that directly and clearly speak to election to service.
Do you have any verses that speak directly to election to salvation? "
Okay my turn
[1Pe 1:3-5 KJV]
3 Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath
begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 To an i
nheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 Who are kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Your 2 TI 1:9 reference is actually of election. You've answered your own question. Read it closely. God saved and called
according to His own purpose and grace BEFORE the world began, right?
[2Ti 1:9 KJV]
9 Who hath
saved us, and
called [us] with an holy calling,
not according to our works, but
according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began,
[Mat 24:31 KJV]
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
[Mar 13:26-27 KJV]
26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then shall he send his angels,
and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth
to the uttermost part of heaven.
[Act 13:48 KJV]
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord:
and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
[Rev 20:15 KJV]
15 And whosoever was
not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
[2Ti 1:9 KJV] 9 Who hath
saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began,
Of course not. Salvation is by grace through faith. Eph 2;8,9
Well, if it is by grace as you say, then it MUST also be by election. Without election, there can be no grace, without grace there can be
no salvation. Why? Because without election, salvation becomes dependent upon the recipient earning it through works of the law - but there are only two possible paths for salvation: election or works of law; that is, if it is not of one, it must be of the other - there is no third alternative. But, it is impossible that it should be by works of law. Observe:
[Gal 5:4 KJV]
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you,
whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
You claimed there are verses in Ephesians that are "100% supportive and clear as can be". So I invite you to quote at least 1 of these verses that show that God elects to salvation.
Do these work - there are more but just threw in a few quick ones ? Pretty clear, right? Just a suggestion, but if you've been reading these verses for over twenty years and haven't before realized what I've highlighted, you should probably read more slowly next time and think about what it is that you're readying
[Eph 1:3, 1:4-5, 7, 11, 13-14 KJV]
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 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, ...
7 In whom we have
redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; ...
11
In whom also we have
obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will: ...
13 In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the
earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
