THE ELECT OF GOD

                                           

 Ministers in all churches teach on the principle of certain believers being, what the Scriptures speak of as, “the elect;” saying that God has chosen certain people to obtain salvation and eternal life. But the scriptures make a more precise distinction of those who are called “the elect.” Sometimes this term “the elect” is used inter-changeably or in conjunction with predestina­tion, foreknowledge and foreordain. So, let us just see who real­ly “the elect” are according to the Scriptures. Since the New Testa­ment and the Old Testament should be in harmony, by first looking at the Old Testament and seeing who the elect are, it should make it clear who they are in the New Testament.

After the flood when the descendants of Noah spread through­out the world, God chose Abraham to reveal Himself to, and told Abraham that He would bless all the families of the world through him (Gen 12:3), and extend His covenant to Abraham’s seed after him (Gen 17:7).

God extended the covenant He made with Abraham to Isaac (Gen 26:2-5) and to Jacob (Gen 28:13-15). Then after Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, God spoke to him and told him not to fear about going down to Egypt where his son, Joseph was, because He would again bring him back into the land which He gave him (Gen 46:3-4).

After the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt and were led out by Moses, he told them that God had chosen them to be a spe­cial people to Him because of the promise He had made to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel).

Deu 7:6-8 “For you are a holy people unto the LORD your God: the LORD your God has cho­sen you to be a special people unto him­self, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. (7) The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all people: (8) But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fa­thers, has the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

This was all covered to set a foundation showing that the nation of Israel was God’s chosen people, the “elect” people of God. For God had Himself elected to use this people and to bless the other nations of the world through them.

 Let’s look at a few scriptures in the Old Testament and see who is referred to as the “elect” of God. The first time the “elect” is mentioned is in the book of Isaiah, where it is men­tioned four times. The first of these is in the 42nd chapter where Isaiah is prophesying about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. This is verified in the 12th chapter of Matthew.

Isa 42:1-4 “Behold my servant, who I uphold; my elect, in who my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. (2) He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. (3) A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. (4) He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he has set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his Law.”

Mat 12:15-21 “But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from there: and great mul­titudes followed him, and he healed them all; (16) And charged them that they should not make him known: (17) That it might be ful­filled which was spoken by Esaias the proph­et, saying, (18) Behold my servant, who I have cho­sen; my beloved, in who my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles. (19) He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. (20) A bruised reed shall he not break, and smok­ing flax shall he not quench, until he sends forth judgment unto victory. (21) And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.”

The other three times God’s “elect” are mentioned in the book of Isaiah, in the 45th and 65th chapters. In all of these scri­ptures God is calling the Israelites, His “elect.”

Isa 45:4 “For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my elect, I have even called you by your name: I have surnamed you, though you have not known me.”

Isa 65:9 “And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and my elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

Isa 65:22 “They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and my elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.”

In all of the Old Testament, only Isaiah speaks of the “elect” of God. One time he is speaking of Jesus Christ and the other three times He is speaking of the Israelites.

So the foundation has been laid by the Word of God in the Old Testament and unless some Scriptures in the New Testament specifically include some other people or groups of people in the group called the “elect”, then it should stand that only the Israelites should be recognized as God’s elect.

There is a teaching out in the church world that God has chosen us, we have not chosen God and if this is true then those who are saved as a result of believing in Christ, are also the chosen of God, the “elect.” But if God does the choosing of the individual, what happens to our free choice – being what God made us – a free moral agent, with the ability to choose the good or the bad, the good or evil? Did not the prophet Elijah indicate that the people had a choice when he told them to choose who to follow (1 Kings 18:21)?  Did not Adam and Eve have a choice when they were faced with the decision to believe God’s Word or not?

But now, let’s get into the New Testament and see what the Scriptures say about God’s “elect.” Since there are quite a number of scriptures addressing the elect, we will not comment on them all, but if the reader choo­ses to look at those we do not comment on, it is important to not take the verses out of context, for to understand some of them, one must study the whole book that the verse is in, in order to get a clear picture of who “the elect” is in that verse.

The first verse we look at is Matthew 24:22. This verse speaks of a Great Tribulation Period occurring and how if it is not cut short by God, no flesh would be saved. To keep this verse in context, we must include verses 15 through 22 and what they all say, for the whole passage tells a story.

Mat 24:15-21 “When you therefore shall see the abomination of desola­tion, spoken of by Dan­iel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoever reads this, let him understand :) (16) Then let them which are in Judaea flee into the moun­tains: (17) Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: (18) Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. (19) And woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! (20) But pray that your flight is not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day: (21) For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

Mat 24:22 “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”

By reading these verses in Matthew alone, it would not be real clear who the elect spoken about was, but because this story is also told in the Gospel of Luke, it is easy to recognize who they are.

Luke 21:20-24 “And when you shall see Jerusa­lem compassed with ar­mies, then know that the desolation thereof is near. (21) Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the moun­tains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter there into. (22) For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. (23) But woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck, in those days, for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. (24) And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all na­tions: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be ful­filled.”

In Luke, the same story is told, but it specifies that the time is when Jerusalem is besieged and the people are killed and carried away captive into other nations. History has proven that the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in 70AD matches exactly what is described here in Luke. So the elect spoken of in Matthew chapter 24 are the Israelites.

The next verse to look at is in Colossians:

Col 3:12 “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and be­loved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long­suffering;”

Paul is speaking to those who are believers and live in Colosse. The first impression is that he is speaking to Gentile believers here, but by reading the whole book and watching exact­ly what he is saying, it becomes clear that these are converted Jews he is speaking to. Look for example at the following verse where he speaks of them at one time being alienated from God. The Gentiles were never alienated from God, for they never did recog­nize God. To be alienated from God, you first had to be joined to God in some manner.

Col 1:21 “And you, that were sometime alien­ated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now has he reconciled.”

Let’s look at another verse. Paul speaks of the ordinanc­es that were against them, speaking of the Law of Moses and talks about holy days and Sabbath days. Gentiles were never under this Law, and never observed holy days, so he must be talking to his own coun­trymen, Israelites.

Col 2:14-16 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (15) And having spoiled principali­ties and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (16) Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy ­day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days”:

In the first two verses of the book of 1st Peter it address­es those who are strangers scattered throughout different coun­tries. First of all, even though it is a minor thing, the Greek word that was translated into “strangers”, also means pilgrims, which I think would have been a better selection on this occa­sion. But Peter does call them the elect of God. So who are these people? Verse 3 tells us that they are also Israelites. For Peter says that they have been “begotten again”, which means that once they belonged to God, but were alienated from God, and now, be­cause they have accepted the Lord Jesus, they will inherit eternal life.

1 Pet 1:1-2 “Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bi­thynia, (2) Elect according to the foreknow­ledge of God the Fa­ther, thr­ough sanctifica­tion of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprin­kling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

1 Pet 1:3 “ Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, “

Additional verification is in verse 18, where Peter speaks of the traditions they received from their fathers. The 9th verse of the 2nd chapter also calls them a holy nation and a peculiar people, which Peter would not have said to Gentile believers. Then in verse 6 of chapter 3, Peter spoke to the women as being daughters of Abraham.

The next and last one that we will look at is in the 2nd Epistle to Timothy. Paul was first telling Timothy that he was appointed to be a preacher, teacher and apostle to the Gentiles, but even though, he was still concerned about his own people, the elect, that they also might be saved.

2 Tim 1:11 “Whereunto I am appointed a prea­cher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.”

2 Tim 2:10 “Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes that they may also obtain the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”

There are a number of verses in chapters 8, 9, and 11 of the book of Romans, where Paul speaks of the elect or the election that we will not cover in detail. For a clear understanding of who the elect are in these scriptures, it is necessary to care­fully read chapters 7 through 11.

Throughout the scriptures, the elect are constantly referred to as either Christ, or the Israelites. Absolutely nowhere in the Scriptures does it state that the elect are individual believers out of the Gentile nations. The elect are those who are chosen by God out of the seed of Abraham, at first it was the whole nation of Israel until God spiritually blinded some of them.

Knowing who the elect of God is, or not knowing has nothing to do with your salvation. But what is important, is to believe the written Word of God to be the truth and not allowing someone to convince you that it means something other than what it says. That is what happened to Adam and Eve. They chose to not believe what God said and paid a penalty for it.

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