Knowing the Elect

1 Thessalonians 1:4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.


4 εἰδότες, ἀδελφοὶ ἠγαπημένοι ὑπὸ [τοῦ] θεοῦ, τὴν ἐκλογὴν ὑμῶν, 5  ὅτι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐγενήθη εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐν λόγῳ μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν δυνάμει καὶ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ [ἐν] πληροφορίᾳ πολλῇ, καθὼς οἴδατε οἷοι ἐγενήθημεν [ἐν] ὑμῖν δι᾽ ὑμᾶς.

One fairly common criticism of Calvinism is that it squelches evangelism. The argument goes that if God elects people from before the world began why bother with evangelism? Won't He save the people He means to save no matter what?

The short answer to that is of course a simple "yes," but that is woefully inadequate. This verse gives a little more insight into the issue. The phrase τὴν ἐκλογὴν ὑμῶν is translated "he has chosen you," but technically it is "your election" or "your choosing." Verse 5 explains this. How do we know about your election? It is because the gospel came to them ἐν δυνάμει καὶ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ [ἐν] πληροφορίᾳ πολλῇ. What Paul means is that the gospel was not mere words to the Thessalonian believers, but it had true power to them.

How do we know who the elect are? They are the ones who respond to the gospel. It is our job to pray, preach, persuade, and do whatever we can to clearly communicate the gospel to people. But we cannot save anyone. All we can do is put the gospel out there. Their acceptance is between them and the Lord. We know the elect by the fruit of the gospel in their lives?

Does that mean that everyone who appears to live a godly lifestyle is saved? No. But we can be pretty sure that anyone who is not changed by the gospel is not saved. We can never be certain about anyone's future state. This is why we keep preaching the word. We put it out there. My prayer is that my preaching today would fall on fertile soil and produce fruit.

How Do You Smell?

 2 Corinthians 2:15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, ¹⁶ to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

15 ὅτι Χριστοῦ εὐωδία ἐσμὲν τῷ θεῷ ἐν τοῖς σῳζομένοις καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις, ¹⁶  οἷς μὲν ὀσμὴ ἐκ θανάτου εἰς θάνατον, οἷς δὲ ὀσμὴ ἐκ ζωῆς εἰς ζωήν. καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα τίς ἱκανός;

I have to admit that I did not get a lot out of this chapter when I read it in Greek. Paul's language is rather figurative, which made it hard for me to see what he was getting at. However, this is one passage that did make sense. There is no special exegetical clue that jumps out of the Greek. The ESV captures it very well.


But what does it mean? It means that we should not become too discouraged in our evangelism. To those who are perishing we are a fragrance of death to them. Death stinks. The house I grew up in had these huge windows in the living room. One of them was like a magnet for robins. I can remember playing outside the house on summer days and discovering the sickly-sweet smell of rotting robin. It's not a pleasant smell. In fact, it is repulsive.


The words σῳζομένοις and ἀπολλυμένοις are present passive participles, just as you see in the ESV. Given what we know about the nature of election from Ephesians 1, I would maintain that those who are not elect will always find the gospel to be repulsive because it is a message of death. But to the elect it is a wonderful aroma of life. 


However, we need to be careful here. I think that there is still room for someone being "broken down" by the gospel. In other words, most who hear the gospel for the first time do not immediately repent and believe. Yet some of them eventually will. What I'm getting at is that we cannot give up on someone just because of a single rejection of the gospel. But we also cannot be too discouraged when people do not believe because the gospel is going to be an aroma of death to them.


How do you see the gospel? Is it an aroma of life or death? If it is life to you, what are you doing to spread the gospel?

More Folly

1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

14 ψυχικὸς δὲ ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ θεοῦ· μωρία γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐστιν καὶ οὐ δύναται γνῶναι, ὅτι πνευματικῶς ἀνακρίνεται.

There is a thread that follows through this portion of 1 Corinthians with the contrast between the ways of the world and the ways of God. Once again we see Paul use the word  μωρία to describe how the world perceives the Gospel. Not only does the natural man (the unconverted man) see the gospel as folly, Paul writes that this man οὐ δύναται γνῶναι. Literally, this means that he does not have the ability to comprehend.


This underlies the doctrine of election. That is to say that some are called to salvation and others are not. That is the only way to make sense of this. There is nothing in the natural man that enables him to accept the gospel. To quote the great theologian Austin Millbarge, "We mock what we do not understand."


I find it interesting that election is resisted so strongly by so many in America. It is interesting because I think that it speaks to the heart of our contemporary culture. From a very early age we are told that we can be anything we want to be. We just have to work hard and put our minds to it. Of course, many can realize that is absurd with any examination. I was never going to be a professional basketball player no matter how hard I worked. Even if I was the smartest point guard in the world I am too short, my reflexes are too slow, and my muscles just do not twitch quickly. In contrast, Jason Kidd was never going to get a degree in Chemical Engineering from any accredited university, but he has been a fantastic basketball player. We all have different gifts.


The point is that, despite the absurdity just beneath the surface, we have been sold this bill of goods. Therefore, we chafe at the idea that some are never going to believe the gospel. We think that if we just package it the right way we will win some. We think that we just need to break down all their arguments and they will believe it. But that is not what this passage says.


Learn apologetics and use them. Refine your evangelistic techniques. Be wise in how you interact with people. But also realize that ultimately salvation is between a person and the Lord. All we can do is scatter seed and pray that God would make it grow.

The True Offspring

Romans 9:8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

8 τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, οὐ τὰ τέκνα τῆς σαρκὸς ταῦτα τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ ἀλλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας λογίζεται εἰς σπέρμα.

Romans 9-11 gives us a lot of insight as to the current nature of "Israel" and how that term relates to God's covenant people today. Does it refer to people who have a genetic tie to Abraham or to those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ?


This verse implies the latter. Who are τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας? Paul uses this chapter to show that although Ishmael was a child of Abraham, he was not part of the promise. The promise was through Isaac. In other words, having a genetic tie to Abraham was not enough.


What about Isaac? Could having a genetic tie to him be enough? Paul goes on to explain that before either one did anything outside the womb he loved Jacob, but hated Esau. To us this may seem arbitrary, but it's part of God's plan for saving His people.


So maybe it's about having a genetic tie to Jacob. In one sense that is true as the twelve tribes come from him, though two are indirect as they come from his beloved son Joseph. But we know from passages such as Numbers 24 that the ruler was to come from Judah. We see that later in 2 Samuel 7 as God makes His covenant with David. 


So does this mean that you need a tie to Judah? To David? To Solomon? To...Josiah? Who are the σπέρμα of Abraham?


The good news is that we have Christ, so we can see how this all works out. True Israel today is not associated simply with being able to trace genes to any of these men. It comes from being a new creation in Christ. To be sure, God is not done with those who have a genetic tie to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But as things stand right now we who are in Christ are part of Israel. Let's enjoy the blessings that come from being added to God's covenant people. We are just as deserving as Jacob was--meaning that we don't deserve it one bit. But we can still rejoice in being chosen by grace.

Those That are His

John 17:9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

9 Ἐγὼ περὶ αὐτῶν ἐρωτῶ, οὐ περὶ τοῦ κόσμου ἐρωτῶ ἀλλὰ περὶ ὧν δέδωκάς μοι, ὅτι σοί εἰσιν, 10  καὶ τὰ ἐμὰ πάντα σά ἐστιν καὶ τὰ σὰ ἐμά, καὶ δεδόξασμαι ἐν αὐτοῖς.

This is part of what is known as Jesus' High Priestly Prayer.  I think that this is a section that merits some time camping.  But for now I want to focus on this part of the prayer.

Jesus' language is curious, isn't it?  Well, it's curious in light of how most evangelicals tend to think of Jesus.  The idea is that Jesus loves the whole world so much and wants the world to come to Him, but they just won't do it.  Now of course there is an element of truth to that.  But on a deeper level it seems clear here that not everyone is His.  Experience in the world bears this out, doesn't it?  Not everyone knows Jesus.  Not even the so-called "good people" out there.

There is a subset of humanity that is sometimes called "the elect," to use a biblical term.  Here Jesus refers to them as ὧν δέδωκάς μοι.  The relative pronoun ὧν is where we get "those."  The word δέδωκάς is a perfect active indicative second person singular.  Generally speaking, the perfect has the idea of "past event with present effect."  In other words, some time in the past there was a group of people that God the Father gave to belong to God the Son.  Those people are called the elect.

I love the book of John for a lot of reasons.  I didn't when I was first coming to know the Lord as I was stuck in my sin.  I just wanted the facts about Jesus.  But John gives us more insight into the character of Jesus and more of a spiritual look at Him and His ministry.  Plus, the more I become convinced of the truth of election, the more I enjoy these passages in John.  You don't even need to go to Paul to find this doctrine.  It proceeds from Jesus' own lips.

If you are part of the elect I hope that this passage fills you with awe and wonder that God would choose someone like you.  I can't believe that He chose a sinner like me.  If you don't know Jesus, but wonder if you're part of the elect then I would submit that you probably are.  If you weren't then you just wouldn't care. But if you feel this nagging inside your soul like there is a void that nothing seems to fill then God is calling you to Himself.  Answer the call sooner rather than later.  You'll be glad that you did.

Eternal Appointment

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

48 Ἀκούοντα δὲ τὰ ἔθνη ἔχαιρον καὶ ἐδόξαζον τὸν λόγον τοῦ κυρίου καὶ ἐπίστευσαν ὅσοι ἦσαν τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον·

This was the result of Paul's public preaching.  It's hard for us to imagine how glorious this news was to the Gentiles.  They continually had to look at the temple from the outside.  They figured that they could never be God's chosen people and, therefore, had no chance of the kind of relationship the Jews enjoyed.  Paul taught otherwise.  This resulted in great delight for the Gentiles.

There are two things that really strike me about this short verse.  First, there is a sense of divine appointment.  The word τεταγμένοι is a perfect passive participle.  A rule of thumb for the perfect tense is that there was some past action with present effect.  It is a participle to show the nominative nature of it.  It is in the passive tense to show that something was done to the subject.  In this case, it refers to those who had previously been appointed to eternal life.  They could now believe, which was the present effect.  This is a very strong verse in support of the doctrine of election.

The other thing is that it refers to ζωὴν αἰώνιον.  This is once again a defense for the orthodox view of eternity.  Those who believe will spend eternity in life.  What a glorious promise that we have to hang onto!  I pray that those of us who believe would hang onto that.  And I pray that those who do not yet believe would come to faith.  I don't know who is elected, so I'm going to keep writing as if everyone who reads this is.

Fall to the Ground

Acts 9:3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
3 Ἐν δὲ τῷ πορεύεσθαι ἐγένετο αὐτὸν ἐγγίζειν τῇ Δαμασκῷ, ἐξαίφνης τε αὐτὸν περιήστραψεν φῶς ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ 4  καὶ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἤκουσεν φωνὴν λέγουσαν αὐτῷ· Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;

This is the story of Saul's conversion on the Damascus road.  I am often amazed at those who fight against the doctrine of election.  Here we have a crystal-clear case of someone who absolutely hated everything about Jesus and yet was radically converted.  What was his reaction to the light from heaven?  He πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν.  This is a participle for the word "falling."  My take on this is that he heard the voice as he was in the act of contritely falling to the ground.

There are a couple of things that I take from this text.  One is that I believe Saul's conversion experience was normative.  I don't mean that we are all blinded by light and hear a voice from heaven, but we are all naturally in a state where we hate Christ.  It takes a supernatural act to make us at least metaphorically fall to the ground and worship.

The other is that there was no halfway with Saul.  He went from violently hating Christians to being violently persecuted for preaching Christ.  We will see this over and over again as we go through Acts.  My point is that this notion of half-hearted American Christianity has no biblical basis.  Either our hearts are set on worshiping Jesus or we worship ourselves.

We all have to decide which way we are going to go.  Where is your heart right now?

Opened Eyes

 Luke 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.

31 αὐτῶν δὲ διηνοίχθησαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ καὶ ἐπέγνωσαν αὐτόν· καὶ αὐτὸς ἄφαντος ἐγένετο ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν.

Jesus had just walked to Emmaus with Cleopas and another disciple.  He interpreted the Old Testament to them and explained how it pointed to Him.  They didn't put two and two together until they shared a meal with Him and ιηνοίχθησαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ.  In other words, it took something outside of themselves to understand the significance of what He told them.

This is true for us today as well.  We can search the Scriptures all that we want, but unless we have our eyes opened by the Holy Spirit we are not going to make the connection.  There are some who would say that we can learn everything we need about Jesus from the Old Testament or even the Pentateuch.  It is true that the Old Testament is a valid witness of Christ.  Somehow Anna and Simeon were able to understand the coming Messiah without what we call the New Testament.  They had the same Scriptures as the Pharisees.

The fact is that we are dead in our trespasses and sins.  There are so many illustrations for this, but the one I've heard lately is that you don't offer a cup of life-saving elixir at the morgue and expect the bodies to get up and drink from it.  They are dead.  They are incapable of doing anything.  This is how Scripture describes mankind in his unconverted state.  Therefore, there must be something external to "open our eyes" to the beauty of the gospel.

My prayer is that you would have open eyes as you consider who Jesus is.  And if your eyes are already opened I pray that you would have a much more profound sense of gratitude over what you have been saved from.

Coming to Jesus

Luke 14:23
(23)  And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.

(23)  καὶ εἶπεν ὁ κύριος πρὸς τὸν δοῦλον, Ἔξελθε εἰς τὰς ὁδοὺς καὶ φραγμοὺς καὶ ἀνάγκασον εἰσελθεῖν, ἵνα γεμισθῇ μου ὁ οἶκος·

This is part of the parable of the feast.  The first invited guests all had excuses why they couldn't come.  Therefore, the master gave this order to his servant.  What I find interesting is the word "compel."  

This is the word ἀνάγκασον.  Here it is in the imperative as the master commands the servant.  Thayer gives the definition "to necessitate, compel, drive to, constrain."  In other words, these people would come against their will.

Isn't that how it is for those of us who follow Jesus?  I was effectively pulled kicking and screaming.  I didn't want to leave my former life, but I ran out of arguments.  I couldn't say no anymore.  How could I deny the truth of the gospel?  That's what it really came down to.

The fact is that we are dead in our sins.  Dead men cannot make decisions.  Dead men cannot choose to stop being dead.  It takes something supernatural to breathe life into the dead.  That's what happens when we come to know Jesus.  We are compelled to enter the feast.

Where are you?  Are you still fighting?  I can tell you that there can be some serious collateral damage when the servant comes to drag you to the feast.  Haven't you fought enough?  Drop your guard and accept His invitation to the feast.

Lament for Jerusalem

Luke 13:34-35
(34)  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
(35)  Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

(34)  Ἰερουσαλὴμ Ἰερουσαλήμ, ἡ ἀποκτείνουσα τοὺς προφήτας καὶ λιθοβολοῦσα τοὺς ἀπεσταλμένους πρὸς αὐτήν, ποσάκις ἠθέλησα ἐπισυνάξαι τὰ τέκνα σου ὃν τρόπον ὄρνις τὴν ἑαυτῆς νοσσιὰν ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας, καὶ οὐκ ἠθελήσατε. 

(35)  ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν. λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν, οὐ μὴ ἴδητέ με ἕως ἥξει ὅτε εἴπητε, Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου.

I know someone who takes this passage and its parallel in Matthew as a defense against Calvinism.  If Jesus says that He would have gathered them together but they resisted, then how can we speak of irresistible grace?  Where is God's sovereignty in election?  

First of all, I think that Jesus is using Jersualem as a metaphor for Israel.  I get this from His use of  τὰ τέκνα σου.  It seems to me that "your children" refers to all the Jews.  If you've read the Old Testament you've seen that the Jews made it a habit to resist God.  Of course, everyone does this.  

No one denies that Israel was God's chosen people.  However, it is clear from the Old Testament that they broke their covenant with God and had to face the consequences of it.  This was predicted back in Moses' farewell speech in Deuteronomy.

Does this mean that the people were free to do whatever they wanted?  They were free to live according to their nature, which is inherently sinful.  I would read this passage along with 2 Peter 3:9.  God wants for all men to be saved, but clearly all men are not saved.  Does this make God impotent to save?

By no means!  Rather than reinventing the wheel, I would point you to this excellent essay by John Piper.  I would love to interact with anyone in the comments, but not before you read that essay. 

Building Sandcastles

Malachi 1:4
(4) If Edom says, "We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins," the LORD of hosts says, "They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called 'the wicked country,' and 'the people with whom the LORD is angry forever.'"

When I read this I think of my daughter building a sandcastle a little too close to the ocean. She can get all kinds of sand piled up. Yet nothing will stand against the waves when they come in. No matter how hard she tries the ocean always wins.

It's the same way when we fight against God. He is always going to win in the end. We may build up what He wants to be torn down and in the end He will tear it down. The verses before this passage talk about how God loved Jacob, but He hated Esau. This does not refer to emotions in the sense we would usually take for "love" and "hate," but refers to preference.

This is a reminder to me of what an incredible privilege it is to be a chosen child of God. If you are His, rejoice in that fact. As we come off the time for national Thanksgiving, this is something for which we all should be particularly thankful.

Mercy in Action

Joel 2:18-19

(18) Then the LORD became jealous for his land and had pity on his people.

(19) The LORD answered and said to his people, "Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.

This is a transition from all the calamity that had come upon the people. The land was in bad shape after the plague of locusts and the drought. And yet God relented toward His people.

What I notice in this account is that the people could not do anything to save themselves. Yes, there was a call to repent. However, it looks like God made the first move. He had pity on His people and then decided to send them "grain, wine and oil" so that they may be satisfied.

That is what He has done for any of us who know Christ. He has saved us. He is the one who does the action. Yes, we must repent and believe. However, He makes the first move. I don't know why He saved me, but I'm sure glad that He did!

Keeping Promises

Ezekiel 28:25-26

(25) "Thus says the Lord GOD: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob.

(26) And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God."

As we've gone through the prophets we have certainly seen plenty of places where God pronounces judgment against Israel. Plus, He has pronounced judgment against the foreign nations around them. In fact, this passage is sandwiched in the middle of such pronouncements.

There is some controversy about whether these prophecies refer to the people of Israel or God's future church as spiritual Israel. Either way, it is a wonderful promise of God's care. He certainly judged them as they deserved, but then here He promises to gather them by His grace. Why does He do this? Again, it is for the sake of His name.

Have you been gathered? Are you dwelling securely? Do you know this peace that this passage describes? If not, I invite you to God by way of the cross. Come to know Him. You can't beat dwelling securely by God's provision.

A New Heart

Ezekiel 11:19-21

(19) And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,

(20) that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

(21) But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD."

This is a little appetizer for a similar promise that is coming in Ezekiel 36. Here God is telling Ezekiel how things will work. The people have hearts of stone. God promises that He will remove their hearts of stone and replace them. He has to do this in order that they can follow Him. It ends by reminding us that there are those who will still pursue their own desires. I would take this to mean that they still have the hearts of stone.

Hopefully this passage points you to the incredible majesty of God. He transforms hearts in His sovereign will. He doesn't woo people to Him. He doesn't sit up in heaven hoping that we will choose Him because He loves us and wants to have a relationship with us. No, He transforms people from the inside-out so that they may have a relationship with Him.

Does this make the chosen any better than those who are not chosen? I would say no. We are all like sheep who have gone astray. All I know is that I want to be faithful to my calling.