4.5 Election

4.5.1
Election in the Old Testament
Already in the creation we see a reference to divine election, which is linked
to a responsibility resulting from it. Out of all His creatures, God elected man
and gave him the task of making the earth subject to him. The special pos-
ition man has been granted is clear from the Wisdom of Solomon 2: 23: “For
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God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own
eternity.” In the course of the Old Testament plan of salvation, the signifi-
cance of this election is especially apparent in the case of Noah, Abraham,
and the people of Israel.
(cid:129) When God decided to eradicate mankind from the earth (Genesis 6: 1–8),
He promised to deliver Noah. Noah made this election sure by doing all
that God commanded him to do. As a result, Noah and his family—and
thereby the human race—were saved from destruction.
(cid:129) Abraham was elected so that all the families of the earth would be blessed
through him (Genesis 12: 3). God’s promises to him were passed on to
Isaac.
(cid:129) Of the latter’s two sons, Esau, as the firstborn, should have been the right-
ful recipient of the blessing, however, God elected Jacob and blessed him
(Genesis 28: 13–15). This shows that no one can lay claim to God’s
grace of election and that it cannot be comprehended by human under-
standing.
(cid:129) The people of Israel came forth out of the twelve sons of Jacob. God called
them to become the people of His covenant: “For you are a holy people to
the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for
Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.
The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were
more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all the
peoples; but because the Lord loves you” (Deuteronomy 7: 6–8). The ori-
gin of election is thus God’s love.
(cid:129) From among the people of Israel, God also elected certain individuals who
proclaimed His will, and who had been predestined by Him to fulfil parti-
cular tasks. These included Moses and Joshua, as well as several judges,
kings, and prophets.
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4.5.2 Election in the New Testament
Jesus elected the Apostles from among His disciples and sent them to all the
nations in order to teach and baptise (Matthew 28: 19–20; Luke 6: 13). The
Lord elects the people of the new covenant from among both Jews and Gen-
tiles. Those who make their election sure accept the gospel believingly and
allow themselves to be baptised with water and the Holy Spirit. In 1 Peter 2: 9
we read as follows concerning the people of the new covenant: “But you are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people,
that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness
into His marvellous light.” From this it also follows that all those who belong
to the people of the new covenant are obliged to bear witness—in both word
and conduct—of the favours they have received from God (2 Peter 1: 10–11).

4.5.3 God’s free election by grace
Election is a gift of God that is either accepted in faith or rejected in unbelief.
No one can earn election through deeds, much less lay claim to it. It can-
not be explained by reason. Divine election is a mystery of God that can only
be grasped in faith. God grants election to those whom He has foreordained
(Romans 9: 10–20).
Human beings are not forced to accept or secure God’s election. It is the
individual’s own decision whether or not to believe and heed the divine call
and faithfully fulfil the tasks assigned to him.
In this respect, there exists an area of tension—which cannot be re-
solved—between God’s act of election through grace (which is independent
of human conduct) and man’s free decision to accept or reject God’s election.
God elects human beings for their own salvation as well as for the salva-
tion of others. They are chosen to work along in His plan of salvation. When-
ever God elects someone, this election is linked to a task or purpose.
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Therefore those who have been baptised and who profess Jesus Christ as their
Lord and Saviour are called and elected to be Christian. They are to spread
the gospel. Beyond that, those Christians who are reborn out of water and the
Spirit have fulfilled the condition for becoming firstlings. It is from this group
that the bride of Christ is prepared in order to comprise the royal priesthood
in the kingdom of peace (see 10.6).
By no means can the doctrine of election be taken to mean that an indivi-
dual’s actions are predetermined from the start, or that a human being has
no decision-making power at all2. Rather, this freedom of choice is an essen-
tial element of man’s being. Likewise it cannot be concluded that the election
of one person to the bridal congregation signifies the rejection of those who
have not been chosen for this purpose. Rather, all human beings have access
to future salvation—all the way up to and including eternal fellowship with
God in the new creation.
Acceptance of one’s election in faith means following Jesus Christ con-
scientiously. Election also has eschatological effects: when Jesus Christ estab-
lishes His kingdom of peace as the King of all kings, the royal priesthood will
proclaim the glad tidings of salvation in Christ to all human beings. Those
who participate in the first resurrection are elected to this purpose (Revela-
tion 20: 6).
Human beings demonstrate that they have made this election sure by ac-
cepting this grace in belief and by remaining loyal to God and His work.
Election is an act of God’s love. He remains faithful to His elect. No ex-
influences are capable of separating them from the love of God
ternal
(Romans 8: 29, 37–39).
2 Election is frequently associated with the doctrine of predestination. Predestination was at
various times interpreted as divine providence of fate upon an individual human being. However,
predestination does not relate in a definitive way to the course of human life on earth, but to the
fact that God has predestined human beings for salvation.
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