4.5 Election

4.5 Election 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. 185 4 Mankind in need of redemption 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. 186