“… According as he hath chosen us in him….”
Chosen us in him
Not – Chosen us to be in him…
Facts: The Lord Jesus Christ is chosen
The believer is chosen
Thoughts:
Man has been afforded the opportunity through the love of God to be saved.
The Word of God is the invitation – repent and believe
The Holy Spirit accompanies this invitation and presses the hearer to accept it.
Questions:
Is it possible to reject the invitation?
Is it possible to not deliver the invitation?
Then –
Is it possible to possible to refuse to obey the Sovereign God?
Thoughts:
God has chosen His Son to be the Saviour of the world.
God has chosen to send His Word into all the world.
God has chosen to save all that come to Him through His Son.
The saved were not seeking – they were invited to come to Him. They were chosen.
Were they (the saved) chosen and others not chosen?
No! They were all invited –
“Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”. Mark 16:15
“Go ye therefore and teach all nations”. Matthew 28:19
“…Who will have all men to be saved.” 1 Timothy 2:4
So – since God has chosen to save all that come to Him through His Son – those that are in His son are chosen – they are elect.
Paul could say in Ephesians –
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world
Are believers the elect (chosen). Yes.
Why are believers the elect? Because they are in Christ.
What about non-believers? They chose not to be chosen.
Ephesians 1:3-6 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 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: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Illustration: A man’s son is inviting people, everyone, to go with him to his father’s house.
Fifty people have accepted.
Fifty people have not accepted. “We do not want to go with you”
The son comes to his father with the fifty and tells him that these have accepted.
The Father tells them that he has chosen them in his son – they are adopted as His children and will be holy and without blame.
They ask “What about those that did not accept”?
The father tells them that he has chosen to leave them as they are. They rejected his invitation and he will leave them to themselves.
But, say those chosen to holiness, “they have no hope of holiness then”!
The father tells them “They had hope, but they lost it when they did not come with my son.”
Again they approach the father and say “But what if they did not receive the invitation”?
The father states “I sent the invitation to be delivered to everyone”. Why would they have not received it”?
“There is only one way to come to my house and that is with my son.
“Did you deliver the invitation that you received? Did you tell the others?
You were supposed to.”
Does Romans chapter 8 teach predestination and personal election to salvation?
Romans 8:28-30 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
The Apostle Paul is not teaching a doctrine of individual election to salvation in these verses. The verses are often used as proof text for this doctrine but they can only be used as support if taken out of context. These verses must be taken in their context from Chapters 7 to 11.
The People he wrote were struggling with law and grace. They were bound by tradition. Paul explained to them that they had been set free, they were saved by faith.
They did not understand that, if they were set free, why did they still have to deal with the inclination of the flesh. They knew that the law condemns and that the desire and actions of the flesh brought forth this just condemnation.
Paul explained to them that while they were saved now through faith, the body would be redeemed at a future time. Till that time came, they would have to “…mortify the deeds of the body…” Romans 8:13. They would be enabled to do this through the Spirit which dwelt in them. Romans 8:14.
Paul told them that God’s plan was in place before the creation and that He would complete His plan in them – once saved they would be glorified. They could have confidence in their salvation, even though they struggled with their flesh. Romans 8:30.
Paul is not presenting a doctrine of individual election to salvation but is setting forth the differences in death and life, Law and Grace, Flesh and Spirit.