Church Series-Election
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday October 4, 2016
The Church Series: Election
Lesson # 1
For the next several weeks, we are going to be engaged in a study of a series of doctrines related to ecclesiology which refers to the study of the church.
The term “church” in the New Testament designates a totally unique group of believers who at the moment of conversion were called out of the cosmic system of Satan and were placed into union with the Lord Jesus Christ through the baptism of the Spirit.
Consequently, they have been provided with totally unique privileges, responsibilities and opportunities to glorify God.
This term “church” is synonymous with other terms in the New Testament, which also designate this same group of believers, e.g., citizens of heaven, body of Christ, bride of Christ, branches, kingdom of priests, stones of the building, etc.
This group of believers was first prophesied by our Lord in Matthew 16:18.
The church age began on the day of Pentecost fifty days after the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the cross as recorded in Acts 2 and ends with a resurrection of the church which is called by theologians “the rapture.”
The first doctrine we will study is election.
The Scriptures teaches that there are three elections in history: (1) Israel (Deuteronomy 7:6-7; 10:15; 14:2; Isaiah 14:1; 44:1; 45:4; 48:12; Isaiah 65:9; Ezek. 20:5; Psa. 135:4; Acts 13:17; 15:7; Romans 11:5, 7, 28). (2) Christ (Isaiah 42:1; Matthew 12:18; Luke 9:35; 23:35; 1 Peter 2:4-6). (3) Church (Romans 8:30, 33; 9:24-26; 1 Corinthians 1:27; Ephesians 1:4, 18; 4:1, 4; Philippians 3:14; Colossians 3:12, 15; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 1:9; 2:10; Tit. 1:1; Hebrews 3:1; James 2:5; 1 Peter 1:1, 15; 2:4, 9, 21; 3:9; 5:10, 13; 2 Peter 1:3, 10; Revelation 17:14).
The Scriptures teach that the church age believer is elected to the privilege of experiencing an eternal relationship and fellowship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Election is never used in Scripture in relation to the unbeliever since 1 Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9 teach that God desires all men to be saved.
Ephesians 1:3 Worthy of praise and glorification is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who has blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in the Person of Christ. 4 When He elected us to privilege in Him before the foundation of the world for the purpose of being holy and blameless before Him. (Author’s translation)
“Elected to privilege” is the verb eklegomai, which means, “elected and set apart for privilege.”
When Paul teaches the Ephesians that they were chosen before the foundation of the world, he is referring to the doctrine of election.
God elected the church age believer before the foundation of the world in the sense that God, in His foreknowledge, which is based upon His omniscience, knew before anything was ever created, that they would believe in His Son in time.
Therefore, He elected them to the privilege of entering into fellowship with Him based upon the merits of their union with Christ.
Election means that God has a plan for the church age believer’s life, which is to be conformed to the image of Christ.
Romans 8:28 In fact, we know without a doubt that for the benefit of those who are characterized as divinely loving God the Father, He (the Spirit), as an eternal spiritual truth, always works each and every circumstance together for the good, for the benefit of those who are, as an eternal spiritual truth, the chosen ones, in accordance with His predetermined plan. 29 That is, whom He knew in advance, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son in order that He Himself would, as an eternal spiritual truth, be the firstborn among many spiritual brothers. 30 In fact, these very ones whom He predestined, He also effectually called and these very ones whom He effectually called, He also justified. In fact, these very ones whom He justified, He also glorified. (Author’s translation)
The believer’s election to privilege is a gift and irrevocable (Romans 11:29) and is the expression of the sovereign will of God in eternity past (Ephesians 1:4) and is God’s complete agreement with His own foreknowledge (1 Peter 1:1-2).
God has three kinds of knowledge: (1) Self-knowledge (2) Omniscience (3) Foreknowledge.
Foreknowledge acknowledges only what is in the decree of God, which is God’s eternal, holy, wise and sovereign purpose, comprehending at once all things that ever were or will be in their causes, courses, conditions, successions, and relations and determining their certain futurition (i.e., that they will certainly take place).
The decree of God is His eternal and immutable will regarding the future existence of events, which will happen in time and regarding the precise order and manner of their occurrence and is the chosen and adopted plan of all God’s works.
Election is declared through God’s foreknowledge.
God elected the believer before the foundation of the world since He knew beforehand that the believer would accept Jesus Christ as Savior in time and therefore elected the believer to privilege.
Election is based upon God’s grace policy meaning that the believer does not merit their election but rather receives it based upon the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross.
Second Timothy 1:8 Therefore, do not permit yourself to be ashamed of the Lord’s testimony or me, His prisoner but rather I solemnly urge you to accept your share of suffering for sake of the gospel in accordance with the power produced by God. 9 The one who saved each and every one of us. Indeed, the one who effectually called each and every one of us by means of an invitation to privilege which is holy. Never because of our meritorious actions but rather because of His own gracious predetermined plan which was brought into existence for the benefit of each and every one of us in association with the Christ who is Jesus before eternal ages. (Author’s translation)
Church age believers have been elected to privilege in order that they may be freed from the bondage of the old sin nature and that they might serve one another through love (Galatians 5:13).
Election is an expression of God’s love for the believer (1 John 3:1-3).
The church age believer has been elected in order that they may live in the eternal life they received when they believed in Christ for salvation (1 Timothy 6:12; Hebrews 9:15).
They have been elected in order that they may receive eternal glory, which means that God is not only going to bless the church age believer with a resurrection body but also with an eternal inheritance, if they persevere and overcome (1 Peter 5:10).
They have been elected in order that they may have fellowship (1 Corinthians 1:9) and have been elected in order to form the body of Christ, which will be completed at the rapture, i.e. resurrection of the church (Colossians 3:15).
Paul prayed that the Ephesian believers would be enlightened as to the confidence that this election can produce in them.
Ephesians 1:18 I make it a habit to pray that the eyes of our heart would receive enlightenment for the purpose of knowing for certain what is the confidence of His calling and what are the glorious riches, which is His inheritance distributed among the saints. 19 And what is the surpassing greatness of His divine omnipotence directed towards all of us who are believers. This is in accordance with the operative power, namely, the possession of power to overcome (the sin nature, the devil and his cosmic system) originating from His manifested power (through the resurrection and session of Christ) 20 which He (the Father) exercised through the Person of Christ by raising Him (Christ) out from among the dead and by seating Him (Christ) at His right hand in the heavenlies. 21 Far above each and every ruler and authority and command and dominion and each and every rank that has been bestowed, not only during this period of history, absolutely not, but also during the coming one. 22 Furthermore, He (the Father) subjected each and every thing under His (Christ’s) feet and appointed Him as head over each and every thing for the benefit of the church 23 which (church) by its very character and nature is His body, the perfect complement and complete expression (of Christ) who (Christ) at the present time is fulfilling everything for Himself in every respect. (Author’s translation)
The church age believer has a great responsibility to conduct himself or herself in a manner worthy of their election to privilege (Ephesians 4:1-3) since God has elected them to sanctification and not immoral degeneracy (1 Thessalonians 4:7).
They have been elected in order that they may go through undeserved suffering for Christ’s sake (1 Peter 2:18-25).
In Romans 8:33, Paul teaches that no one can bring a charge against God’s elect because God has declared the Christian justified through faith in Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:33 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies. (NASB95)
“God’s elect” is composed of the genitive masculine plural form of the adjective eklektos, “elect” and the genitive masculine singular form of the noun theos, “God’s.”
The noun theos refers to the Father since Paul teaches in Romans 8:28 that the “chosen ones,” i.e. Christians were elected according to the Father’s predetermined plan.
Also, he teaches in Ephesians 1:3-4 that the Father elected the Christian to privilege in eternity past before the foundation of the world.
In Romans 8:33, the adjective eklektos is composed of the preposition ek, “out from” and the verb lego, “to call,” thus the word literally means, “called out ones” or even “chosen out ones.”
Church age believers are “chosen-out ones” or “called out ones” since they have been called or chosen out from the earth’s inhabitants who are enslaved to the sin nature and the devil and his cosmic system and is directly related to the doctrine of election just as the adjective kletos in Romans 8:28.
Like the adjective kletos, the adjective eklektos is always used in Scripture of believers and never unbelievers.
The adjective eklektos is a derivative of the verb eklegomai, which means, “elected and set apart for privilege” and appears in Ephesians 1:4 in relation to the Christian’s election.