A delicate issue

“Election” is a touchy subject. In some congregations and churches I have never heard about it, in others it is part of a theology that is hard to digest. Many times this is associated with the idea that some are chosen but others are not, as if one child gets an ice cream and another does not, and for no reason! One child is just lucky, while the other is unlucky. When the “problem” is seen here, it is understandable that many do not even want to think about it. Who can connect the idea of arbitrariness with an almighty God?

There is a tangible problem, as if God were choosing people arbitrarily.

Election, as we know, is made by someone else. So someone else votes for us, and we just have to accept that. We would have no influence on that. In this term “election” there seems to be no justice at all. And if there were now a God who chooses, then there is a tangible problem, as if God were choosing people arbitrarily.

Election, predestination or predestination appears in different guises. In strict Calvinist churches, a “double predestination” is still taught under certain circumstances, according to which God would choose some for salvation, while he would have intended the others for damnation. One must try to imagine this once: What kind of image of God speaks from it! In other congregations, reference is made to man’s own responsibility (“free will”) and then, by an artifice, election is nullified. There it says: If you have come to faith (“if you have decided for Jesus”), then you can recognize afterwards that God has chosen you. This sounds pious and halfway plausible from the point of view of one’s own experience, but it misses the clear statement of an election that happens entirely from God. As they say:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blesses us with every spiritual blessing in the midst of the superhuman in Christ, even as He chose us in Him before the casting down of the world…”
Eph 1:3-4 (KNT)

Who will provide the decisive impetus?

While some plead that it is always man who provides the decisive moment, the Bible speaks of it being God who brings the decisive impulse. It is the difference between a more anthropocentric (“man-centered”) interpretation of the Bible and a theocentric (“God-centered,” or Christ-centered or “Christ-centered”) theology. It is not so easy to keep the balance, because the reality of God wants to be brought into harmony with our existence.

For example, someone once told me about a church in the U.S. that put up a welcome sign on the side of the road for church and worship. However, just in front of it was planted a shrub, which completely obscured this invitation. Now when it was asked why the bush was not cut back, the answer was that it was impossible to know whether God had chosen that person for salvation or damnation. Someone who was chosen to be condemned should not accidentally see the sign, go to church and come to faith, as God’s plan would be completely messed up! You want to invite, but at the same time felt pressured to cover the invitation again. Double predestination leads to strange blossoms and unfortunately often to much fear in the lives of people who grow up with it.

In other directions, man is central and God’s activity is pushed completely into the background. Whereas for some Calvinists the divinity of God is above all else, in many a free-church understanding man and his actions are central. Both directions have recognized something, but how do you bring it together?

Election is not the goal

Election, then, what is it? One approach to solving this dilemma may be to understand the concept behind the previous statements. Although it is not stated, many see election (or “coming to faith”) as a final destination. Election leads to salvation and “that’s it”. Here we see the following equation: election = salvation = final destination.

Election = Salvation = Final Goal?

The underlying concept is that “once you have come to believe, the election has reached its destination.” As if God is about saving you and me. Although this assumption is widespread, it is false. It fails to recognize God’s goal of once becoming “all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28). Election never concerns “all”, but always only “a part”. Election cannot be the goal. We must see election somewhere along the timeline of development to God’s goal.

If we want to understand what election is, we must ask “what is election for”. We must ask about the purpose of election and what we ourselves were chosen for.

Jesus, the chosen one

Luke tells of the glorification on the mountain, a vision that tradition says took place on Mount Tabor in northern Israel. In this vision it is reported that a voice is heard saying:

“This is My chosen Son, listen to Him!”
Lk 9,35

Jesus’ election is also mentioned elsewhere. Mockingly, Jesus is called the chosen one by the leaders of the people when Jesus hangs on the cross:

“But Jesus says, “Father, forgive them! For they know not what they do.” Then they distributed His garments by casting lots over them, and the people stood by and watched. With them the superiors also mocked Him, saying, “He saved others, He saves Himself, if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One!”
Lk 23:34-35

Here, what Jesus left behind in terms of understanding among the people and the leaders of the people with his appearance resonates. They were waiting for a chosen one of whom the prophets had spoken. They expected a very special person who would be able to do mighty things by virtue of his election. If He should be the Christ of God, the chosen one, then what just happened on the cross did not fit at all to the picture which many would have of the Messiah of God. You could also say: this election that ends at the cross, it doesn’t feel quite coherent. Neither power nor pomp is noticeable. There can be something wrong. The scoffers were skeptical.

Others, however, have seen otherwise:

“Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Nathanael, John 1:49

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”
Simon Peter, Mt 16,16

The statements could not be more different. Some recognized in Jesus the promised Messiah, the Christ of God, while others denied this. Jesus Christ never claimed the election Himself, but always referred to His God and Father. In the Jewish context, it was the prophets, high priests and kings who were chosen by anointing and set apart for a ministry. When Simon Peter says “You are the Christ,” it is synonymous with the Hebrew “Messiah” (hb. mashiach), which means “anointed one.” It is a reference to the Jewish meaning of this term. The Messiah is the chosen one of God who came into the world for a purpose.

Election is for a task

In the Bible, election is linked to a task. Election is never an end in itself. The idea that one is either “chosen, therefore saved” or “not chosen, therefore lost” is highly problematic and misleading. This black and white thinking is foreign to the Bible. However, the linking of “election” with “abandonment” can be seen again and again throughout Scripture. This is quite a positive linkage. God chooses so that a task will be accomplished or a goal achieved through the chosen ones. The elect are not the goal, but means to the goal.

This can be illustrated by various examples:

1. Abraham
   Abram was perhaps the first chosen one. He had contributed nothing to this himself, but it was God who chose him. Through Abraham, all the nations of the earth were once to be blessed: “Should I hide from Abraham what I want to do? Surely Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed!” (Gen 18:17-18).
2. Israel
   The people of Israel are among God’s elect (Deut 7:6-9 Isa 44:1 Isa 45:4 Acts 13:17 et al). They will one day be a blessing to all nations (Zech 8:13, Zef 3:20). This is the confirmation of Abraham’s task, so to speak. In the ups and downs of Israel’s history, this outlook on the Messiah emerges. When Jesus (hb. Yeshuah) came, he was not recognized as the Messiah by most of the people. He was rejected and the believing Jews from Israel who remained in Jerusalem as a church (the election, Rom 11:5) has not yet seen the fulfillment of the promises. Instead, a church came from all nations (the body of Christ, the church today. See below). Paul, however, does not see the end for Israel, but still a dazzling future: “For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will the acceptance be but life from the dead. But if their fall is the wealth of the world, and their loss the wealth of the nations, how much more their fullness!” (Rom 11:12). So Paul also sees Israel as a chosen nation, a channel of blessing for the world – all the same according to the prophetic statements. Israel still has a task waiting for the world.
3. Community from all nations
   The word church means “called out ones” (Gr. ekklesia). Various municipalities are mentioned. Today’s church, consisting of believers from all nations, was specifically called by Paul (Rom 11:13) “that the blessing of Abraham might come to the nations in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal 3:14, Rev. Elbf.). However, this happened without mediation from the people of Israel, as the prophets had predicted. That’s what makes today’s community special. In various places Paul therefore writes of secrets which he was allowed to reveal (Rom 16:25 Eph 3:2-3 etc. See also the article “Jesus and Paul, do they say the same thing?”). Now this church, in which we have a share, was also called for a task. We read this task in Ephesians 2:6-7: “He raises us up together and sets us down together in the midst of the superheavenly in Christ Jesus, to display the all-surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus in the eons to come” (KNT). To put it simply, a task awaits us in the heavens to make grace visible there. Until that happens, however, we are here as “called out ones,” as ekklesia, as the church and congregation of Christ.

You could call election a “call to service.” However, this does not mean activism, but rather that we do the works here that He has prepared for us to walk in (Eph 2:8-10). But that is not all. Those who focus only on the here and now fail to realize that God has called us to a greater purpose. Election is also “gathering” of the elect until the ministry tool is complete. For example, Paul sees that one day the “completion of the nations” will arrive, after which a new stage in His activity will begin again. He calls this a mystery (Rom 11:25-27). So there are times when the selection is called, and other times when the completed “tool” can begin its service. We may differentiate between today and tomorrow. In terms of ourselves, we can see that God is “preparing good works for us to walk in” today (Eph. 2:8-10), but likewise that we will be “displaying grace” in the ages to come (Eph. 2:6-7). The apostle mentions both in one breath.

Summary

Each of those called out has a task before him. With Abraham, it was a promise for his descendants. He was the channel of this blessing. It started small with Abraham, but it was once to involve the whole world. The same was true for Israel. Israel will have an important task as a people. Peter says (in the “Gospel of the Circumcision” Gal 2:7-9, namely addressed to Israel) to the believers from Israel: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession, that you may proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1Pet 2:9). We, the called-out church, were also chosen (Eph 1:4). We still have a heavenly task waiting for us.

From these examples we can see that election is never an end in itself, but is meant as a call to service. We can deduce which task is meant from the respective context.