Election June 12, 2012
The doctrine of Election as I see it, may be broken down
into the following sub-topics:
The Sovereignty of God, (Daniel 4, Acts 17:24-26)
The Foreknowledge of God, (Rom. 8: 29-30)
The Call, (Universal) Common Grace, (Mt. 20: 1-16)
The Choice, (Mystery) Predestination, (Mt. 20: 1-16)
As Children of God, do we have any question about who is in charge
of this material universe? There is no room for any belief that does
not have the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as He who conceived
and created this material universe by His Word from nothing. He is
the sustainer of his world by His wisdom, power and presence. This
being true, why do we have problems with His sovereignty in matters
to His creation? As we peruse His Word, denoting His Son as well
as the Scripture, (John 1:14 "The Word became flesh...") we find
many instances where the Lord showed mercy on undeserving, indi-
viduals and other instances where His mercy was not forthcoming.
There is no explanation other than Romans 9: 15-16 which says, “...I
will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have com-
passion on whomever I will have compassion. So then it is not of him
who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.” This
is true of God’s relationship with His creation in every instance. It is
His will and pleasure that is done in every case and we who are reci-
pients of that mercy have no reason to boast, since His mercy is
dispensed without respect to merit. "..not of works, lest anyone
should boast.." Eph. 2:9
Jesus Christ is called, “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the
of the world.” Revelation 13: 8b, This is one of many passages in
the Scripture demonstrating God’s ability to know the future. One of
the most convincing passages in the Old Testament is Isaiah 53 giving
a graphic description of God’s Son paying the penalty for our sin by
abuse at the hands of evil men and His subsequent death. The close
of this chapter shows Christ being rewarded for this act of obedience
to the Father and in His current position as intercessor for us all.
Several hundred years passed between the publication of the narra-
tive and the event. Another of the many instances of God’s foreknow-
ledge is shown in Matthew 24, where Jesus Christ (God in flesh)
predicts the destruction of the temple which occurred well after His
death, burial, resurrection and ascension. There are many examples
of God’s foreknowledge in His Word, but this should be enough for
present purpose. One observation; If these examples and knowledge
of Scripture are not enough to convince one of God’s foreknowledge,
more would be a waste of space.
It's an interesting study when we look at a comparison of the uses of
the words “call or called” and “chose or chosen.” The word call or the
word called is used by our Lord in Scripture 42 times while the word
"chosen" is used 9 times and "chose" is not used. This must indicate
something. So, call is general or universal and is indicative of the com-
mon grace offered to all men. To be chosen is more selective and is a
mystery. To tell how one is chosen by Almighty God is subjective and
opens the gates to speculation. It is never profitable to speculate on
doctrine. One must stay with what may be known from Scripture, in
context, instead of going off on a tangent leading to “cultism.”
It’s a short step from foreknowledge to a conviction that God not
only knows before, what will happen in every instance, to a belief He
He also has a hand in causing certain events according to His will, his
good pleasure. He orchestrates events in the lives of whomever He
will. There is also this consideration; everything He does has the best
interest of His elect at heart. (...all things work together for good to
those who love God, to those who are the called according to His pur-
pose. Rom. 8:28) As we read verses 29-30 we build an even stronger
case for the favorable treatment of His called, chosen or elect.
Since we could never be sure of how one is chosen for the Kingdom
of God, we will discuss facts to be known about the subject. The first
fact is, “the Lord God is self-existing outside of time and sees the end
and the beginning.” Knowing His perspective, it seems obvious He is
never surprised by any eventuality and well able to make choices you
or I, with our limited perspective, are incapable of making. Secondly,
He is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent; His decisions are just
and always righteous, in no need of change. Finally, His love for his
creation is shown by this fact; His nature, in addition to His Word,
reveals His wrath on those who know the truth and fail to be obedient
to it. (Romans 1: 16-24) He gives to the Children of the Kingdom, the
responsibility to take his Word, as revealed, to a lost world. In other
words, God has gone to great lengths to make the salvation, He pro-
vides, available to all who will believe or accept his Son, Jesus Christ.
He even demonstrates His wrath and glory through nature to those He
knows will not receive Him. Leaving creation without excuse. We con-
clude then; however He has chosen to select/elect Children of the
Kingdom, He is just. (Romans 2: 11-16) It seems He has chosen, from
this fallen race, to redeem an unknown number of the miscreants, to
be His Bride. This choice was made before creation and is/was not
based on the relative merit of the individuals. ( Romans 3:10)
“There is none righteous, not even one.”
He has given His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Mediator and Savior. The
blood shed on the cross by Jesus Christ is the cleansing agent of all the
the sins of mankind, but one must receive Him, Jesus Christ, as Savior
for his sins to be forgiven, cleansed and forgotten. Our Lord would be
just if he condemned all, to be eternally separated from their Creator.
Finally we come to the word, Predestination. Apparently
a general call goes out to all men to be saved. God has justi-
fied Himself, though not of necessity, in this and gives men in
general the opportunity for Salvation. It appears His choice
is based upon their reaction or response to this general call.
We find the children were predestined; known by Him before
the foundations of the earth were laid. This does not mean
He had to do it this way, but it seems so. Nor does it mean His
foreknowledge had anything to do with causing either the lost
or the saved to respond as they did. He knew ahead what each
would do. Could He be God of this universe and not have such
knowledge? Since He knows what each will do, He is able to
make plans accordingly. As we discuss this, it appears to be a
moot point since God is Sovereign over His creation. He is self-
existent. Before creation was brought into being by His word,
He "IS". He does not have to explain His actions to creation.
It is about as ridiculous as a young boy making a model boat of
wood, then explaining to the boat why he painted the boat green
rather than blue. Predestination goes much further than the
salvation of each believer. These believers are predestined by
our lord to perfection. He has taken it upon Himself to bring
things into His children’s lives making them into the image of
Jesus Christ. Mankind was created, originally, in His image, but
the image was marred by sin. When one repents of sin, or any
transgression of the commandments, the Lord God takes upon
Himself the restoration of that image, through a process called
sanctication. This takes time, application of the Word and obedi-
ence to that Word. He involves his child in the process.
When the Lord found me I was dead in my sin, had no hope
of change within myself and was totally dependent upon His
initiation of events leading to the salvation of my soul. Am I
now going to question Him about how He brought it to pass and
why, or will I thankfully embrace the gracious provision He has
freely bestowed on me, who is without any redeeming qualities.
If He has arbitrarily chosen me to be beneficiary of His mer-
cy, grace and love, I will be eternally grateful. If there were
some criteria He used, about which we are not cognizant, I will
still be eternally grateful and live the rest of my life seeking to
be a Holy Spirit filled servant of my Lord. Even if I were to be
eminently successful in this endeavor, it would not be enough
for me to declare I had anything to contribute to Salvation. He
is all and in all. The grace involved in The Lord God choosing
His BRIDE is not in the beneficiary, but in the Benefactor.
One other area of election we do not understand, is the fact
that God’s ways are not our ways, being higher and beyond our
ability to understand. His will seems to be divided into at least
two parts. First there is His will as revealed in Scripture having
to do with how we should live our lives and relate to God and to
man. There are many revelations of God’s will in His Word, but
there are also elements of His will not revealed to us. Since His
purposes are above our understanding, we must trust Him for
this, knowing He has the interests of His Children as a high
priority, but this interest cannot supersede his divine purpose.
“Off the top of my head”
God is Sovereign and His will has been done, His will is done,
and His will shall be done. There is also another perspective we
might take. I cannot believe our Lord to be a micro-manager.
There is no question that His purposes will be served, but does
that mean He overrides His children in every decision. There is
evidence suggesting He allows us, His children, to go our own
way at times, making mistakes for which we have to pay. It is
believable we have options, about which God has no particular
purpose. He allows us to structure things of our personal lives
within His Divine purpose. We are not robots. An example may
be in the choice of an area in which to live or particular home to
occupy. While He may have no specific will about it, He has pla-
ces for us to be and Divine appointments for us to keep. He has
placed things in our lives causing us to choose specific areas, or
hoods, streets and even houses in which to reside. While we are
free to use our wills, he merely directs us through events, per-
sonal tastes and His Word, if we are wise enough to study it.
In Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean
not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge
Him and He shall direct your paths.” I have taken this as a “life
passage,” and have found it reliable. We are shown how He will
direct our lives if we will trust and acknowledge Him. This kind
of choice saves His children from spiritual shipwreck. Why not
use the Divine wisdom available us from His word to order our
lives along the lines of His will. We cannot; must do no less if we
expect to be profitable servants of our Lord. "Lord God, work
your will in and through me!!"
Another Thought: The Lord God created the material universe of
nothing and created man from the dust of the earth. It is clear
mankind, His crowning creation, sinned; was plunged into separa-
tion from God resulting in spiritual death, darkness and hopeless-
ness. Man had/has no way of reinstating himself with the Lord.
Let’s say the Lord God decided (in eternity past) to reach into
Universe, for reasons of His own, and reclaim a certain number.
These, He delivered, saved, brought to spiritual life and is in the
process of perfecting His bride from this number. These were
predestined to this end and have no hand in the matter. ("not of
works lest anyone should boast.") The balance of creation, with
out hope, have no basis for a claim against the creator. I believe
this is basis for understanding of Election/Predestination. It will
take a lot of in depth, consistent study of God’s Word for one to
refute or support such a doctrine. My purpose here is to examine
without prejudice the Word of God on this subject, and avoid arri-
ving at an opinion, but come to an understanding.
donporter 6/25/12,
We must add another "sub-topic" to the doctrine of
"Election." That would be the question of man's
"free will." See the post on Predestination, a recent
contribution of a "Guest" Eric, who unlike myself,
is a scholar with a certain view of this doctrine.
http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2014/02/election-free-will-predestination.html
edited 3.06.14 Thanks for looking, donporter,sr

The doctrine of Election as I see it, may be broken down
into the following sub-topics:
The Sovereignty of God, (Daniel 4, Acts 17:24-26)
The Foreknowledge of God, (Rom. 8: 29-30)
The Call, (Universal) Common Grace, (Mt. 20: 1-16)
The Choice, (Mystery) Predestination, (Mt. 20: 1-16)
As Children of God, do we have any question about who is in charge
of this material universe? There is no room for any belief that does
not have the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as He who conceived
and created this material universe by His Word from nothing. He is
the sustainer of his world by His wisdom, power and presence. This
being true, why do we have problems with His sovereignty in matters
to His creation? As we peruse His Word, denoting His Son as well
as the Scripture, (John 1:14 "The Word became flesh...") we find
many instances where the Lord showed mercy on undeserving, indi-
viduals and other instances where His mercy was not forthcoming.
There is no explanation other than Romans 9: 15-16 which says, “...I
will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have com-
passion on whomever I will have compassion. So then it is not of him
who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.” This
is true of God’s relationship with His creation in every instance. It is
His will and pleasure that is done in every case and we who are reci-
pients of that mercy have no reason to boast, since His mercy is
dispensed without respect to merit. "..not of works, lest anyone
should boast.." Eph. 2:9
Jesus Christ is called, “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the
of the world.” Revelation 13: 8b, This is one of many passages in
the Scripture demonstrating God’s ability to know the future. One of
the most convincing passages in the Old Testament is Isaiah 53 giving
a graphic description of God’s Son paying the penalty for our sin by
abuse at the hands of evil men and His subsequent death. The close
of this chapter shows Christ being rewarded for this act of obedience
to the Father and in His current position as intercessor for us all.
Several hundred years passed between the publication of the narra-
tive and the event. Another of the many instances of God’s foreknow-
ledge is shown in Matthew 24, where Jesus Christ (God in flesh)
predicts the destruction of the temple which occurred well after His
death, burial, resurrection and ascension. There are many examples
of God’s foreknowledge in His Word, but this should be enough for
present purpose. One observation; If these examples and knowledge
of Scripture are not enough to convince one of God’s foreknowledge,
more would be a waste of space.
It's an interesting study when we look at a comparison of the uses of
the words “call or called” and “chose or chosen.” The word call or the
word called is used by our Lord in Scripture 42 times while the word
"chosen" is used 9 times and "chose" is not used. This must indicate
something. So, call is general or universal and is indicative of the com-
mon grace offered to all men. To be chosen is more selective and is a
mystery. To tell how one is chosen by Almighty God is subjective and
opens the gates to speculation. It is never profitable to speculate on
doctrine. One must stay with what may be known from Scripture, in
context, instead of going off on a tangent leading to “cultism.”
It’s a short step from foreknowledge to a conviction that God not
only knows before, what will happen in every instance, to a belief He
He also has a hand in causing certain events according to His will, his
good pleasure. He orchestrates events in the lives of whomever He
will. There is also this consideration; everything He does has the best
interest of His elect at heart. (...all things work together for good to
those who love God, to those who are the called according to His pur-
pose. Rom. 8:28) As we read verses 29-30 we build an even stronger
case for the favorable treatment of His called, chosen or elect.
Since we could never be sure of how one is chosen for the Kingdom
of God, we will discuss facts to be known about the subject. The first
fact is, “the Lord God is self-existing outside of time and sees the end
and the beginning.” Knowing His perspective, it seems obvious He is
never surprised by any eventuality and well able to make choices you
or I, with our limited perspective, are incapable of making. Secondly,
He is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent; His decisions are just
and always righteous, in no need of change. Finally, His love for his
creation is shown by this fact; His nature, in addition to His Word,
reveals His wrath on those who know the truth and fail to be obedient
to it. (Romans 1: 16-24) He gives to the Children of the Kingdom, the
responsibility to take his Word, as revealed, to a lost world. In other
words, God has gone to great lengths to make the salvation, He pro-
vides, available to all who will believe or accept his Son, Jesus Christ.
He even demonstrates His wrath and glory through nature to those He
knows will not receive Him. Leaving creation without excuse. We con-
clude then; however He has chosen to select/elect Children of the
Kingdom, He is just. (Romans 2: 11-16) It seems He has chosen, from
this fallen race, to redeem an unknown number of the miscreants, to
be His Bride. This choice was made before creation and is/was not
based on the relative merit of the individuals. ( Romans 3:10)
“There is none righteous, not even one.”
He has given His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Mediator and Savior. The
blood shed on the cross by Jesus Christ is the cleansing agent of all the
the sins of mankind, but one must receive Him, Jesus Christ, as Savior
for his sins to be forgiven, cleansed and forgotten. Our Lord would be
just if he condemned all, to be eternally separated from their Creator.
Finally we come to the word, Predestination. Apparently
a general call goes out to all men to be saved. God has justi-
fied Himself, though not of necessity, in this and gives men in
general the opportunity for Salvation. It appears His choice
is based upon their reaction or response to this general call.
We find the children were predestined; known by Him before
the foundations of the earth were laid. This does not mean
He had to do it this way, but it seems so. Nor does it mean His
foreknowledge had anything to do with causing either the lost
or the saved to respond as they did. He knew ahead what each
would do. Could He be God of this universe and not have such
knowledge? Since He knows what each will do, He is able to
make plans accordingly. As we discuss this, it appears to be a
moot point since God is Sovereign over His creation. He is self-
existent. Before creation was brought into being by His word,
He "IS". He does not have to explain His actions to creation.
It is about as ridiculous as a young boy making a model boat of
wood, then explaining to the boat why he painted the boat green
rather than blue. Predestination goes much further than the
salvation of each believer. These believers are predestined by
our lord to perfection. He has taken it upon Himself to bring
things into His children’s lives making them into the image of
Jesus Christ. Mankind was created, originally, in His image, but
the image was marred by sin. When one repents of sin, or any
transgression of the commandments, the Lord God takes upon
Himself the restoration of that image, through a process called
sanctication. This takes time, application of the Word and obedi-
ence to that Word. He involves his child in the process.
When the Lord found me I was dead in my sin, had no hope
of change within myself and was totally dependent upon His
initiation of events leading to the salvation of my soul. Am I
now going to question Him about how He brought it to pass and
why, or will I thankfully embrace the gracious provision He has
freely bestowed on me, who is without any redeeming qualities.
If He has arbitrarily chosen me to be beneficiary of His mer-
cy, grace and love, I will be eternally grateful. If there were
some criteria He used, about which we are not cognizant, I will
still be eternally grateful and live the rest of my life seeking to
be a Holy Spirit filled servant of my Lord. Even if I were to be
eminently successful in this endeavor, it would not be enough
for me to declare I had anything to contribute to Salvation. He
is all and in all. The grace involved in The Lord God choosing
His BRIDE is not in the beneficiary, but in the Benefactor.
One other area of election we do not understand, is the fact
that God’s ways are not our ways, being higher and beyond our
ability to understand. His will seems to be divided into at least
two parts. First there is His will as revealed in Scripture having
to do with how we should live our lives and relate to God and to
man. There are many revelations of God’s will in His Word, but
there are also elements of His will not revealed to us. Since His
purposes are above our understanding, we must trust Him for
this, knowing He has the interests of His Children as a high
priority, but this interest cannot supersede his divine purpose.
“Off the top of my head”
God is Sovereign and His will has been done, His will is done,
and His will shall be done. There is also another perspective we
might take. I cannot believe our Lord to be a micro-manager.
There is no question that His purposes will be served, but does
that mean He overrides His children in every decision. There is
evidence suggesting He allows us, His children, to go our own
way at times, making mistakes for which we have to pay. It is
believable we have options, about which God has no particular
purpose. He allows us to structure things of our personal lives
within His Divine purpose. We are not robots. An example may
be in the choice of an area in which to live or particular home to
occupy. While He may have no specific will about it, He has pla-
ces for us to be and Divine appointments for us to keep. He has
placed things in our lives causing us to choose specific areas, or
hoods, streets and even houses in which to reside. While we are
free to use our wills, he merely directs us through events, per-
sonal tastes and His Word, if we are wise enough to study it.
In Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean
not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge
Him and He shall direct your paths.” I have taken this as a “life
passage,” and have found it reliable. We are shown how He will
direct our lives if we will trust and acknowledge Him. This kind
of choice saves His children from spiritual shipwreck. Why not
use the Divine wisdom available us from His word to order our
lives along the lines of His will. We cannot; must do no less if we
expect to be profitable servants of our Lord. "Lord God, work
your will in and through me!!"
Another Thought: The Lord God created the material universe of
nothing and created man from the dust of the earth. It is clear
mankind, His crowning creation, sinned; was plunged into separa-
tion from God resulting in spiritual death, darkness and hopeless-
ness. Man had/has no way of reinstating himself with the Lord.
Let’s say the Lord God decided (in eternity past) to reach into
Universe, for reasons of His own, and reclaim a certain number.
These, He delivered, saved, brought to spiritual life and is in the
process of perfecting His bride from this number. These were
predestined to this end and have no hand in the matter. ("not of
works lest anyone should boast.") The balance of creation, with
out hope, have no basis for a claim against the creator. I believe
this is basis for understanding of Election/Predestination. It will
take a lot of in depth, consistent study of God’s Word for one to
refute or support such a doctrine. My purpose here is to examine
without prejudice the Word of God on this subject, and avoid arri-
ving at an opinion, but come to an understanding.
donporter 6/25/12,
We must add another "sub-topic" to the doctrine of
"Election." That would be the question of man's
"free will." See the post on Predestination, a recent
contribution of a "Guest" Eric, who unlike myself,
is a scholar with a certain view of this doctrine.
http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2014/02/election-free-will-predestination.html
edited 3.06.14 Thanks for looking, donporter,sr

1 comment:
I really like what you guys are up too. Such
clever work and coverage! Keep up the great works guys I've included you guys to my personal blogroll.
My webpage: House painting Pacific Palisades
Post a Comment