Elect

“And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:31 ESV). In the New Testament, elect means properly an object or objects of selection (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia). Those selected were chosen before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). They are the ones selected by the Father who he will cause to be born again (1 Peter 1:3).

I have built several homes and when I do I select the materials needed and from them construct the building according to plan. God has a plan describing the body of Christ. It is one body made up of many members, each member is chosen for a specific function and to fit into a relationship with all the others. Before the world was created, God determined the exact number of members needed and their characteristics and put together a list called the Book of Life. Over the course of time, these members would be born physically as lost sheep, nurtured to spiritual birth and then conformed into the exact specifications for each one using various situations in life in the process.

Every person born physically is born spiritually dead as a sinner, separated from God and condemned to an eternity under God’s wrath in hell. In this way justice is served, but God the Father with list in hand, selects those on the list as they occur in the course of human history and shows them mercy. There is no injustice in showing mercy in removing their death sentence because Jesus died on the cross for these lost sheep.

These are verses used by those who believe that God in his sovereignty, according to his will, not the will of man, selects those who will receive the gift of salvation. This is a view of salvation as seen from heaven.

Prayer

Father, like a child selected from an orphanage, what a sense of love, joy, security, and thankfulness I have experienced as an object of your mercy. As I experience your hand on my life, conforming me into the image of Christ, I experience the living hope of being like Jesus and being with you and serving you throughout eternity. Thank you for selecting me, showing me mercy and extending grace to me.