Elect of God
“Of His own will, He brought us forth by the Word of Truth, ( the Gospel), that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures,” James 1: 18. So I ask you. Was this according to the purpose of God? It sure seems to be. The Lord is calling people out of the multitudes for a very special purpose. Paul, the apostle, speaks of those who suffered torment for their faith will obtain a better resurrection, Hebrews 11, entire chapter. These are the firstfruits, which means the early crop, or harvest. But, notice this is not to say the only crop to be harvested.
“Therefore I said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to them by My Father,” John 6: 65. Yes, one MUST receive a calling from God the Father. Another scripture which makes this plainly clear is I Corinthians 12: 3, “No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”
I know “predestination” is frowned upon in most Christian denominations, but it appears that this is the case, as in II Timothy 1: 9, “God who has saved us and called us with a Holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” This is a mouthful and difficult to swallow, but it is written and it is the truth. We humans are here for His pleasure, as pointed out in Philippians 2: 13, “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” ( See also Ephesians 1: 5, 11)
I hope this will give you as believers a more balanced approach to the Word of God. As Paul also pointed out in Romans 9: 14- 21, there is no unrighteousness in God. He has mercy on who He will have mercy and compassion on whom He will have compassion. “So it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.” Now, I ask the question, has God the Father showed you mercy by calling you and giving you His Spirit so that you can believe in His Son? Remember what He looks for in mankind. “This is a humble spirit and a contrite heart,” Psalm 51: 17 and Psalm 34: 18.
Denying God the Father must give us faith to believe, we are arguing with God. See Romans 9: 20, “But indeed O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘ Why have you made me like this.’ Does not the potter have power over the clay from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?” verse 21. I am truly aware this understanding goes against traditional teachings, but I believe its time to get off the milk diet and sink our teeth into the true meat of God’s Word. Romans 8: 2830 is unmistakably the proof that will seal this truth that we are called to be the children of God, or predestined of God the Father: “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.”
As I was studying this subject, for I too had doubts about predestination, the Lord directed me to Ephesians 1: 1114, which wraps it all up. “In Him we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will. That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted after you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Which is the guarantee of our inheritance.” How beautiful is that? You have been given a guarantee by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, according to God’s purpose. Now, you are one of His firstfruits of His early harvest. You have been renewed in your mind through
the Spirit of Christ Jesus. You are a new person, which has been created according to God in true righteousness and holiness, Ephesians 4: 23- 24.
Yes, believers called to the Lord were predestined from the beginning of time. The Lord God has a purpose for those He calls. Acts 13: 48, “As many as were ordained to eternal life believed. We who have received this calling should be able to say as the Apostle Paul stated in Galatians 2: 20, “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”