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I. The time of God’s selection and predestination.
II. The realm of God’s selection and predestination.
III. The basis of God’s selection and predestination.
IV. The goal of God’s selection and predestination.
V. The people of God’s selection and predestination.
VI. The proof of God’s selection and predestination.
VII. The firmness of God’s selection and predestination.
Those who have been graced by God should know about God’s selection and predestination. Both the selection and predestination of God are marvelous works of God’s grace to us. Selection and predestination are different but related to each other. We will consider them in the following seven points.
1. “Even as He chose us...before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4).
God chose us before the foundation of the world. This is far beyond our comprehension. Before the beginning of time, before the creation of the heavens and earth, God chose us in eternity past. This is a tremendous matter of grace. This is such a sweet thought. We should thank Him from our heart! Moreover, we should bow down in worship.
2. “God predestined before the ages for our glory” (1 Cor. 2:7).
God not only chose us before the foundation of the world; He also predestinated us before the ages. After God chose us, He predestinated us. These two matters were accomplished by God in eternity past before the foundation of the world and before the ages. Therefore, according to God’s selection and predestination, we were graced long before the foundation of the world. We may say that in God’s eyes we were saved long before the ages. Furthermore, we should also realize that none of us has been saved by accident or chance. Every believer was predestinated for salvation long ago by God, and at His appointed time, God arranged the time of our life, the place of our living, the state of our human affairs, and the sphere of our environment to cause us to be saved. When we see God’s marvelous work in this area and consider His unfathomable grace, we can only thank Him for His grace and praise Him for His works!
1. “He chose us in Him” (Eph. 1:4).
God chose us in Christ. In Christ refers to a realm and a base. For eternity this realm and base will not change. God chose us in this eternally unchanging realm and base.
2. “Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God”; “Those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated” (1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 8:29).
God’s selection and predestination are based on His foreknowledge. His foreknowledge is based on His foresight. He foresees clearly, so He has the ability to foreknow. He chose and predestinated us according to His foresight and based on His foreknowledge.
3. “Predestinating us...according to the good pleasure of His will” (Eph. 1:5).
God selected and predestinated us according to the good pleasure of His will. This is to say that God selected and predestinated us according to His will and good pleasure, not according to anything else. He has a will and a taste that are according to His good pleasure, and He chose us according to His will and His taste.
4. “Predestinated according to the purpose of the One” (Eph. 1:11).
God selected and predestinated us according to the good pleasure of His will. This was not done loosely; rather, He had a purpose, a plan. He chose and predestinated us according to this plan. He has spent much time and effort on us, and now we should respond to Him.
1. “In love, predestinating us” (Eph. 1:4-5 see also 1 Thes. 1:4).
God selected and predestinated us in love. Love is not based on reason. God simply loved us; therefore, He chose and predestinated us.
2. “The purpose of God according to selection might remain, not of works but of Him who calls”; “He has mercy on whom He wills” (Rom. 9:11, 18).
God chose us according to His purpose. His purpose according to selection is not of man’s works but of Him who chooses. This is seen in the case of Esau and Jacob, two brothers who were twins. When Esau and Jacob were in their mother’s womb and had not yet done anything good or bad, God told their mother that He had chosen the younger, Jacob, not the older, Esau. This proves that God’s selection of Jacob was not because of Jacob’s good works, and God’s rejection of Esau was not because of Esau’s bad works. Before they were born, they had not done anything good or bad. Some may think that God chose Jacob because He knew that Jacob would be better than his brother Esau, but this is wrong. After they were born, Jacob was worse than his brother. He was crafty and loved to fight. He took advantage of everyone he knew. He cheated his brother, his father, and his uncle. No one who contacted him was spared from his cheating. God chose him even though he was quite bad. This proves that God’s selection is not at all according to man’s works. It is completely according to and based on God Himself and His mercy. He has mercy on whom He wills; He chooses whom He wills. This is completely a matter of His heart’s desire. When we see and consider this, we should humble ourselves in worship and give thanks and praise to Him.
3. “The selection of grace” (Rom. 11:5).
Because of His love and mercy God selected us according to His grace, not our works. His selection of grace came to us out of His love and through His mercy. His love first caused Him to look upon us and like us. It caused Him to consider us as desirable objects of His heart and to want to give us His grace. In spite of His heart’s desire, our condition made us unworthy to receive His grace. If His selection were only according to love and grace, and not of mercy as well, His love and grace would only be able to reach those who matched Him. His love and grace would be unable to reach those like us who are so low and do not match Him. But thank and praise Him, He not only has love and grace but also mercy. His mercy reaches further than His love and grace. His mercy causes Him to care for those who are low and unworthy so that His love and grace can reach us. His mercy reaches us, raises us up from our position of unworthiness, and makes us worthy to enjoy His love and receive His grace. Oh, the raising up of His mercy and the adorning of His grace cause us to enjoy His love! His selection is out of love and through mercy; consequently, it is a selection of grace.
1. “Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:29).
God selected and predestinated us according to His foreknowledge in order to conform us to the image of His Son so that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers. God wants His Son, our Lord Jesus, to gain many brothers that He might be the Firstborn among them. Therefore, God selected and predestinated us. He selected and predestinated us for the high goal of being the brothers and companions of His Son. He did not select and predestinate us to go to heaven or to enjoy eternal blessings. Only ordinary people would seek such low goals.
2. “Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He graced us in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:5-6).
Since God predestinated us to be the brothers of His Son, He also predestinated us unto sonship through His Son. We are God’s sons together with His Son, and thus, we can receive His inheritance. His predestinating of us brings us into Himself and joins us with Him in life. Thus, He is expressed through us, the many sons, which is to the praise of the glory of His grace. This grace is simply Himself making us His sons by our partaking of Him. It is also our gaining of Him in His Son. This is the goal of God’s selection and predestination.
3. “Appointed to eternal life” (Acts 13:48).
Since God predestinated us to be His sons, He has predestinated us to gain His life, the eternal life. Once we are born of Him, we have His life, and we are His sons.
4. “Predestined before the ages for our glory”; “In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory” (1 Cor. 2:7; Rom. 9:23).
God not only predestinated us to gain His life and to be His sons but also to gain His glory and express Him. Glory is God expressed. When God is expressed, there is glory. God predestinated us so that we could gain His life and glory to express His glorious being. This will be completely fulfilled in us when the Lord Jesus returns and in the coming new heavens and new earth (2 Pet. 3:13).
5. “Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself, unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him” (Eph. 1:9-10).
God predestinated us to know the mystery of His will, which is according to His economy, His administrative arrangement, so that all things in the heavens and on earth would be headed up in Christ that the glory of Christ, which is His glory in Christ, would be expressed in all things. Now He is making known the mystery of His will, and in the future He will bring us into His glory, which will be the fulfillment of the mystery of His will.
6. “You are a chosen race...so that you may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).
God selected us so that we might declare His virtues in the world today.
The preceding six points underscore the importance of the goal of God’s selection and predestination.
1. “Consider your calling, brothers, that there are not many wise according to flesh, not many powerful, not many wellborn. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world that He might shame those who are wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world that He might shame the things that are strong, and the lowborn things of the world and the despised things God has chosen, things which are not, that He might bring to nought the things which are, so that no flesh may boast before God” (1 Cor. 1:26-29).
God mainly selects those who are foolish, weak, lowborn, despised, and of no account so that no flesh may boast before Him. This does not mean, however, that He never selects someone who is wise, powerful, or highborn. In every age God has chosen every kind of person; however, those who are chosen all realize that they have nothing to boast of in themselves and would rather boast in God, even if it means being foolish, weak, and despised in the eyes of others. In contrast, it is difficult for anyone who continually boasts in himself to be selected by God. God does not select those who boast in themselves but those who boast in God.
2. “Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which He promised to those who love Him?” (James 2:5).
Those selected by God are usually poor so that He might make them rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which He promised to those who love Him. This is not to say that God does not select rich people, but generally speaking, it is difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God (Luke 18:25). Although it is difficult, in every age there are some rich people who are willing to become poor out of their love for God. This proves that God has truly chosen them.
1. “As many as were appointed to eternal life believed”; “Since you thrust it [the word of God] away and do not judge yourselves worthy of eternal life” (46, Acts 13:48).
The proof of one’s predestination is his willingness to believe and receive the gospel of God when he hears it. A student, who heard D. L. Moody’s teaching on predestination in class, was impressed but did not dare to preach the gospel, because he had a problem. He said to Moody, “I dare not preach the gospel now.” Moody asked him why, and he said, “When I am preaching, I look at a person and consider whether he is predestinated; I look at another and consider whether he is chosen. If God has not chosen and predestinated these ones, and they are eventually persuaded by me to believe in the Lord, will I not be making a big mistake?” Moody then replied, “Brother, just do your best to persuade him. As long as we can persuade someone to believe in the Lord, he has been chosen and predestinated by God.” A person’s willingness to believe proves that he has been graced by God and has been chosen by Him. If a person rejects the gospel of God, he judges himself unworthy of eternal life.
1. “With whom is no variation or shadow cast by turning” (James 1:17).
God has no variation; therefore, He does not cast a shadow by turning. Consequently, His selection of us is also without the slightest variation.
2. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16).
The Lord’s choosing of us did not come from ourselves but from Him. If our choosing were from us, it could change. But since our choosing is from Him, it will not change.
3. “I know whom I have chosen” (John 13:18 see also 2 Tim. 2:19).
The Lord knows whom He has chosen. When He chose us, He knew us. He knew what our condition would be today. He will not change even if He sees that our condition is not so good.
4. “The calling of God...irrevocable” (Rom. 11:29).
God has no regrets in calling us; therefore, He will not revoke His selection of us.
5. “Who shall bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?” (Rom. 8:33).
No one, not even the devil, can bring a charge against God’s chosen ones, because God has justified us. Therefore, God’s selection of us will not change.
6. “Be the more diligent to make your calling and selection firm” (2 Pet. 1:10).
Any doubts that we may have concerning the gracious calling and selection of God come from our lack of pursuing the Lord. If we are diligent to pursue the Lord, we will feel that God’s gracious calling and selection are very firm.
