Election in the Old Testament
The primary term for election in the Old Testament is “bachar” and it is used over 150 times. Numerous times the word is used of individuals in the Old Testament: Abraham (Nehemiah 9:7), Aaron (Psalm 105:26), David (1 Chronicles 28:4) and Solomon (1 Chronicles 28:6) to name a few. He chose these individuals for special roles in His predetermined plan for the world. The fact that God chose these people means that God has the freedom to do as He wishes. He is not under constraint to do something a certain way, or to choose a certain person, He does all things in accordance with His divine will (Ephesians 1:11). God also chose a nation for Himself, out of all the nations in the world, He selected Israel (Deuteronomy 7:6-7). It started with Abraham, went through Isaac and then through Jacob. God’s choice of Jacob prior to his birth excludes all possibilities of selecting him based on any good in him (Romans 9:10-13). The grounds for God’s choice of Israel was not because of how large their number was or their righteousness, but because God loved them (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). God calls Israel “My elect.” God, independent of any influence including the future life of the individual or goodness of the nation, chose people and nations for His own good pleasure. Many times those people and nations did not turn out so good. We see that in the case of Saul, the first King of Israel. God chose him knowing he would rebel and disobey His wishes, but this was also in the plan of God (2 Samuel 21:6).
Election in the New Testament
In the New Testament we see the same idea come to God’s people in salvation. God elected certain people before the foundation of the world and predestined them according to the good pleasure of His will (Ephesians 1:4-5). There are a few Greek words for election in the New Testament. The verb “eklegomai” and the adjective “eklektos” are both used 22 times in the New Testament and most of the time they are used in connection with God or Christ’s work of election. The noun “ekloge” is used 7 times and always from the vantage point of God’s work of election. In fact, God calls His people “elect” in several difference contexts (Luke 18:7; Romans 8:33; 1 Peter 1:1). Election is God’s free act of grace whereby He chooses people to salvation based on His sovereign will and not based on any good works the person would do. 2 Thessalonians 2:13,
We should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
The knowledge that God chooses some for salvation from the beginning puts us in awe when we realize that we are recipients of God’s grace through faith. It may be a mystery as to why God chooses some and passes over others, but it is no less powerful to contemplate God’s love for His people. This is the most amazing truth in the universe and beyond. This truth should make us, who have trusted in Christ, all the more eager to share the Gospel. The Apostle Paul taught and wrote about election, yet he was arguably the most zealous missionary in church history. Why? Because he knew that God had chosen to save people through the Gospel and therefore he was going to dedicate his life to proclaiming it. He said in 2 Timothy 2:10, I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus.
Scripture Reference
You are the Lord God,
Who chose Abram
And brought him out from Ur of the Chaldees,
And gave him the name Abraham.
He sent Moses His servant,
And Aaron, whom He had chosen.
He said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him.
also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
6 “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
7 “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
7 “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
8 but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
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