“Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.” (1Thessalonians 1:4)
“But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” (Titus 3:4-5) Not to create confusion or begin a battle of terms, we must understand this election. It was the mercy and love of God, not through anything we have done that we’ve been cleansed and purified. Jesus made this available to whosoever believes in Him. “That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:15) If this is true, what is this election?
It's the calling that we now have as God’s people. Those who have come to Jesus, who have accepted God’s merciful gift and believe in Jesus have become God’s elected; elected to receive sonship, elected to receive eternal life and elected to inherit with Jesus. This is extraordinary. This is the mystery hid for ages. “Even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As He saith also in Osee, I will call them My people, which were not My people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.” (Romans 9:24-26) The Gentiles, descendants of idolaters and sinners of the worse kind have been accepted in the beloved.
Taking this in mind, that God has determined that we are the elected because we have believed, Paul wrote: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace; Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will: That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:3-14) We have become the “elected” of God. Elected since the beginning of the world because we have believed. There is no doubt in us. We merely have to see God’s overwhelming Love in the wounds and death of Jesus. Those were our deserved wounds. That was our death. But God, Lover of our souls, Creator and Initiator of all Good things, Himself became a man, made Himself the Great Liberator and Salvation for the captives of this fallen world.
Paul wrote to Timothy: “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:” (2Timothy 1:8-10) This Scripture ties in with the commission we have been given to go and share the Gospel. (Matthew 28: 19-20) In short, these afflictions are sure to come from the unbeliever and the believer when sharing the Gospel.
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