Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
In every nation, we have various types of election for various positions. The nation’s public vote their favourite candidates and make them to win with lots of expectations. Our God also elected us or chose us with great expectations. Have we ever thought about it? In this article, I would like to mention few points about Godly election. As we read in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”, we did not choose God. He is the one who chose us even before the creation of this world. That’s what we read in Ephesians 1:4 “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the word…”
In every nation, we have various types of election for various positions. The nation’s public vote their favourite candidates and make them to win with lots of expectations. Our God also elected us or chose us with great expectations. Have we ever thought about it? In this article, I would like to mention few points about Godly election. As we read in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”, we did not choose God. He is the one who chose us even before the creation of this world. That’s what we read in Ephesians 1:4 “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the word…”
Why did God decide to choose us? There are many reasons and I would like to bring to you attention some of the reasons I learned.
First of all, He chose us for holiness. As our God is holy, he wanted us to be holy. I will reiterate Ephesians 1:4 where Paul says that we were chosen before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in God’s sight. Humans are the most amazing creation by God. He used his own hands to build us up. He loved us so much so that he adopted us through Jesus Christ. When we look at the rugged cross, we can understand the extremity of God’s love towards his chosen people. Tim Hughes in 1999 wrote a worship ballad “Here I am to worship”. The song speaks about the humility of Jesus Christ, how He willingly left His throne in heaven, came to earth as a man and sacrificed himself on the cross all because of His love for us. The song finishes with the line “I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross”. So when we go through the situations or circumstances where we are tempted to sin, always remember that we are chosen people. One of the best examples in Bible was the life of Joseph, who had lots of opportunities to deny his holiness, but he remembered the love of God.
Secondly, God chose us for bearing fruit. As mentioned above, we read in John 15:16 that God chose us to bear fruit – fruit that will last. Paul talks about the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22 “Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” God chose us from the dark forest of Satan and planted us in his garden. We are planted by the blood of the lamb, nurtured by the Holy Spirit and fertilized by Gods word. Expectation of our master is to produce His desired fruit. Each time when the owner of the vineyard passes by, he was hoping to see a ripened fruit. He does know the time and season when the trees are ready to bear the fruit, because he is the one who supplies the living water. Are we taking the living water, the word of God every day in our life and producing fruit? Sometimes we do respond by taking the water; bring forth some green leaves of good works on the branches. The fruit begins to form but before it can ripen, the word received in our heart slips away. In Luke 13:1-9, we read the parable of the fig tree. When the tree does not bear the desired fruit for three years, the owner wanted to cut down the tree, however, Jesus Christ who paid the price, pleads to God “leave it alone for one more year, and I will dig around it and fertilize it”. As Mathew 3:10 says, the axe is kept near the roots. In Bible we are talking about six different types of trees.
Thirdly, God called us to declare the goodness God. In 1 Peter 2:9 Peter gives us a wonderful exposition of our calling. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”. So Peter says that everyone who was chosen in Jesus should be preaching Gospel to others so that they will also experience the love of God. In Mark 16:15, God says us to go into the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Paul considers his life as worth nothing; his only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord has given him – the task of testifying the good news. The declaration, Paul makes in In 1 Corinthians 9:16-17 is his life in a nut shell. “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me”. The love of Jesus Christ compelled Paul to be an evangelist and preacher of good news. Let us serve our dear master with all humility. As a chosen one, (Romans 1:14-15) we have an obligation to preach the gospel in the world. We are the ambassadors of our Christ and will let the world know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. As Jesus said in his Great commission, mentioned in Mathew 28, Let us step out from our comfort zone.
Fourthly we were chosen to be rich in faith. As we read in James 2:5 “God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” All humans do have some sort of faith in their life, however Jesus chose us to rise from that ordinary level to an extra ordinary level of faith. Even though we are believers, we do tremble in the times of trials and problems in our life. It can be sickness, job loss, issues with family, church members etc.. My dear friend, remember the one who chose us is holding us in his palm. He will not leave us or forsake us. When we read Hebrews 11, we can see all our forefathers were chosen to stand strong in faith. They had troubles and trials in their lives, however by faith they endured. We read in Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze”. Hold on to the promise and he will be with you till the end. As Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:12 “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.”
Fifthly, we are called to inherit the heavenly kingdom. Even though we live in this world, by faith we will inherit the eternal kingdom through our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as Israel had an inheritance of Canaan, we as spiritual people, the chosen church will have a spiritual inheritance, heaven. In Mathew 25:34 we read as “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come you who are blessed by my father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world”. Heaven is a real place that has been assured to those who remain faithful in following the world of God. God wanted us all of his chosen ones should have a solid, strong and clear understanding about inheriting eternity. We may be persecuted and troubled while staying in this earth, but keep praising God for the inheritance he has promised us. Sometimes we don’t fully understand what we will inherit, and the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. And like small children, we often get frustrated for earthly blessings. That’s why Paul says to Colossians to set affections on things above and not on the things on the earth. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, we read “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” Then he lists examples of unrighteous: adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunkards, robbers, etc. However in verse 11, Paul says that we were chosen from those people as follows: "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." If God has chosen us for himself, if he has destined us for glory, then his faithfulness commits him to keep us in the faith. As Jeremiah says in Lamentations 3:24, “The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I have hope in Him”.
It does not stop here; when we read Bible we will find many more reasons why God has chosen us. Let us humble ourselves and submit us for an evaluation. Are we included among the chosen ones? If we are, let us pray to God for his mercy to sustain us in that group. If not, let us not say that we are not among them, let us confess our sins and get ready to be included in the elected group. As it says in 1 Corinthians 1:26-28 “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him”.
First of all, He chose us for holiness. As our God is holy, he wanted us to be holy. I will reiterate Ephesians 1:4 where Paul says that we were chosen before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in God’s sight. Humans are the most amazing creation by God. He used his own hands to build us up. He loved us so much so that he adopted us through Jesus Christ. When we look at the rugged cross, we can understand the extremity of God’s love towards his chosen people. Tim Hughes in 1999 wrote a worship ballad “Here I am to worship”. The song speaks about the humility of Jesus Christ, how He willingly left His throne in heaven, came to earth as a man and sacrificed himself on the cross all because of His love for us. The song finishes with the line “I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross”. So when we go through the situations or circumstances where we are tempted to sin, always remember that we are chosen people. One of the best examples in Bible was the life of Joseph, who had lots of opportunities to deny his holiness, but he remembered the love of God.
Secondly, God chose us for bearing fruit. As mentioned above, we read in John 15:16 that God chose us to bear fruit – fruit that will last. Paul talks about the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22 “Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” God chose us from the dark forest of Satan and planted us in his garden. We are planted by the blood of the lamb, nurtured by the Holy Spirit and fertilized by Gods word. Expectation of our master is to produce His desired fruit. Each time when the owner of the vineyard passes by, he was hoping to see a ripened fruit. He does know the time and season when the trees are ready to bear the fruit, because he is the one who supplies the living water. Are we taking the living water, the word of God every day in our life and producing fruit? Sometimes we do respond by taking the water; bring forth some green leaves of good works on the branches. The fruit begins to form but before it can ripen, the word received in our heart slips away. In Luke 13:1-9, we read the parable of the fig tree. When the tree does not bear the desired fruit for three years, the owner wanted to cut down the tree, however, Jesus Christ who paid the price, pleads to God “leave it alone for one more year, and I will dig around it and fertilize it”. As Mathew 3:10 says, the axe is kept near the roots. In Bible we are talking about six different types of trees.
- Trees that produce no fruit.
- Trees that produce bitter / bad fruit.
- Trees that produce good / desired fruit.
- Trees that produce less fruit.(God wanted us to produce much fruit)
- Trees that does not produce fruit seasonally.
- Trees that produce less sustainable fruit.
Thirdly, God called us to declare the goodness God. In 1 Peter 2:9 Peter gives us a wonderful exposition of our calling. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”. So Peter says that everyone who was chosen in Jesus should be preaching Gospel to others so that they will also experience the love of God. In Mark 16:15, God says us to go into the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Paul considers his life as worth nothing; his only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord has given him – the task of testifying the good news. The declaration, Paul makes in In 1 Corinthians 9:16-17 is his life in a nut shell. “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me”. The love of Jesus Christ compelled Paul to be an evangelist and preacher of good news. Let us serve our dear master with all humility. As a chosen one, (Romans 1:14-15) we have an obligation to preach the gospel in the world. We are the ambassadors of our Christ and will let the world know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. As Jesus said in his Great commission, mentioned in Mathew 28, Let us step out from our comfort zone.
Fourthly we were chosen to be rich in faith. As we read in James 2:5 “God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” All humans do have some sort of faith in their life, however Jesus chose us to rise from that ordinary level to an extra ordinary level of faith. Even though we are believers, we do tremble in the times of trials and problems in our life. It can be sickness, job loss, issues with family, church members etc.. My dear friend, remember the one who chose us is holding us in his palm. He will not leave us or forsake us. When we read Hebrews 11, we can see all our forefathers were chosen to stand strong in faith. They had troubles and trials in their lives, however by faith they endured. We read in Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze”. Hold on to the promise and he will be with you till the end. As Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:12 “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.”
Fifthly, we are called to inherit the heavenly kingdom. Even though we live in this world, by faith we will inherit the eternal kingdom through our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as Israel had an inheritance of Canaan, we as spiritual people, the chosen church will have a spiritual inheritance, heaven. In Mathew 25:34 we read as “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come you who are blessed by my father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world”. Heaven is a real place that has been assured to those who remain faithful in following the world of God. God wanted us all of his chosen ones should have a solid, strong and clear understanding about inheriting eternity. We may be persecuted and troubled while staying in this earth, but keep praising God for the inheritance he has promised us. Sometimes we don’t fully understand what we will inherit, and the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. And like small children, we often get frustrated for earthly blessings. That’s why Paul says to Colossians to set affections on things above and not on the things on the earth. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, we read “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” Then he lists examples of unrighteous: adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunkards, robbers, etc. However in verse 11, Paul says that we were chosen from those people as follows: "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." If God has chosen us for himself, if he has destined us for glory, then his faithfulness commits him to keep us in the faith. As Jeremiah says in Lamentations 3:24, “The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I have hope in Him”.
It does not stop here; when we read Bible we will find many more reasons why God has chosen us. Let us humble ourselves and submit us for an evaluation. Are we included among the chosen ones? If we are, let us pray to God for his mercy to sustain us in that group. If not, let us not say that we are not among them, let us confess our sins and get ready to be included in the elected group. As it says in 1 Corinthians 1:26-28 “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him”.
