DIVINE ELECTION

RIVERSIDE INDONESIAN FELLOWSHIP
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DIVINE ELECTION

Riverside Indonesian Fellowship
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2010 · 3 January 2010

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.”

The very first word Peter uses for these Christians is "elect" or "chosen." The word order that Peter used when he wrote the Greek was: "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the elect", the elect aliens of the dispersion.

Verse two defines ‘election’ with three phrases: first Christians are elect "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." Second, Christians are elect "by (or in) the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit." Third, Christians are elect "that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood."

Three things are said about our election: First we are told something about its origin and the basis in God's foreknowledge. Secondly we are told something about the way it becomes real and actual in our lives by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. And thirdly we are told something about the purpose of election: that we might obey Jesus and go on benefiting from his cleansing blood.

It is important that we see the connection between these three things in verse 2 that most English versions move the word "elect" or "chosen" closer to verse 2 to make the connection plain.

Peter says about the Christians is not just that they are aliens (or exiles), but that they are elect aliens. This is very important because the first thing you say about a person when you write to them is always important. There is a reason for putting it first.

When you put something first, you are not trying to hide it. That is meaningful, because today some people think the doctrine of election should be hidden. This is not the case in the New Testament. Jesus didn't hide it. Paul didn't hide it. Peter didn't hide it.

It is spoken of in a natural, forthright way by Jesus and his apostles. That's the way we should speak of it too. But the real meaning of election means alienation. Another way to say that is that Peter mentions election in direct connection with our alien status in the world.

This probably tells us the main reason Peter begins with election. He wants to emphasize that we are aliens not mainly because men have rejected us, but because God has chosen us. Being an alien has its pain.

In fact this whole book is about the pain of being an alien in the world. Verse 6: "You are distressed by various trials." In 2:11: foreign "lusts wage war against your soul." In 2:21: you have been called to suffer. In 3:16: they revile your good behavior. In 4:4: they malign you for not running with them anymore. In 4:14: you are reviled for the name of Christ.

And being an exile usually means that you have been rejected by a group of people and forced to live in another place that's not your home. It means being a refugee. Alienation and exile and refugee status is essentially the same as being rejected.

Peter knows this. So he begins by saying: that is not the main meaning of your exile. That is not the main meaning of your alien condition in the world. The main meaning of your exile is that God chose you out of the world. Not man's rejection, but God's election is the main meaning of your life.

That's why Peter starts with election. He wants to give a God-centered explanation of their exile in the world. Your lives are rooted in God's eternal election. Your problems exist because of God's eternal election. Your rejection by men is also rooted in God's eternal election.

Don't think that all these things, all the troubles of being Christian foreigners, is because God is rejecting you. No, all this happens because God has elected you. In other words Peter wants us to hear a clear, forthright explanation that our lives get their distinctive Christian meaning from our being chosen by God.

America is a practical, make-it-happen country. And the evangelical church has that same atmosphere. Give us how-to's not doctrine. So there are major conferences on how to grow successful churches that boldly say, "We don't get into doctrine and theology." And the vast majority of the church seems to hear that as a virtue. But is it?

The more I understand the Bible the less I sympathize with this view. The apostles saw doctrine as tremendously practical. When Peter begins his letter with the phrase "elect aliens," he means to give practical help to aliens. And he believes it is practically helpful to know that you are among the elect.

So I urge you not to belittle doctrines like election. Rather, be like the apostles who value the doctrine of election and put it at the very front of their concerns, because it is so very practical for living like free and joyful aliens in this foreign world.

Could it be that one of the reasons the church is weak today is because we are constantly trying to take practical short cuts to spiritual strength and growth. Maybe we are meant to be strong in faith and love and hope and joy and practical service not in spite of doctrine, but because of doctrine.

There are three phrases in verse 2 that tell us about our election. 1) We are elect "according to the foreknowledge of God." 2) We are elect "by (or in) the sanctifying work of the Spirit. 3) We are elect "that [we] may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled by his blood."

There are a couple clues here that Peter really wants you to understand your life in the world in relation to God. He wants you to see all your life connected to God in a certain way.

The first clue is that he surrounds you with God's electing initiative. Behind you is the basis of God's election in the foreknowledge of God. In you is the experience of election in the sanctifying work of the Spirit. In front of you is the destiny of election to obey Jesus Christ and take refuge in his sprinkled blood.

The second clue is that these three dimensions of election are each related to a different Person of the Trinity. Our election is rooted in the foreknowledge of God the Father. Our election is experienced by the sanctifying work of the Spirit. And the aim of our election is that we obey Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Everything is chosen to surround us in God. And the best way to engulf us in God is to show us the importance of the doctrine of election with its past origin and its present experience and its future purpose, and to show that the whole Trinity is involved in your life from beginning to end.

Doesn't it strike you as strange that the apostle of the Lord Jesus, writing to struggling churches in trial and distress, should begin with such profound teaching on divine election, even before his greeting is out? And yet today many people in church growth and health begin their conferences with, "We don't get into theology." I must say that I do not understand this.

But I do know what God calls me to do here, and that is to teach and inspire and try to strengthen this your hearts the way the apostles did: with clear, forthright, up-front truth about God and his wonderful ways towards His children, including election.

Take the first phrase of verse 2. We are elect "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." What will be your bottom-line answer to God when he asks, how is it that you came to believe on me and be saved while others did not? Peter's answer is, "God foreknew me." Elect according to God's foreknowledge.

But what does that mean? Does it mean that I really did the choosing and by doing so elected myself and then God knew that I would do that, so he chose me on the basis of my self-election. Is that what "God's foreknowledge" is?

No. Jesus said, "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15:16). Our choosing God is based on God's choosing us and giving us the willingness to chose, not vice versa. God's foreknowledge of his people is not merely his awareness of what they will do. His foreknowledge of his people is his acknowledgement of them as His, and His acting accordingly.

Let me give you an example of this kind of knowing. In Psalm 1:6 it says, "The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." This does not mean he is just aware of the way of the righteous but unaware of the way of the wicked. It means he acknowledges the way of the righteous. God's knowing of his people is his approving and providentially arranging of their ways.

This is the background for Peter's words in 1 Peter 2:9 when he says to the churches, "You are a chosen race." He doesn't mean that God looked for a people who already believed on him and then chose them for his own. No.

It means that He sovereignly chose Abraham (Nehemiah 9:7), while he was still serving other gods (Joshua 24:2-3), to be the father of Israel. And that choosing is called "knowing" in Genesis 18: 18-19: "In him all the nations will be blessed, for I have known him."

That's the background of 1 Peter 1:2: "elect according to the foreknowledge of God." Before the foundation of the world God knew who were his: He acknowledged us and bestowed on us the recognition of his own.

That's the foundation of election. It is not owing to our birth or our achievements or our religion or our works or our virtue or our faith. It is owing to God's free acknowledgement of whom he will in the counsel of his wisdom.

The second phrase in verse 2 shows how the sovereign work of God in election comes to expression in us. Elect "by (or in) the sanctifying work of the Spirit." This is the same way Paul spoke of election in 2 Thessalonians 2:13, "God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through by the sanctifying work of the Spirit."

God the Spirit cooperates with God the Father in taking the eternal decree of the Father that you are chosen, and turning that decree into practical holiness by his powerful work in your life.

I speak to you brothers as believers this evening to establish your hearts in the truth. God wants you to know that none of the hardships you undergo as elected aliens in this world is a surprise to God. He has chosen you for this.

We have experienced in this latter part of 2009 some of our loved ones in the Indonesian Baptist Fellowship taken by God unexpectedly and we all hurt because of suddenly missing a loved one, and having to deal with the loss and sadness of being left behind.

And how we deal with personal loss makes us either grow spiritually or makes us bitter. And at some point in time the best way to deal with all that is to fall back on the doctrines of God. Often in our grief we are not prepared immediately for verses like Romans 8:28, which tells us that “all things work together for good to those who love God who are called according to His purpose.”

And God’s providence may bring us pain and often there are afflictions that will test us to the limits of our faith and endurance. We feel the grief and we need time to deal with it personally. Only after some time can we begin to experience the truth that He brings glory out of suffering and He brings joy out of affliction.

Consider that your entire exile life is rooted in God. You are engulfed in the electing love of God the Father, God the Spirit and God the Son. Your life is from Him and through Him and for Him. Dwell on this truth and let it sustain you and give you encouragement.

Let it sink in and touch the deepest part of your identity. God the Father has chosen you. The Holy Spirit is sanctifying you. Accept that He is in control from beginning from the end and that He determines what is going to happen. And that Jesus Himself covers you with His blood so that all your sins are forgiven so that you will become more obedient.

Obedience is a process where similar to gold you are being refined by fire. Only through this process of fire can gold be purified, and similarly we as people also are purified through the trials of life that God has put in each of our paths.

Many times we are blind to God’s hand that is leading us and only when those trials hit home hard are we jolted back to reality. The allure of the world and the strength of our own flesh are often so strong that God’s calling is ignored and put on the back burner.

But when tragedy strikes and when loved ones are taken suddenly, we are reminded again of our fragile nature and we have to question ourselves if we are following God to our utmost. God’s word in Psalm 144:4 says, “Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.”

Do we live according to what we believe or do we just give it lip service? Is our mind filled with the things of God or is it filled with things of this world? What is taking up most of your time, be honest.

God knows exactly where your heart is and we need to repent if God is not the most important part of your life. Being obedient is accepting that God is in charge and that we want to honor Him in all that we do and think.

That is part of His purifying discipline that grows us. Your troubles as an exile here are not absurd, meaningless results of your own shortsighted, fallible choices. They are the loving plan and wisdom of God's all-seeing, infallible choice.



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