God elects Saints, not man

God elects Saints, not man.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

“by the will of God” is literally, “through the will of God,” dia plus the genitive singular of thelema which means will, purpose, design, plus the genitive of possession of theos.

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through God’s will, purpose, and design.”

The absence of the definite article draws attention to the quality of the will, design, and purpose as well as the essence of God.

1. It was the purpose of God in eternity past to take the worst sinner who ever lived and make him the greatest saint who ever lived — 1 Timothy 1:12-16. This is grace.
2. In grace everything depends on who and what God is, what is His plan, His purpose, and His design and never does grace depend on us.

ROM 8:31-32
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

ROM 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

3. God is perfect, the absence of the definite article emphasizes the quality of God [perfection].
4. Since God is perfect His plan, His purpose, His design is perfect. It is impossible to have an imperfect plan, purpose, and design coming from a perfect God.

God has a directive will, a permissive will, and an overruling will and all of them are perfect.

5. In reality Paul was the twelfth apostle appointed by God to replace Judas Iscariot.
6. The election of Acts 1:15-26 was a farce. Peter was out of line by suggesting it. Matthias was elected by men but apostles are appointed by God.

Mankind does not ever add to the predesigned plan of God.

Some very silly decisions outside of the will of God can be made when a believer is not filled with the Spirit.

“to the saints” — the dative plural from tois hagios. The dative case is used here for the indirect object to indicate the ones in whose interest the epistle was written. This epistle was written on your behalf and in your interest.

saint – “any of certain persons of exceptional holiness of life, formally recognized as such by the Christian church, esp. by canonization.” (Random House College dictionary)

Though canonization is infallible and irrevocable, it takes a long time and a lot of effort. So while every person who is canonized is a saint, not every holy person has been canonized. You have probably known many “saints” in your life, and you are called by God to be one yourself.

Paul took hagios right out of the terminology of the pagan Greek religions. There it meant “devoted to the gods.”

The words, “saint, sanctify, sanctification, holy, holiness” in the New Testament are all translations of this same Greek root ?hagi?.

The verb means “to set apart for God,” and refers to the act of the Holy Spirit setting apart for God the sinner who has been elected to salvation, taking him out of the first Adam and placing him in the Last Adam.

This is indicated as a fact in chapters 1-3 and is the identity of anyone who has believed in Christ.

Experiential sanctification or progressive sanctification is a process that goes on all through the earthly life of the believer.

In position the believer has been set apart from everything that is not holy. In experience he is to set himself apart from anything that would interfere with his worship of God.