Scriptures on Election and Predestination
A collection and study by Daniel D. Goehring as a response to inquiries regarding his position on these doctrines while serving at First Baptist Church of Winter Springs in Florida, USA.
Copyright © January 2003 This is by no means an exhaustive or complete study, but rather a brief collection of what I believe to be the clearest passages on the issue to be found in the inerrant and infallible Revelation of God’s Truth. All glory, gratitude and worship belong to God, Who became a man in Christ Jesus that he might redeem for himself a people from among the vile, wicked, and condemned human race among whom there is not one righteous, not one who does good, not one who seeks for God (Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Rom. 3:9-12).
Part 1The election and predestination by God according to his own will and his loving initiative -- reconciling and redeeming them through the sacrifice of Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke precisely and clearly on the issue and we really need no other defense, for he is the final authority in all things. One will either agree with the Master or find himself arguing with the almighty Judge. Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: [2] "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. [3] He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. [4] "Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.' [5] "But they paid no attention and went off--one to his field, another to his business. [6] The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. [7] The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. [8] "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. [9] Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' [10] So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. [11] "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. [12] 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. [13] "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' [14] "For many are invited, but few are chosen." [15] Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall. [22] "And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short. [23] "Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe him. [24] "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. "And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. "And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect whom He chose, He shortened the days. for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order, if possible, to lead the elect astray. "And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth, to the farthest end of heaven.
"But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. [32] "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; [7] now shall not God bring about justice for His elect, who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, [13] who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. While I have been placing the passages in chronological order (in each Part) here I felt compelled to place the following Scripture from Philippians directly after John 1:12-13 due to the intense, intimate relationship of these two on the issue of the will of man / the will of the flesh. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; [3] for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. [36] "But I said to you, that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. [37] "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. [38] "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. [39] "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. [40] "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." [41] The Jews therefore were grumbling about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven." [42] And they were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down out of heaven'?" [43] Jesus answered and said to them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. [44] "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. [45] "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be TAUGHT OF God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. John 6:61-65But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble? [62] "What then if you should behold the Son of Man ascending where He was before? [63] "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. [64] "But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. [65] And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father." John 10:25-30Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these bear witness of Me. [26] "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. [27] "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; [28] and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. [29] "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. [30] "I and the Father are one." John 15:16"You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you. John 15:19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. These things Jesus spoke; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee, [2] even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life. [3] "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. [6] "I manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou gavest Me out of the world; Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to Me, and they have kept Thy word. [9] "I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine; until the day when He was taken up, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Thy saints at Jerusalem; [14] and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon Thy name." [15] But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; [16] for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake." Part 1b
This is the same subject but not direct quotes of Christ Jesus. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. [29] For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; [30] and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, [4] just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should 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, [6] to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. [7] In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, [8] which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight [9] He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him [10] with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. In Him [11] also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; [9] not as a result of works, that no one should boast. [10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, [10] who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; [9] that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, [10] and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. [11] And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, [12] in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. [13] But 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. [14] And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:1-3Peter, 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, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure. [3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 John 4:9-14By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. [10] In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. [11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. [12] No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. [13] By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. [14] And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 John 4:19We love, because He first loved us. "These have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast. [14] "These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful." The teaching of Election / Predestination is clearly not the “milk of the Word” that new and infant believers can easily consume. These are “meat”, teachings (doctrines) that require a lot of chewing (meditative study) and are not easily “digested” even though they are clearly and simply taught in Scripture. These are among the “deep things of God”, which look at reality from God’s perspective, which we cannot see, and not from the human perspective which is easily visible before us (as we see one human witnessing to another and the other believing and surrendering to Christ for salvation). Studying these teachings is to look behind the stage to see how things are really being done “behind the scenes” by the person(s) truly in control. This is an inside look at how God operates in the world. Our self-centered humanity always wants to believe that we contributed something to our salvation process, but we must submit to what the Truth of God’s Word teaches. Part 2
God’s sovereign choice of vessels for His good use and those vessels for dishonorable use and destruction The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil. John 3:18
"He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Jesus answered them, "Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?" [71] Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him. "I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.' [19] "From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He. Acts 4:27-28"For truly in this city there were gathered together against Thy holy servant Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, [28] to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose predestined to occur. (Related verses to this one are John 19:10-11 and Romans 9:17 as seen below) But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; [7] neither are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but: "through Isaac your descendants will be named." [8] That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. [9] For this is a word of promise: "At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son." [10] And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; [11] for though the twins were not yet born, and had not done anything good or bad, in order that God's purpose according to His choice might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls, [12] it was said to her, "The older will serve the younger." [13] Just as it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." [14] What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! [15] For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." [16] So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. [17] For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH." [18] So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. [19] You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?" [20] On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it? [21] Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use? [22] What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? [23] And He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, [24] even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. Romans 11:5-8 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice. [6] But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. [7] What then? That which Israel is seeking for, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; [8] just as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes to see not and ears to hear not, Down to this very day." 1 Peter 2:7-9This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve, "The stone which the builders REJECTED, This became the very corner stone," [8] and, "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. [9] But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a HOLY NATION, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; Jude 1:4For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. [8] And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. [9] If anyone has an ear, let him hear. [10] If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.
Rev. 17:16-17"And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. [17] "For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be fulfilled. Part 3How can predestination and evangelism be compatible? Some people say that they are contradictory. There is a lie of the Deceiver that is being spread within churches, mainly in the United States, at times causing serious disharmony and divisions. This is the lie that the teaching of predestination and the teaching of evangelization are contradictory and incompatible. God’s Word teaches both, so either they are perfectly harmonious or God contradicts Himself. Part of the problem is the idea that God’s predestination, election, or appointment is limited to salvation. Let it be known that the same God Who predestined, elected, appointed us to be saved also predestined / elected / appointed us to evangelize the world and make disciples. To those Whom Christ Jesus bought at the price of His blood, He has given commands and orders. All of this is God’s plan, His will. He chose us to be His people and His witnesses, and to be vessels fit for good use in Christ’s kingdom; to be His instruments to present the gospel to the world.
We are predestined to be: 1. A holy nation 2. A royal priesthood 3. Lights in the darkness 4. The salt of the earth 5. Christ’s ambassadors with the message (gospel) of reconciliation 6. Soldier’s of Christ 7. Bearing fruit 8. Conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29) Predestined to Evangelize
Acts 1:2until the day when He was taken up, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. [19] "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." John 15:16"You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you.
"And those who were with me beheld the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. [10] "And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Arise and go on into Damascus; and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.' "And a certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, [13] came to me, and standing near said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very time I looked up at him. [14] "And he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear an utterance from His mouth. [15] 'For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard. But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Thy saints at Jerusalem; [14] and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon Thy name." [15] But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; [16] for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake."
"God raised Him up on the third day, and granted that He should become visible, [41] not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us, who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. [42] "And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. [43] "Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins." "For thus the Lord has commanded us, 'I have placed You as a LIGHT FOR THE Gentiles, That You should BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.' "
[48] And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. [49] And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. [14] What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! [15] For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." [16] So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. [17] For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH." [18] So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. [8] Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, [9] who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, [10] but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, [11] for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. [12] For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, [9] for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. [10] For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. Paul, a bond-servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, [2] in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, [3] but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior; This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve, "The stone which the builders REJECTED, This became the very corner stone,"
[8] and, "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. [9] But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a HOLY NATION, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
Part 4
The Spirit’s Work Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. [6] "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7] "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' [8] "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." Those who are born again are the “sound of the Spirit”7, Who breathes in to them eternal life and seals them. The Spirit moves upon the earth and gives life to those Christ has chosen (John 1:33; John 5:21,22; John 15:16) according to His will. Man is in no way in control of the wind to determine what it will do. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; [17] that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. [8] "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; [9] concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; [10] and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me; [11] and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. [12] "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. [13] "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. [14] "He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you. [15] "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose it to you. The natural man, the unregenerate, cannot receive the things (truth) of the Spirit, therefore, when it comes to salvation, man brings nothing to the table. Humanity is not worthy of salvation Humanity can do nothing to merit salvation Humanity cannot understand salvation or “figure it out”. It is entirely God’s gift out of love and according to his will and not according to the will of man(John 1:12,13). As the Spirit initiates the work of reconciliation and redemption (salvation) by giving life to that which was dead (Rom. 6:1-) and opening eyes blinded by the evil one and enabling deaf ears to now correctly understand the truth, that person can then respond to and submit to the Spirit’s work and God’s truth. That is the gospel of Scripture. God out of his love, mercy, and grace, By the substitutionary atonement of his Son, Through the work of his Holy Spirit, choosing to rescue and give life to some of humanity, which is entirely dead and damned because of sin.
Other Miscellaneous Verses But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. [10] For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. [11] And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), [6] and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, [7] in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; [9] not as a result of works, that no one should boast. [10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? [20] For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. …and directly related, "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. Paul, a bond-servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, [2] in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; |