What is the foreknowledge of..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Alright everyone, if you have your Bibles, please open them up to 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 1.

We're going to continue with our study in the book of this first letter that was written by the apostle Peter. This morning we're going to be focusing our attention on verse 2, but we're going to be reading from verse 1 to verse 9. And I'm reading from the English Standard Version of the Bible. 1 Peter chapter 1. This is the Word of God.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect, exiles of the dispersion in Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood. May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfaithful, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, might be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, You believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. And as I said this morning, we're going to be focusing our studies in verse two that reads according to the foreknowledge of God, the father in the sanctification of the spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and is sprinkling with his blood. May grace and peace be multiplied. to you.

That is the Word of God. Amen. Beloved, last week when we came together, we had the opportunity to start a study in this letter of the Apostle Peter written to these churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Bithynia, and Asia. We said that by the providential work of the Spirit, this is not only given to them as these churches in Asia Minor, but this is also given to us. It's the Spirit of God through the ministry of the Apostle Peter communicating or giving this letter.

to the Church of Jesus Christ. And if there was something that I wanted you to have in your mind, it's that the main substance, the message of this letter, can be summarized in one word, and I hope that you remember that word. That word is encouragement. The Spirit of God is, through the Apostle Peter, encouraging the Church in the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to two things. To remain steadfast in afflictions, and to be holy in the midst of those afflictions.

But something very important that we said last week is that the foundation of that encouragement is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this concept is going to come in the mind of the Apostle many times throughout this letter. It is this reality of something that happened in the past and this hope that is reserved, as he said, or kept for us in heaven. the reality of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that has given us a new life today and this hope that we have in the future. It is that Gospel of Jesus Christ, the one that is the foundation of encouragement for the Church of Jesus Christ to remain steadfast in afflictions and to be holy throughout them.

But not only that, the Apostle Peter starts saying that we are elect and exiles of the dispersion, and something that I said last week is that the Apostle has in mind the reality of the Old Testament. that the people of Israel under the Old Covenant, that they were elected and chosen as the people of God, as the nation of God, and that that was a foreshadow of the election of the Church of Jesus Christ, that we are elect in Christ in the New Covenant, and therefore we are exiles of the dispersion. Israel, or the people of the covenant of Israel, they were exiles when they were dwelling in Gentile land, or in Gentile places, or in Gentile countries. The church, it is an exile in the dispersion of this present evil age. The people of Israel were walking through the wilderness toward the promised land.

The church of Jesus Christ is walking through the wilderness of this present evil age, walking towards glory. That we are waiting for the consummation of the things that are to come. And in the mind of the apostle, we have this concept of election, and also that we are exiles of the dispersion. Then we arrive then to verse 2, and the apostle says something here. He says that this is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the spirit, for obedience and a sprinkling of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This morning, we are not going to be focusing on the whole verse, but we're going to be addressing only the first half of that verse that says, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. So now, the question that we need to ask ourselves before we get into that verse, beloved, is this. What is that which is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father? What is Peter saying? What is that thing that is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father?

And let me submit to you that that which is in the mind of the Apostle Peter, that is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and in the sanctification of the Spirit and for obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is election. It is the doctrine of election. It is the fact that we are elect. And actually, if you have a different Bible translation, different to the English Standard Version of the Bible, if you have the King James, or the New King James, or the New American Standard Bible, or even the CSB, you will see that those translations have included the word elect in verse 2. And they will go something like, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are exiles in the dispersion in Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Bithynia, and Asia.

And then verse 2, they will say, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is because in the Greek, or in the context of what is here, the idea that the apostle has in mind is that of election. It is the concept of election the one that it is referring to that which is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Beloved, this morning we are going to be addressing, and I hope that by the ministry and the power of the Holy Spirit, not only in the communication of this, but also in the reception of these truths, the doctrine of election according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. But before we get into that specific part of the verse, there's something that we have to address.

And I want to set that because we're going to be doing this in two different mornings, in two different Lord's Day. So we have to address the question, what is the meaning of the whole verse? What is the apostle referring to in the whole verse? Not only according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and in sanctification of the Spirit and for obedience and in sprinkling with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, but what is he referring to in these three sections? Because I'm saying to you that these three things are referring to election, right?

This is what I'm saying to you. I'm saying that it is election according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, election in sanctification of the Spirit, and election for obedience and springing with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. So what does the Apostle Peter have in mind when he's saying these things? And I'm going to submit to you, and of course I'm going to prove by the help of the Spirit, from the text what the apostle has in mind, it is something that is called the application of the election that we have in Christ. Namely, in other words, our conversion.

That moment in which the person who is outside of Jesus Christ hears the proclamation of the gospel, and then by the ministry of the Spirit, faith is producing his heart. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of Christ. When a person receives that faith and is vitally united to Jesus Christ, when that person is inserted into the new covenant, when that person's heart is changed from stone into flesh, that which we call conversion is that which is in the mind of the Apostle Peter. And I can say that for at least two or three reasons. The first reason that I want you to notice from the passage is the trinitarian nature of what Apostle is saying there.

The trinitarian nature. He says that the foreknowledge is of who? The Father. And then he says that the sanctification is of who? The Spirit.

And then he says that foreobedience and sprinkling with the blood of? the Son, Jesus Christ. It is a Trinitarian verse in nature there, but it is not only about the Trinity being present in the verse, it is about the order in which the Trinity or each one of the members appear in this verse. Because it is in eternity past that God the Father has chosen us unto salvation. It is when we hear the proclamation of the Gospel that the Spirit works in us and changes our heart that in this is evidence in faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ.

So we have God the Father, God the Spirit, and God the Son present in the verse. But beyond that, beloved, I want you to see it also from the context. Because in verse three, just the verse that follows, the Apostle Peter says something very important. He said, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again. The New King James will say he has begotten us.

through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ to a living hope. What is in the mind of the Apostle Peter is this moment, the begottenness or the new birth of the Christian. So what I'm saying is that verse two, it is referring to the doctrine of the application of election in the life of the believer. the believer that has been chosen in eternity past and now in the present, they receive by the ministry of the Holy Spirit this new birth and this new life. Having then that in context, we are going to get then into that first section of the verse that says that this election is according to the foreknowledge of God.

the Father, that we are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Two different sections in that statement, election and according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, right? So let's answer the first one, election, that we are elect. The question that we need to ask ourselves is what is the author here saying about election? What is the idea that Peter has in his mind about being elect?

We have to answer that question from the mind of the Apostle Peter, because even though we know that this has been given to us by the Holy Spirit, we always respect the providential work of the Triune God in the life of His servants, in this case, the Apostle Peter. Two things that I want you to notice that are in the mind of the Apostle Peter about this concept of being elect. The first one is something that we addressed last week. I said to you that in the mind of the apostle he had this comparison and relationship of Israel as the elected people of God in relation to the election of the church under the new covenant. We even went to Deuteronomy chapter 7 and there we saw how The people of Israel were the chosen nation among many nations of God.

And He chose them not because there were many, but actually because they were the fewest. And He says that He chose them because He loved them and He set His love upon them. He rescued them from the mighty power of Pharaoh into the freedom that is found in God Himself. that this was foreshadowing the election of the Church, the election of each one of those members of the Church. This is the first thing that is in the mind of the Apostle Peter, that this election of the Old Covenant is foreshadowing the election of the Church, and this is beautiful, and this is powerful, and this is mighty, and this should produce in us love towards Jesus Christ, because we see in the development of the story of redemption how the Lord has worked everything providentially to save a people for himself.

But beyond that, beloved, there is something glorious that is in the mind of the apostle Peter. It's not only the election of the people of Israel. It is the election of Jesus Christ himself, the one that is the basis for the election of the church. Again, it is the election or the choosing of Jesus Christ himself The one that is the basis or the root or the foundation of our choosing and our election. And the question that you need to have in your mind is, how do you know that?

And how do you see that? First of all, I have to prove to you that Christ was actually elected and chosen. The question that you should have in your mind is, how is Christ chosen? How is Christ elected? Unto what is Jesus Christ elected?

And let me submit to you, the Bible is very clear that there was a promise in Messiah. We've read that in Genesis 3, a brother explained to us that there was a promise from the offspring that was given to the woman that a man will come to rescue the people of God, to give redemption and salvation. Paul says to Timothy that there is only one God and there is one mediator between God and men and that is Jesus Christ the man. He was speaking about the chosen Messiah, the elected servant that was promised from old. And this is what Apostle Peter had in mind.

He had everything that he had read in Isaiah. Isaiah through the spirit, had spoken on behalf of God. And he said, through his mouth, the Lord said that his servant, his chosen one, that God was gonna find delight in this chosen one and in this servant, and that he was gonna pour his spirit upon this chosen one of this servant, and that this servant was going to bring justice to the nations, Isaiah 42. But beyond that, Moses himself, in Deuteronomy 18, he promised, he said to the people of Israel, from among you, the Lord is going to raise another prophet like me. He's going to speak the words of God.

And then he says, you shall listen to him. The people of Israel, they were expecting, they were waiting, the chosen, the elected Messiah that God had promised. This is the election of Jesus Christ. This is the choosing of Jesus Christ. And the Apostle Peter knew this, not only from the teachings of the Old Testament, but he knew this from experience.

He had witnessed with his eyes the choosing of Jesus Christ, not only throughout the ministry of our Lord and Savior, but you might remember the story of the transfiguration. When the Lord Jesus Christ took Peter, John, and James, they went up to the mountain to pray, and they were praying there, and then these three fell asleep, and the Lord Jesus Christ was praying, and suddenly the countenance of the Lord changed, and his clothing started to shine, and the glory of Jesus was revealed, and a cloud appeared, and then Moses and Elijah were there with the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking with them about his departure. If Peter was there, Peter was there. And then he says even to them, if you want me to build three shelters for you to abide here. But beyond that, from the cloud, a voice came and said, this is my beloved son, listen to him.

This is what the gospel said. But Luke, in Luke 9.35, he gives us a different perception. of what happened in that particular moment. Because Luke says that in that story that happens in the Mount of Transfiguration, Luke 9.

35, the voice from the cloud says, this is my chosen one. Listen to him. Moses had said that from among the people in Deuteronomy 18, the Lord was going to raise a prophet just like him, and that he was going to speak the words of God, and then you shall listen to him. Peter had witnessed in the person of Jesus Christ the election of that Messiah. Jesus Christ was the Messiah.

Jesus Christ was the promised Savior. Jesus Christ was the Redeemer of the people of Israel and of the Gentiles. He had seen that in the person of Jesus Christ. and also in the testimony of God the Father. Beloved, what I'm saying to you here is that when we read in verse two, and it says that we are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, that in the mind of the apostle Peter, this election is not only founded in the election of Israel as a shadow of the church, but it's also founded in the election of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And now I have to prove to you from the immediate context So go to 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2, and I want you to see here, beloved, this is glorious, because it is the choosing and it's the election of Jesus Christ, what the apostle Peter is going to use to explain to us our election. Now, this is the immediate context of his mind because this is just chapter 2. We are addressing verse 2 of chapter 1. This is chapter 2.

This is what is in the mind of the apostle. 1 Peter chapter 2. Pay attention. Verse 4. As you come to him, that him is Jesus Christ.

And then he's going to describe who Jesus Christ is. A living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God. What? chosen and precious. This is what Isaiah had said, that there was going to be a cornerstone that was going to be rejected by the builders.

This is the chosen or elected Messiah. Here, Peter says, as you come to him, to Jesus Christ, a living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God, chosen and precious. Then he compares that to us. You yourselves like living stones. are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

It is Glorious, what is he saying here? He's saying that Christ, it is the living stone, that he's the cornerstone upon which the church is edified. And he calls us living stones, that we are like him, like Jesus Christ, living stones, and that we belong to this spiritual temple, and that we can offer a spiritual sacrifice, but he says something glorious there, through Jesus Christ. Verse six, for it stands in scripture, Behold, I am lying in Zion, a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe the stone that is Jesus Christ that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone and a stone of a stumbling and a rock of offense.

They stumble because they disobey the Word as they were destined to. So the ones that are the living stones in Jesus Christ were chosen to be living stones in Christ. Those who are not elect are chosen to disobey the Word. The election of those who are in Christ, it happens in Christ. Then in verse 9, then he compares the choosing of Christ as the living son with the choosing of his people.

Then he says in verse 9, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession that you might proclaim the excellences of him who called you out of darkness into the marvelous light. using the analogy of Israel in the Old Testament. Now, setting that together with the choosing of Jesus Christ as the living stone, rejected that we are chosen in him. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you have not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This is the mind of the Apostle Peter. Beloved, stay with me. This is the mind of the Apostle Peter, speaking of the election not only of Israel, but also the election of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, and from there saying that we are elect. Of course, this is not contained in verse 2, but this is in the mind of the Apostle when he said elect. according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.

And then if we take it then to the canonical context, if we take it to the New Testament, this is the teaching of the New Testament. The teaching of the New Testament is that we are chosen in Jesus Christ, that our election happens in union with the person of Jesus Christ. This is what Paul says to the Ephesians in chapter 1. 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, even as he chose us before the foundation of the world in him. We were chosen in Jesus Christ, even as he chose us before the foundation of the world.

Beloved, this is profound. Because our election is not something like there's options there, and then God came and said, I choose this, I choose this, I choose this, I choose this, and I reject these others. There's something before choosing, there's something before election that happens, and that is union with Christ. That we are in Jesus Christ, and because we are in Jesus Christ, we have been chosen in Him. And this speaks of the relational nature of this message that we call the Gospel.

You see, the message of the Gospel starts as a legal, judicial, forensic message that is proclaimed to the lost, in which we say, if you do not believe in Jesus Christ, you're going to hell and you're going to pay your debt there. This is how the Gospel begins. But substantially, this message that we call the Gospel is a relational message. in which those who were in union with Christ in eternity past are vitally united to him by grace through faith to enjoy a future union. And this is when we can see, because he lives, I can face tomorrow.

It is because in the life of Jesus Christ, we have election and we have choosing, and therefore we have life. We cannot understand our election as believers if we do not understand the election of our Lord Jesus Christ. We're gonna have problems and errors in our theology if we do not understand our choosing and election in the light of the choosing and election of our Lord Jesus Christ. Love it. The question that follows then, it is, we just addressed what is that elect in the mind of the apostle.

Question that follows then is, what is that that he says, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father? What is that? The apostle has said that we are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, but let me just set the structure of the verse so we will understand when we come together again. He says that we are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, that we are elect in sanctification of the Spirit, and that we are elect unto obedience or a splinter of his blood. And I've said that this is referring to our conversion, right?

That this is referring to our conversion. This first statement, elect according to the four knowledges of God, it is what we call the source of our election. Election is applied when a person listens to the gospel, and then the Spirit of God transforms the heart of that person from stone into flesh, and then we have faith and repentance, and we're united to Christ. This is the application of election. But the source of election happens in eternity past, when in the mind and primarily in the heart of God, He has chosen us according to His foreknowledge in Christ Jesus.

So we have been chosen in eternity past. Therefore, this foreknowledge of God becomes the source of from where the election is derived. It is the election that is the source of this application that we see in the present. So now the question that we need to ask ourselves is then, what is foreknowledge? What is the foreknowledge of God?

Then if you define that word foreknowledge, If you just define it from a dictionary, the definition of that word is very simple. It's just to know something or to be aware of something before it happens. In Spanish, we say something like pro-vision. And we say that pro is before and then vision that you see something that is going to happen in the future, right? So it is a foreknowledge, it is that you are aware of something that is going to happen in the future.

Now, understanding that definition is very important because some of our beloved brothers and sisters in the faith will say that what the Apostle Peter is saying here is that God, in eternity past, he saw through the corridors of time And then he knew who was going to believe and who was going to reject him. And then based on that knowledge, that he was aware of something that was going to happen before it actually happened, that based on that, that he chose, that he elected. Now, I'm going to prove, of course, from the Bible, that this is not what the Bible teaches. If we believe that, if we say that that is the case, that this foreknowledge of God or that the election of God according to His foreknowledge is that God in eternity past was just seen through history and then He knew who was going to believe and who was not going to believe and then He chose. Then we are making God just a viewer of history, just a watcher of history.

We separate God from history as the creator and the sovereign power over everything and we make creation simply like a movie that is just happening and God is just watching that and then making decisions in eternity past about that which is going to happen. Now they will, to be fair, they will just not put it that way. They will say something different about their doctrine of election. But I'm going to prove to you from a scripture what actually it is this foreknowledge of God. Now remember, who is the person that we are addressing here?

Who is writing this to us? This is Peter. This is very important because this word foreknowledge, as we see it here in this text, it's only used twice in the Old Testament. This is actually the second time that this word, foreknowledge, as we have it here, is used. The first time was used 30 years before this moment.

And you know who said that word? Pyrrha. Pyrrha was the first one that mentioned this word foreknowledge, exactly the same word, and this is going to help us to have a little bit of understanding of what is the nature of the foreknowledge of God. So go to Acts 2, please. Acts 2, now remember, beloved, that this is happening, what we are going to be reading here, it's happening 10 days after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ.

These are the words of the Apostle Peter. This is the spirit-empowered, spirit-filled, spirit-baptized Peter from Pentecost who has received this discernment, this wisdom from the Lord Jesus Christ himself through the Spirit. And he's with boldness proclaiming the first sermon to the church, to Gentiles there. And then he says in chapter 2, verse 22, speaking to the men of Israel. He says, Peter, men of Israel, hear these words.

Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know, pay attention. This Jesus delivered according the same word that he uses in 1 Peter 1-2, according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. He says that these foreknowledge of God goes together with something that is the definite plan of God. And this definite plan of God helps us to understand the foreknowledge of God because they come together. The definite plan of God and the foreknowledge of God.

And this word definite there, it is very important because it means determined, predestined, fixed, unmovable. It is the plan of God that goes together with the foreknowledge of God. And then he continues. Beloved, the foreknowledge of God It is attached to the will of God. So then when God foreknows something, He wills it to happen.

He has planned it to happen. He determines it to happen, and it is fixed. It is unmovable. It doesn't change. He does not decide because He has seen in history that someone else besides Him has made a decision a part of Him.

But rather, He has foreknown that in the sense that He has decreed to happen, that He has definitely planet. He is the sovereign God of the universe. Everything that is being created in heaven and on earth, it is under his control. He's not a watcher. He's not a viewer of history.

He's the one that rules everything, and everything is sustained in his hands. So there is nothing that can operate outside of him, and he does not witness things apart of him. He has predetermined, so therefore this foreknowledge of God, beloved, belongs to this will that is in God in eternity past. He decides it to happen. So now, when the puzzle says that we are elect according to the foreknowledge of God, that means that this election is not on the basis of a profession of faith that's going to happen in the future, and then God witnesses that and then decides to choose us, but rather that this election happens in the mind, in the heart, and is the result of the will of God.

Beloved, for knowledge is not a simple awareness of something that is going to happen in the future. For knowledge in the Bible always connects the decree in eternity past with a present reality and even beyond that sometimes with future realities and the Lord puts them together in one single place. Again, The concept of being foreknown, or the concept of foreknowledge in the Bible, when it's coming from the mind of God, it is always together with something that was decreed or planned in the past, something that happens in the present, and even sometimes with realities that come in the future. Go to 1 Peter 1. It's the same apostle Peter here now that is going to give us this application of being foreknown for Jesus Christ.

Because I said to you that we are not able to understand the election that we have as believers if it's not in light of the election of Jesus Christ. So if we're going to understand how are we foreknown, we have to see the foreknowing or the foreknowledge in Jesus Christ to understand that. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 20, the apostle says, he, speaking of Jesus Christ, was what? foreknown before the foundation of the world, and then see how it connects with the present, but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you. Jesus Christ, the chosen one, the servant of God, the promised Messiah, the promised Savior, the promised Redeemer, the one who was foreknown in eternity past before the foundation of the world, was manifest in the last days.

The foreknowing of Christ is therefore connected with this will that is providentially worked in the present by God himself. And this applies also to us, beloved. Go to Romans, Romans 8, 29. This is then the apostle Paul speaking of our foreknowing, of our election, our choosing. Romans 8, 29, and verse 30, he says, for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. Pay attention to what the apostle says there, beloved. He says, to those whom he foreknew, speaking of those who are in Jesus Christ, those whom he foreknew in eternity past, he has foreknewed them so they might be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, right?

That's the purpose of the foreknewing or the choosing. But then in verse 30, it says that those whom he foreknew, he has also predestined. And those whom he predestined, he also what? called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. The apostle is giving us a reality, or four realities at least, that happen throughout history in one pack, and he's even given to those a perfect tense shape.

Called, justified, or predestined, called, justified, glorified. Glorification is something that is going to happen, but in the mind of God, those who have been elected in Christ Jesus in eternity past, they are justified and predestined and called and glorified. Beloved, the sovereign God that we have, it is a God that rules over everything. He is the one who has chosen us unto salvation. And what I'm saying here, beloved, pay attention to this.

is that when the Apostle Peter is saying that we have been elect, or that we are elect according to the foreknowledge of God, that he is speaking about the source of our conversion in the present. And then when we come together next time, Lord willing, we're going to address the sanctification of this period and the obedience and the sprinkling with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which happens in the present. But this is the source of our election, which is applied in the present. And I'm saying that this election, according to the foreknowledge of God the power, It is something that is completely sovereign, that happens in eternity past. This is what Revelation 13 says, that those who are in Jesus Christ, their names have been written in the Lamb's book of life.

In the book of life of the Lamb of God who was slain before the foundation of the world. This election happens in eternity past. Our names, if we are in Jesus Christ, are written in that book of life. And that book is not a simple book. It is the book of life of the lamb who was slain.

So this is something that happens in eternity past. But beyond that, this choosing has nothing to do with us. Jesus Christ says to his disciples, you did not choose me. I trust you. It is Jesus Christ, it is in Jesus Christ that we are chosen and beloved as we are going to see the time when the time that we come.

Because this election that is in eternity passing in Christ Jesus, it is only of God. When this election is applied, it is entirely of God. That's why the Lord Jesus Christ says that no one comes to me except the Father who sent me draws him. We cannot come to God if it's not by God himself. And because of all of these things, beloved, this is something that is of grace and mercy.

Because the question here is not why God elects or why he elects someone and then he rejects another one. The question is why he chooses at all He shouldn't choose, he shouldn't elect, because we all deserve to be sent to hell. We all deserve to be condemned. So the question is not why he's choosing some and then he's rejecting some. The question is why is he doing this grace, manifesting this grace at all.

This is what Apostle Paul says in Romans 9. He's speaking of the election of Jacob and the rejection of Esau. He said, Jacob I loved, Esau I hated. And then the question is, so someone will say that there is injustice in that? And then the apostle answers himself.

He said, by no means. By no means. Because God shows mercy to whoever he wants to show mercy. And he shows compassion to whoever he wants to show compassion. So it is not about men's doing.

It is about whom he wants to show mercy and grace. Now, beloved. All the confessions, the Calvinist confessions that speak about these realities of elections, I hold. And I believe in all of these things of election and this predetermined, destined people to salvation and chosen to salvation. I believe in all of those things.

But I don't want you to move your mind from the other parts of the verse. Because what the apostle says there, it is not that we are elected only according to the foreknowledge of God. Something very important. He says that this God, It's our God, our Father. He says, elect according to the foreknowledge of God, the Father.

Go please to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter one. This is the verse that I quoted of the apostle Paul referencing the same reality of our choosing Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. And then he says here, In Ephesians 1, verse 3, he says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Please pay attention to each one of those words, beloved.

Pay attention to each one of those words. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ. with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before or in front of him. In love, he predestined us for adoptions as sons through Jesus Christ. Apostle Peter says that we have been elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.

Here, Paul says that we have been chosen or predestined in love for adoptions as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has blessed in the Beloved. The deepest that I can go in my mind to understand this that we call the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and every time that I try to give an answer for the question of election or choosing or not choosing or not election, it is called love. He says in Romans 5 that he has showed us his love in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. that He loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. It is true that we have been elected in eternity past.

It is true that we have been chosen in eternity past. But it's also true that the same Lord Jesus Christ commands every man to repent and believe in the Gospel. There's no excuse. Election and choosing is not an excuse for people not to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. He's a mighty Savior to save.

And then he says, Come to me, all the ones that are weary and heavy laden. I will give you rest. And then in Revelation, he says, The Spirit and the bride said, Come and drink from me and take from the water of life. It is free. There's no price.

Take from me. The same Lord Jesus Christ, who from eternity past has chosen a people to himself. He has also made a way for those that want to repent and believe to come to Him and a sign of election. It is coming to Christ. This is why we have written in our tract, in the tract that we hand out to people, we say, so it is not reasonable for a person to hold to their pride.

to their sins. There is a salvation that is available, and He has said that if they come to Him, He is mighty to save them. Now, beloved, I want you to have this in your mind, that this election, this glorious election that we have in Christ Jesus, is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in eternity past. It is the source of the application of our salvation today. And there is, I don't know about you, but there is nothing in us, because that's what the Bible says.

that makes us recipients of this grace. Actually, we deserve the opposite. We deserve the opposite to the choosing and the election. Why would we hold and not come to Christ if we are not in Christ? Why would a person, a rational person, reject this good news of salvation?

Why would they do that? May the Lord give us grace and power that when we proclaim the gospel, knowing that we have been elected according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, that we also have a mighty Savior who is loving and precious to save. Amen.