How can I know if I am one of the elect?
How would I know if I am one of the elect?
Chosen by God from eternity past
The Bible teaches that each believer was elected / chosen by God from the beginning to be saved (2 Thess. 2:13), with the promise that they would be among the ‘elect’ gathered to God on the final day (Matt. 24:31).
2 Thessalonians 2:13 (NKJV)
But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth
Matthew 24:31 (NKJV)
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Am I one of the elect?
Naturally, some anxious believers are led to question if they are one of the elect and if God did choose them.
John 6:44 (NKJV)
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
In the above verse, Jesus described the one (believer) whom the Father gave to the Son as none other than the one (believer) who comes to Him. This might sound confusing, but here is a simple breakdown;
From God’s view – we are given to the Son by His sovereign decree and purpose.
From Human’s view – we come to Christ by believing in His work on the cross.
The wonderful promise – is that the Lord would never reject anyone who comes (sincerely and submissively) as a love gift from the Father.
Divine sovereignty and human responsibility
Here we also see the interplay between divine sovereignty and human responsibility.
Only those given to the Son by the Father will come to Him (John 6:44). Yet, all who are thirsty may come, and anyone who wishes to take the water of life will be given it freely.
Revelation 22:17 (NKJV)
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
Though they seem impossible to harmonize, there is no conflict between those two truths in the infinite mind of God.
Deuteronomy 29:29 (NKJV)
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Evangelism is still important
Most importantly, we should note that even though God is sovereign in salvation, it does not negate the believer’s responsibility to evangelize the lost.
(Matt. 24:14; 26:13; 28:19; Mark 13:10; cf. Acts 8:25, 40; 14:7, 15, 21; 16:10; Rom. 1:15; 15:19–20; 1 Cor. 1:17; 9:16, 18; 15:1; 2 Cor. 10:16; 11:7; Gal. 1:8–9, 11; 2:2; Phil. 4:15; 1 Peter 1:12).
We should obediently spread the Gospel of Christ knowing that the Son would never reject any part of the Father’s gift to Him.
The will of the Father is that Jesus saves all that He has given Him.
Jesus came to earth for one purpose only, to do the will of the Father who sent Him (John 6:38, 4:34, 5:30, 17:4 and Matt 26:39). This reality guarantees the salvation of the elect and their eternal security.
This is the glorious promise that we can rest in knowing that the son will lose none that the Father has given Him (John 6:44).
The perseverance and protection of the saints;
Furthermore, the rest of the New Testament echoes the Lord’s teaching regarding the perseverance and protection of the saints. For example, the apostle Paul’s teaching in Romans;
Romans 8:29-30 (NKJV)
29. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
The repeated phrase “He also” links the entire salvation process from eternity past to eternity future in an unbreakable chain.
All whom God foreknew are predestined, called, justified, and glorified; and no one will be lost along the way (Romans 8:31–39 / Philippians 1:6 / Col. 3:3–4).
The saving prayer of Jesus;
We can even see the doctrine of election in the specific “saving” prayer of Jesus, excluding “the world” in general.
John 17:9 (NKJV)
“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.
Here specifically, we see Jesus praying his High priestly prayer for the elect, for those he loved and chose before the foundation of the world.
Ephesians 1:3-4 (NKJV)
3. 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 without blame before Him in love,
Conclusion
If you have a deep sense of conviction in your heart about the things of Christ and have a sense of love and submission for Him, then you can rest assured that you are one of the elect.
If you do not have this conviction at the moment, the call is still available for you today to believe in the saving work of Jesus Christ, repent of your sins and come to Him.
Ultimately predestination / election is a family secret, recognized only from the inside. By an act of the will, we step through a gateway placarded by the words, ‘Whoever is thirsty, let him come.’ We enter only to look back and see the caption on the inside of the gate, ‘Chosen in him before the creation of the world’ (Eph. 1:4).
The truth does not lie in the balance of these two affirmations, but it purely rests on both extremes.
Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV)
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:44
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