THE ELECTION OF GRACE

"Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the
election of grace" (KJV). "In the same way then, there has also come to be at
the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice" (NASB). "So too, At the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace" (NIV). -- Rom11:5

Devotion 6 of 18
                                
GOD HAS A WILL
     A self-willed society has little interest in the Living God. This is because self-will closes the eyes of the heart. God's will, however, is preeminent in His kingdom! Furthermore our salvation, and in particular the "election of grace," is traceable to God's will. Here, the will of God is not seen as a goal for which to strive, although that perspective is found in Scripture (Mark 3:25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 5:17; 6:6, etc.). "Will," as we are now viewing it, is causal; i.e., it is the cause that produces the effect, the reason for divine activity, the impetus
behind our salvation. God has taken the initiative to save humanity, both Jew and Gentile, because He desired to do so! It is true that we needed to be saved, but that is secondary to God's will to save us! God's will is the fountain from which the grace of God flows freely to humanity. A few Scriptural expressions will suffice to confirm this point.

Predestinated to Adoption
     "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved" (Eph 1:5-6). You do not want to adopt a theology that forbids the acceptance of this affirmation! The divine predetermination was this: Jesus Christ provides the exclusive area of acceptance. In Christ we are "adopted," or become part of the heavenly family. God's pleasurable will motivated Him to do this, not the condition of humanity. It is important to underscore that the predestination was not of individuals, but of the means of acceptance, namely, "adoption." 

His Will Is Preeminent
     "Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him: in Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will" (Eph 1:9-11).  Do not underestimate the power of the phrases "His will," "His good pleasure," "purposed in Himself," "the purpose of Him," and "the counsel of His own will!" It does not take a profound thinker to comprehend that in the basis, or foundation, of salvation, the accent is upon God! Man needed to be saved! He needed to be rescued from the dilemma of sin! But human need did not constrain God -- His own will was the constraint! This may appear a fine distinction, unworthy of emphasis, but that is not the case. Man has a tendency to overestimate his own power and underestimate the Lord of glory. That tendency is responsible for countless erroneous doctrines that have caused men to go astray!

PRAYER POINT: Father, thank You for being willing to save humanity in general, and me in particular. Give me grace to order my life within the confines of Your will, subordinating my own will to Yours. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, in Whom I have been made accepted.

-- TOMORROW: GOD WORKS IN ACCORD WITH HIS OWN WILL --