Sorry that I had to do this in 2 parts. Due to my age and arthritis, it is becoming more and more difficult to sit in front of this computer for any length of time. If I disappear from the Forum it will be for that reason or I died. My mind is still good, usually solve the word puzzles on Wheel of Fortune ahead of the contestants, but the body is going fast.
Part #2, The Election of Jesus by Alexander La Brecque.
The significance of Jesus' deeds and his teaching was not wholly lost upon his opponents. Everyone knew that what Jesus said and did meant he claimed to be uniquely the elect of God. So the method used to execute him - crucifixion - was calculated to refute his claims, to demonstrate that he could not be God's elect. The law decreed that a hanged man, a criminal put to death upon a tree, "Is accursed by God" Deuteronomy 21:23. Surely a crucified man is not God's elect! And at Calvary the issue of Jesus election was manifest in the jeers "If you are the King of the Jews save yourself!" "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, "his chosen one!" Luke 23:35,36.
But the purpose of Almighty God is never thwarted by the devising of mere men. As Peter declared on the day of Pentecost.
"This Jesus delivered up according to the infinite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But God has raised him up.
Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear.
Let all of the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified" Acts 2:23, 33, 36.
The first Christian sermon was an affirmation of Jesus' election! Men had crucified him to disapprove his claims, but God vindicated his Elect One by raising him from the dead, exalting him to the throne of God, bestowing upon the disciples the Spirit of the new age! And throughout the book of Acts the apostles cite the resurrection of Jesus as proof that he is God's holy servant, the descendant of Abraham in whom all of the peoples of the earth will be blessed,the Messiah ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. The apostolic message of Jesus' election may be summarized in Peter's reference to him as the corner of salvation, "Rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious" 1 Peter 2:4-8.
The New Testament Gospel proclaims that Jesus is God's Elect. But because of most thinking about election today - by both Calvinist and Arminians - is molded by Augustine's views, in traditional discussions of the topic little (if anything) is said about Jesus election. A classic example is Louis Berkhof's treatment of election in his Systematic Theology; in the chapter he devotes to this topic, he skips over Israel's election in two lines and never mentions the election of Christ himself! In addition to Augustine's influence, another reason we fail to recognize Jesus' election is our loss of such titles as "Christ" and "the Son of God" These expressions draw their biblical significance from the election of Israel and David, but to us "Christ" is almost a last name for Jesus and somehow "Son of God" has come to mean "God the Son" Many times the New Testament affirms Jesus' diety, but only indirectly does "Son of God" mean this. perhaps for a month we should avoid these titles and instead refer to Jesus as God's Elect.
Part #2, The Election of Jesus by Alexander La Brecque.
The significance of Jesus' deeds and his teaching was not wholly lost upon his opponents. Everyone knew that what Jesus said and did meant he claimed to be uniquely the elect of God. So the method used to execute him - crucifixion - was calculated to refute his claims, to demonstrate that he could not be God's elect. The law decreed that a hanged man, a criminal put to death upon a tree, "Is accursed by God" Deuteronomy 21:23. Surely a crucified man is not God's elect! And at Calvary the issue of Jesus election was manifest in the jeers "If you are the King of the Jews save yourself!" "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, "his chosen one!" Luke 23:35,36.
But the purpose of Almighty God is never thwarted by the devising of mere men. As Peter declared on the day of Pentecost.
"This Jesus delivered up according to the infinite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But God has raised him up.
Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear.
Let all of the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified" Acts 2:23, 33, 36.
The first Christian sermon was an affirmation of Jesus' election! Men had crucified him to disapprove his claims, but God vindicated his Elect One by raising him from the dead, exalting him to the throne of God, bestowing upon the disciples the Spirit of the new age! And throughout the book of Acts the apostles cite the resurrection of Jesus as proof that he is God's holy servant, the descendant of Abraham in whom all of the peoples of the earth will be blessed,the Messiah ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. The apostolic message of Jesus' election may be summarized in Peter's reference to him as the corner of salvation, "Rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious" 1 Peter 2:4-8.
The New Testament Gospel proclaims that Jesus is God's Elect. But because of most thinking about election today - by both Calvinist and Arminians - is molded by Augustine's views, in traditional discussions of the topic little (if anything) is said about Jesus election. A classic example is Louis Berkhof's treatment of election in his Systematic Theology; in the chapter he devotes to this topic, he skips over Israel's election in two lines and never mentions the election of Christ himself! In addition to Augustine's influence, another reason we fail to recognize Jesus' election is our loss of such titles as "Christ" and "the Son of God" These expressions draw their biblical significance from the election of Israel and David, but to us "Christ" is almost a last name for Jesus and somehow "Son of God" has come to mean "God the Son" Many times the New Testament affirms Jesus' diety, but only indirectly does "Son of God" mean this. perhaps for a month we should avoid these titles and instead refer to Jesus as God's Elect.