Calling and Election

 

Calling and Election

 

(1) Calling

Calling means that God, through the words of the Bible and revelation, reminds us that we are originally God's people. In the kingdom of God, the spirit of an angel who committed a crime was trapped in a body and became a human, but it makes us realize that humans are originally God's people. This is calling.

If we use the world as an analogy, the Exodus is like this. It is a story of God saving His people through the cries of the Israelites who were trapped in Egypt. They were originally God's people, but they became slaves in Egypt. They were originally angels of the kingdom of God, but they became human beings living in the world. When people seek God, God approaches them. That is why people come to believe in God. This is the meaning of calling.

The people who left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea can be said to have been called. It is estimated that there were about 2 million of them. However, only two people had the faith to actually enter Canaan. Excluding children under 19 years old at the time of the Exodus and those born after living in the wilderness for 40 years, there were only Joshua and Caleb. The rest all died after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Joshua and Caleb are a mixture of special selection and general selection. Joshua symbolizes Jesus, and Caleb symbolizes the Gentiles.

In the story of Gideon's 300 warriors, Gideon called out 32,000 men. God said, "If you win now, you will say that you won by your own strength. So, anyone who is afraid, go back." God promised to be with Gideon. 22,000 men returned to their homes. The Lord said, "This time, I will choose you by the way you drink water." He chose those who did not bow their heads but grabbed the water with their hands and went into battle. That is why Gideon chose 300 men. 9,700 men were distracted by drinking water. That is why Gideon excluded them. The 300 men who were chosen are the ones who won the battle. They can be said to be specially chosen.

In Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” This story comes from the parable of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. This is the Book of Revelation. The king sent his servants to invite his son’s wedding feast, but they were unwilling to come. In Matthew 22:4, “Then he sent other servants, saying, Tell those who have been invited, ‘I have prepared a dinner; my oxen and my fattened calves are slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast. ’” God sacrificed his own son as a wedding sacrifice through his death on the cross. He prepared food for mankind to eat on the cross. But they still did not come.

In Matthew 22:5-6, it says, "They paid no attention to him and went their way, one to his field, another to his business; and the rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them." This is how all the people were.

In Matthew 22:7, “Then the king was angry and sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.” This is the story of the Book of Revelation. Every time the Lamb opens the seal, disasters occur on this earth. The main character of the Book of Revelation is Jesus. The Bible reveals that Jesus is the King of kings.

In Matthew 22:8-10, "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the highways and invite as many as you find to the wedding banquet.' So the servants went out into the roads and gathered all they could find, both good and bad. So the wedding banquet was filled with guests." The king called again, without discrimination, both good and bad.

Matthew 22:11-13 says, "As the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have a wedding garment. He said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here not having a wedding garment?' But the man remained silent. So the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot and throw him outside, into the darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" Those who do not wear wedding garments believe that they will be saved simply by believing in Jesus. It is not a faith that believes in dying with Jesus and being resurrected with Him.

Regarding the 'outer darkness', ordinary believers say that if they just believe in Jesus, they will be saved, but because they did not wear the robe, that is, they were not sanctified, they will eventually go to heaven, but they will stay outside the city. This is because they think that they will be saved if they leave Egypt. This kind of saying came about because of the false doctrine that believers will be saved if they are called.

 

(2) God's Choice

1 Thessalonians 1:4-7 『For we know, brothers loved by God, his choice of you, because our gospel came to you not only in word but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit. So that you became examples to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.』

When writing to the church in Thessalonica, he said, "Knowing your election." In 2 Peter 1:10, "Therefore, brothers, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble." The election mentioned here and the election mentioned in 1 Thessalonians are the same word.

In Titus 1:1-2, it is also expressed as ‘the elect’. ‘Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith and knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness for those whom God has chosen, and for the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began.’

Apostle Paul can be said to be a Jewish person who was called. However, he was bound by the law and could not find the Messiah. He did not think of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, and he was a person who took the lead in arresting and killing Christians. However, Jesus chose him. Why did Jesus choose such a person?

God's election is a special election to establish leaders in the proclamation of the gospel, and a general election to be chosen according to faith by believing the words of the leader. Jesus' disciples can be said to be a special election. When Jesus was arrested, all the disciples ran away. And Peter denied Jesus three times. Of course, Judas Iscariot committed suicide, but the resurrected Jesus chose eleven disciples and poured out the Holy Spirit on them, choosing them.

The general election is to have faith from heaven. It means to abandon fleshly thoughts and believe in what God has promised. In the end, those who are chosen are those who deny themselves. It is impossible for a human being to deny himself. If God does not make it so, he cannot deny himself. This is because the Spirit of God works in those who are chosen. Those who deny themselves will have faith given by God and will receive faith with a spiritual heart.