The Election Collection

compiled by Jim Riscinti

(Verses from the 1769 Authorized King James Version with 1833 Webster’s Update.)

This article is a study of the extensive mention of election throughout the Bible (with regards to the doctrine of predestination) – mentioned directly with respect to the exact words “elect” and “election” and through similar words and phrases including “chosen”, “called” and “predestinate”.

INDEX TO GREEK WORDS REFERENCED BELOW:

* – 1588 eklektos {ek-lek-tos’} from 1586; TDNT – 4:181, 505; adj.

AV – translated as elect 16 times, chosen 7; total of 23 instances

+ – 1586 eklegomai {ek-leg’-om-ahee} middle voice from 1537 and 3004; verb

AV – translated as choose/chosen 19 times, choose out 1, make choice 1, have 1, hath 1; total of 23 instances

^ – 1589 ekloge {ek-log-ay’}- 4:176, 505; noun

AV – translated as 6 times, chosen 1; total of 7 instances

Romans 8:29,9:23 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. [9:23] And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

1Peter 1:2,9,15,16 But ye [are] a *chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: [16]Elect* according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedienceand sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. [15] But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; [16] Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

2Timothy 1:9,2:4,19 Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, [2:19] No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of [this] life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. [19] Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweththem that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Col. 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect* of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Ephesians 1:4, 2:10 According as he hath chosen+ us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: [2:10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Deuteronomy 7:6 For thou [art] an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that [are] upon the face of the earth.

John 15:16 Ye have not chosen+ me, but I have chosen+ you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Romans 9:11,15-16 For [the children] being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election^ might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; [15] For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. [16] So then [it is] not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Romans 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election^ of grace.

James 1:18 Of His own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Isaiah 45:5 I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else, [there is] no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me

1Corinthians 1:27-29 But God hath chosen+ the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen+ the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; [28] And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath+ God chosen+, [yea], and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: [29] That no flesh should glory in his presence.

Ephesians 1:11, 2:5 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:[2:5] Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

2Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Phil. 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure.

Matthew 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few *chosen.

Jeremiah 31:3,18 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, [saying], Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. [18]….turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou [art] the LORD my God.

Acts 22:14 And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. (chosen-4400 procheirizomai-middle voice)

Ephesians 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

Matthew 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect*.

John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

2Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

2Peter 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election^ sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

John 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

1Cor. 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

1John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

Romans 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

Psalms 65:4 Blessed [is the man whom] thou choosest, and causest to approach [unto thee, that] he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, [even] of thy holy temple.

7) Assurance of the Elect:

1John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

John 6:44, 10:27, 6:37 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. [10:27] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: [6:37] All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

John 15:19,17:6 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen+ you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. [17:6] I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

John 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

Revelation 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and *chosen, and faithful.

Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God [are] without repentance.

Luke 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect*, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save hispeople from their sins.

Romans 8:28,33 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. [33] Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect*? [It is] God that justifieth.

1Thessalonians 1:4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election^ of God.

Php. 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ:

Isaiah 65:9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

Psalms 33:12 Blessed [is] the nation whose God [is] the LORD; [and] the people [whom] he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

Romans 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Revelation 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Ephesians 1:4-6 According as he hath chosen+ us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: [5] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, [6] To the praise of the glory of his grace, whereinhe hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Galatians 1:15-16 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called [me] by his grace, [16] To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

2Cor. 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

1John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: …………

2The.2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth

9) Exemplified

9a)

Nehemiah 9:7 Thou [art] the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham;

9b)

Ro 9:11,13 For [the children] being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) [13] It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

9c)

Haggai 2:23 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.

9d)

Jeremiah 1:5,31:3 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, [saying], Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

9e)

Isaiah 49:1,5 Listen , O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. [5] And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb [to be] his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.

9f)

Rom. 16:13 Salute Rufus *chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.

9g)

Luke 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.

9h)

John 13:18 I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen+: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.

Luke 6:13 And when it was day, he called [unto him] his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

Acts 1:2,24 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen+: [24] And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all [men], shew whether of these two thou hast chosen+,

9i)

Acts 9:15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen^ vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

Galatians 1:15-16 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called [me] by his grace, [16] To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; …

Whatever God commands is of course a commandment and law, therefore if you could fulfil it then that would be an accredited work, which is cooperative grace giving you a cause to boast. (Ja. 2:10, Mt. 28:20, Ro.3: 27,28) (Verses from the 1769 Authorized King James Version with 1833 Webster’s Update.)

10. Let’s look at how God uses the word “all” (in Greek 3956 {pas}),

whole (Strong’s # 3650 {holos}), and world (2889 {kosmos}). Revised 1/97

(Verses from the 1769 Authorized King James Version with 1833 Webster’s Update.)

… “the world {kosmos} has gone after him” (John 12:19). Did all the world go after Christ? “then went all {pas} Judea, and were baptized of him in Jordan” (Mat. 3:5). Was all Judea, or all Jerusalem, baptized in Jordan? “Ye are of God, little children”, and the whole {holos} world {kosmos} lieth in the wicked one” (1Jn. 5:19). Does the whole world there mean everybody? The words “world” and “all” are used in some seven or eight senses in Scripture, and it is very rarely the “all” means all persons, taken individually. The words are generally used to signify that Christ has redeemed some of all sorts — some Jews, some Gentiles, some rich, some poor, and has not restricted His redemption to either Jew or Gentile … C.H. Spurgeon from a sermon on Particular Redemption.

Obviously “all”, “whole” and “world” does not always mean everybody.

Verses used in an attempt to prove universal atonement:

2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all {pas} should come to repentance.

1Timothy 2:4 Who will have all {pas} men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

John 3:15-16 That whosoever {pas} believeth in him should not perish,but have eternal life. [16] For God so loved the world {kosmos}, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever {pas} believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 6:33, 37, 39, 51 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world {kosmos}. [37] All {pas} that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. [39] And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all {pas} which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. [51] I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world {kosmos}.

John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all {pas} [men] unto me.

John 1:7, 9 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all {pas} [men] through him might believe. [9] [That] was the true Light, which lighteth every man {pas} that cometh into the world {kosmos}.

Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every {pas} man.

1John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole {holos} world {kosmos}.

The following verses indicate that “all” {pas}, “whole” {holos}, and “world” {kosmos} can not always mean everybody.

Luke 2:1,3, 6:47, 20:38 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all {pas} the world {kosmos} should be taxed. [3] And all {pas} went to be taxed, every one into his own city.[6:47] Whosoever {pas} cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: [20:38] For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all {pas} live unto him.

Romans 5:18,8:22 Therefore as by the offence of one [judgment came] upon all {pas} men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [the free gift came] upon all {pas} men unto justification of life. [8:22] For we know that the whole {pas} creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

Matthew 2:3, 10:22, 19:11 When Herod the king had heard [these things], he was troubled, and all {pas} Jerusalem with him. [10:22] And ye shall be hated of all {pas} [men] for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. [19:11] But he said unto them, All {pas} [men] cannot receive this saying, save [they] to whom it is given.

Mark 1:37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All {pas} [men] seek for thee.

John 17:2,9 As thou hast given him power over all {pas} flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. [9] I pray for them: I pray not for the world {kosmos}, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

1Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all {pas} die, even so in Christ shall all {pas} be made alive.

2Cor. 5:14,15 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all {pas}, then were all {pas} dead:[15] And [that] he died for all {pas}, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

2Timothy 1:15 This thou knowest, that all {pas} they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

1John 2:23, 3:27, 5:19, 12:19 Whosoever {pas} denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [(but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also]. [3:27] John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. [5:19] [And] we know that we are of God, and the whole {holos} world {kosmos} lieth in wickedness. [12:19] The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world {kosmos} is gone after him.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all {pas} [men] see what [is] the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Luke 12:30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. Matthew 6:32 indicates that “the nations of the world” are the Gentiles: Matthew 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.