from 40 Questions About Divine Election by
by Daniel Kirkpatrick
Defining divine election is no simple task. Ask someone the meaning of it, and you are sure to hear something like, “It’s the belief that God eternally predestines certain people to heaven or hell,” or, “God chooses to save people who choose Jesus as Savior.” Some people will define it with mentions of Calvinism and Arminianism, others with talk of reprobation, and perhaps others will raise concerns about the meaningfulness of evangelism. The difficulty is largely because divine election has been understood, defined, debated, and nuanced in many ways throughout church history.
While the historical development of the doctrine is fascinating in its own right, we should be ever mindful that divine election is first and foremost a biblical doctrine rooted deeply within the Old and New Testaments. Though various theological traditions hold to specific beliefs about this doctrine, election itself does not belong to them but to God. It is Scripture that teaches us that God elects and how he goes about it. As such, we will begin our study by exploring the Scriptures in an attempt to develop a biblical definition of election, then we will explore how this definition unifies Christians while leaving room for differences of opinion.
Surveying the Scriptures
The Hebrew term most commonly associated with election is bāḥar, a verb that simply means “to choose.”[1] The primary Greek verb for election is eklegomai, and its basic meaning is “to choose (for oneself), to select someone/ something for oneself.”[2] The corresponding noun is eklektos, a term meaning “pertaining to being selected, chosen.”[3]
Divine election, therefore, refers broadly to what God chooses or selects to do. The Scriptures are full of God making choices and selections to fulfill his perfect will. We see God electing people for various roles and positions, like Adam and Eve as the first parents in Genesis 1–2, Abraham as the father of nations from whom the Messiah would come (Gen. 12–13; 15; 17; 22), Moses as the leader of the exodus, and Jesus as the Savior of the world. We also see God sovereignly choosing tasks to be carried out by specific people, such as the duties of the Levites when they came before God’s holy presence and offered sacrifices for atonement, or the disciples who were tasked with following and serving Jesus.
Furthermore, we see God sovereignly choosing the agency of salvation, meaning that God alone determines how he will save people. In the Old Testament, God entered into a covenant relationship with Abraham and his descendants, through whom all the nations would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). They were marked by the sign of circumcision (Gen. 17:11) and entered into this covenant by faith (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:16–17; Gal. 3:8–9). By God’s sovereign choice, there were not many pathways toward a relationship with God, and humanity did not determine the processes by which they could become saved. Rather, in the Old Testament the Lord unilaterally determined the method, sign, and limits of salvation. The same is true in the New Testament. Jesus affirmed he is the way, truth, and life, and that no one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6).[4] God has sovereignly chosen the gospel of Jesus to be the only means of salvation for the world, and disciples are to make it known through proclamation.
As we can see, God elects to do many things so that his will is accomplished, and most of the choices mentioned above are not problematic for Christians. What is problematic, however, is God’s choice for those human beings to be saved. When we consider God’s choice of saving sinners, we im- mediately have to consider things such as human freedom and responsibility, the fate of the unsaved, and the sovereignty of God. Reconciling these issues is no small task, for we are ultimately trying to reconcile divine sovereignty with human will. Therefore, it is no wonder why church history has been so divided on the issue. Despite such division, there are a few points of common agreement that build up to an agreeable definition for most people.
Election and Common Agreement
When referring to salvation, we define divine election as “God’s gracious choice to save certain sinners through the person and work of Jesus Christ.” This definition is almost universally accepted by evangelical Christians today because it is broad enough to include a variety of perspectives while con- forming to the clear teaching of Scripture.
Jesus mentioned election both directly and indirectly. In Matthew 24:22– 31 and parallels, we read how Christ will ransom the elect in the last days from false messiahs and terrible persecutions. He also spoke in John 10:14–28 of the elect as his sheep for whom he died, and that as God’s elect they have eternal life and no one can snatch them out of his hand. Additionally, in John 13:18 Jesus referenced those disciples whom he had chosen while also knowing that Judas would betray him.
Paul spoke often about election to salvation. In Ephesians 1:4–5 he told the church in Ephesus that they were chosen in Christ, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him. In Romans 9:11–13 the apostle talked about God’s purpose of election continuing through Jacob. The church of Thessalonica was called the beloved and chosen of God in 1 Thessalonians 1:4–5.
Other New Testament writers referred to the “elect” and “election,” and those terms can be used in various ways. The elect can be a synonymous term with the church or chosen people of God (Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1; 2 John 1, 13). Jesus Christ himself, moreover, was called the elect (or chosen) in Luke 23:35 and 1 Peter 2:4, 6. As such, election can refer to many things. However, as it pertains to the doctrine of salvation, election primarily refers to God’s choice to save certain sinners through his Son, which is the sense on which we will focus our study.
Unity Amongst Traditions
Again, most evangelicals agree that election is a biblical doctrine and refers (in the doctrine of salvation) to God choosing to save certain sinners through the person and work of Jesus Christ. The doctrine is believed and embraced by Reformed and non-Reformed traditions[5] as well as many more groups and denominations who seek to believe the whole counsel of God. It is not a belief limited to any particular group, and we would do well to understand not only each tradition’s distinctions but also how they agree.
Take, for example, the Calvinist and Arminian traditions. They are unified in their agreement that God elected people groups (namely Israel and Christians) to be his treasured possession. Together, they agree that God sovereignly elects people for tasks and positions (such as Old Testament prophets or modern-day pastors). These traditions are also agreed that God elects and determines the pathway and limitations of salvation. These agreements should be acknowledged while myths and mischaracterizations are dismissed. For example, Roger Olson rightly calls it a myth that Arminians do not believe in election and predestination.[6] Arminian scholar William Klein readily affirms that God chooses people individually and corporately to carry out God’s will.[7] Recognizing that election is much broader than election to eternal glory, Arminian scholar Jack Cottrell also affirms that God, in his sovereignty, elects persons to fulfill appointed tasks, including the election of Jesus, the election of Israel, the election of the church, and the election of persons to salvation.[8]
Similarly, Reformed theologians and traditions readily embrace the aforementioned categories of election. Bruce Demarest affirms God’s election to service, of people, and to salvation in Christ.[9] Louis Berkhof begins his discourse on election with notice that election has multiple senses including election of people, election for service, and election to salvation).[10] James Oliver Buswell urged his readers to carefully note the usages of election, which include election to function, eternal life, and personal holiness.[11] Of these types of election, there is great consensus.
Another fascinating area of agreement between many Reformed and Wesleyan-Arminian parties is the treatment of election within the eternal decrees of God. Jacobus Arminius’s treatment on divine election falls within his section on predestination, a belief he calls the “precise and absolute decree of God . . . by which God decreed to save and damn certain particular persons.”[12]
John Wesley, following Arminius’s thought, also held to divine election in salvation as an eternal decree of God.[13] This claim is not unlike the belief John Calvin, who also viewed divine election as an eternal divine decree.[14] Granted, these traditions understand and apply election in the divine decrees differently, but we can appreciate that both of these traditions find election to be a divine decree.
Election and Differing Perspectives
Despite much common agreement, this doctrine has led to lasting debate and division. Michael Bird aptly answers why:
In general, all theologians agree that God “elects” people to salvation. The point of contention is the basis for this election. Does it lie in God’s foreknowledge of persons who would freely choose for themselves to believe in him, or does it pertain to God’s free and inscrutable decision to save some but not others? That is the debate.[15]
Although Christians agree that persons are elect, they disagree on the basis for such election (as because of faith or because of the unilateral decision of God). To be elected to service is not in doubt, but rather the extent of election to service (whether Christ’s service was for all or only some people). Most Christian traditions fully affirm divine election of saving agency (as in Christ by faith); however, they disagree whether divine electing activity of specific persons is foreordained from eternity past by immutable decree.
What is more, Christians throughout church history have considered where their positions on divine election logically lead. Are certain sinners enduring eternal torment in hell because of their sin and disbelief, or because God did not elect them? If God loves everyone, why would he limit his saving activity to just a few people of his choosing? Are some people elect and others not because of something God finds inside each person? These are just some of the questions people raise when exploring divine election, and this book intends to explore them from biblical, historical, and ethical perspectives.
Summary
Divine election in salvation is a difficult and contentious doctrine because there is so much difference of thought. Is election based upon what God foresees (his knowledge) or what he desires (his will)? Are people elect because of what they do or simply because of what God does? Are people in hell because of their sin and disbelief or because God did not want them? These differences are significant and will occupy much of our attention in this book. However, these differences need not suggest a lack of common agreement. On the contrary, most Christians agree that God has elected some people for salvation and service as well as electing a pathway for people to be saved. Returning, then, to the initial query of “What is divine election?,” we may broadly state that it is God’s sovereign choice. When speaking to the specific matter of election unto salvation (the focus of this book), we mean God’s gracious choice to save certain sinners in Jesus Christ, and of that definition Christians share much common agreement.
[1]Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford, U.K.: Clarendon Press, n.d.), s.v. בחר. See also Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, ed. M. E. J. Richardson (Leiden: Brill, 1995), s.v. בחר.
[2] Walter Bauer, A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, eds. William F. Arndt, F. Wilber Gingrich, and Frederick W. Danker, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), s.v. ἐκλέγομαι.
[3] Bauer, ἐκλεκτός.
[4] For more treatment on this, see Bruce Demarest, The Cross and Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation, Foundations of Evangelical Theology (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006), 118–35; and Daniel Kirkpatrick, Monergism or Synergism: Is Salvation Cooperative or the Work of God Alone? (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2018), 56–68.
[5] Arminius and the Arminian tradition are Reformed in the broad sense, coming out of the Reformed (as opposed to Lutheran) movement. Additionally, see J. Matthew Pinson, 40 Questions About Arminianism (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2022), 55–61, and 63–68, where many commonalities between Arminians and Reformed are shown. Throughout this book, we will use the term “Reformed” in a way typical in modern nomenclature to refer to non-Arminian traditions that lean toward Calvinism even if they do not accept
[6] Roger Olson, Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2006), 179–99.
[7] William W. Klein, The New Chosen People: A Corporate View of Election (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2001), 26–35.
[8] Jack W. Cottrell, “Conditional Election,” in Grace Unlimited, ed. Clark H. Pinnock (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1975), 70–73.
[9] Demarest, The Cross and Salvation, 118–35.
[10] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 4th ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1941), 114.
[11] James Oliver Buswell, A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1962), 2:148–52.
[12] The Works of James Arminius, trans. James Nichols and W. R. Bagnall, 3 vols. (Spring Valley, CA: Lamp Post, 2009), 1:185. See also Kirkpatrick, Monergism or Synergism, 63–65.
[13]John Wesley, Calvinism Calmly Considered: Sovereignty, Predestination and Free Grace (Salem, OH: Schmul, 2001), 23.
[14] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 3:21.
[15] Michael Bird, Evangelical Theology: A Biblical and Systematic Introduction, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 565 (italics original).
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This post is adapted from 40 Questions About Divine Election by Daniel Kirkpatrick. This title is set to be released on January 28, 2025. If you are interested in adopting this book for a college or seminary course, please request a faculty examination copy. We will also consider requests for your blog or media outlets.
The doctrine of election has been a major point of contention within the church, especially since the Reformation five hundred years ago. So much so that many of the denominations we see around the world are the consequence of differing understandings of what election means, and what implications it has on our lives. In 40 Questions About Divine Election, author Daniel Kirkpatrick guides the reader through the many facets of election by providing a robust description of the doctrine through the biblical and historical witness. Through a question-and-answer format, Kirkpatrick artfully defines election while describing and navigating opposing views and their implications. These questions include the following:
- Is election rooted in the divine or human will?
- Is election conditional or unconditional?
- How does human will reconcile with divine will in election?
- Does God elect some people to hell?
In this book, readers are invited to wrestle with their own understandings of election and encouraged to apply those understandings to their lives. In the end, election is about God’s sovereignty, and the question the author invites us to ask is what that sovereignty means for humanity.
