The Calling And Election Unto The Purpose Of The Ages

These differing views of Calvin and Arminius, and their resulting controversy concerning God's calling and election, are totally set aside, when it is understood that God's choosing had nothing to do with His choice of individual sinners for salvation from damnation. For God's calling and election was in the choice of His Son, over Adam, for the realization of His purpose concerning creation; which purpose was present in His heart from before creation; and which was the initial reason for His creating man to begin with.

Moreover, since His choice was before the existence of man, it was, therefore, before man had sinned; and, subsequently, knowing that it was never the will of God that man should sin, His original purpose had nothing to do with redemption. His choice, then, was solely due, and according to, His own prerogative; which was that He preferred Christ, simply because, no one else could ever bring about His heart's desire.

So, seeing how it never was intended that Adam, in himself, would attain to that end, the question which naturally arises is, why then was Adam created to begin with? Of which the answer is that, he was created as part of God's plan, toward gaining what He was after…He created Adam as a step in that direction; as the material for Him to work with, in bringing into fruition a humanity which shares in the same moral character of God: for this is God's heart desire; a man after His own heart…Adam, however, was not that man.

Now, God's character was already in His eternal Son, and, therefore, will also be in the man His Son will become; and so, even as Adam, who came into the world before Him, He will likewise, in order for man to acquire His character, enter as a part of God's plan. His Son's godliness, however, will reside in Himself alone, unless, He willingly lay down the Adamic life He took upon Himself in coming into the world, so as to become a different man than Adam; this will require Him to trust God, His Father, to raise Him from dead.

You see, it is necessary that He first take part in Adam's nature in order that He might bring those in Adam's humanity into the humanity He will bring about in Himself as a new man. This is according to His purpose and is in agreement with man needing to participate in his own moral development. But eventually, for Christ to accomplish God's desire, He will first have to bring Adam to an end; which now, after he has sinned, will require that it be through death; for in no other way will He be the precursor of a new humanity. For it is only then, as the head of a new humanity, that, all who are placed into Him will share in the nature which is in His life; which will produce in them the character which God is after. For Christ's death is a death that all can take part in; seeing how His death, in Adam, was a death for all; and it took place in order that all might take hold of it; it being granted to all who believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God. His death is not only deliverance from Adam's sinful nature, however, but it is the passage into eternal life.

Now, again, since it was God's design that man be a moral creature, it is necessary that he participate in his own development. It is only in this way man will be made to be morally after the likeness of God's Son; his will and intelligence, therefore, must be involved. It has always been so. In the beginning, before man had sinned, it was intended that Adam would first, in cooperation with God, come to the revelation that he lacked in his nature the inherent quality of righteousness, which is found only in God; and so, God would have desired Adam to look to Him for what he lacked; which God would have suppled in bringing about a union between him and the man God's Son would become; thus, Adam would have gained access to the divine nature while in a love relationship with both God the Father and God the Son.

The exact details of how this was to be accomplished, we are not told; but in some way, Adam, having never known sin, would have transitioned into Christ. Adam understanding it to be God's will was to have done so willingly. This would have required him to lay down his life, so as to be transitioned into another. Again, this is because he, as a moral being, must participate in his becoming the creature God desires for him to be; which was, and is, that he be made after the likeness of God's Son incarnate; which, as we have said, is the end God had in mind form the beginning.

But because Adam sinned, He had to alter His plan in adding an addendum of sorts; which would deal with sin and gain back those lost because of it: This is what is called, our redemption in Christ. In fact, this alteration in God's plan would actually be incorporated into the original in such a way that it would become a substantial part in God realizing His goal; so that, it is through redemption that a way is provided for the transition of those in Adam, into the new humanity in God's Son, Jesus Christ; and thus, realizing the initial purpose of the ages: for though man has sinned, God has not given up on His eternal purpose.

Now, even though God remade His plan in accordance with His foreknowledge that man would sin, and, therefore, He provided redemption, His revision still retained the need for man's cooperation in being made into the image and likeness of His Son. For although our redemption granted us a new birth into Christ, wherein we receive a new nature, we, nonetheless, must cooperate in laying down our old life, ourselves, in obedience to the will of God; which, as a result, will cause us to increasingly enter the more into the new humanity in Christ; it is an ongoing process all the while we abide in our flesh. The end result being that, we not only share in His life but we also share in His glory and honor in the coming ages; this, glory, however, being only to the degree of Christ having been enlarged in us during this present age; the honor and glory being one with the character of Christ having been displayed in us, so as to have become part of us; for, again, as moral beings we become what we willingly do.

So, the believer is warned: You are to live godly out from your abiding in Christ, denying yourselves, in order to make your calling and election sure. Not referring to redemption but looking forward to our receiving the honor and glory at the Lord's appearing. The object of attaining redemption is not in this calling and election unto honor, at all. For the call unto salvation from sin, once responded to by faith and repentance, is secured in grace; the believer having passed from death into life, indissoluble life, and is, therefore, safe from damnation eternally; the call unto salvation, then, no longer applies to the one who has become a believer. Paul, Peter and others, who are addressing Christians, are not, then, referring to the initial call unto salvation but are addressing the ongoing call. For, there is a calling for those who are saved to respond to; which is the call which places upon them the responsibility to give all diligence in godliness in pursuing the purpose of God; which ends in man sharing in the honor and glory of God's chosen one, who is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior: We are chosen in Him alone, the chosen one; never in ourselves apart from Him; for we will only share in honor and glory in being in Him.

This reformation controversy, headed up by Calvin and Arminius, misses the mark altogether, confusing the call unto redemption from sin with the call unto the eternal purpose of God: for the call unto salvation from sin is unto the whole of humanity; while the call unto God's purpose is only unto those in Christ. The choice of God's Son before times eternal was in relation to Christ being the means of gaining His heart's desire - It is this calling and election, which was before sin entered the world, that the believer inters into; Christ's election being one and the same as our election; and Christ is not only the means but He is the substance of that which God is after; and its realization, in our regards, requires our cooperation and diligence to share in it. For as in all the callings of God, one must will to do God's will in response; and, therefore, if we are to attain to the hope that God has set before us, that which we are called and chosen for, even, a resurrection of glory and honor, we must do so with wholehearted zeal. Let us encourage one another in our election; for we have been chosen to pursue this wonderful purpose of God in Christ.

Now, all the above was a review of what we have been going over for some time; which I so much desire that you fully understand; for I am confident, if you do, your heart will leap with joy in the desire to answer the call unto the purpose of God being realized in you - that Christ might become your life; that God might be all in all. All subsequent plans that God has for us hangs on this transformation; and if we are to take part in them, it will be proportionate to the extent of our transforming participation which we have known in Christ during our life on earth.

Consequently, it is important that we understand that this purpose is only realized through worship. Not the worship of old with its stone alters and temples, the blood of animals and an earthly priesthood, with its feast days and Sabbaths, which are all outward and only a shadow of the true; but worship through the new and living way that Christ has brought us into; He having changed all things that were before, having died Himself to all these things of the earth; and thus becoming a priest of the heavenly order of Melchizedek, to lead us unto the presence of God, which brings us into God's purpose for man.

Jesus, now, therefore, brings us into a spiritual worship; which causes our hearts aspiration to be toward heaven, where are Lord abides and where we are called unto; for we in resurrection will be made like unto Him, so as to be able to dwell in heaven, ourselves, with Him - this is part of the purpose of God, as we are told:

the hour cometh and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be His worshipers. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

All worship before Christ was of an outward nature, involving things of the earth: holy places, such as the holy city of Jerusalem and the holy lands, such as the holy nation of Israel; there were, also, holy foods and drink; holy dress; etc. But now that Christ has entered heaven and has sent the promised Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, the former worship, in comparison, is no longer the true; for it was, as was Adam, but a stepping stone to God's end.

Our justification in Christ, as a result of God's redemption of us, has opened up unto our spirits the true and actual entrance into the presence of God; and so it is that the Spirit of God, who resides in us, is ever liberating our spirits from the weight and entanglement of the things of this world; even from our selves. This liberation causes our eyes to look up, heavenward, our hands to lift up, because our spirits are reaching unto God's presence where we are enveloped in His love for us.

It is, in fact, in His presence we receive His grace, enabling us to know and do His will; and there He deals with us, directing and correcting us - it is a love relationship: worship in spirit and truth is in a love relationship! - A person to person relationship. And for the pure in heart, in that day He returns, they will have a face to face relationship; for the pure in heart, we are promised, shall see God: Oh, Lord, grant us to be pure in heart. All other worship is vain, empty, without a reciprocal response from God:

for he that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

Brothers and sisters, because Christ loved us and died for us, we have access to God's presence; but we will find no fellowship in love, and God will not accept our worship as true, if we have any other heart desire than that which is to love others, be holy and obey Him; this is our required participation. Nevertheless, we will find God ever ready to assist in a change of heart, if we so will; but until we consent we will find little to no fellowship with God. What we will find is God waiting for our turning again unto Him in repentance, asking for His help in the removal of our defiance toward Him.

If we persist in our sin, while still going through the motions of outward worship, we will lose the sense of the presence of God. We will no longer know the leading of His Spirit; and no matter what we do, no religious activities will gain it back. We may do many outward works of service but it will only amount to, at best, a return to the old form of outward worship, which God will no longer receive. We will need to return to the issue we've failed in, confess our sin and, if still applicable, do what is required of us. For the disposition of our heart is always attached to real issues in our lives; and we are not known to be true until proven through testing. The Christian is given no alternative: we must worship in spirit and truth; which means we must know God spiritually, in which, we maintain a wholehearted desire to love and obey Him.

Seeing the significance of these things, let us get alone with God, laying open our hearts before Him; and, be assured, He will examine us with the mind to restore us in fellowship; as we are told:

For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, both of joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature that is not manifested in his sight: but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Let us pray, Lord, I come with no reservation, to hear your word to me; so as to receive correction, direction and instruction: I come to know and do your will. I ask that you give me grace to be honest and true before you, and to make no excuses for myself, but to receive your evaluation of me unequivocally. I ask beforehand, that you grant me the heart to repent where it is needed, and that, it would be heartfelt and sincere. Lord, I ask that my fears or feelings of inadequacy, which may arise within me, would not offend you but that you might give me that which I need to overcome them, so as to do your will. For you have told us that you are a high priest who is able to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations; only, please, give me the grace to not allow these things to cause me, in any way, to compromise in your will being done in and through me. Amen.

When we come with such a genuinely sincere prayer, we will again inter His presence and He will, in His love, answer us. Our submission to Him, while accepting His evaluation of us, will open to us an opportunity to enter into a yet ever deepening relationship with Him in spirit and truth; and there we will know the vanity of all other worship outside this abiding with Him. For it is in this abiding we will experience His love and know it as the reason for everything; for our very existence. It will turn out, if we remain faithful that we are ever with Him, so that we maintain an unbroken holy communion with the Father and the Son - This is what we are chosen for; unto this we are called.

In stillness before Him, having quieted our souls, our spirits will respond to His presence and will further put a hush to our thoughts; we will begin to know Him intuitively, beyond, that is, apart from, our thoughts. It is this knowledge of Him in spirit, while being in a humble posture before Him, that our thoughts will give attendance to Him, so that we are not the initiator but the receiver, and as such we will follow and not lead; and that which we put in motion will be in fulfilling what we know as our responsibility, in and out from, this relationship.

In this worship we will enter into a transition from ourselves into Christ: He leading us into what constitutes our being conformed to His death; in order that we might, also, live the more in Him; being led by Him in the way of self-denial, wherein we daily pick up our cross to follow Him. In this way, in our faithfulness, we will ever the more increase our apprehending of the purpose of God; and so, thereby gain a greater capacity for honor and glory, peace and rest, in our Lord and Savior at His coming, when He brings in the coming age. For now, in this age, while Christ is away from us, to receive honor and glory, is to forfeit it in His coming kingdom- this age is the time of sharing in our Lord's rejection and suffering; it is the time for our cross bearing; it is not the time we receive glory!...our glory now, is in what we lose in this life, as a result of our obedience, which comes about as a result of our worship in spirit and in truth.

However, just so that we are not deceived, let me emphasize that outside this relationship we have with the Father and the Son, self-denial, in itself, will not end in attaining to the hope set before us - not in this regards, for though self-denial may be commendable when out of a sense of righteousness, apart from this worship in spirit and truth, it is, in relation to the realization of the purpose of God, vain. For it is not the principle of self-denial in itself which will cause one to enter into what God is after; for what He is after is Christ in us and we in Him; which means an end to our flesh altogether, as it is stated:

that no flesh should glory before God.

The honor and glory we are offered is only in our identification with Christ; not in our identifying with ourselves; so that God receives all the glory; He being all in all. Self-denial outside this relationship with Jesus will end only in self-glory, which God will not receive. At best, it is a return unto the old form of worship, which never did, nor ever will, please God fully. How simple is this worship in spirit and truth: it is in knowing Christ who is the entrance into the kingdom of God; Who is the end of God's purpose; it is to love God in sincerity, in action and thought; and to believe in, so as to trust in, God's Son, who is ever present with us, now and forever and ever, Amen…Come Lord Jesus.