Danny asked: How should we think about the Doctrine of Election? How does God foreknow history -- does He know it because He ordains it?
First, we must understand that we cannot fully understand Grace and Divine Election. Human logic, however enlightened by the Holy Spirit, cannot ever fully grasp the truth of this while it remains merely human. There are eternal mysteries which simply cannot be seen clearly while we are yet in our fallen state.
Second, we must approach these teachings from the standpoint of their use. The old saying remains true: "The Bible is not for interpretation, but for application."
Revelation has a distinct purpose. The uncovering of God's truths is not mere entertainment to delight the mind. We know that one of the three roots of temptation is the Lust of the Eyes, the hunger for spectacle for the mere sake of amazement and amusement. It is connected with our fleshly demand that God make this faith life simple. "Lord, show us things plainly, so we don't have to struggle with doubt." We don't like living with tension. Faith would not be faith if the answers were so obvious to the human mind no one could say "no." Faith not bounced off doubt is not faith. That is the nature of the thing. Faith is the ongoing commitment to things never fully revealed, but revealed just enough for trust to grasp. The will leads the mind; decision comes before understanding.
Yet revelation is always just sufficient for the individual believer in the circumstances of God's choice. It is just enough for us to step forward. Another popular phrase is: "Walk in the light you have." It implies that revelation is limited to what you can use. "Give us this day our daily bread" from the Model Prayer (Matthew 6:5ff) is a Roman military phrase, describing the standard policy of commanders whose companies were filled with conscripts. At the end of the duty day, each soldier was given just enough rations to make it through the next day. It kept the soldier dependent, and the rations fresh. So Our Lord is with us; He gives us just enough substance to make the next move.
It is quite certain we could not grasp the nature of foreknowledge. Why are we told God knows all things before they come? Because we need to see that God cannot be surprised or caught off guard by anything. While we are panicking, pacing back and forth wringing our hands, God sits placidly on His throne. He never panics. No power in Heaven or earth can put a kink in His plans. Relax; God is in control.
To take from here the assumption that God controls all things in minute detail, decreeing them all before they happen, might satisfy our human logic. It will not make us better able to serve. Indeed, it places us in a dangerous logical position of laying to His charge every unpleasant event beyond our control. That way lies madness. It serves no purpose to say God made us stub our toe, or be stung by an insect. A working theology of grace stops before it gets to that place.
So it is with Divine Election. It must be clear in our minds: We all deserve Hell. That is our default destiny; that's the place where we start. By grace, the Lord reaches out to us, touches us, and allows us to turn to Him. If He does not initiate it, we cannot turn to Him. It may seem to complete the circle of logic to say that those not touched are thus chosen for damnation. Then we are torn between there and the teaching that "He is not willing that any should perish" (2 Peter 3:9). From there it's a short hop to wondering how we can have a God Who is All Knowing, All Powerful, and yet All Loving. Never mind wrangling with the words "not willing" and trying to avoid logical conflict. You will not avoid logical conflict.
What is the purpose for the teaching on Divine Election? To keep you humble. You did not choose God; you could not. God chose you. At the same time, what a marvelous promotion that is: God wants you. He has a place for you in His plans. He's got a use for you. He's also got a use for that goofy fellow believer there beside you. He may not require you to work with that one, but you had surely better not try to put God in a box by assuming He can't use anyone too different from you.
That's the danger with classical scholastic theology. When you seek to clarify all things in human logical categories, you are sure to get some of it wrong. Just accept the truth. See where the various principles apply and stop trying to hammer out a grand unified concept. That makes truth a work of man. Apply the Word; make it something in your life that lays a path of constant storm, continuous tension, never completely certain in the mind. Yet, remain committed to pursuing it. Let it live in your soul, for it is He, the Living Word. You are the incarnation of Christ; you are now the Word made manifest. Letters printed on paper between leather bindings mean nothing if the whole thing lies unliving on the shelf. He has chosen to make it live through you.
Ed Hurst
05 April 2004
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