ἐκλέγομαι

• When preaching election from ἐκλέγομαι texts, do not present election as making faith and repentance unnecessary. The same NT that grounds salvation in divine choosing (John 15:16; Eph 1:4) consistently commands belief and repentance (John 3:16; Acts 17:30). Election is the ground of response, not its substitute. Treating it as a reason not to preach the call to faith misreads both Paul and Jesus.
• When using John 6:70 ('Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil') in preaching, distinguish between apostolic appointment and saving election. Judas was chosen for apostolic office; the passage does not address saving election. Applying the verse to imply that personal saving election can be lost requires importing a category the text itself does not use.
• When presenting election to unbelievers in evangelistic contexts, follow the NT's pattern: the apostolic preaching in Acts calls people to repentance and faith, not to speculate about whether they are among the elect. Election is pastoral comfort for those who have believed, not a precondition to be investigated before receiving the gospel call.

• Do not claim that divine election eliminates the need for or meaningfulness of human faith, repentance, and perseverance. Eph 1:4 places election 'in Christ'; it is not a decree issued in abstraction from the Chosen One or from the community that trusts in him. The same letter that says God chose us before creation (Eph 1:4) also commands 'walk worthy' and 'do not grieve the Spirit' (Eph 4:1, 30).
• Do not claim that John 6:70 proves saving election can be revoked or forfeited. The verse distinguishes apostolic office (from which Judas falls) from saving election. These categories are not interchangeable in the NT.
• Do not claim that election is 'in Christ' (Eph 1:4) means every human being is automatically saved because all are included in Christ's person. 'In him' specifies the sphere of the election, not its universal scope. The ἐκ- prefix in ἐκλέγομαι is structural: choosing out from a larger group is the word's core meaning, and Eph 1 does not override it.

John.15.16

• H977 בָּחַר; the OT foundation; LXX renders it ἐκλέγομαι consistently
• G1588 ἐκλεκτός; the adjective 'chosen/elect'; used of Christ (1 Pet 2:4) and believers
• G1589 ἐκλογή; the noun 'election'; Rom 9:11; 11:5, 7, 28; 1 Thess 1:4; 2 Pet 1:10
• G3709 ὀργή; election and wrath are the same passage's two sides in 1 Thess 5:9: 'not destined for wrath'
• Eph 1:4; election 'in Christ' connects ἐκλέγομαι to the Chosen Servant of Isa 42:1