Chosen, Just Called or Neither

12 April 2011

By Mark Farquharson

There are three categories that cover everybody, Chosen, just called, and neither chosen or called. If you are chosen then you will be called at some point. However you can be called and not chosen, that is just called. You can only be one of these, that is you are either chosen, Just called, or neither called or chosen. You can not decide yourself which one you want to be.

They are not presented to you on a plate, you are not given a menu. There is no such thing as freewill, everything that happens is influenced by many other things. The biggest influence is God himself, who has an overall plan, that includes all the major and minor details. You are being moulded and you can not halt that process. Refer to my article: “Freewill”

Chosen:

The chosen are predestine, that is they have already been selected. They did not decide for themselves that they would be selected, it was not by their doing, it is out of their hands. There is nothing you can do to be predestine, you either are predestine or you are not predestine.

Ephesians 1:11-12 in Him in Whom our lot was cast also, being designated beforehand according to the purpose of the One Who is operating all in accord with the counsel of His will, that we should be for the laud of His glory, who are pre-expectant in the Christ. {CLV}

The chosen are designated beforehand according to the purpose of the One Who is operating all in accord with the counsel of His will. The One Who is operating all is God, and it is according to the counsel of God’s will that the chosen are designated beforehand. These ones are pre-expectant in the Christ. Here are a few of the many scriptures that prove predestination: John 15:16, John 15:19, Romans 8:28-30 & Ephesians 1:1-12. For more on this refer to my article: “Predestination”

1 John 3:14 "We are aware that we have proceeded out of death into life, for we are loving our brethren. He who is not loving is remaining in death." {CLV}

A chosen person at some point during their physical life will proceed from their state of figurative death into spiritual life. They will come out of the darkness and into the light. A chosen person can not go back into the darkness, for no one is able to snatch them out of Jesus’ hand.

John 10:26-30 But you are not believing, seeing that you are not of My sheep, according as I said to you. "My sheep are hearing My voice, and I know them, and they are following Me. And I am giving them life eonian, and they should by no means be perishing for the eon, and no one shall be snatching them out of My hand. My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to be snatching them out of My Father's hand. I and the Father, We are one." {CLV}

The chosen are the sheep that follow Jesus. He gives them life eonian, that is life for the next eon. While they will become immortal when Jesus returns, they also get life eonian. The rest of mankind at the judgement will be sent to the lake of fire. Those in the lake will be figuratively dead, not physical dead, at the start of their time in the lake, while those in the holy city will be spiritually alive. Jesus’ Father, God, has given the chosen to His Son, Jesus. God of course is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of God’s hand.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the one body, being many, are one body, thus also is the Christ." For in one spirit also we all are baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and all are made to imbibe one spirit." {CLV}

There is only one body, that has many members, yet all members of this one body are one body. This means there is not multiple bodies or groups of people in Christ, there is only one body in Christ.

Many believe in a supposed coming millennium reign on this earth. There is not a coming millennium reign on this earth, this comes about from misunderstanding of Revelation 20:1-10, which covers Jesus reign from heaven that started when he went to heaven almost 2000 years ago. Those who are in Christ are spiritually seat in heaven in him, who is actually reigning {Ephesians 2:4-7}. For a lot more on this refer to my article: “When is the Millennium”

I do not rule out the coming kingdom, but it will be on the new Earth and it is not the reign in Revelation 20:1-10. On the new Earth will be the nations that will be ruled over by the people who are in the holy city. During the coming eon there will only be one body that will rule over the nations. For more on the kingdom refer to my article: “The Coming Kingdom”

While the bible refers to many names for the chosen, it does not mean these are different groups or bodies, that have different powers or functions. In the book of Revelation for instance it mentions “overcomers” or “conquerors” in the CLV. The ones that are conquering are not a separate body or group that will have more power or authority in the coming eons. Every member of the body is a conqueror, they have overcome, they have conquered.

There are many Christians in the world, but not all are chosen, in fact only a few have been chosen. It is only the chosen that will rule over the nations, it is only the chosen who will get into the holy city at the White Throne Judgement. All the rest of the Christians will be with the rest of mankind in the nations. Some think they will have a lesser role than the overcomers, but still have some functions. That is not the case, the rest of the Christians who are not chosen, have no special function, no role, they find their part with the rest of mankind in the nations.

Called:

Matthew 22:14 For many are the called, yet few are the chosen."

Jesus said this at the end of a parable, that he spoke about wedding festivities. The many called include the chosen, but out of the many called only a few of them have been chosen. I will not be getting into the wedding here in this entry. For a lot more on the wedding refer to my article: “The Wedding of Christ and His Bride”

Thus you can be called and not chosen. If you are only called and not actually chosen, then you will not make it into the holy city, the new Jerusalem at the Judgement at the end of the eon. That is not to say that a person who is only called will never make it into the city, just not at that time.

1Timothy 4:1-2 Now the spirit is saying explicitly, that in subsequent eras some will be withdrawing from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons, in the hypocrisy of false expressions, their own conscience having been cauterized;" {CLV}

The people who are just called will experience the faith, they will come in the light, but they will not stay in the faith. These are the ones that withdraw from the faith, they go back into the darkness from whence they came. Hence the warnings in Ephesians 5:6-21.

Ephesians 5:6-10 Let no one be seducing you with empty words, for because of these things the indignation of God is coming on the sons of stubbornness." Do not, then, become joint partakers with them, for you were once darkness, yet now you are light in the Lord." As children of light be walking (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), testing what is well pleasing to the Lord. {CLV}

Believers are the light, but once they were in darkness. They should not be seduced with empty words. Believers are warn not to be come joint partakers in the coming indignation. That indignation is the Judgement coming on the rest of mankind. That is believers could become joint partakers, if they were seduced by empty words.

Ephesians 5:11 And be not joint participants in the unfruitful acts of darkness, yet rather be exposing them also, for it is a shame even to speak of the hidden things occurring, done by them." Now all that which is being exposed, by the light is made manifest, for everything which is making manifest is light." {CLV}

Believers are not to be joint participants in the unfruitful acts of darkness, yet rather be exposing them. If they are participants then they would be going back to the darkness that they had come from.

Ephesians 5:14-17 Wherefore He is saying, 'Rouse! O drowsy one, and rise from among the dead, and Christ shall dawn upon you!'" Be observing accurately, then, brethren, how you are walking, not as unwise, but as wise, reclaiming the era, for the days are wicked." Therefore do not become imprudent, but understand what the will of the Lord is." {CLV}

Rising here from among the dead here is talking about a spiritual resurrection not a physical resurrection. Here the drowsy one is to awaken, from among those who are figuratively dead. That is a spiritual awakening, at which point Christ shall dawn upon you. The brethren are to be walking not as unwise, but as wise. They are warned here not to become imprudent. Thus believes can become imprudent, their light can go out.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins is covered in Matthew 25:1-13. In the parable there is five stupid virgins and five prudent virgins. The virgins represent believers, and they also represent the bride of Christ. They are all waiting for the bridegroom who represents Christ, to come.

Matthew 25:3-4 For the stupid, getting their torches, got no oil with them, yet the prudent got oil in the crocks with their torches.

The prudent virgins have extra oil in crocks, that is clay pots, the stupid virgins do not. When the bridegroom comes all the virgins are roused from their sleep.

Matthew 25:7-8 Then roused were all those virgins, and they adorn their torches. Now the stupid said to the prudent, 'Give us of your oil, for our torches are going out.'

The burning touches represent the light that believers have. However the torches that the stupid virgins have are going out, that is their light is going out. Thus the light can fade away, that is they are drawn back into the darkness. In John 10:26-30, above Jesus was talking about His sheep and said of them that “no one shall be snatching them out of My hand.” Thus it is only the prudent ones that represent His sheep, the others are not His sheep. Thus only the prudent ones have been chosen. Note the five out of ten does not represent the true ratio which is very much lower.

Matthew 25:11-12 "Now subsequently the rest of the virgins also are coming, saying 'Lord! Lord! Open to us!' Yet he, answering, said, 'Verily, I am saying to you, I am not acquainted with you!'

When the Lord comes He will tell them He is not acquainted with them. That is it is only the prudent, only the chosen that He is acquitted with. They are the only ones that are spiritually in Christ, that are part of the body, no one else is at all. A lot more detail on this parable is covered in the article: “The Wedding of Christ and His Bride”

Neither called or chosen:

Many are not called or chosen. Loads of people through out history have never heard of the real God or His Son Jesus Christ. Many who have heard prefer to put their faith in false gods. Others prefer to think that there is no god at all, that everything just happened. Some put their faith in non-existed extraterrestrials, thinking that they will save us. Loads are to caught up in their lives, they do not want to think about the bigger questions. What is more pressing is what is on TV or the latest movie. At the Judgement at the end of this age, they will all go to the lake of fire. Actually they will be in the nations on the new earth experiencing the lake of fire. The chosen who will be in the holy city, will rule over them for the next eon. It will only be for an eon, not for all of time. For those in the nations will over time move into the holy city. The chosen get life eonian, that is for an eon, an age, not for all time. For more on the people in the nations on the new Earth refer to the article: “The Coming Kingdom,” and my: “Judgement Series”

Illustration: Chosen, Just Called or Neither

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