Who or What is the Real Church? - Part 2

Secondly, the Church is the Community of The Called or The Chosen
I appreciate that this makes it sound like the Church is an exclusive club - but it is.
That's God's choice, not mine.
You don't have to look far to see how exclusive it is, how few might be in the Body of Christ compared to how many who are not, just in the place where you live.

(But keep reading to the final post in this mini-series to discover why this smallish group has been chosen to receive its calling before the eventual reconciliation of the remainder at the consummation of the ages - the called have a distinct role to play in God's plan for His creation.)

Reports of God's calling of those he has chosen permeates all of Scripture. Here's a small sample relating to the church.

Symeon has related how God first looked graciously on the Gentiles to take from among them a People to be called by His name.
[Acts 15 : 14 Weymouth]

James said this referring to Simon Peter's earlier comment that "God originally made a choice among you that from my lips the Gentiles were to hear the Message of the Good News, and believe."  [Acts 15 : 7 Weymouth]

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints ... [1 Corinthians 1 : 1 - 2 NIV]

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. [James 1 : 18 NIV]

God has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.
[2 Timothy 1 : 9 - 10 NIV]

It is clear that the Church is a community of people who have been specifically called (chosen) by the Spirit of God to be members of the Body of Christ, and incredibly, that choice was made by God before time began.
That's how God operates - always choosing people, as individuals or groups, to implement His plans.
And we'll discuss what that plan is for the Body of Christ in a coming post.

Let's see a few more examples of God's choosing throughout Biblical history.
After Adam and Eve sinned, God promised that He would undo the curse of sin that the human race inherited. [Genesis 3 : 15]

After Cain killed Abel, God gave them another son named Seth (meaning the set or appointed one) as the one appointed to take the place of Abel.
God later chose Noah (meaning comfort or rest), a descendant of Seth and a righteous man, to save mankind when God judged the wicked in the flood.

Through Noah's son Shem (meaning name, fame, renown) God chose another man named Abram (meaning high or exalted father) to be an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

God's plan in calling Abram, who was later called Abraham, was to make a great nation of people who would be, not only the people from whom the Messiah would come, but also they would be God's chosen nation (Israel), a witness and example to all other nations. [Genesis 12 : 1 - 3, Exodus 19 : 3 - 6] 

In fact, Abraham was to be more than the father of just one nation, but of a multitude of nations - those of the circumcised (Hebrews) and those of the uncircumcised (Gentiles). [Genesis 17 : 3 - 6, Romans 4 : 11 - 12]

And what about the mighty Pharaoh, who thought he was completely in charge of his world. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very reason I have raised you up, so that I may demonstrate my power in you, and so that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." [Romans 9 : 17 LEB]

And finally the words of Jesus as He responds to the grumbling of the Jews: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me should draw him ..." [John 6 : 44 DBH]

It is clear that one's calling into the Body of Christ is God's doing, God's choice - and His alone. It is not a choice that we make, no matter how often we hear people saying things like "I invited Jesus into my heart" and "I decided to become a Christian" or "I decided to give Christianity a go". It is not an "I" decision at all: it is solely God's choice as to whom He calls into the Body of Christ. 
Interestingly, C.S.Lewis admits he was dragged into the church kicking and screaming, definitely not his choosing at the time.

To finish, an interesting point from the Greek of the New Testament.
The word klesis is translated in English as 'a calling' and the word ekklesia is translated as 'church' or assembly.
Notice the similarity between these Greek words demonstrating that the church consists of those who have received a calling by God.

Blessings, Barry
(Part 3 coming in the next post)

The Called and The Chosen

I have been musing on these terms recently and have discovered two interesting verses.

Jesus said, "For many are called, but few are chosen."
[ Matthew 22 : 14  NKJV ]

On the other hand ... 

Paul said, " ... those he predestined, he also called; ...
[ Romans 8 : 30  NIV ]

Notice the reverse order: "called then chosen" in the first .. versus .. "predestined (chosen) then called" in the second. Why the difference?

Jesus was addressing Israel's leaders and forecasting that from all those who belonged to this specially called-out nation only a few would be chosen.
Chosen for what?
Israel had been called to live under God's provision and direction, demonstrate that life and its value to the rest of the world, and was destined to reign with God in the future kingdom. 
However, only a few of them were chosen by God to receive the faith necessary to believe in Jesus, their Messiah, and the message of forgiveness and reconciliation that he brought.
Sadly, only a relatively few of Israel will live during the coming age, and reign with Christ in his kingdom.
"Small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few will find it," Jesus told them. { Matthew 7 : 14  NIV ]

Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles.
His message was to an audience that had not been seriously considered to have any part in God's reign.
However, God's plan right from the start was to choose others, from the Gentile nations, to add to the faithful few from Israel to create the Body of Christ that would reign with Christ during that coming age.

The mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
[ Ephesians 3 : 6  NIV ]

As a result, those who would rule with Christ in the kingdom age had already been chosen by God before they were even born, and will be called during their lifetime on this planet.
These are the early believers, which we mention from time to time.
These previously chosen (predestined) will be called, and will be trained by the indwelling Holy Spirit for their co-ruler role in the future age.

But Paul's message of "chosen then called" has an even wider, more general application.
From before the foundation of the world, we were all chosen for salvation, for fellowship with God.

Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before him. Because of his love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children—this was his pleasure and purpose.
[ Ephesians 1 : 4, 5  GNB ]

In all his wisdom and insight God did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan he had already decided to complete by means of Christ. This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head.
[ Ephesians 1 : 9, 10  GNB ]

The whole creation has been chosen, so we will all be called eventually - some as early believers by faith and some as later believers by sight.

God's amazing plan, decided at the beginning, hinted at by the prophets, mentioned by Jesus, and fully described by Paul, should be celebrated from the rooftops by churches across the world.
What a different view and appreciation of God that would produce !
 
Blessings, Barry