1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
Elect means chosen. Foreknowledge means advance information. Sanctification of the Spirit, obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ are work elements that need to be done to people, or more specifically believers. God knows from the very beginning who these believers are, in whom the elements of sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, obedience, and sanctification of the Spirit are effectively accomplished. God is able to do this before the foundation of the world because of His foreknowledge.
It is important to remember that we are "chosen in Him," we are not chosen outside of, or apart from Christ. The believer is chosen by virtue of him having been found in Christ. He is not chosen according to any individual capacity, favor, or whatever inscrutable reason - there is no partiality with God.
God had in mind a people who will be in perfect fellowship with Him. Apparently perfection can only be had through the Son of God coming down to earth, become a mortal man, die on the cross, be raised back to life, and believed on in all the earth. And He shall come a second time to redeem the saints. Perfection was a process. The believers are thus perfected through Him, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.
Comments