We started to think last time of the Election of God. We stated clearly that the initiative was with God. It was He who chose us. It makes all the difference in the world.
Even for Jesus Christ, in His earth walk, we saw that distinction being made by God and explained by the Apostles, that He (though rejected by all cadres of men) is the chosen one, the chief Cornerstone.
We advance on that thought now.
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.
1 Peter 1:2 (KJV)
Apostle Peter says ‘…Through the sanctification of the Spirit…’. What does his mean?
We have established previously that our election was according to the foreknowledge of God, so in essence it happened out of time, before we came on the scene. But now that we have come on the scene, how does the election play out?
It is through the sanctication of the spirit.
The work for sanctification used here means purification, a word that we can readily relate with. If we use the old testament practices to illustrate this point, we get a idea of something being cleansed and rendered fit unto a person, place, purpose ot thing.
So now; the Father has chosen us according to His foreknowledge. The Spirit comes in on the basis of the fact that God has chosen us to make it our experience.
In our life experience, we are brought into the economy of God’s choice by the work of the Holy spirit – especially His drawing and Convicting work.
Most of us know this experience. When we think back on the days before we got saved and converted, there is something you felt or even experienced. It was as real as the hair on your skin, and it kept pulling you towards Christ and the gosple message. I believe this was what Francis Thompson was referring to when he wrote ‘The Hound of Heaven’.
Some of us are maybe experiencing that now, that sense of the inevitability of His invitation and the consistency of His whisper in your hearts. It does not have to be poetic or poignant for it to be real.
It is there everytime you hear the gospel message, the word of the truth of God. It tugs on your heart. You can almost hear your name being called. It reaches into the depth of your soul. You suspect something is up. And actually, you are right. Someone is up, who has chosen you and has now sent His Spirit to bring you into the reality of His choice.
If you have accepted to call of God through the gospel of Christ, then you have come into a sphere undergirded and influenced only by the will of God.
So, then, we state clearly that the Holy Spirit is doing a work of bringing (and sustaining) all that God has chosen unto Him. Do not be quick to exclude yourself, only yield to God and come into the marvellous reality of His grace.
The hound of Heaven does not let go, does not give up. You are chosen of God. You are sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
To what end then? We will explore that question next time.
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In the meantime, do well to share your thoughts with me in the comment section. How has knowing that God chose you according to his foreknowledge shaped and changed your life?
In Plain Sight 