God chose us through His mercy. It is not of our works nor of our willing or running, but of God, the One who shows mercy (Rom. 9:11, 15-16). When Esau and Jacob were in their mother’s womb, not yet being born, nor having done anything good or bad, God told their mother that He chose the lesser, Jacob, but rejected the greater, Esau. This proves that God did not choose Jacob because his works were good, nor did He reject Esau because his works were bad; for at that time they were not yet born, nor had they done anything good or bad. After their birth, as far as their conduct was concerned, Jacob was worse than Esau, yet God’s selection did not change. Therefore, God chose us not because of our works but because of Himself. He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy; He will choose whom He will choose. It is entirely of His mercy.
The fact that God chose us because of His mercy, not because of our works, indicates that God’s selection was by His grace (Rom. 11:5-6). The selection of His grace came to us through His mercy. God’s mercy comes out of His love. His mercy enables His love to reach us and visit us. Although we were fallen, unfit, and unworthy, in His mercy He lifted us out of the undeserving position and made us worthy to receive His grace and enjoy His love. Hence, His selection is a selection of grace which is out of love and through mercy.
God chose the believers that they should be holy and without blemish before Him (Eph. 1:4).
“Before God” means to be according to God’s divine standard. We will be holy and without blemish, not according to our standard or in our eyes, but according to His standard and in His eyes. This qualifies us to remain in and enjoy His presence.
God chose us that we should be holy. Holiness is neither sinlessness nor perfection. Holy means not only sanctified, separated unto God, but also different, distinct, from everything that is common. In the universe, only God is different, distinct, from everything. Hence, He is holy; holiness is His nature.
The way God makes us holy is to impart Himself, the holy One, into us so that we may partake of His divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4), even to be permeated and saturated with His holy nature. Eventually, our whole being will be made holy, like God Himself, in His nature and in His character.
God chose us that we also should be without blemish. A blemish may refer to an impure substance in a precious gem. Through the fall, many impure elements, such as the flesh, the self, and the world, entered into God’s chosen ones, causing them to become blemished. Hence, God is working in us to saturate us with His holy element and remove all impurities, so that we may be permeated, outwardly and inwardly, with God’s holy nature and be without blemish.
Those whom God foreknew and chose, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son and to receive sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:4-5). The goal of God’s predestination is sonship. We were predestinated to be sons of God even before we were created. Hence, as God’s creatures, we need to be begotten of Him so that we may participate in His life to be His sons and have the position to inherit all His riches.
God not only chose us before the foundation of the world, but also predestinated us before the ages unto glory (1 Cor. 2:7). When God chose us, He also predestinated us. These two matters were done by God before the ages, in eternity past. Hence, according to God’s selection and predestination, God determined our destiny in eternity past. This destiny is not only that we should be holy and without blemish, but even more that we should be conformed to the image of His Son, receive sonship, and be brought into His glory.
God chose and predestinated us according to His foreknowledge (Rom. 8:29; 1 Pet. 1:2). This indicates that our relationship with God was initiated by God according to His foreknowledge.
God predestinated us according to the good pleasure of His will (Eph. 1:5). This reveals that God has a will in which is His good pleasure. God predestinated us to be His sons according to this pleasure, according to the desire of His heart.