Dispensationalism and the Doctrine of Election
Refutation of Calvinism, Arminianism, and Covenant Theology
Chapter Five
Election and God's Sovereign
Eternal Purpose1
Following the context of election “in Christ” from Ephesians chapter
one, Paul expands upon this in chapters two and three of his epistle
to the Ephesians. The truth of “the regeneration” . . . “in Christ”
was a mystery hitherto unrevealed by God. Although the scholars (at
least) of the Old Covenant were expected to know of the necessity of
being “born again” (John 3:10), the details of God’s operations in
all of this was obscure to them. Perhaps this obscurity was why the
children of Israel viewed the promises of God in the Abrahamic
Covenant as only earthly, not seeing beyond the land and national
promises of God to the eternal promises beyond this world in
eternity. This may have been true of most of the people of Israel,
but according to Scripture it cannot be said of Abraham.
Apparently, these eternal aspects of God’s promises in the Abrahamic
Covenant were obscured by God Himself according to Ephesians 3:1-6
up until they were revealed “unto his holy apostles and prophets by
the Spirit.” Through the teachings of New Covenant truth regarding
“the regeneration,” this “mystery” was fully revealed. All New
Covenant believers should now be able to understand the previously
“hidden” truth regarding “the regeneration” . . . “in Christ”
(Ephesians 3:10-11). Part of this fuller revelation is the further
explanation of God’s “eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ
Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3:11).
Understanding the doctrine of election must be understood from the
perspective of God’s “eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ
Jesus our Lord.” The word “eternal” signifies that God has a purpose
that transcends time. This could be translated, “through the ages
one eternal purpose runs.2” God’s creation began with a Plan of the
Ages, not with acts of creation. God’s “eternal purpose” is constant
and consistent from before time and will continue to be so until the
end of time. The words “which He purposed in Christ Jesus” refers to
God’s ultimate and final act of Creation; i.e. the New Genesis “in
Christ” as the new Federal Head of “the regeneration.” The “eternal
purpose” of God “in Christ Jesus” is that Jesus would succeed where
Adam failed.
Since God says that this “eternal purpose” is consistent through all
the Ages (Dispensations), we should find this “eternal purpose”
revealed from the beginning to the end of God’s progressive
revelation. To begin a search for God’s “eternal purpose” we must
begin with God’s declarations regarding His purpose in creation.
“1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
The heavens declare the
glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2
Day unto
day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3
There
is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4
Their
line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end
of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5
Which
is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a
strong man to run a race.
6
His going forth is from the end of the
heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing
hid from the heat thereof” (Psalm 19:1-6).
God’s Creation is a never-ending testimony to His glory. Creation is
an on going
“1
O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the
earth.
2
Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation
from day to day.
3
Declare his glory among the heathen,
his wonders among all people.
4
For the LORD is great, and greatly
to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
5
For all the gods
of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
6
Honour
and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are
in his sanctuary.
7
Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give
unto the LORD glory and strength.
8
Give unto the LORD the glory
due
unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his
courts.
4
O
worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the
earth” (Psalm 96:1-9).
“3
God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah.
His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
4
And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of
his hand: and there was the hiding of his power” (Habakkuk 3:3-4).
“8
And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and
they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night,
saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and
is to come.
9
And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks
to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
10
The
four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne,
and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns
before the throne, saying,
11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive
glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and
for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:8-11).
“1
But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he
that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I
have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
2
When thou passest
through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers,
they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
3
For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I
gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have
loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy
life.
5
Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the
east, and gather thee from the west;
6
I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not
back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the
earth;
7
Even every one that is
called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have
formed him; yea, I have made him” (Isaiah 43:1-7).
“6
The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice,
the earth melted.
7
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob
is our refuge. Selah.
8
Come,
behold the works of the LORD, what
desolations he hath made in the earth.
9
He maketh wars to cease
unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the
spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
10
Be still,
and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will
be exalted in the earth.
11
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of
Jacob is our refuge. Selah” (Psalm 46:6-11).
“5
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6
Who,
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God:
7
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form
of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8
And being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross.
9
Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10
That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth;
11
And that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).
God has decreed that, through the incarnation of His Son (through
His death, burial, resurrection and glorification), He would be
“exalted among the heathen” and, in that exaltation, He would be
glorified (see Psalm 96:3 and 46:10 above). These verses reveal
God’s “eternal purpose” in the salvation of fallen mankind. However,
His “eternal purpose” goes far beyond the salvation of men. God’s
“eternal purpose” extends to a New Genesis absent of sin and where
His Creation will eternally sing praises to His glory. This New
Genesis will literally be the “household of God” where God will
eternally dwell in His New Jerusalem with His redeemed (elect) of
all Ages. This New Genesis will be the “Father’s house” made up of
“many mansions” (John 14:1-3) within it for the Redeemed to
literally “dwell with” God (Rev. 21:3)
In God’s progressive revelation of His “eternal purpose,” He chose
for Himself a people; i.e. the nation of Israel. The nation of
Israel was elected by God for the “eternal purpose” of revealing
Himself in all of His attributes and for the preservation of the
Truth of the gospel in the promised Coming One. The nation of Israel
was to become God’s vehicle for the birth of the Promised One: the
Christ of God. God would be glorified through this vehicle of His
grace.
“21
Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I
have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be
forgotten of me.
22
I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy
transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I
have redeemed thee.
23
Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done
it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye
mountains, O forest, and every tree therein:
for the LORD hath
redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel” (Isaiah 44:21-23).
“1
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The
LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath
he made mention of my name.
2
And he hath made my mouth like a sharp
sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a
polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
3
And said unto me,
Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
4
Then I
said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought,
and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work
with my God.
5
And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb
to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not
gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my
God shall be my strength.
6
And he said, It is a light thing that
thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to
restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light
to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of
the earth” (Isaiah 49:1-6).
“27
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me
from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
28
Father,
glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I
have both glorified it, and will glorify it again” (John 12:27-28).
“31
Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said,
Now is the Son of man
glorified, and God is glorified in him.
32
If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself,
and shall straightway glorify him” (John 13:31-32).
“1
These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and
said, Father, the hour is come;
glorify thy Son, that thy Son also
may glorify thee:
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh,
that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4
I have glorified thee
on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the
glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6 I have
manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the
world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept
thy word.
7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast
given me are of thee.
8 For I have given unto them the words which
thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely
that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst
send me.
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them
which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and
I am glorified in them” (John
17:1-10).
In John 17:10, Jesus says that the continuum of the glorification of
God would be through His glorification “in them,” i.e. those “born
again . . . by grace through faith.” “Them” refers to believers of
the Church Age. This is what Ephesians 2:1 through 3:21 is referring
to: the corporate entity called the Church “in Christ.”
“Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all
ages, world without end. Amen” (Ephesians 3:21).
The “eternal purpose” of God to which man was created and to which
Israel and the Church, as corporate entities, were elected is to
bring glory to God.
“13
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for
nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot
be hid.
15
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel,
but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the
house.
16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew
5:13-16).
“3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in
Christ:
4
According as he hath
chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before him in love:
5
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he
hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:3-6).
“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us
{the corporate entity called the Church} accepted in the beloved”
(Ephesians 1:6).
“That we {the corporate entity called the Church} should be
to the
praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ” (Ephesians 1:12).
“Which is the earnest of our {the corporate entity called the
Church} inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:14).
“Unto him be glory in the church {the corporate entity called the
Church} by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Amen” (Ephesians 3:21).
The “mystery” previously hidden in the Ages gone past and now fully
revealed in the Church Age is the uniting in one “body” of Jew and
Gentile as the new Priesthood of Israel. However, the “mystery” goes
beyond this uniting of Jew and Gentile into the “household of God”
(Eph. 2:19). This as well touches upon the glorification of the
Church “in Christ” as Paul refers to in I Corinthians 15:35-57.
Again, salvation is not just being saved from Hell. Salvation is
being saved to eternal life and to a new existence “in Christ.” The
final act of God in our personal regeneration is our glorification
(I John 3:2).
“35
But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and
with what body do they come?
36
Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not
quickened, except it die:
37
And that which thou sowest, thou sowest
not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat,
or of some other grain:
38
But God giveth it a body as it hath
pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
39
All flesh is not the
same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of
beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
40
There are also
celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the
celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial
is another.
41
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and
another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star
in glory.
42
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in
corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
43
It is sown in dishonour;
it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in
power:
44
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
45
And so it
is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam
was made a quickening spirit.
46
Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is
natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47
The first man
is of the earth, earthy: the second man
is the Lord from heaven.
48
As is the earthy, such
are they also
that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are
heavenly.
49
And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall
also bear the image of the heavenly.
50
Now this I say, brethren,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption.
51
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We
shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52
In a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed.
53
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality.
54
So when this corruptible shall
have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is
written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55
O death, where is thy
sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56
The sting of death is sin;
and the strength of sin is the law.
57
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians
15:35-57).
“11 Wherefore remember, that ye
being in time past Gentiles in the
flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the
Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12 That at that time ye
were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,
and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and
without God in the world:
13
But now in Christ Jesus ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14 For
he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us;
15 Having abolished in his
flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in
ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man,
so making
peace;
16 And that he might reconcile both unto God
in one body by
the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 And came and preached
peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18 For
through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
19
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And
are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the
building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple
in the
Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of
God through the Spirit. . .
1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of
Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2 If ye have heard of the
dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3
How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I
wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand
my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not
made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy
apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise
in
Christ by the gospel:
7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to
the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working
of his power.
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints,
is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what
is the
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world
hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
10 To
the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly
places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of
God,
11
According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus
our Lord:
12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by
the faith of him.
13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my
tribulations for you, which is your glory.
14 For this cause I bow my
knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15
Of whom the
whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant
you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with
might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in
your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18
May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and
length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ,
which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the
fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ
Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Ephesians 2:11
- 3:21).
“8
By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which
he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out,
not knowing whither he went.
9
By faith he sojourned in the land of
promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac
and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10
For he looked
for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11
Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive
seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because
she judged him faithful who had promised.
12
Therefore sprang there
even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the
sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore
innumerable.
13
These all died in faith, not having received the
promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them,
and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims on the earth.
14
For they that say such things declare
plainly that they seek a country.
15
And truly, if they had been
mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have
had opportunity to have returned.
16
But now they desire a better
country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be
called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city {New
Jerusalem, which is after the Millennium and part of the New
Heaven/Earth; see Rev. 3:12, 21:2 & 10}” (Hebrews 11:8-16).
song of praise to the glory of God. Its message needs no
interpretation because it speaks a language universally understood.
The “sun” is a “tabernacle” to His glory shining forth with each new
day manifesting the God of new beginnings with the dawning of each
new day. There is nowhere on earth where His light does not shine or
where anyone can be sheltered from His touch.
The purpose of God in creation is to reveal himself in all of His
glory. We would express this theologically by saying God’s “eternal
purpose” is doxological. The fact is, we can see that all that God
does is doxological; i.e. to make Himself known in all His wondrous
attributes. Central to the purpose of His creation of man was to
have someone to reveal Himself to and who would praise Him for all
that He is. This is also His purpose in election “in Christ.” God
wanted to retain a remnant of saved souls as the eternal seeds of
righteousness through which the Seed (Gal. 3:16) would be born.
Through the salvation of souls and their regeneration God would
restore His original creation dominion to man “in Christ” and open a
“door” (John 10:1-9) into the future New Genesis through the death
and resurrection of the Promised One (Gen. 3:15). This then would
restore the redeemed through salvation and glorification to once
again bare the image of God through practical righteousness and once
again glorify God in the way God intended in His original creation
prior to the Fall.
The inability of man due to the Fall is not the inability to make
moral choices, but the inability to glorify God in his fallen state
of depravity. Because the image of God in which man was originally
created has been defaced by the Fall, that image must be fully
restored through “the regeneration” before God can fully and truly
be glorified through mankind once again. This is the “mystery . . .
now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit”
(Eph. 3:5). Through the salvation of man and “the regeneration” . .
. “in Christ,” God could once again, as He was in the original unfallen creation, be fully revealed in all of His wondrous
attributes, be fully known in those attributes, and be fully praised
for those attributes.
In the birth of the Promised One and through His life, death,
burial, resurrection, and glorification, God would be glorified.
This is the “eternal purpose” of God in the incarnation of His Son.
God sent His Son, not merely to rescue men from their fallen state
and from their condemnation, but to save them to a new existence
where, in their glorification, they will glorify God for all
eternity. That new existence is “the regeneration.”
We are chosen individually only “in Christ;” i.e. in union with
Christ. In that union, all believers are united in God’s “eternal
purpose” of bringing glory to His Name in the corporate entity
called the Church. The “eternal purpose” of God “in Christ Jesus our
Lord” (Eph. 3:11) is the central theme of the epistle to the
Ephesians. It is also the central theme and purpose for the
existence of the elect of “church of the firstborn” (Heb. 12:23).
The emphasis of the epistle to the Ephesians is upon how the
corporate entity called the Church will accomplish God’s “eternal
purpose” for it; i.e. bringing glory to God through her life and
“work of the ministry” (Eph. 4:12).
[1] Many of the ideas of this
chapter are taken from a booklet by Pastor Norman H. Wells who, at
the time of its printing, was Pastor of Central Baptist Church of
Cincinnati, Ohio. The booklet is since out of print. Other articles
by Pastor Wells can be found by doing a WWW search using his name.
[2] A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume IV,
Epistles of Paul, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich., page 532