Our Election in Christ (5) 

(audio)

David Eells – 2/4/26

I’m going to pick up where we left off about being predestined in Christ and its connection to Election. There are some very important principles here about God’s dealings with man.

(Exo.33:20) And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for man shall not see me and live. Remember that Moses put a veil upon his face so the children of Israel couldn’t look upon him to know that which was passing away (Exodus 34:29-35; 2 Corinthians 3:7-18). Moses represented the Law, and he never got to see the face of God, but we just read a verse in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 13:12) about those who are going to come to know God face-to-face. So, how did Moses come to know God? (Exo.33:21) And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock (There’s only one way to get to know God. You have to stand by the Lord, and you have to stand on the Rock.):

(22) and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand until I have passed by: (23) and I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back; but my face shall not be seen. The difference in the relationship between the Old Testament and New Testament people is that what Moses saw in a shadow, we see in manifestation. We can come to know God face-to-face. Moses only saw types and shadows, not the real face of God, because Moses represented the Law.

The children of Israel knew the Law, but they didn’t understand the Law, which is what the veil symbolized. (2Co.3:13) And [are] not as Moses, [who] put a veil upon his face, that the children of Israel should not look stedfastly on the end of that which was passing away: (14) but their minds were hardened: for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remaineth, it not being revealed [to them] that it is done away in Christ. (15) But unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil lieth upon their heart. (16) But whensoever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (17) Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, [there] is liberty. (18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. In the New Testament, we are looking at the spirit of the Law (2Co.3:6) … as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Moses received grace because he was known by God, and then he came to know God. That’s our relationship with the Lord, too. We have to stand by the Lord, and we have to stand on the Rock in order to see the Lord. It’s sanctification, but it’s unto obedience. Christians who are not obedient are not known by God. (Joh.10:2) But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. (3) To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name (“I know thee by name.”), and leadeth them out. (4) When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. (5) And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

God’s people have to come out of Babylon (Isaiah 48:20; 52:11; Jeremiah 48:20; 50:8; 51:6; Revelation 18:4) because being in Babylon is following the voice of strangers. Jesus was speaking to a group of people who were following Babylonish Judaism, but the ones God knew, He called by name, and He led them out. (Joh.10:27) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. The ones whom He knows are going to come out of the apostate sheepfold. They are going to come out of Babylon and be delivered from apostate religion because they are not going to hear the voice of strangers.

There’s a good explanation of this in Romans, where Paul just got through telling the people that only a remnant of Israel was going to be saved (Romans 9:27-29) and how God decided to call them His people who were not His people (Romans 9:23-26; 10:11-13, 20). Paul asks, (Rom.11:1) I say then, Did God cast off his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. If you’re thinking, “Weren’t they broken off, David? (Romans 11:17-24)” Well, God did break off some people, but let’s keep reading, and we’ll find out who those people were. (2) God did not cast off his people which he foreknew. Or know ye not what the scripture saith of Elijah? how he pleadeth with God against Israel:

(3) Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. (4) But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have left for myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal. All Israel had turned against God, except for 7,000 people in the time of Elijah, because they were the ones God foreknew. When the two witnesses, whom we discovered are not just two men (Revelation 11:3-12), were called up to the throne, there were “names of men seven thousand” that perished. (Rev.11:13) And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell; and there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand persons (The Greek there is literally “names of men seven thousand.”): and the rest were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Why would “names of men” perish? That’s because God is going to give us a new name (Revelation 2:17). When you die and then are resurrected, you are no longer the person you once were, the old man. You have totally put to death the old man and he’s finally gone. So God is giving us a key there when He says “the names of men seven thousand” to show us that He’s talking about the elect. When they were resurrected, all of the elect were resurrected. The ones who hadn’t “bowed the knee to Baal,” these 7,000 were foreknown. God didn’t cast off these 7,000, but He did cast off the rest of Israel.

(Rom.11:5) Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. In other words, spiritually speaking, in our day there are still 7,000 who haven’t “bowed the knee” to the Beast. There are still 7,000 who haven’t worshipped the Beast. (6) But if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. The reason these 7,000 stand is because of grace. Remember that God gives grace to the ones He knew by name, just as Moses received grace from God because God knew him by name. (7) What then? that which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened. The “seven thousand” obtained it and the rest lost out. The called who were not the elect lost out, but the called who were the elect obtained it.

The rest of Israel was like the foolish virgins: (Mat.25:11) Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. (12) But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. They didn’t have enough “oil.” The Bible says there is coming a time when the lukewarm are going to be spewed out (Revelation 3:16). You see, there has to come a point where God draws the line, and then those who have not born any fruit will never bear fruit. Even though the five foolish virgins sought to enter in, they sought to do so too late to do what they should have been doing all along. They should have been seeking more oil for their lamps. They were invited to partake of the wedding feast, which, spiritually, is partaking of the body and the blood of Christ. Jesus said, (Joh.6:54) He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day. The carnal Christians among the called are not doing this because they are not part of the elect. We need to be seeking God for all of His grace now.

How do we prove, how do we show forth, who it is that God foreknew? It’s very simple. The people who are disciples of Christ are listening to Him. Are you following Him? Are you seeking His will or are you just seeking this life? You can’t have both. You have to give up your life. “The election obtained it, and the rest were hardened.” And Paul said, “Even so then at this present time.” Yes, even at this time, the election will obtain it, and the rest will be hardened. There’s a great falling away coming, and the lukewarm are going to be spewed out. What is the “falling away”? It’s the hardening of people’s hearts.

(Rom.11:8) According as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this very day. (9) And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, And a stumblingblock, and a recompense unto them: (10) Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, And bow thou down their back always. God does harden hearts, and in this case, He was hardening the hearts of the people who would not bear fruit. They were calling Him “Lord, Lord,” but they were not doing the will of God. (Rom.9:17) For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, For this very purpose did I raise thee up, that I might show in thee my power (God raised up Pharaoh to show His power to save His people.), and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth.

(18) So then he hath mercy on whom He will, and whom He will, He hardeneth. (19) Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he still find fault? For who withstandeth his will? (20) Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus? (21) Or hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? God has the right. Some people protest, “That would make God dishonest!” No, God can make anything He wants with His clay. The Bible tells us that God has this right and so He hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

You know, everything in the Old Testament symbolizes something and Pharaoh symbolizes the “god of this world,” the devil. The title “Pharaoh” means “the great temple of the sun god” and he was the manifestation of god on earth to the Egyptians. Pharaoh ruled all of Egypt and in many types and shadows, Egypt represents the world. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to not let His people go, and the Bible says this in Exodus 4. Not until we get to chapter 8 does it say that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Time and time again, I’ve heard people say, “No, first Pharaoh hardened his own heart.” They say that because they are trying to get God “off the hook,” so to speak. They want to bring God down to man’s level. God is not a man. He can do anything He wants to do.

In Exodus, we see God hardening the heart of Pharaoh and the hearts of Pharaoh’s people. Do you know who the Egyptians, the people of Pharaoh, symbolize? The Egyptian represents your flesh. (1Co.10:1) For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; (2) and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. In the Red Sea, the Egyptian died, the old man died. When we get baptized, the old man is put to death, and the new man comes up out of the water by faith. The devil represents the god of the flesh. Some people think that God wants to get rid of the devil. No, God doesn’t want to get rid of the devil; God wants to harden his heart. God hardened his heart to not let His people go to show that only by His power is anyone saved and delivered.

(Exo.4:21) And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest back into Egypt, see that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in thy hand: but I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go. (22) And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, my first-born: (23) and I have said unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me; and thou hast refused to let him go: behold, I will slay thy son, thy first-born. The firstborn of the devil is the flesh, and the firstborn of God is Israel. (7:1) And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee as God to Pharaoh.... Do you know that we’ve been given authority over all the power of the enemy (Matthew 28:18-19)? Do you know that we are as God to the devil?

What we bind and loose is going to be bound and loosed (Matthew 18:18), but we are too often guilty of disagreeing with God and losing the devil to do his works, instead. We are supposed to be commanding the devil to set God’s people free. (Exo.7:1) And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. (2) Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. (3) And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart (there it is again), and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

God hardened Pharaoh. God didn’t make it easy for His people to be set free because then anyone could have done it. God wanted to prove the strength of His salvation, so He hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and it’s the same with the devil and the flesh. (2Co.4:7) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves. He’s saying that God put us in bondage to this old man; God put us in bondage to this Egyptian. And God did that so His great power would be proven to set them free from the flesh and the devil. I know that sometimes we see this as an impossible deliverance, and the preachers tell us its impossible, but God made it look that way on purpose. God made the devil mean and hard, and He did it so that His power would have to be manifested to deliver us. This is His plan. We see the types and shadows being fulfilled here.

(Exo.7:4) But Pharaoh will not hearken unto you, and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. (5) And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. (13) And Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken. God spoke it before Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. (8:15) But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had spoken. Now it says, “Pharaoh hardened his heart.” Well, Pharaoh did harden his heart because the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Notice it says, “as the Lord had spoken.” It’s very clear; you can see what we call the “free” will of man, and behind that you can see the truth, which is that God uses the “free” will of man. If man had a “free” will he could set himself free. In this case, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so he wouldn’t set them free, and He didn’t stop there.

(Exo.10:1) And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I may show these my signs in the midst of them, (2) and that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought upon Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know that I am the Lord. (14:4) And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he shall follow after them (He’s talking about the children of Israel.); and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host: and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

(5) And it was told the king of Egypt that the people were fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed towards the people (They had just driven the people of Israel out of their land because of the misery that had come upon them and then, all of a sudden, God changed Pharaoh’s mind again.), and they said, What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us? This is a very unlikely place for a person to change their mind. We read this and we think, “These are pretty schizophrenic people.” (17) And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall go in after them: and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. (18) And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

Your flesh doesn’t want to let you go, saints, but it makes the miracle just that much greater when you get set free and it proves that God is doing it because to you, the flesh looks like a giant in the Promised Land (Numbers 13:28,33; Deuteronomy 1:28; 9:2). To you, the flesh looks like someone you can’t conquer and God meant for it to look that way. So the devil is not going to let you go and the flesh isn’t going to let you go, but God is going to make them let you go. They don’t have a choice. When you are too chummy with the ways of the world and the thinking of the world, God will give you some enemies. (Psa.105:25) He turned their heart to hate his people, To deal subtly with his servants.

God sent Moses and Aaron to manifest His signs among His people, but don’t forget that God brought the children of Israel down into Egypt in the time of Joseph in the first place. (Gen.50:20) And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Whatever trial you may be going through, folks, you are not there by accident. No, we were put here, and not only were we put here by God, but God is again turning the world to hate His people. In the next few years, we are going to see more of this than we have ever seen. God is going to turn the world to hate His people because His people are so worldly, and this is what’s going to separate God’s people from the world. God caused the Egyptians to hate His people and drive them into the wilderness, and the wilderness is where they came to really know God because He was their Savior out there, which is what’s going to happen again in our day.

(Psa.106:10) And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them (First, God is going to cause them to hate you, and then He is going to save you from them.), And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. This is God’s plan. This proves God’s salvation. This proves God’s power. God turned the Egyptians to hate His people because He wanted His people out of Egypt. God wants us out of Egypt, so what’s going to happen? The world is going to hate you, and they are going to chase you into the wilderness. That’s how God is going to do it, but God is faithful, and He’s going to deliver you from your enemies. This is one way God uses hardening; He uses it for the sake of the maturity of His people.

Let me show you an instance where God hardens the hearts of His people. Read this riddle and see if you know who God is talking about here: (Isa.63:16) For thou art our Father, though Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us (Who can that be? These are Gentiles. Israel didn’t acknowledge the Gentiles and Abraham didn’t know them either.): thou, O Lord, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name. (17) O Lord, why dost thou make us to err from thy ways, and hardenest our heart from thy fear? This is talking about the elect among the Gentiles. As we read earlier, (Rom.11:7) What then? That which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened. The elect entered into God and the rest were hardened. The people who will not bear fruit are the people who are not faithful; they’re not running after the Lord. They’re serving themselves instead of being obedient and their hearts will be hardened. (Rev.3:16) So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

There is constantly a spewing out of the lukewarm and this happens by reprobation. Those who are called but do not bear fruit will have their hearts hardened because they don’t love God. All of the called have the ability to seek God because they have a born-again spirit. The elect are the ones who take responsibility and seek God. (Php.2:12) … Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. The called who don’t seek God will have their hearts hardened, and they will fall away. The same thing happened to Old Testament natural Israel.

If the called don’t humble themselves to God when He speaks, He will turn them over to corruption. He will harden their hearts, and He will put them in bondage to their flesh, so that they are clearly identified to decent people. This example will cause others to say “yes” to God and be obedient. The Israelites went through this; they rebelled against God and He hardened their hearts. And they went through much tribulation until some repented and God gave them an opportunity to obey. God can put people in such bondage that the next time they’re free, they have the fear of God.

(Isa.63:17) O Lord, why dost thou make us to err from thy ways, and hardenest our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. (18) Thy holy people possessed [it] but a little while (The Jews possessed it for only a little while.): our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. (19) We are become as they over whom thou never barest rule, as they that were not called by thy name. Here is a type for some Gentiles who became as if they had never been born-again, as if they had never been called by the name of the Lord. You see, God gives grace to all of the called, but only some take advantage of this grace to be overcomers. Let me show you another verse in this hardening process because, not only will God harden those who will not bear fruit and refuse to walk in the grace that He has given them, but He will harden us sometimes, if we rebel. And then He will bring us into a place of bondage where we just can’t get free.

Jesus told us in (Mat.5:25) Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art with him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. (26) Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing. That jail is not a physical jail; this is talking about a spiritual jail. Jesus said, (18:34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. (35) So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. If you don’t forgive your brother from the heart, God will turn you over to the tormentors. People go into places where they are in bondage because of rebellion, but when they come out, they have more fear of God, and they are quicker to repent. You see, the ministry of hardening of hearts was designed by God for our benefit.

Another place we find this is in the Book of Lamentations, which is written as though Jeremiah was writing about himself, but he was really writing about Israel. God sent His people into bondage back around 586 BC, when the King of Babylon was destroying Jerusalem and conquering the Jewish people. (Lam.3:1) I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. (2) He hath led me and caused me to walk in darkness, and not in light. (3) Surely against me he turneth his hand again and again all the day. (4) My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. (5) He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. (6) He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead. (7) He hath walled me about, that I cannot go forth; he hath made my chain heavy. Israel was in rebellion, and so God sent them into bondage. There’s no place where you appreciate freedom more than when you are in bondage. That’s when you realize how much you took for granted the freedom that you had in God.

(8) Yea, when I cry, and call for help, he shutteth out my prayer. (9) He hath walled up my ways with hewn stone; he hath made my paths crooked. If you rebel against God and you don’t listen to Him, He will make your paths crooked so you will appreciate and pray for His grace. He will make your paths crooked so you will appreciate and pray for the fear of God. I’m not saying everyone will do this but many who are called won’t turn because they are not elect. (Lam.3:10) He is unto me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in secret places. (11) He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces; he hath made me desolate. In 1Co. 5 Paul turned a man in sin over to satan for the destruction of his flesh so he would repent and be saved.

You know, this reminds me of what Solomon said in (Ecc.7:13) Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? Only God can straighten out what God has made crooked. If you have relatives or loved ones or other people for whom you are praying who are “crooked,” there’s no one who can straighten them out but God. You can try, try, try, but you’ll fail, fail, fail every time, unless you first put all your trust in God because He wants you to know He is the only one who has the power to deliver us from our crooked ways. We go to God for His grace and we ask Him to make that straight which is crooked in our lives. We should continually be asking God to do this.

(Psa.33:12) Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. (13) The Lord looketh from heaven; He beholdeth all the sons of men; (14) From the place of his habitation he looketh forth Upon all the inhabitants of the earth, (15) He that fashioneth the hearts of them all, That considereth all their works. It’s God who fashions the hearts of all people. (Ecc.3:11) He hath made everything beautiful in its time: also he hath set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end. Yes, everything is beautiful in its time. Everything that God has made has a good purpose and that includes the evil.

Now, let me ask you a question here. If God predestined some to life from the beginning of creation, what is He doing with everybody else? Remember we read, (Rom.9:21) Or hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? Of course God does! (22) What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering (God has endured suffering in order to show His power.) vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction (Or, in other words, “made to be destroyed,” and here’s the reason.): (23) that he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory.

I don’t know about you, but when I look out at the lost multitudes in the world, it makes me appreciate grace and mercy. How can you know grace and mercy, except you look out over the world and see all of the people who don’t have grace and mercy? That should make you feel blessed: “There but for the grace of God, go I.” The multitudes, the masses who are going down the broad road (Matthew 7:13), should make you appreciate the grace and the mercy of God, who said (Rom.9:15) … I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. Well, God had mercy upon us, and we can appreciate His compassion when we look at the lost multitudes.

God made Jesus in (1Pe.2:8) … A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence; for they stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. The Scripture says these people were “appointed,” or “designated,” or “preordained,” to stumble at the Word and be disobedient. (9) But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God’s] own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. You were chosen to be obedient to the Word. You were chosen not to stumble at the Rock of Christ. (2Pe.2:12) But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed (They were born to be destroyed.), railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their destroying surely be destroyed. Their lives are a warning to us. These are vessels who have been raised up to put us on our cross and also to show us God’s mercy and grace. You ask, “How so, David?” When you tell them about Christ, and they totally can’t understand, they show that what God has done for us is mercy and grace. God gave you a revelation and opened your understanding. Why would God do this for you and not for them? He did it for you only because of election.