The word of "election" in Greek 希腊文的“拣选”

The word of “election” in Greek

 

Many interpret the word “Election” in Ro 9:11 (“For [the children] being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth”) as “predestination by God as for who will go to heaven and who will go to hell". Is that interpretation correct?

 

To help us understand the word “election” in Ro 9:11, we first take a look at the use of “election” in other parts of the Bible. We notice that the same word has been used to refer to choice for a variety of purposes, which are not necessarily about who may go to heaven and who has to go to hell. The word “election” itself does not comprise the purpose of election. Such purpose is decided by the context.

 

The Greek word for “election” is eklogEn, Strong’s note G1589, which is derived from eklegomai or ekloge, Strong’s note G1586. Serving different grammatical functions, these words and their derivatives have the same basic meaning, and may be translated as “election”, “choice”, “choose” or “chosen”. We list a few examples below:

 

Ac 9:15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel (eklogEs G1589) unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

 

Ac 15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men [and] brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice (exelexato G1586) among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

 

In both verses above, Paul is “chosen” by God for a certain mission, to testify for God before the Gentiles, the kings as well as Israelites.

 

 Ac 15:22 . Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen (exelexamenous G1586) men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; [namely], Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:

 

Here Judas and Silas were chosen by the leaders of the church in Jerusalem for a particular task, that they bring the message of the church in Jerusalem to the brother church in Antioch.

 

Ac 6:5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose (exelexanto G1586) Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

 

Here the church of Jerusalem chose seven men for the offices of deacons.

 

Lk 10:42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen (exelexato G1586) that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

 

Here Mary of Bethany has chosen the good part of learning God’s word.

 

Lk 6:13 And when it was day, he called [unto him] his disciples: and of them he chose (exelexamenos G1586) twelve, whom also he named apostles;

 

Here Jesus chose His twelve apostles.

 

Jn 6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen (exelexamEn G1586) you twelve, and one of you is a devil?

 

This verse is also regarding Jesus’ choice of apostles. But we need to note that Jesus is saying apostleship is NOT guarantee for heaven: one of the apostles, Judas, is a devil. 

 

Ac 13:17 The God of this people of Israel chose (exelexato G1586) our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.

 

Here we are looking at God’s election of the people of Israel as His people. However, it is definitely not a guarantee that all the “elected” Israelites are saved, because the following verses talk about God suffering their disobedience (Ac 13:18). The “election” here covers all Israelites, faithful and unfaithful.

     

Coming back to Ro 9:11, what does the “election” in this verse mean?

 

The answer lies in Ro 9:12-13:

 

      Ro 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

 

      Ro 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

 

God’s command here is that Esau the older son shall serve Jacob the younger son. As we understand there are two levels of meaning in this command. First, we know that for true followers of the Christ: Mt 20:26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. The older son, who has the right to inherit the father’s estate and is thus the leader over his younger brother, should love his younger brother and serve him. However, if the older refuses to comply with God’s order and thus rejects God, he will still be “serving” the younger in a spiritual sense. In Esau and Jacob’s case, Esau had everything (right of the first born, superior strength and hunting skill, favor of the father Issac), but because of his wealth of advantages, he took those advantages for granted and took his relationship with God lightly and despised the blessings, therefore turned his back to God. Then the blessings Esau got turned into a stumbling block for him.

 

On the other hand, Jacob, who had little, was drawn to the one true God instead. His deprivation became an impetus for Jacob to desire and seek God’s blessings and God Himself. (1 Corinthians 1:26-30)

 

How did God “love” Jacob and hate “Esau”? As we have discussed, “hate” may simply mean “love less”. One example is Lk 14:26: “If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple”. Here “hate” means “love less”. How then did God love Jacob more than Esau? Our understanding is by giving Esau all those advantages while depriving Jacob of the same. Those who have much tend to take what they have for granted and become proud, to the extent that they turn away from God. On the other hand, those who have little may be compelled to call on God and thereby come to know Him.

 

Paul mentions Esau in Romans 9 together with the nation of Israel because they share something in common. What happened here to Esau the first born also happened to the nation of Israel, who are God’s firstborn (Ex 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel [is] my son, [even] my firstborn). The Jewish people despised God’s blessings by rejecting Jesus (as well as the law and the prophets). They took all the blessings for granted and turned away from God. In a sense, one may say that God “hate” them by giving them their privilege of the firstborn, so that the privilege became a stumbling block for them. However, this “hate” does not mean a destiny of destruction or abandonment by God. In Chapter 11 it says that the nation of Israelites still have the chance to repent and turn back to God.