Who are the Elect?

TedT said:

Romans 9:6 For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

Romans 2:28
A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical.

Romans 2:28,29
For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: …

And those who are of Israel but are not Jews are also the elect of GOD. All sinful elect can be called Israel, Christian, the sheep gone astray, the sinful good seed. These are just worldly names, not definitions and all are within the two great definitions of His sinful people on the earth, the elect and the people, sons, of the kingdom He sows into the world, Matt 13:36-39.

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You've just proved point. They are Israel.

imo Israel is the elect, and Christ is The Elect. The rest of us are "chosen in him".

The Book of Ruth is a good example of this, looking at it from a typology angle. Naomi is a Jewess who had an inheritance due to her linage, but had to have it redeemed by Boaz - a type of Christ as "kinsman redeemer". Ruth, on the other hand, had no inheritance from the beginning, being a Moabitess. But she gains an inheritance through her marriage to Boaz. She inherits through (or in) him.

Rachel20 said:

imo Israel is the elect, and Christ is The Elect. The rest of us are "chosen in him".

The Book of Ruth is a good example of this, looking at it from a typology angle. Naomi is a Jewess who had an inheritance due to her linage, but had to have it redeemed by Boaz - a type of Christ as "kinsman redeemer". Ruth, on the other hand, had no inheritance from the beginning, being a Moabitess. But she gains an inheritance through her marriage to Boaz. She inherits through (or in) him.

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Yes, this describes a metaphor for the redemption of sinners, but the elect were chosen before the foundation of the world...before their sin.

TedT said:

but the elect were chosen before the foundation of the world...before their sin.

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It's a subtle but significant difference: chosen vs chosen in him. Otherwise, the OT should also refer to non-Israelites as the elect, but it does not.

But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 1 Pe 1:20-21

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: Eph 1:4

MMXX said:

Are the elect all those chosen by God to receive salvation?

Or are the elect only those chosen by God to serve a certain purpose, mission, ministry?

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To understand this, you'll have to leave any path line of philosophical thought and stick strictly to what God's Word reveals.

In John 17 prior to Jesus being delivered up, He prayed to The Father. He spoke a lot about His elect chosen Apostles, and even revealed that they originally belonged to The Father, and The Father gave them to Jesus. He then said as He was not of the world, nor were they, and as He was 'sent', so He sent His Apostles, and they were justified.

The Lord Jesus then spoke of a second group, those who would believe based on their word (i.e., His sent Apostles preaching of The Gospel). Then Jesus prayed that both groups would together become one in Him and The Father, even as They are One.

It's like Lord Jesus said, ... "For many are called, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:14)

That is based on the same idea of the two groups in John 17. Christ's sent ones (meaning of an apostle) were 'chosen'. But the other group that would believe by their word, are 'called' only. So what's the difference? And this is not philosophy, it is sticking to what God's Word reveals.

In Apostle Paul's Epistles, he often admonished the brethren to stand fast in the Faith, and don't fall away from Christ. In other words, Paul knew that with many of them it would be possible for them to be deceived, IF... they allowed it. That is the fate of those 'called' only. They MUST be tested.

But for the 'sent' ones, Christ's chosen ones, they have already been sanctified and justified, and He already 'owns' them. That's why He can divinely intervene in the lives of His chosen ones. If they stray, like Jonah tried to, He can direct them back on His Plan, and they cannot get out of their duty that God chosen them for. Apostle Paul especially is one of the prime Bible examples of this. Paul did not choose Christ, Paul was actually busy persecuting Christ's Church for his Pharisee brethren. Christ chose Paul, divinely intervened with Paul, removing any doubt of Who He was. That showed Christ's ownership of Paul.

When are those of us who are 'called' only known as the elect?

It is when we 'stay' in The Faith on Jesus Christ as The Saviour. We, Christ's sent ones, and Christ Himself, we all become 'one' in Him and The Father, His many-membered body, like Jesus prayed for in John 17.

This is why many get confused when reading Paul's Epistles, for in some places, like Romans 8, Paul talks about how we 'called' have been predestinated and justified and also glorified. That's talk as if those of us that have believed on Jesus could never... fall away. Yet in Hebrews 6 Paul talks about that very matter of some falling away; so does Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 2. And further, in 2 Thessalonians 2 about the end of this world, Apostle Paul forewarned about many falling away when that "man of sin" shows up to deceive the world.

In Matthew 24:24, Lord Jesus showed that the coming pseudochristos ('a spurious Messiah' per Dr. Strong in his Strong's Exhaustive Concordance), would IF it were possible, deceive even the very elect. That means it is impossible... for Christ's very elect to be deceived, because they are 'chosen', and He already owns them, and can show them the mysteries of the kingdom. This idea is also in Revelation 13:4-8 where we are shown about the whole... world worshiping the "dragon", EXCEPT those whose names were written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world. That's another example of it being impossible... for Christ's 'chosen' elect to be deceived.

Likewise in the future, after Christ's future "thousand years" reign of Revelation 20, the unsaved of the nations are going to hear The Gospel during that thousand years (that idea hinted at in the Old Testament prophets). They will 'see' Christ Jesus then, as He will be King over all the earth, over all peoples and nations. But at the end... of that "thousand years", they MUST be tested, just as the 'called' will be tested in the coming "great tribulation" for this present world just prior to Christ's return. That is why at the end of the future "thousand years", Satan is loosed from his pit prison one final time, to go tempt the nations.

Depends on the context its found in.

There are places where "the elect" refers to ethnic Jews.
There are places where "the elect" refers to those God saves.
There are places where "the elect" refers to specific individuals chosen for a task.

It's not a one-size fits all phrase designed for theological definition and the context in which it is found determines what it means in the given pericope.

Fervent said:

Depends on the context its found in.

There are places where "the elect" refers to ethnic Jews.
There are places where "the elect" refers to those God saves.
There are places where "the elect" refers to specific individuals chosen for a task.

It's not a one-size fits all phrase designed for theological definition and the context in which it is found determines what it means in the given pericope.

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This is rather like "angelos" which can be transliterated as "angel" which we understand to be a divine creature sent from God with a message or as "messenger" meaning any person who carries a message.

Likewise, "diakonos" can be transliterated as "deacon" generally meaning the New Testament officer who serves in the church, or as "servant" meaning anyone who serves in any sort of capacity.