(Titus 1:1-2 – ASV) – [1] Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, [2] in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before times eternal;
“before times eternal” is the literal rendering, meaning:
LSB – “from all eternity”
(2 Timothy 1:9 – ASV) – who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal,
“before times eternal” is the literal rendering, meaning:
LSB – “from all eternity”
(Ephesians 1:4) – 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love:
God made a covenant with “His elect” people “from all eternity,” both corporately and individually. Eternal life (salvation) was already given to us as a “promise” (a covenant) “from all eternity,” and obviously “before the foundation of the world.” It was a promise given to us “in Christ.” We were not chosen apart from Christ or in anyone else. We were chosen in Him. God the Father referred to Jesus as “My Chosen One” (Lu 9:35). He was chosen to be our redeemer, to be our salvation, to pay the price for our sins, to do for us what we are not able to do for ourselves. Our election is directly associated with His election. Before the foundation of the world, in eternity, Jesus was chosen, and so were we. Just as surely as Jesus was chosen, so were we. When God looked upon His Son, He saw us, each and every one of us. God created the world with us in view. Our salvation was never in doubt, because it was made certain in Christ before He even created us, as if we had already experienced it.
I would like to clarify an important point. While our election is associated with Christ’s election, His election is not our election—as Arminian corporate election teaches. Arminian theology teaches that the only one who was truly chosen was Jesus, and that we become elect in Him (a mere status or title) when we get saved, where we are made the elect based on our union with Him at the time we come to faith in Him. In other words, according to this Arminian position, His election is our election. However, that’s not possible, because Jesus was chosen to save us, while we were chosen to be saved. He was chosen to be the giver of life, while we were chosen to be the receiver of life. Just as specific and certain as Jesus was chosen, so each and every one of us was specifically and certainly chosen in Him. It’s a gift of “grace” that was “given” to us in eternity (2 Ti 1:9).
This was not promised to those who would not receive salvation. Nor was it promised to those who may or may not “decide” to “accept” the offer of salvation in Christ. That wouldn’t even make sense. It was promised to a certain group of people, as well as the individual members who make up that group (the Church). What’s true of the whole has to be true of its members. The Church is made up of individual members, so if God chose all the members as the whole, then each and every member has to be chosen as well. It simply would not make sense that God chose the group of believers, but not the individuals that comprise that group—because He did not choose an empty Church (the Body of Christ). When God chose people for salvation, He chose everyone we see in Revelation 5:9 and Revelation 7:9. What we see in those two passages is the complete Church of Christ, which includes an unknown number yet to be born and yet to be saved from where we are today. Thus, when God chose His Church, He chose every person in the Church, those whom we see in those two passages. They were chosen for salvation, as Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:13:
(2 Thessalonians 2:13) – But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brothers and sisters beloved of the Lord, for that God chose you from the beginning for salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
“from the beginning” – (ASV, NASB, CSB, NET, KJV, NKJV)
“as first fruits” – (ESV, NIV, LEB)
Paul does not say that God chose salvation for them, but that He chose them for salvation. That’s a major distinction. God chose specific people for salvation. Otherwise, the terms “chose” or “chosen” or “the elect” really have no meaning. They’re just words. If there’s no actual choosing involved among humanity, then it’s a non-actual, inauthentic form of election. It would be an election in name only.
Just as Jesus did not pray for the world (the non-elect of the world – Jn 17:9), but for those whom the Father gave to Him, so is the Bible not a message to the world (except in the general sense of spreading the gospel message), but a secret message to His elect people, to those whom the Father has given to Him. The Bible is a love letter of redemption to those who were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4), to those whom God promised eternal life (Tit 1:2; 2 Ti 1:9). It’s written in a Divine code, to be understood only by those who have been given the key (Lu 8:10).
Major Key
If still not convinced that election is the choosing of specific individuals according to the will of God, perhaps this will settle it for you. Let’s look at the the passage below again:
(2 Timothy 1:9 – ASV) – who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal,
LSB: (2 Timothy 1:9 – LSB) – who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,
When you read this verse, with a focus on the word “grace,” do you see anything missing that we see in other passages of the NT? Throughout Paul’s writings, he often associates grace with faith. But here he doesn’t do that. He purposely leaves that word out while giving the primary weight to God’s “grace” in our salvation and in our election in Christ. Here are a couple examples:
(Romans 3:22-25 – BSB – [22] And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. [25] God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.
(Romans 4:16 – CSB) – [16] This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants—not only to the one who is of the law but also to the one who is of Abraham’s faith. He is the father of us all.
God’s grace via the faith that we place in Christ are interrelated. But in 1 Timothy 1:9, Paul leaves faith out of the picture, and tells us that God “saved us and called us according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.” You see, even faith itself is given to us as a gift of God’s grace. Faith is part of the grace that God has given to us in order to provide for our salvation. We see that in the two passages below:
(Acts 18:27 – BSB) – When Apollos resolved to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On his arrival, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.
Here we see that those who “believed” in Christ did so by the “grace” of God. It was only by the grace of God that they were able to believe. We cannot believe apart from the grace that God gives to us. Faith does not and cannot arise from our own dark and sinful hearts. It must come from the heart of God Himself. It’s a total gift. We see that in the the second passage I mentioned:
(Ephesians 2:8 – BSB) – For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, [9] not by works, so that no one can boast.
“Grace through faith” in our salvation must be taken together as the “gift of God.” In other words, grace and faith together are the “gift of God.” Paul is telling us that it’s only by the grace of God that anyone is “saved.” A person is saved because God has extended grace to him or her, and that includes the required faith, provided as a free gift. While it’s true Paul is contrasting God’s grace with “works,” what he’s revealing is that our salvation doesn’t depend on anything from within “ourselves” whatsoever, but completely on God Himself who chose each of us for salvation according to the “grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,” which takes us right back to where we began in 2 Timothy 1:9.
No one just happens to have the faith that is required for salvation. No one just happens to have a heart of humility that is required for faith. No one just happens to be in the right place at the right time to hear or read the gospel of Christ. No one just happens to be called by God. One one gets saved by mere chance or coincidence, or according to anything within ourselves. It’s all according to the providence and grace of God.
The gift of God’s grace is not the type of gift that we either accept or reject. It’s a gift that He simply gives to us without the option of refusal. It’s given to those whom He has “chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4).
