1 Thessalonians 1:4
4 Knowing, [eido] brethren [adelphos] beloved, [agapao] your [humon] election [ekloge] of [hupo] God. [theos] KJV-Interlinear
4 knowing, brethren beloved by
God, His choice of you; NASB
Election by God is a permanent
selection.Just a being born alive
(human life), into this world is a permanent arrangement. The only question is where, when, and how you
will be spending your afterlife.Your
physical life is of course limited, but your next life will go on forever. Whether in heaven or the Lake of Fire depends
on your decision regarding Christ.
Long ago, in eternity
past, God laid out a plan.After
considering an infinite number of plans, God selected the one plan for history, that best benefits each and every individual who
will ever be a part of history.
For those who accept
Gods plan (faith in Christ), a proprietary election is made in their behalf.
God looked down through
the tunnel of time and saw every person who would ever believe in Christ and
made available for them a permanent place in heaven. And permanent means forever.
Without interfering in
your decision to believe in Christ, or to reject Him, God allowed you, and
every individual, to come to each persons own
decision regarding Christ.
You did not have to
know the name of Christ in order to be saved.
Most folks who lived prior to the Cross, had no
name to look to.They only looked to a
promised Savior.Likewise folks all
around the world throughout history, had a heritage of
prophetic promises regarding a Savior.
They need only have believed in that promised Savior, to be saved.
Knowledge of Adam and Noah
and Abraham and Moses and so forth certainly help to give one some perspective,
but that knowledge does not save, and is not required in order to be saved.
Here Paul indicates the
election which was made in eternity past, for each individual believer in
Christ.Note that one does not take
office before being elected, and even having been elected, there is a form of
swearing in process (faith in Christ) which must also occur.
In eternity past, God
decided your place in history, saw your decision, elected you, and then waited
for history to confirm your decision to believe.