You are chosen by God is one of the ways that God sees us in Christ. This is one of the many ways God sees our Identity in Christ.
Let’s do a deeper dive on this concept of being chosen by God.
Who is Chosen by God?
In the Old Testament, Moses led the people out of Egypt to take them to the Promised Land. He told Moses to tell the people:
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 7:6
God loves the people of Israel. He made a covenant with Abraham and has been faithful to keep that covenant of love for them.
Because God chose the people of Israel, that doesn’t mean He doesn’t love the rest of us. There is more to the story.
Who is Chosen by God also?
Those of us who aren’t Jewish are Gentiles and we are chosen as well. In Identity in Christ, we learned how we are chosen and adopted.
God chose us through Christ to be holy and blameless. In love, He adopted us to be His children through what Jesus did for us on the cross (Eph. 1:4-5).
The concept of adoption is such a wonderful picture. Families choose to adopt a child and make them a part of their family. If they have biological children, they have a special place in their hearts from the memories of the pregnancy and the birthing process. The adopted children were chosen to be a part of their family and the parents love them the same as their biological children. The adopted children have the full rights and benefits as the children born into the family.
To bring our analogy back full circle, the Israelites are like God’s biological children and they hold a special place in His heart. The Gentiles are His adopted children and He loves us the same. Those who are adopted get the same benefits of being in God’s family.
What does it mean to be Chosen by God?
God chose us before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). This concept is called, predestination. Some theologians will say that God chose some for eternal life and others for eternal death.
Since God loves us, He sent His Son to die for the world (John 3:16). To me, it makes sense that God chooses us through Jesus Christ.
Does that mean we get an automatic pass then to eternal life? Um, no. If we did, then we wouldn’t have a choice to choose Him. We would all get to go and if that is the case, why would Jesus have needed to die?
In Romans 3:23, Paul says that ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ Everyone of us deserves eternal death. But because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have the opportunity to choose to believe. God doesn’t make us believe.
God desires everyone to come to repentance. I talked about this in God’s Will Meaning. 1 Timothy 2:4 says that God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This is part of God’s ultimate plan for all of humanity.
He chose us.
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
John 15:16
We all have the opportunity to choose Him or reject Him.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
John 1:12 ESV
If you have not chosen to believe in God and know His peace that leads to eternal life, you can read more on that here.
What does the Bible say about God’s chosen?
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9
We are His chosen race (all of us!) and selected for royalty. He has called us His own.
Why has He done this? So that we can claim how He has changed us! We went from darkness to light. From a sinner, who was focused on the world and what satisfies the flesh, we became a redeemed Child of God who focuses on doing what is right and becoming more holy like Christ each day.
A Biblical Example of Chosen by God
The Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 is a great example of a woman who was chosen and made claims about Jesus. The woman was a Samaritan and went to the well to draw water in the heat of the day due to her bad reputation. Jews would not normally associate with a Samaritan, let alone a woman.
Jesus talked with her about living water. He could give her this living water so she’d never be thirsty again. She desired to have this water so she wouldn’t have to come to the well again. Of course, Jesus was talking about himself not the water in the well.
He asked her to get her husband and she said she didn’t have one. Then He told her about her life and how she’d had 5 husbands and was living with another man.
She perceived that He was a prophet and talked about the differences of worship between the Samaritans and the Jews. Jesus told her the time was coming to worship – not how the Samaritans or the Jews worship but all true worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth. Then He revealed to her that He is the Messiah.
She left him and went to town to tell all the people that the Christ was there and told her everything she ever did. Many people there believed because of the woman’s testimony.
Since we are chosen and have chosen to believe in God, then we need to share with others what a change God has made in our life!
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Free Resources
The free resources in the Resource Library are there for the taking! There are Bible Verse cards that you can download and print for you to keep in the forefront of your mind. Put them up on your mirror, memorize one a week or month. In order to save space on the verse cards, the verses are abbreviated. So if you want to memorize the longer version, go for it! There are also cute bookmarks as well for printing.
Each month there are Bible verses to study God’s Word. You can also download the R.E.A.D. Bible study method. This will help you dig into God’s Word and help you learn more about the context, what the words mean and how it can apply to you.
Let me know what you think of these resources. If you have other ideas or resources you’d like, please email me and let me know.
