ἐκλεκτός

The doctrine of election has a way of producing the wrong response.

A believer encounters the New Testament’s language of being chosen — Ephesians 1:4, he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. The believer reads it carefully. Then the believer’s mind goes immediately to the question that the doctrine has provoked in countless Christians across centuries: Am I one of the chosen ones? How can I know? What if I’m not?

The doctrine that was intended to produce comfort begins producing anxiety. The doctrine that was intended to ground the believer’s assurance becomes the very thing that destabilizes it. The believer, instead of resting in what God has done, begins examining himself for signs of having been chosen — emotional fervor, moral progress, theological certainty, perseverance through trial. The examination tends not to go well. The believer’s faith feels weak; the believer’s moral progress feels uneven; the believer’s perseverance feels uncertain. The doctrine of election, far from producing comfort, has begun to produce the very thing it was meant to remedy.

This is one of the most common pastoral problems the doctrine of election can produce, and the Lutheran tradition has worked carefully to address it. The doctrine of election, read rightly, does not direct the believer’s attention to himself for signs of his chosenness; the doctrine of election directs the believer’s attention to Christ, where the choosing actually happened, and to the means of grace, where the chosenness becomes effective in the believer’s life. The doctrine is meant to be comfort, not occasion for self-examination. When the doctrine produces self-examination instead of comfort, it has been misused.

This chapter is about the word that names the doctrine — eklektos — and about how the New Testament’s language of being chosen is meant to function in the believer’s life. This is the second chapter of Part VI, which treats the church and its ministry; the doctrine of election shapes how the Lutheran tradition understands the church Christ has gathered to Himself.

The Word

The Greek word is ἐκλεκτός (eklektos), pronounced in the Erasmian convention as ek-lek-TOS, with the accent on the final syllable. The word is a verbal adjective and appears about twenty-two times in the New Testament. The cognate verb eklegomai (ἐκλέγομαι), “to choose,” appears about twenty-two times, and the noun eklogē (ἐκλογή), “election,” appears seven times.

The etymology runs from the compound verb eklegō / eklegomai. Ek- (ἐκ) is the Greek preposition meaning “out of” or “from.” Legō (λέγω) is the standard Greek verb usually meaning “to say” — but the older Homeric and broader Greek usage included a sense of “to gather” or “to pick” (from a more basic root meaning to lay together or arrange). The compound eklegō preserves this older sense: to pick out, to gather out, to choose from among. The middle voice form eklegomai — “to pick out for oneself” — is the dominant New Testament form, naming choosing as the activity of the chooser for his own purposes.

The verbal adjective eklektos names the result of the choosing. The eklektoi are those who have been picked out — the chosen ones, the elect. The English word elect comes through Latin eligere (from e + legere, the same root pattern). The English noun election in its political sense (the process of choosing) and its theological sense (God’s choosing) share the same etymological background.

The word family is moderate:

Eklegō / Eklegomai (ἐκλέγω / ἐκλέγομαι) — to choose, to pick out. Used twenty-two times. John 13:18 — “I know whom I have chosen” (tinas exelexamēn). John 15:16 — “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (ouch hymeis me exelexasthe, all’ egō exelexamēn hymas). Ephesians 1:4 — “even as he chose us (exelexato hēmas) in him before the foundation of the world.” Acts 1:24 — the apostles praying to know whom God had chosen for the apostolic office.

Eklektos (ἐκλεκτός) — chosen, elect (adjective). The chapter’s main word.

Eklogē (ἐκλογή) — election, the act of choosing, the choice. Used seven times. Acts 9:15 — Paul as “a chosen instrument” (skeuos eklogēs, literally “a vessel of election”). Romans 9:11 — “in order that God’s purpose of election (hē kat’ eklogēn prothesis tou theou) might continue.” Romans 11:5 — “a remnant, chosen by grace” (kat’ eklogēn charitos). Romans 11:7 — “the elect obtained it” (hē eklogē epetychen). Romans 11:28 — “as regards election, they are beloved” (kata tēn eklogēn agapētoi). 1 Thessalonians 1:4 — “knowing your election (tēn eklogēn hymōn).” 2 Peter 1:10 — “make your calling and election sure” (tēn klēsin kai eklogēn).

The Greek classical and Hellenistic usage of eklegomai and eklektos covered both political and personal choosing. A military commander might choose (eklegomai) elite soldiers from the broader army; a king might choose officials for particular positions; an individual might choose between alternatives. What unified the uses was the structural relationship: the chooser, with discriminating purpose, picks out from among possibilities. The chosen one is constituted as chosen by the chooser’s act.

The Septuagint background of eklektos is substantial. The Greek word translates several Hebrew terms:

Bachir (בָּחִיר) — chosen, elect. From the root bachar (בָּחַר), “to choose.” The most common Hebrew word for the chosen.

Bachar (בָּחַר) — the verb of choosing. The dominant Old Testament verb for God’s choosing of Israel, the patriarchs, the kings, the temple, the priesthood.

The Hebrew tradition of election is rich and runs throughout the Old Testament. Several passages illuminate the New Testament’s development:

Deuteronomy 7:6-8 — “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. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers.” The foundational Old Testament text on election. Several theological emphases established here:

• Israel is chosen by the LORD (becharcha — “He chose you”). The Hebrew makes the divine action explicit.
• The choosing is out of all the peoples. Israel’s election is distinguishing — Israel is set apart from the other nations.
• The choosing is not based on Israel’s qualifications. Israel was the fewest, not the greatest; the choosing did not rest on Israel’s merit or attractiveness.
• The choosing is grounded in God’s love and in the oath made to the fathers. Election rests on God’s prior commitment, not on the chosen people’s worthiness.

Deuteronomy 14:2 — “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” The parallel statement, emphasizing the same election structure.

Isaiah 41:8-9 — “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen (becharticha), the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, ‘You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off.’” The Servant-Israel as chosen.

Isaiah 43:10 — “You are my witnesses, declares the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.” Israel’s election structured by the purpose of witnessing to God.

Psalm 33:12 — “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!” The blessing of those whom the LORD has chosen.

1 Chronicles 16:13 — “O offspring of Israel his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones (bechirav)!” The corporate identification of Israel as the chosen.

The Old Testament’s election doctrine is consistent and substantial. Israel is the chosen people — chosen by the LORD’s free decision, not by any qualification of Israel’s own; chosen for purposes that extend beyond Israel (to be a light to the nations, to bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth); chosen on the basis of God’s love and covenant rather than on merit. The Hebrew tradition does not present election as a strange or contested doctrine; election is the foundational reality of Israel’s existence.

The New Testament’s eklektos doctrine inherits this whole tradition and develops it through three Christological moves:

1. Christ Himself is named as the Chosen One (Luke 23:35, 1 Peter 2:4). The election that focused on Israel is now focused on Israel’s Messiah.

2. The Church is named as elect in Christ (Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:1, 2:9). Those who are in Christ share His election.

3. The boundaries of the chosen people are redefined through faith in Christ rather than through ethnic descent from Abraham. The Gentile believers are now included in the elect people of God.

Range of Meaning

Eklektos in the New Testament covers a meaningful range:

Christ as the Chosen One. Luke 23:35 — the mockers’ challenge: “if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One” (ho Christos tou theou ho eklektos). 1 Peter 2:4-6 — Christ as “a living stone… chosen (eklekton) and precious” in God’s sight. Christ’s identification as the elect of God is foundational; all subsequent election derives from His.

The Church as the elect people of God. The dominant New Testament use. Romans 8:33, Colossians 3:12 (God’s chosen ones), 1 Thessalonians 1:4 (your election), 2 Thessalonians 2:13 (God chose you to be saved), Titus 1:1 (the faith of God’s elect), 1 Peter 1:1-2 (elect exiles), 1 Peter 2:9 (you are a chosen race), Revelation 17:14 (called and chosen and faithful).

The elect angels. 1 Timothy 5:21 — “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels (tōn eklektōn angelōn).” The category of elect angels — those who remained faithful — implied in the broader biblical narrative of the fallen angels.

Specific elect individuals. John 6:70, 13:18, 15:16 (Christ’s choosing of the Twelve), Acts 9:15 (Paul as a chosen instrument), Romans 16:13 (Rufus, chosen in the Lord), 2 John 1, 13 (the elect lady and her elect sister).

The elect as those for whom Christ’s work was accomplished. Matthew 24:22, 24, 31 / Mark 13:20, 22, 27 (the elect through whom and for whom the eschatological times are shaped), Romans 8:33 (“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?”), 2 Timothy 2:10 (“I endure everything for the sake of the elect”).

The contrast between “called” and “chosen.” Matthew 22:14 — “many are called, but few are chosen” (polloi gar eisin klētoi, oligoi de eklektoi). One of the most challenging election texts; treated below.

Where You’ll Meet It

Ephesians 1:3-6. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” The Greek of verse 4: kathōs exelexato hēmas en autō pro katabolēs kosmou.

The passage is the foundational New Testament text on election. Several observations matter.

First, the temporal frame. Pro katabolēs kosmou — “before the foundation of the world.” The election precedes creation itself. The choosing is not a response to anything that happens within history; the choosing is the eternal purpose of God established before history begins. This grounds the unconditional character of election. The choosing cannot be conditioned by what believers do in history because the choosing precedes history.

Second, the Christological location. Exelexato hēmas en autō — “he chose us in him.” The election is not an abstract divine decree apart from Christ; the election is in Christ. The believer is chosen as one who is in Christ, who is incorporated into Christ, who shares in Christ’s life and benefits. This Christological grounding is one of the most distinctive emphases of the Lutheran reading. Election is not God’s secret decision about individuals abstracted from Christ; election is God’s purpose to gather a people in Christ, established before the foundation of the world.

Third, the purpose. Einai hēmas hagious kai amōmous katenōpion autou en agapē — “that we should be holy and blameless before him in love.” The election is not just that the believers are chosen but for what they are chosen. The chosen are called to a particular shape of life — holy, blameless, marked by love. The election produces the character it intends; the chosen are being formed into what they were chosen for.

Fourth, the predestining language. Proorisas hēmas eis huiothesian — “having predestined us for adoption” (developed in Chapter 19 on huiothesia). The election produces the adoption. The believer’s identity as son or daughter of God is grounded in the eternal election; the adoption is the realized form of what was decided before the world began.

The Lutheran tradition has held this passage with particular weight. The Formula of Concord Article XI articulates the doctrine of election that this passage establishes. Several emphases mark the distinctive Lutheran reading:

• Election is unconditional. The choosing is not based on foreseen faith, foreseen merit, or any quality in the elect. The choosing rests on God’s free decision alone.
• Election is in Christ. The choosing is not abstract decree but Christological reality. Christ is the elect One; the believers are chosen in Him.
• Election is gracious. The choosing is the act of grace, not the act of justice. The unchoosing of others is not a parallel divine decision; the unchoosing is the consequence of human resistance to grace.
• Election is for comfort. The doctrine is meant to ground the believer’s assurance, not to provoke anxiety about uncertain status.

The Lutheran position is distinctive against both Reformed double predestination and Arminian conditional election. Against the Reformed: there is no parallel decree of reprobation. God does not predestine some to damnation as He predestines others to salvation; the lost are lost through their own resistance to grace. Against the Arminian: the election is not conditioned on foreseen human faith. God’s choosing precedes and produces the faith; the faith does not earn or condition the choosing.

Romans 8:28-33. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?… Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?” The Greek of verse 33: tis enkalesei kata eklektōn theou.

The passage develops the security of God’s elect. Several observations matter.

First, the unbreakable chain. Hous proegnō, kai proōrisen… hous proōrisen, toutous kai ekalesen… hous ekalesen, toutous kai edikaiōsen… hous edikaiōsen, toutous kai edoxasen. The chain runs from foreknowledge to predestination to calling to justification to glorification. Each link is connected to the next; none can fall out. The believer who has been called and justified is the believer who has been predestined and will be glorified.

Second, the rhetorical question. Tis enkalesei kata eklektōn theou — “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?” The answer is implicit: no one can successfully bring a charge against those whom God has chosen. The election grounds the believer’s security against all accusations — Satan’s, the world’s, the believer’s own conscience. The believer who has been chosen by God is the believer whose status is secured by God’s choosing.

Third, the pastoral function. The passage is not speculating about election in the abstract; the passage is grounding the believer’s assurance in the face of suffering and difficulty. The “all things working together for good” of verse 28 stands at the head of the chain. The believer who is going through difficulty has the chain of God’s purposes as comfort: the difficulty does not separate him from God’s choosing; the choosing holds him through the difficulty.

1 Peter 1:1-2. “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood.” The Greek of verse 1: eklektois parepidēmois diasporas.

The opening of 1 Peter introduces the recipients as eklektois parepidēmois diasporas — “elect exiles of the Dispersion.” The pairing is theologically rich. The believers are elect — chosen by God; they are also exiles — strangers in the world. Their election does not exempt them from the experience of being aliens in the present age; their election shapes how they bear that experience.

The trinitarian structure of verse 2 is significant. The election is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father; it is realized in the sanctification of the Spirit; it produces obedience to Jesus Christ and incorporates the believers into the sprinkling with his blood. The whole Triune God is at work in the election: the Father knows the elect in advance, the Spirit sanctifies them, the Son’s blood is the basis of their cleansing.

This trinitarian framing is important for the Lutheran reading. The election is not the Father’s abstract decree alone; the election involves the Spirit’s sanctifying work (through the means of grace) and the Son’s blood-shedding (the cross-work on which justification rests). The election is realized through the trinitarian economy of salvation, not as a decree that bypasses the means by which salvation is delivered.

1 Peter 2:4-9. “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood… 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.” The Greek of verse 9: hymeis de genos eklekton, basileion hierateuma, ethnos hagion, laos eis peripoiēsin.

The passage establishes the Christological grounding of the church’s election. Christ is eklekton kai entimon — “chosen and precious.” The church, as those who come to Him, share His chosenness. The Old Testament categories used for Israel — chosen race (genos eklekton), royal priesthood (basileion hierateuma), holy nation (ethnos hagion), people for God’s possession (laos eis peripoiēsin) — are now applied to the church.

The passage establishes several key theological dimensions:

• Christ is the foundational Chosen One; the church’s election is in Him.
• The church inherits Israel’s election language; the New Testament people of God shares the categories Israel had carried.
• The election has purpose: “that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” The chosen people exist to proclaim God’s praises, not for their own sake alone.

Matthew 22:14. “For many are called, but few are chosen.” The Greek: polloi gar eisin klētoi, oligoi de eklektoi.

The verse appears at the conclusion of the parable of the Wedding Feast. The verse is theologically challenging and has been variously interpreted. Two observations matter.

First, the distinction between klētoi (called) and eklektoi (chosen). The two are not interchangeable in this verse. The “called” is the broader category — those who have heard the gospel’s invitation. The “chosen” is the narrower category — those who actually receive the gospel and are saved. The verse acknowledges that the gospel’s broad call goes out to many while the actual reception is by fewer.

Second, the Lutheran reading. The verse does not establish that some have been chosen for damnation; the verse acknowledges that not all who hear the call respond in faith. The “few chosen” are the believers; the “many called” includes both believers and unbelievers. The unbelievers’ failure to be among the chosen is not the result of a parallel divine decree against them; it is the result of their resistance to the gospel’s call. The Lutheran tradition has read this verse without making it support double predestination.