God Chose You Long Ago

I have a fascination with time in the Bible. I like to mark references as to when things are happening (“six days later”) or predicted to happen (“when seventy years have been completed”), even if the time reference is purposefully unclear (“of that day and hour no one knows”). But one of my favorite time references is “in the beginning” (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1). And here’s one that really excites me: before the beginning.

God was busy even before He went about the business of creating. He established wisdom before.

The Lord created me at the beginning of His way,

Before His works of old.

From everlasting I was established,

From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. —Proverbs 8:22–23

Jesus was foreknown and loved by the Father before.

For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God. —1 Peter 1:20–21

“Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for you loved Me before the foundation of the world.” —John 17:24

God made promises before.

. . . in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began. —Titus 1:2 ESV

And God chose us before.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.–Ephesians 1:3–4

Before the foundation of the world. Before God created the heavens and the earth. Before there were sea creatures, creeping things, beasts of the earth, and even people, God chose us in Christ to be in relationship with Him.

That’s an incredible truth.

Meditate on it for a moment.

Linger with it:

God chose you for intimacy long ago.

Let’s look at another verse that speaks to this fact and deepens our awareness of God’s movement toward us. The apostle Peter wrote to believers scattered throughout Asia Minor (the area of modern-day Turkey), and he said this of them:

. . . who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit . . . —1 Peter 1:1–2

I find this fascinating. All Scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16), which means that when the apostle Paul pointed out early in Ephesians, “He chose us in [Christ],” that was divine inspiration. God wanted us to know that He took personal, direct action concerning us. Likewise, in the opening of Peter’s letter, when he used chosen as a special identifier for believers, the word was from God. God wanted us to know that that’s who we are. We are marked by that identity.

And did you notice what else Peter said? We were “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God.” I love that added truth. It moves me to cling all the more, knowing that it was God who first had me in mind.

You might be aware, though, that this topic is much debated. Some say it wasn’t that God first chose us. Rather, God looked down through the corridors of time and saw that we would choose Him—and that’s why He chose us In other words, He had “foreknowledge” of our choice and acted in response.

Don’t worry. I have no intention of getting into some lengthy discussion of a topic that could fill a library wing. But here’s the thing—the desire of my heart is that you and I would choose a lifestyle of intimacy with God. And His choosing us is not so much a lofty theological matter as a deep reflection of His love and grace toward us. It’s an irresistible bidding of us to come, which in turn encourages us to respond.

And since, growth in understanding God’s Word is part of clinging, there’s no need to shy away from this. You and I may not be theologians, but God has given us His Word and the gift of His Spirit to teach us His Word. With prayerful study, He opens up our understanding. I believe the Bible teaches that God chose us of His own accord, purely as a matter of grace. My hope is simply that this will spur us toward praise and a closer walk with Him.

—Taken from Cling: Choosing a Lifestyle of Intimacy with God, written by Kim Cash Tate. Used by permission of Our Daily Bread Publishing®, Grand Rapids MI. All rights reserved. Further distribution is prohibited without written permission from Our Daily Bread Publishing® at permissionsdept@odb.org