Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you, and peace, be multiplied. -1Peter 1:2 WBT
When combined, foreknowledge and elect are words that sometimes divide religious people. Pretty much all of us agree that God foreknows the future. Most of us agree that He chooses, or elects, us before we choose him. Yet there seems to be such disagreement about what Peter is writing here. Perhaps there is another way to look at these words?
I think that the key to understanding this might involve what Peter calls the sanctification of the Spirit. Most of us agree that this work of the Spirit is one that requires our cooperation. The Spirit speaks to us and leads us in obedience to God. God foreknows our obedience. Both before and after our spiritual birth. He elects based on this knowledge.
It is all you Lord. You do it all. We are just those who say yes to the work of your Spirit in our lives. Praise you Lord.
... this devotion is part of an ongoing series on the epistles of Peter.
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