Bible Readings:
John 5:16 – 30, Hebrews 1:1 – 14
Ephesians 1:3–4 (NKJV)
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
I Who God is and how He is related to us
II What the Lord God has given us
III The foundational or first blessing – election
When God elects us, it is not because we are handsome.
John Calvin
Election is ascribed to God the Father, sanctification to the Spirit, and reconciliation to Jesus Christ … This is the chain of salvation and never a link of this chain must be broken. The Son cannot die for them whom the Father never elected, and the Spirit will never sanctify them whom the Father hath not elected nor the Son redeemed.
Thomas Manton