A Fundamental Principle of Election
By John R. Gavazzoni

The principle of election is that exclusion serves, in the end, inclusion. The one, or few, chosen out from among the many, are always chosen for, and in service to, the many/the all. Tracing this principle to its Seed essence, Jesus Christ is God's seminal elect, and we know from Paul, that all mankind exists in Christ. Therefore, that singular elect/chosen Man, contains in Himself the whole human race as elect. This is at the heart of Barth's theology: Christ, as the elect of God.

But the principle of election includes election out-of and into. The principle of election applies to the ekklesia, the called-out ones, or the summoned assembly/congregation. What are the elect called out of, and what are they called into? It seems clear to me that summarily the elect are called out of the (Greek) Kosmos, the orderly arrangement, the present, evil, dominating system. All else that we are freed from in our election is summarized by our being delivered from this present evil world/age.

What are we called into? Well, of course, the family/kingdom of God.... "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." God's kingdom is a family kingdom, i.e., the kingdom of His dear Son. Our dear kingdom/sonship brethren, through whom the central importance of the unveiling of the sons of God was brought to the fore, are, nevertheless - in spite of that measure of light they've received - wrong in their expectation that a "company" of manifested sons will arise through whom God will consummate His eonian purpose. (I hasten to add that it has been my delight to fellowship and share in the ministry of the Word with those brethren, who have been vitally impacted by the truth that creation's deliverance from its bondage to decay hinges upon the manifestation/unveiling/uncovering of God's Son. Their heritage in word and song is a veritable spiritual treasure.)

Rather, it's a matter of degree, as in a series of concentric circles of relative maturity and insight from a center outward of sonship-unveiling found within the believing community, so that in due time, the influence of those at the very center of the circles, will finally prevail as the unveiling of the sonship of the all arrives at the "telos" (the goal). It's a matter of degrees of spiritual maturity, not of an elect "company" who ahead of, and distinct from, all others will minister on the earth as immortals. As an aside, of worthy consideration, I believe, is how our Lord's teaching about the first being last, and the last being first might apply. Deep within every man/every woman lies the essence of their being, i.e., divine sonship awaiting uncovering/unveiling/manifestation.

Paradoxically, we will all arrive at conformity to the image of God's (seminal) Son, not by adding something to who/what we are, but by the unveiling of that sonship which belongs to all humanity, and has from before the laying down of the world-system. Election involves a process existentially, from age to age, of a sequentially-ordered choosing out from among the many, a lesser number for the benefit of the all. In a word, "we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is," and in seeing Him as He is....the completely unveiled Son of God, we, the all, the whole, predestined to be conformed to His image, will be unveiled with Him, and "we shall know as we are known."