What does the word 'elect' mean in Romans 8:33?
In Romans 8:33, 'elect' means chosen. It refers to those whom God has designated and selected as His own. The Greek word for election is an act of choosing, and God has done this with every one of them. No one comes to God by his own prerogative.
Les explains that the word 'elect' in Romans 8:33 means chosen. To elect someone is to designate them to be whatever you intend them to be, and the Greek word for election is exactly that—an act of choosing. He notes God has done this with every one of them, and that no man comes to God of his own prerogative. Yet Les also acknowledges the other side, 'whosoever will.' In the verse, since it is God who justifies, no neighbor, boss, husband, or wife can lay a charge against God's elect; God, the triune Creator and Sustainer, determines who we are in the realm of the Spirit. Therefore, if He has chosen, forgiven, and taken us unto Himself, no one can condemn us, because it is Christ who died and rose again.
Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
More Questions
Who justifies us according to Romans 8:33?
God, not our neighbor or any other human, is the one who justifies believers, so we do not have to give an account to them; the triune God determines who we are spiritually.