Institutes of the Christian Religion (Vol. 2 of 2)
Election Confirmed By The Divine Call. The Destined Destruction Of The Reprobate Procured By Themselves - Reading 03
V. In the first place, if we seek the fatherly clemency and
propitious heart of God, our eyes must be directed to Christ, in
whom alone the Father is well pleased.[532]
If we seek salvation,
life, and the immortality of the heavenly kingdom, recourse
must be had to no other; for he alone is the Fountain
of life, the Anchor of salvation, and the Heir of the kingdom
of heaven. Now, what is the end of election, but that, being
adopted as children by our heavenly Father, we may by his
favour obtain salvation and immortality? Consider and investigate
it as much as you please, you will not find its ultimate
scope extend beyond this. The persons, therefore, whom God
has adopted as his children, he is said to have chosen, not in
themselves, but in Christ; because it was impossible for him
to love them, except in him; or to honour them with the
inheritance of his kingdom, unless previously made partakers
of him. But if we are chosen in him, we shall find no assurance
of our election in ourselves; nor even in God the Father,
considered alone, abstractedly from the Son. Christ, therefore,
is the mirror, in which it behoves us to contemplate our election;
and here we may do it with safety. For as the Father
has determined to unite to the body of his Son all who are the
objects of his eternal choice, that he may have, as his children,
all that he recognizes among his members, we have a testimony
sufficiently clear and strong, that if we have communion with
Christ, we are written in the book of life. And he gave us
this certain communion with himself, when he testified by the
preaching of the gospel, that he was given to us by the Father,
to be ours with all his benefits. We are said to put him on,
and to grow up into him, that we may live because he lives.
This doctrine is often repeated. “God spared not his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish.”[533]
“He that believeth on him, is passed from death
unto life.”[534]
In which sense he calls himself “The bread
of life, he that eateth which, shall live for ever.”[535]
He, I
say, is our witness, that all who receive him by faith shall be
considered as the children of his heavenly Father. If we
desire any thing more than being numbered among the sons
and heirs of God, we must rise above Christ. If this is our
highest limit, what folly do we betray in seeking out of him,
that which we have already obtained in him, and which can
never be found any where else! Besides, as he is the Father’s
eternal Wisdom, immutable Truth, and determined Counsel,
we have no reason to fear the least variation in the declarations
of his word from that will of the Father, which is the object
of our inquiry; indeed, he faithfully reveals it to us, as it has
been from the beginning, and will ever continue to be. This
doctrine ought to have a practical influence on our prayers.
For though faith in election animates us to call upon God, yet
it would be preposterous to obtrude it upon him when we pray,
or to stipulate this condition—O Lord, if I am elected, hear
me; since it is his pleasure that we should be satisfied with
his promises, and make no further inquiries whether he will be
propitious to our prayers. This prudence will extricate us
from many snares, if we know how to make a right use of
what has been rightly written; but we must not inconsiderately
apply to various purposes, what ought to be restricted
to the object particularly designed.
