John 15: 16: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain...." Jesus does not mean that His disciples exercised no will of their own; they did choose to follow Him. Rather, He is indicating that the first initiative, the original and saving choice, was His. Had He not chosen them, they would not have chosen Him. The immediate reference is to service as apostles, but the principle applies to many other matters including our election to salvation. In case any pretense might exist among the disciples in terms of spiritual pride because of the privileges they enjoyed, Jesus made it clear that such privilege rested not on their own merit, but on His sovereign choice of them. This is so important. If you are saved, it is not because of any goodness in you. It is because He chose you. Yes, you responded to His call. However, without His call, you never would have chosen Him. Thank Him for choosing you.
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