Election and The Great Commission work together because both are taught in Scripture. Election is God’s choosing of people for salvation (Eph. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13). The Great Commission is Christ’s instructions to go into the world and make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). Though election is not a popular doctrine within Christianity, it is a biblical one. It is found in the following verses.
- Acts 13:48, “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”
- Eph. 1:4–5, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,”
- 2 Thess. 2:13, “13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”
The Great Commission
The Great Commission is found at the end of the book of Matthew. It is Jesus’ instruction to evangelize the whole world and make disciples everywhere.
- Matthew 28:18–20, “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’“
Since both doctrines are taught in Scripture then we must harmonize them. One way is to say that God uses The Great Commission to bring the elect into salvation. We don’t know the criteria of God’s election. It’s a mystery to us. But we do know that the preaching of the Gospel is the power of God to salvation (Rom. 1:16). So, we preach the Gospel. Also, interestingly, the more we preach the Gospel, the more there seem to be people chosen from the foundation of the world.
Election based on foreknowledge.
Some say that God knows who will pick Him, and so He elects them. But this is problematic because it would mean then that God’s choice to save is dependent on man’s choice to believe. This is not biblical because it would then mean that God is choosing someone for salvation based on a good quality in them – their belief. But that is refuted by James 2:2-4, which rejects the idea of showing favor to someone based on a quality they possess. Furthermore, God grants that we believe (Phil. 1:29), and that belief is in Jesus (John 6:29). So, again, God is at the center, not man.
Another argument is that God knows under what conditions (counterfactuals) different people will choose Jesus. God then elects them based on His future conditional awareness, where a person chooses to believe under the right circumstances. But this is also refuted by James 2:2-4. God’s choice is not dependent on our choice.
Conclusion
It would seem the best way to harmonize election, and The Great Commission is to say that God has elected people from the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) and that Jesus sent the disciples out into the world to bring the elect into a saving relationship with him (Matthew 28:18-20). This way, both the election and The Great Commission are harmonized.
