"The Chosen Ones"

 "And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father." (John 6:65 KJV)

 "For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not yourself: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10 KJV) 

 Many of us that know these verses from Ephesians, have heard them repeated over and over, sometimes memorizing them in order to be able to repeat them, just in case the moment might arise to challenge the notion of works being what saves us. Works are fruit of our salvation: fruit is grown on a tree; a tree is not grown on fruit! Imagine the difference between those two examples and think of the magnitude of their differences. 

 So, what came first, the chicken or the egg? Come on man! You got this! The Bible clearly says: "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the water brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day." (Genesis 1:21-23 KJV) 

 It is pretty obvious by this record of creation, the creatures were made first, and then God told them to multiply, which is when the egg was made, which was by their ability to do what God made them to do! And, if you really want to get scientific about that, this was done in one day: as God said, "the evening and the morning were the fifth day." God established the day, being the evening and the morning, the day before, when He created the sun, the moon, and the stars! 

 Oddly enough, this is pretty much a perfect illustration to the order of our salvation. Not that I want to build upon that, as if there was something there that needed to be made into teaching material. It just so happens, God has known of those who would be His children, since the beginning of time. We, on the other hand, don't have a clue! But we will know soon enough, once we have arrived in heaven!

 I've heard it said: 'When we arrive to the gate of heaven, there will be a sign above the door, that says, "The called," and when we pass through the gate, the backside says, "The Chosen." Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:14) Strange as it might seem, but that is really dependent upon what you are wearing...

"With the Lord's authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. But that isn't what you have learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy." (Ephesians 4:17-24 NLT)