Chosen & Cherished: The Staggering Love of God’s Grace

There are certain truths in Scripture that, at first glance, can feel intimidating. Words like election, predestination, and sovereignty often spark intense theological debates. But what if these concepts weren’t meant to cause division or anxiety? What if, instead, they were designed by God to be the very bedrock of our assurance, security, and ultimate joy?

When we look closely at the full counsel of Scripture—tracing the golden thread of salvation from eternity past to eternity future—we discover a breathtaking reality: God is the sole author and perfecter of our faith. We don’t save ourselves; we are caught up in a divine rescue mission driven entirely by grace.

Let’s explore what the Bible actually teaches about how and why we are saved, and how embracing these difficult concepts can radically deepen our love for God.

The Divine Spark: Why the New Birth Must Come First

Before we can talk about how we come to God, we have to talk about our condition without Him. In John 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus a startling truth: “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Often, we think of salvation as a process where we first muster up the faith to believe, and then God responds by giving us new life. But Jesus flips this script. Regeneration—the new birth—must logically precede our faith. A person who is spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1) cannot independently choose spiritual life. God the Holy Spirit must first breathe life into our dead hearts, opening our blind eyes so that we can see the beauty of Christ.

Because of this, even the faith we exercise to believe is not something we conjure up from within ourselves. Ephesians 2:8-9 makes this explicitly clear: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Even your ability to say “I believe” is a gracious gift from the Father.

Chosen Before Time: The Sovereignty of Mercy

If our salvation depends entirely on God giving us life and faith, how does He decide who receives this gift? The Apostle Paul pulls back the curtain on eternity past in Ephesians 1:2-6, revealing that God “chose us in him before the foundation of the world… In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ.”

Before you drew your first breath, before the stars were flung into space, God set His saving love upon His people. This election wasn’t based on anything good He foresaw in us, but entirely on His sovereign grace.

Paul anticipates the human pushback to this in Romans 9:14-18. Is there injustice on God’s part? Paul answers with a resounding “By no means!” He quotes God’s words to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” Salvation depends “not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” This humbles us to the dust. We have no right to demand grace—that’s what makes it grace.

The Father’s Gift to the Son

One of the most beautiful, yet overlooked, aspects of predestination is the relationship between God the Father and God the Son. Why did God elect a people?

In John 6:36-39, Jesus explains: “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out… And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”

Believers are a love gift from the Father to the Son. You are part of a bride being prepared for the eternal Bridegroom. This is why Jesus willingly endured the cross. He looked past the agony to the joy that was set before Him—the joy of redeeming the exact people the Father had given Him. Jesus didn’t die simply to make salvation a possibility; He died to definitively secure the salvation of His bride.

The Golden Chain and Unbreakable Grip

Because our salvation was planned by the Father and purchased by the Son, it cannot fail. The Apostle Paul lays out an unbreakable sequence in Romans 8:29-30, often called the “Golden Chain of Redemption”:

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son… And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

Notice the absolute certainty here. Everyone who is predestined is eventually called. Everyone who is called is justified. And everyone who is justified is absolutely guaranteed to be glorified. No one falls through the cracks. No one is lost in transit.

Jesus echoes this unbreakable security in John 10:25-30: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

Because you are held by the sovereign grip of God, your security is absolute. This culminates in Paul’s triumphant declaration in Romans 8:38-39, assuring us that neither death nor life, angels nor rulers, things present nor things to come—absolutely nothing in all creation—will be able to separate us from the inseparable love of God in Christ Jesus.

Deep Truths, Deeper Joy

The doctrines of election and predestination can be difficult to wrestle with. They strip away our pride and remind us that we contribute nothing to our salvation except the sin that made it necessary.

But when the dust settles, the conviction of these truths brings the ultimate, unshakeable joy.

If your salvation depended on you—your discipline, your ability to hold on, your capacity to muster up faith—you would lose it tomorrow. But because your salvation was planned before time began, because you are a cherished gift from the Father to the Son, and because the Holy Spirit has graciously breathed life into you, you are perfectly secure.

We owe all of our love, all of our life, and all of our security to God, not ourselves. When we finally understand the sheer depth, intentionality, and sovereignty of His grace, our hearts are set free to worship. What greater love can we therefore have for God, than when we understand that He loved us first, loved us most, and will hold us forever?