I think the simplest answer is: those who God has chosen to be ‘holy and blameless’ before him. Or said more simply, anyone who is or who will eventually be a Christian. Now, whether or not that is the definition you agree with, the word ‘elect’ is not something we can choose to define or not. It’s a major biblical theme. Christians have to be ready to deal with this idea of ‘election’ in some way or another.
I’m not writing today to take on the full blown discussion of predestination. But I would like to talk about the word ‘election’ for a second.
I’ve heard people make the argument that the word ‘election’ refers not to the individual Christian, but rather to mankind as a whole. Or, some say the whole nation of Israel. So, in verses such as Mark 13:22, or Matthew 24:22, some will say the meaning is not specific people are in view but rather all people are in view. I think that is really less than rational. In fact, the verses referring to the ‘elect’ are pretty much emptied of all of their meaning when that definition is applied.
But, take a look at 2 John 1:1:
“The elder to the elect lady and her children…”
Then again, at the end of the book, in verse 13:
“The children of your elect sister greet you.”
If you apply the definition of the elect being mankind, rather than the individual believer, this verse says something like, “The children of your sister who is a member of mankind greet you.” And if you apply the definition that the elect is the nation of Israel, then it’s really complete nonsense.
If you start to go through an apply the two alternative definitions of election to the various occurrences of the world, it quickly becomes clear that their really unsatisfying. While some occurrences can be stretched to fit, one one seems to fit them all universally.
