In the New Testament era, being one of God’s chosen people means being restored to live according to God’s original design. Only in this era is it possible for humanity to become what God intended from the beginning—to be heavenly beings. Why in the New Testament era? Because only now has the Gospel been proclaimed, redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ has been accomplished, the Holy Spirit has been sealed upon believers, and God Himself works in each individual perfectly so that Christ may be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
This is the beauty of being a Christian, and this must be the central focus of the Church. To be one of the chosen means to be a person who aligns with the Creator’s design—a heavenly person, a person of God, someone whose life bears an extraordinary quality, unlike those who are not chosen. Those who are not selected are not rejected by God; instead, they fail to respond to His call. If someone claims to be among the chosen but their life does not display this extraordinary nature, then that person is deceiving themselves. For Jesus Christ is the true chosen one, the model for every believer.
Those who truly belong to the chosen people will continually grow to become more like Jesus Christ. God never intends to make people half good—He desires them to be truly good, even perfect, as the heavenly Father is perfect, and this is God’s design, and it is being fulfilled in this age of grace. We are the ones chosen, appointed, and destined to become such people. Yet all of this still requires a response. Even though we now live in the time of fulfilment and can hear the complete Gospel, our response to it remains the determining factor.
Therefore, do not try to link God’s secret matters—His omniscience and the mystery of His plan—with our personal responsibility today. Our part is to repent, persevere, and follow Him sincerely. God longs to make us extraordinary beings, but that will never happen without a serious response on our part: managing our lives, time, thoughts, energy, and every aspect of our existence earnestly. Humanity does not become good automatically. Since the fall into sin, people have lost their good nature and live in a state of brokenness.
God desires to restore humanity to a state of true goodness according to His standards. Salvation is God’s work of restoring humanity to His original design. For this purpose, He has provided a means of salvation—grace. This grace is freely given, yet attaining it requires real struggle. It is called grace because it is an exceedingly costly gift. Grace becomes precious when the way we receive it involves a genuine battle to change.
The mistake of many Christians today is believing that salvation automatically makes them God’s chosen people. In reality, salvation is the process of restoring humanity to God’s design—it is not an instant status. In this process, our response to God’s ongoing work is crucial. The Holy Spirit is given to shape and refine our lives, and we must actively respond to His work. However, this response cannot be considered a merit, for it all stems from grace.
In this New Testament era, we find ourselves in a situation similar to that of Adam and Eve—humans are once again faced with a choice: Will we become God’s chosen ones, or will we become the discarded? Before the age of grace, a person could be good but not perfect. Yet since the coming of Christ, the possibility is open: we may become perfect in Him, or continue living as those who are cast away. That is why God says, “On which side will you stand?”