1 Corinthians

Theo1689

Well-known member
Part of my testimony is that in my first year of being a Christian, my church taught Arminian "free-will" ism. But I loved the gospel, I loved the Scriptures, and so I loved reading and studying the Scriptures to learn more about my faith. But even though I was a rabid anti-Calvinist at the time, the more I read Scripture, the more I was being convinced that it taught that theology nicknamed "Calvinism". It seemed to be literally on every page.

And since there is a lot of discussion about the proper interpretation of 1 Cor. 2:14, and since I beileve you need to study the context to understand a particular verse, I thought it would be useful to share my thoughts about the text surrounding 1 Cor. 2:14. So I will be walking through at least the first two chapters of 1 Cor., and I may or may not continue, we'll see. After all, it takes a fair bit of work to do this, and investment in work is usually not appreciated by the A-side.


1Cor. 1:1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

Paul was called by God, not only to be a Christian, but to be an apostle as well.

1Cor. 1:2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

"called to be saints". The Christians in Corinth were called by God, just as Paul was called by God.
This is election.

"both their Lord and ours". We share one Lord. We are to be united. This is a theme in this epistle.

1Cor. 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1Cor. 1:4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Grace of God given them...
not lacking in any gift.
Paul thanks God for all the gifts given to God's saints.

1Cor. 1:8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"sustain you to the end".
This is perseverance (or "preservation") of the Saints.

1Cor. 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reminding us again that we were "called" by God.

1Cor. 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.

Paul calls for unity. We share one Lord, we should share one gospel (and we do).
Of course, it is impossible to be united on everything, but as the saying goes:

"In essentials, unity;
In non-essentials, liberty;
In all things, charity.
"

IMO, there is far too little "liberty" and "charity" in this forum.
We need to do better.

1Cor. 1:12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Paul goes on to talk about "babes in Christ". And it is only natural to look to leaders in your church who seem to understand theology better than you. But while it's not wrong to have human teachers and pastors, we have to make sure that doing so doesn't divide us. Having our theology named after men is unfortunate, but it does not mean that we "follow" Calvin, or you "follow" Arminius or Wesley. They are simply convenient labels to easily convey to others what we believe. I like many others prefer the term "Reformed" as it doesn't have someone's name in it.

Paul is going to continue talking about not being able to understand the things of God unless you are given the Spirit (which indicates, and comes after, regeneration). I think Paul's point here is that we are to follow the Spirit, rather than following a man. We can hear the teachings of man, but we have to evaluate them according to the Spirit and Scripture.

I liken it to the difference between near-sightedness (eyes on a man) and far-sightedness (eyes on God). It also reminds me of a driving error. Sometimes I see cars driving who are too near the right shoulder or lane line, or even past it. I notice that they've lined up their car so that the driver is in the centre of the lane. This is a great indication that the driver is looking at the road directly in front of him. To have the entire car centred in the lane, he needs to look far down the lane, maybe 20-30 car lengths or more. Others get freaked out on the highway because they see the dashed lane lines or telephone poles going past too quickly. The solution again is to look far ahead, so the perception of speed is less noticeable.

In terms of Paul's message, we have to stop looking at our teachers as the destination, but look past them to see and comprehend God through the Spirit.

(to be continued...)
 
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(continuing...)

1Cor. 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”


It is interesting to note that many Arminians consider the theology of Calvinists to be "folly" (or "ludicrous"), while they have to resort to rationalizations ("the wisdom of the wise") to try to defend their own doctrines.

"Being saved". This is sanctification. Salvaiton is a process, not a "one and done".

1Cor. 1:20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Paul is contrasting "worldly" wisdom with Spiritual wisdom, which he will elaborate upon in chapter 2. You do not convert someone with rationalization ("worldly wisdom"), they need the Spirit ("No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' without the Holy Spirit").

"both Jews and Greeks". Together those two groups make up "the world". But not all Jews and Greeks will be saved, only "those who are called" from among them (cf. Rev. 5:9).

1Cor. 1:26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

We weren't chosen becasue we were "wise".
We weren't chosen because we were "powerful".
We weren't chosen because we came from "noble birth".

God chose us DESPITE us being "foolish".
God chose us DESPITE us being "weak".
God chose us DESPITE us being "low and despised".

When Eph. 2:9 talks about our salvation being "not of yourselves", it's not only talking about any works or efforts we made do, but it's also based on our conditions or characteristics. There is NOTHING in us that caused God to choose us, only His mercy.

And notice the pattern Paul is hammering home:

1Cor. 1:1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus,
1Cor. 1:2 ... to those ... called to be saints ...
1Cor. 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son,
1Cor. 1:24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks,
1Cor. 1:27 But God chose what is foolish in the world
1Cor. 1:27 God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
1Cor. 1:28 God chose what is low and despised in the world,

1Cor. 1:30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

There has been a long-standing debate about "He chose us in Him" (Eph. 1:4), on whether it should be interpreted as:
"God chose us (to be) in him", or
"God chose us (because we already put ourselves) in him".

This verse settles the issue.
We aren't in Christ because of our "faith".
We aren't in Christ because "we choose to accept Christ as Savior".

We are in Christ "because of HIM".
He did it all.
Praise God!

1Cor. 1:31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

We have no basis boasting in "our faith".
We have no basis boasting in "our decision", or "our choice".

We can only boast in the LORD.
All glory be to GOD.

Amen!
 
1Cor. 2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Paul continues to contrast "worldly wisdom" with "demonstration of the Spirit". He describes his own condition as "weakness and in fear and much trembling", but this seems to be humility on Paul's part. I believe he is concerned with the gravity of the situation, as he was called to not only preach the message of the Spirit, but also to allow the Spirit to convict sinners, not being dependent on the impressiveness of his argument.

1Cor. 2:6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—


He contrasts "worldly wisdom" with the "foolishiness" and "folly" of the gospel, but this is simply the perception of the unconverted. He wants to make sure that we understand that the gospel is not truly foolishness, but an eternal wisdom, far wiser than the wisdom of the world.

1Cor. 2:10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

Spiritual things are only revealed throught the Spirit of God ("No one can say, 'Jesus is Lord', except by the Holy Spirit"), which is why we need to be regenerated before we can have faith in God.

1Cor. 2:11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

Paul elaborates in a way that we can understand. Other posters here do not know my thoughts (and therefore have no right to presume to speak for me), because they don't have my spirit. We can't know/understand the ways of God, unless we have the Spirit of God to reveal it to us. We can relate to that.

1Cor. 2:13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

And we are (or should be) led by the Spirit when proclaiming the gospel, and preaching from Scripture. We can't just make stuff up (through "worldly wisdom"), but instead be led by God. We must be faithful to God in our preaching and proclamations. So I think Paul was right to feel "fear and trembling", for it is a very "awe-ful" (= "full of awe") thing to present the message of our God, Creator, and Lord.

1Cor. 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

This links back to we cannot know the thoughts of God without the Spirit of God. And so the "natural person" here is someone who hasn't been given the Spirit of God, which is why "he is not able to understand them". They are "spiritually discerned", meaning we need the Spirit of God in order to understand them. And we need to understand them in order to accept them.

1Cor. 2:15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

The "spiritual person" is contrasted with "the natural person", and is somone who has received the Spirit of God, and therefore can. "understood the mind of the Lord".

Chapter and verse divisions are artificial, and were added centuries later, and I believe what we find in the beginning of chapter 3 is important to understanding what has come before.

1Cor. 3:1
But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.

Paul is here referring to baby Christians here, "infants in Christ". They are believers, "brothers", but they are still immature in the Christian walk.

"as people of the flesh" ("sarkinois", "of the flesh").

Paul is not calling them "people of the flesh", but "as" people of the flesh. This is a simile, a comparison. They have had little sanctification yet, and appear as "people of the flesh". Greek scholar A.T. Robertson compares this to a toddler who wants to remain in the "baby" stage, maybe reluctant to be toilet-trained, or not wanting to dress himself, or eat his own food, but remain in the ways of a baby. He's not really a baby, but he still acts like one, and needs to mature.

The same goes with the "brother" who acts "as people of the flesh".

1Cor. 3:2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,

The babe in Christ needs to become more mature, so that they can digest solid "food".

1Cor. 3:3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

Here Paul uses a different term, not "sarkinois", but "sarkikois".
A "sarkinos" person is a "person of the flesh", a natural ("psuchikos") person.
But a "sarkikos" person is someone who has been reborn, but is still attached to the things of the world. This will subside as the Christian is sanctified and matures in the faith.
 
And notice the pattern Paul is hammering home:

1Cor. 1:1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus,
1Cor. 1:2 ... to those ... called to be saints ...
1Cor. 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son,
1Cor. 1:24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks,
1Cor. 1:27 But God chose what is foolish in the world
1Cor. 1:27 God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
1Cor. 1:28 God chose what is low and despised in the world,
Matthew 22:14: "For many are called, but few chosen."

If you look at the previous verse (Matt 22:13), you will see that figurative language about hades/hell is applied. So not all called are chosen. The Preservation of Saints doctrine cannot stand in light of 1 Cor and Matt 22.

Mat 22:11 And the king coming in to look over the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.
Mat 22:12 And he said to him, Friend, how did you come in here without having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Mat 22:13 Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few chosen.
 
Part of my testimony is that in my first year of being a Christian, my church taught Arminian "free-will" ism. But I loved the gospel, I loved the Scriptures, and so I loved reading and studying the Scriptures to learn more about my faith. But even though I was a rabid anti-Calvinist at the time, the more I read Scripture, the more I was being convinced that it taught that theology nicknamed "Calvinism". It seemed to be literally on every page.

And since there is a lot of discussion about the proper interpretation of 1 Cor. 2:14, and since I beileve you need to study the context to understand a particular verse, I thought it would be useful to share my thoughts about the text surrounding 1 Cor. 2:14. So I will be walking through at least the first two chapters of 1 Cor., and I may or may not continue, we'll see. After all, it takes a fair bit of work to do this, and investment in work is usually not appreciated by the A-side.


1Cor. 1:1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

Paul was called by God, not only to be a Christian, but to be an apostle as well.

1Cor. 1:2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

"called to be saints". The Christians in Corinth were called by God, just as Paul was called by God.
This is election.

"both their Lord and ours". We share one Lord. We are to be united. This is a theme in this epistle.

1Cor. 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1Cor. 1:4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Grace of God given them...
not lacking in any gift.
Paul thanks God for all the gifts given to God's saints.

1Cor. 1:8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"sustain you to the end".
This is perseverance (or "preservation") of the Saints.

1Cor. 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reminding us again that we were "called" by God.

1Cor. 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.

Paul calls for unity. We share one Lord, we should share one gospel (and we do).
Of course, it is impossible to be united on everything, but as the saying goes:

"In essentials, unity;
In non-essentials, liberty;
In all things, charity.
"

IMO, there is far too little "liberty" and "charity" in this forum.
We need to do better.

1Cor. 1:12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Paul goes on to talk about "babes in Christ". And it is only natural to look to leaders in your church who seem to understand theology better than you. But while it's not wrong to have human teachers and pastors, we have to make sure that doing so doesn't divide us. Having our theology named after men is unfortunate, but it does not mean that we "follow" Calvin, or you "follow" Arminius or Wesley. They are simply convenient labels to easily convey to others what we believe. I like many others prefer the term "Reformed" as it doesn't have someone's name in it.

Paul is going to continue talking about not being able to understand the things of God unless you are given the Spirit (which indicates, and comes after, regeneration). I think Paul's point here is that we are to follow the Spirit, rather than following a man. We can hear the teachings of man, but we have to evaluate them according to the Spirit and Scripture.

I liken it to the difference between near-sightedness (eyes on a man) and far-sightedness (eyes on God). It also reminds me of a driving error. Sometimes I see cars driving who are too near the right shoulder or lane line, or even past it. I notice that they've lined up their car so that the driver is in the centre of the lane. This is a great indication that the driver is looking at the road directly in front of him. To have the entire car centred in the lane, he needs to look far down the lane, maybe 20-30 car lengths or more. Others get freaked out on the highway because they see the dashed lane lines or telephone poles going past too quickly. The solution again is to look far ahead, so the perception of speed is less noticeable.

In terms of Paul's message, we have to stop looking at our teachers as the destination, but look past them to see and comprehend God through the Spirit.

(to be continued...)
So are you now arguing 1Cor 2:14 teaches what you previously denied Calvinism teaches?

The "natural" man cannot receive the things of the spirit

or Chalvinistically the unregenerate man cannot receive the things of the Spirit

Matthew 13:20–21 (ESV) — 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
 
(to be continued...)
Just thought I would add a OT reference.

Jer 1:4 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Arminians would translate this as: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew about you because I looked into the future and saw not only that you would be born, but that you would also become a prophet and I liked this and put my stamp of approval on it.

I know this because I have heard Arminian preachers say this about Eph 1:4. The reason He chose us is because He looked into the future and saw who would believe and chose them.
 
We aren't in Christ because of our "faith".

And thus we have an illustration of bringing one's man made theology to the text.

Scripture decisively attributes being in Christ to our faith.
 
I know this because I have heard Arminian preachers say this about Eph 1:4. The reason He chose us is because He looked into the future and saw who would believe and chose them.

God basing his decisions on the "counsel of his will" is a generic statement that does not describe exactly what the basis of his counsel is.

In fact, we are told God's counsel is very mysterious and naturally beyond our normal ability to find out.

Which means, the phrase cannot dogmatically be enforced to mean divine determinism.
 
1 Cor 1:1 Paul was called to be an Apostle and Paul of his own free will accepted that call, he could have chosen to disobey, Acts 26:19. God has foreknowledge and God already foreknew if He approached Saul on the road to Damascus that Saul of his own free will would accept that call. God chose Abraham "for I know him" (Gen 18:19) for God already foreknew Abraham would of his own free will be obedient enough whereby God could "bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him". God saw something in Abraham and Saul whereby foreknew He could use these men's free will decisions to bring about His own will. Therefore God does not just randomly, baselessly pick men and hope He might be able to work His will using them or force them against their will to do His bidding.

People are called to be Saints/Christians by the gospel, (2 Thess 2:14) which produces faith in the heart (Rom 10:17). So the calling is nothing miraculously done apart from the word, not random nor in some direct, mysterious way. And people of their own free will choose to answer that call or not. Those in Acts 2 heard the gospel call and accepted it by obeying Peter's words. But those in Acts 7 rejected it and murdered Stephen. Free will in both cases. Those who are Christians are the ones who answered the call, so Christians are at times in the Bible referred to by being called the "called" (Rom 8:28; Jude 1:1).

A Calvinist will look at the guests at a party and claim they were the only ones invited/called. When in fact the call of the gospel is for "all nations", "every creature" (Mk 16:15-16; Mt 28:19-20; cf 2 Thess 2:14) but the ones at the party are the ones who chose to answer that invitation/call.
 
And thus we have an illustration of bringing one's man made theology to the text.

Scripture decisively attributes being in Christ to our faith.

The lurkers will notice that you were unable to support your false claim with Scripture.

And that your bogus claim contradicts 1 Cor. 2.
 
So are you now arguing 1Cor 2:14 teaches what you previously denied Calvinism teaches?

Nope.
I don't believe Scripture contradicts Scripture.
I only believe Scripture contradicts your MISINTERPRETATION of Scripture.

You don't seem to understand the difference.

or Chalvinistically the unregenerate man cannot receive the things of the Spirit

I have no idea what "Chalvinistically" means.

Matthew 13:20–21 (ESV) — 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

The word "receives" in Matt. 13:20 is from "lambano".
1 Cor. 2:14 is from "ginosko".

Why do you ASSUME that these two DIFFERENT words mean the SAME thing in two completely DIFFERENT contexts?
 
Matthew 22:14: "For many are called, but few chosen."

If you look at the previous verse (Matt 22:13), you will see that figurative language about hades/hell is applied. So not all called are chosen.

You seem confused.

The term translated "called" is "kaleo", which has 4 main definitions, and 9 sub-definitions.

Are you REALLY so naïve as to think that the word "kaleo" has the EXACT same meaning every time it's used, even in different books, with different authors, different speakers, and different contexts?

Why does the word have 9 different meanings, if it (allegedly) means the EXACT same thing every time it's used?
 
fltom said:
So are you now arguing 1Cor 2:14 teaches what you previously denied Calvinism teaches?
Theo
Nope.
I don't believe Scripture contradicts Scripture.
I only believe Scripture contradicts your MISINTERPRETATION of Scripture.

You did not answer what I asked you

Previously you had denied Calvinism teaches the unregenerate cannot receive the word

Have you now changed your position?

Theo
You don't seem to understand the difference.

You have not pointed out any

fltom said:
or Chalvinistically the unregenerate man cannot receive the things of the Spirit

Theo
I have no idea what "Chalvinistically" means.

Remove the h. I believe you knew that

Calvinistically the unregenerate man cannot receive the things of the Spirit

fltom said:
Matthew 13:20–21 (ESV) — 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
Theo
The word "receives" in Matt. 13:20 is from "lambano".
1 Cor. 2:14 is from "ginosko".

looks like I have to correct you again

The word translated received is not ginosko but dechomai - receive, welcome or accept according to its gloss

First you got the word wrong at Mat 13 now at 1Cor

Theo
Why do you ASSUME that these two DIFFERENT words mean the SAME thing in two completely DIFFERENT contexts?

Why is it you assume two words cannot overlap

Lambano - take, receive

Dechomai - receive welcome, accept
 
You did not answer what I asked you

Nor do I have any obligation to.
If you have a point to make, you are free to make assertions and arguments.

But questions are not arguments.

Previously you had denied Calvinism teaches the unregenerate cannot receive the word

Have you now changed your position?

I'm not interested in enabling you to misrepresent me.
 
Nor do I have any obligation to.
If you have a point to make, you are free to make assertions and arguments.

But questions are not arguments.

So once again you have no answer and hide behind the option to refuse an answer

I believe youhave castigated others who did so


I'm not interested in enabling you to misrepresent me.

Rather You are simply interested in avoiding difficulties to your theology
 
Which means, the phrase cannot dogmatically be enforced to mean divine determinism.
But I would bet that it cannot dogmatically be enforced to mean God looking forward into the future.
the calling is nothing miraculously done apart from the word, not random nor in some direct, mysterious way.
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” eklektos where we get out word elect.

So yes, there is an outward inviting by the hearing (reading/preaching) of the Word. but few are elect.
 
But I would bet that it cannot dogmatically be enforced to mean God looking forward into the future.

Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” eklektos where we get out word elect.

So yes, there is an outward inviting by the hearing (reading/preaching) of the Word. but few are elect.

A genuine invitation or a disingenuous invitation?
 
But I would bet that it cannot dogmatically be enforced to mean God looking forward into the future.

Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” eklektos where we get out word elect.

So yes, there is an outward inviting by the hearing (reading/preaching) of the Word. but few are elect.
There is also election to calling, position and service

Paul was called to be an apostle

Israel chosen for service

This is election

Calvinist sometimes use the notion of election indiscriminately as though it always concerns salvation
 
There is also election to calling, position and service

Paul was called to be an apostle

Israel chosen for service

This is election

Calvinist sometimes use the notion of election indiscriminately as though it always concerns salvation
Does it also concern salvation?
 
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