Abraham & Election

The Call from Nowhere

Abraham did not find God. God found Abraham. This foundational reality sets the entire theological tone for understanding election through the life of the patriarch.

Abram, later renamed Abraham, was born in Ur of the Chaldees—a pagan cosmopolitan center where moon gods were worshipped. The city of Ur was a hub of Mesopotamian civilization, and Abram was embedded in its spiritual darkness. His father Terah was an idolater; there is no biblical record that Abram was a seeker, a spiritual inquirer, or a righteous man waiting for God. He was a man of the world, living in spiritual blindness alongside his contemporaries.

Joshua 24:2 makes this abundantly clear: "Your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods—your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor; and I took your father Abraham from the ends of the earth and led him throughout the land of Canaan." The text explicitly states that Abraham's fathers "served other gods." There is no indication that Abraham was different or was somehow more receptive to truth than those around him.

This command comes entirely unwarranted, unearned, and unsought. God initiates. The divine voice breaks into Abram's life without preamble, explanation, or invitation from Abram. God doesn't say, "You have sought me, and I have found you worthy," or "Because you have turned from idols, I will bless you." Instead, God simply commands: Go.

The Hebrew word for "said" here is וַיֹּאמֶר(vayomer), a simple narrative construction. But its simplicity masks its enormity. God speaks, and Abram's entire world is reoriented. The call is efficacious—it accomplishes what it sets out to do. Abram does not deliberate, negotiate, or consult his family first. The call creates the obedience.

The Radical Nature of Sovereign Call

Nehemiah 9:7 provides the theological summary: "You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of the land of the Chaldees and gave him the name Abraham." The word translated "chose" here is the Hebrew בָּחַר(bachar), which means to select, to choose, to pick out from among many.

This is not reactive choice—God is not responding to something he perceives in Abram. This is creative choice. God chose Abram, and in choosing him, God made him what he needed to be. The call of Abram is the call of grace: undeserved, unopposed by any merit in Abram himself, and wholly originating from the will and purpose of God.

Here lies the first principle of election: The call precedes and creates the faith. Abram was not chosen because he believed; Abram believed because he was chosen. The order matters profoundly. It is not "Abram sought God and proved himself worthy, so God chose him." Rather: "God chose Abram, called him, and that call produced faith."

Hebrew Word Study: The Language of Election

The vocabulary of divine election in the Abraham narrative reveals layers of meaning that often disappear in English translation. Three Hebrew words are particularly crucial.

בָּחַר (Bachar): To Choose, To Select

As noted above, בָּחַר(bachar) appears in Nehemiah 9:7 in direct reference to God's choice of Abraham. The verb carries the sense of deliberate selection, of picking out one thing from among many possible things. It appears 170+ times in the Old Testament, often in contexts of God's election of Israel, of particular kings, or of specific individuals for divine purpose.

When God בָּחַר(bachar) Abraham, He was exercising sovereign volition. There was no external compulsion, no reaction to external stimulus. God's choice was free, unfettered, and rooted in His own eternal counsel.

קָרָא (Qara): To Call, To Name, To Summon

The verb קָרָא(qara) means "to call" in its basic sense, but it carries deeper meaning in the context of divine action. When God "calls" someone, He is summoning them to a purpose, naming them into a role, assigning them an identity.

Isaiah 42:6 uses this language: "I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness; I will hold your hand and keep you." The call is not merely informational—it is vocational, missional, and transformative. To be called by God is to be seized by divine purpose.

בְּרִית (Berit): Covenant, Agreement, Binding

The Hebrew בְּרִית(berit) refers to a covenant—a binding agreement or arrangement. In the case of God's covenant with Abraham, this is not a negotiated contract between equals. It is a unilateral declaration from God, binding God Himself to a purpose while Abraham is merely the recipient of the promise.

Understanding these three words together—God's choice (bachar), God's call (qara), and God's covenant (berit)—reveals a unified picture: God chose Abraham, called him to a purpose, and bound Himself by covenant to see that purpose fulfilled. Abraham's role was to believe and obey; the initiative, the power, and the guarantee were all God's.

The Covenant of Grace: Genesis 15

If the call in Genesis 12 is the moment of election, Genesis 15 is the moment of covenant confirmation—and it is here that the doctrine of sovereign grace reaches its clearest Old Testament expression.

Abram is now advanced in years, and Sarai is barren. The promise of offspring seems impossible from every natural angle. Yet God repeats the promise and ratifies it through a covenant ceremony that is, theologically speaking, extraordinary.

The Unilateral Covenant

Genesis 15:9-18 describes a covenant-cutting ceremony. Abram is instructed to take animals, cut them in half, and arrange the pieces. Then something remarkable happens:

But where is Abram during this ceremony? The text says: "As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him" (Genesis 15:12). Abram is asleep. He cannot participate. He cannot negotiate the terms. He cannot add conditions or reserve rights. God alone passes between the pieces.

In ancient covenant ceremonies, both parties typically walked between the pieces, symbolizing their mutual obligation. Here, only God passes through. This is a covenant of pure grace—God binds Himself to a promise that rests entirely on God's faithfulness, not on Abram's performance or participation.

This is the covenant of grace. Grace means undeserved favor. The promise of blessing is given to Abram not because he earned it, but because God freely chose to give it. The only condition placed on Abram is belief—and even that belief, as we shall see, is itself a gracious gift.

Genesis 18:19 & Elective Knowledge

As Abraham's life unfolds and he enters deeper relationship with God, the text reveals another dimension of divine election—the knowledge that accompanies and sustains the call.

This verse appears in the context of God's planning to reveal His intention to destroy Sodom. God is explaining to Himself (in a manner of speaking) why Abraham must be made party to this knowledge. The reason: Abraham has been chosen.

The Hebrew word here translated "chosen" is יָדַע(yada)—literally, "to know." But "to know" in Hebrew is far more intimate than mere intellectual awareness. When God "knows" someone in this sense, He is saying something profound about relationship, selection, and purpose.

Yada: Intimate, Elective Knowledge

The same word appears in a passage that clarifies its meaning entirely:

God is saying to Israel: "You alone have I known." But of course, God knows (intellectually) all families of the earth. What God means is: "You alone have I chosen, set apart, elected, entered into covenant relationship with." The knowledge is elective knowledge—the knowledge that comes through choice.

Applied to Abraham: When God says in Genesis 18:19 "I have chosen him" (literally, "I have known him"), God is affirming the depth of His covenant relationship with Abraham. Abraham is not unknown to God; he is deeply, personally, covenantally known. And this knowing carries with it the purpose, the instruction, and the promise that defines Abraham's life.

Here is another principle of election: The elect are known by God with an intimate, purposeful knowledge that shapes their entire existence. Abraham's election is not abstract or distant; it is personal and directional. God knows Abraham in order to use Abraham, to teach Abraham, and to make Abraham a conduit of blessing to the nations.

Abraham's Faith: Gift or Achievement?

Genesis 15:6 is one of the most theologically loaded verses in Scripture, and it appears again and again in the New Testament as the foundation for understanding justification by faith.

Abraham believed. That much is clear. But what is the source of that belief? Is it Abraham's own decision, his own intellectual assent? Or is it something given to him, something that flows from the divine call?

Romans 4: Paul's Argument on Abraham's Justification

Paul unpacks the significance of Genesis 15:6 extensively in Romans 4. He argues that Abraham was justified not by works but by faith:

Paul is drawing a sharp distinction: faith is the opposite of works. It is not an achievement that earns God's favor; it is trust that receives God's grace. But Paul doesn't stop there. He continues:

Abraham's faith came from hearing God's word. God spoke; Abraham heard and believed. The faith was not generated from within Abram; it was called forth by the word of God. The call created the faith.

Hebrews 11: Faith as Obedience to the Call

Hebrews 11:8 provides another crucial insight: "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going."

Notice the sequence: first, the call; then, faith; then, obedience. "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called." The call preceded the faith. The faith was the response to the call. Abraham's faith was not something he possessed in advance and then offered to God; rather, it was something that emerged from the divine call itself.

Ephesians 2:8-9 and the Larger Context

Paul writes: "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" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Here, both grace and faith are presented as gifts. The entire apparatus of salvation—grace, faith, justification—flows from God, not from human effort or choice.

Abraham exemplifies this principle. His faith was not something he achieved or earned; it was the gift of God's call. When God spoke to Abram in Genesis 12:1, He was not merely inviting Abram to make a decision. He was creating the conditions in which faith would be possible and inevitable. The call was effectual.

This is what Reformed theology calls the "effectual call"—a call that doesn't merely offer but that actually brings about faith and obedience. Abraham's faith in Genesis 15:6 was the fruit of God's effectual call in Genesis 12:1. The seed was sown; faith grew.

Isaac vs. Ishmael: The Pattern Continues

The distinction between Isaac and Ishmael shows that election is not universal; it runs through one line, not another. This pattern will repeat throughout Scripture and points to a hard truth about the nature of divine choice.

Ishmael is not rejected entirely—God promises to bless him—but the covenant line, the line of election, runs through Isaac, not Ishmael. Why? Because of a promise. Sarah shall conceive and bear Isaac. The child of promise, not the child of the flesh, inherits the covenant.

This distinction becomes the pattern for all of Paul's argument in Romans 9:

Paul is establishing a crucial principle: election does not follow the line of natural descent. Simply being born to Abraham does not make one part of the elect covenant community. Rather, election follows the line of promise—those whom God has chosen, whom God has called, whom God has promised to bless.

This is sometimes uncomfortable to modern ears because it seems to create a distinction between the "chosen" and the "unchosen" even within families, even within siblings. Yet this is precisely what Scripture teaches. God is not obligated to choose everyone. His choice is free, His purposes are His own, and His ways are higher than our ways.

The Theology of Discrimination in Election

The word "discriminate" has negative connotations in modern usage, but theologically it means to make distinctions. God discriminates—He makes choices. He chose Abraham; He did not choose Terah in the same way. He chose Isaac; He did not choose Ishmael in the same way. He chose Jacob; He did not choose Esau in the same way.

This is not injustice. God is not obligated to save anyone. That He saves some is pure mercy. That He does not save others is justice. The offense we take at this doctrine comes from assuming we have a claim on God, that God owes us salvation. But God owes nothing to sinners—and we are all sinners. That any are saved at all is a marvel of grace.

Abraham's election teaches us that God's choices are sovereign, particular, and purposeful. And they are absolutely free.

New Testament Fulfillment: The True Offspring

The New Testament reveals that the entire Abrahamic covenant, with all its promises, finds its fulfillment in Christ and in the elect community that is united to Him by faith.

Paul is saying that Abraham is not merely a historical figure; he is the model and the father of all who believe. The election of Abraham becomes the pattern for understanding the election of the church.

What is remarkable here is that Paul is reading the gospel backward into Abraham's promise. God "preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham." The gospel is not new; it is the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham. The grace that justified Abraham by faith is the same grace that justifies us by faith.

The Ultimate Offspring

Galatians 3:16 makes the connection explicit: "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, 'And to offsprings,' referring to many, but referring to one, 'And to your offspring,' which is Christ."

The one seed to whom the covenant ultimately points is Christ Himself. All the promises made to Abraham find their "Yes" in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). And those who are in Christ are Abraham's offspring:

This is the fulfillment of election. Abraham was elected not merely for his own sake, but as the father of the elect. His faith became the model for faith. His covenant became the template for understanding God's relationship to His chosen people. And his election becomes the model for our own.

Grace and Promise

Romans 4:16 summarizes the theme beautifully: "That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all."

The promise "rests on grace." This is the key. The covenant with Abraham was not based on works, performance, merit, or even Abraham's foreseen faith. It was based on grace—God's free, undeserved favor. And that grace created the faith that received the promise.

So it is with us. We are justified by faith, but the faith we exercise is itself the product of grace. We are elected in Christ, just as Abraham was elected in the purposes of God. And we are saved not because of anything we do, but because of the grace of God and the election of God that precedes and enables everything we do.

Theological Implications: What Abraham Teaches About Election

The life and election of Abraham illuminates the doctrine of election across several key dimensions:

1. The Nature of God's Call is Effectual, Not Merely Invitational

God's call to Abraham was not a mere offer that Abram could accept or reject. It was a creative word that accomplished its purpose. God spoke "Go," and Abram went. The call carried with it the power to bring about obedience. This is what theologians call the "effectual call"—a call that doesn't merely propose but that actually produces the response in the one called.

2. The Basis of the Covenant is God's Sovereign Choice, Not Human Achievement

Abraham did not earn his election through piety, seeking, or merit. He was chosen freely by God, in God's own counsel, according to God's own purposes. This means that the covenant with Abraham—and by extension, the covenant of grace that saves us—rests on the immovable foundation of God's character and will, not on the shifting sands of human performance.

3. Election and Faith Are Not in Opposition; Election Produces Faith

One of the great confusions in modern theology is the assumption that election and faith are incompatible, that if God chooses, then human choice is negated. But Scripture shows a different pattern: God elects, and that election produces faith. They are not competing; they are sequential. God calls; faith responds. God chooses; the chosen believe.

4. Election is Particular, Not Universal

God chose Abraham, not Terah. God chose Isaac, not Ishmael. God chooses some, not all. This is difficult for modern minds to accept, but it is biblical. God is free, and His freedom includes the freedom to choose some for salvation and to permit others to pursue their own desires. This is not injustice; it is sovereignty.

5. The Comfort of Resting in God's Promise

Abraham was old, his wife was barren, and the promise seemed impossible. Yet Abraham believed God. Why? Because Abraham had learned to rest in the faithfulness of God, not in the circumstances. This is the comfort of election: we don't have to generate our own salvation or earn our own righteousness. God has chosen us, God has called us, and God will complete the work He has begun in us (Philippians 1:6).

Arminian Objections Answered

The doctrine of election as taught by Abraham's example provokes objections, particularly from Arminian or free-will theology. Let's address the most common ones directly:

Theological Witnesses

Throughout church history, the great theologians have seen in Abraham the pattern of sovereign grace and election. Here is a sampling:

Cross-References & Further Reading

Key Scripture Passages on Election and Abraham

• Genesis 11:27-12:4 — The Call of Abraham
• Genesis 15 — The Covenant of Grace
• Genesis 18:19 — God's Elective Knowledge
• Genesis 21:12 — Isaac vs. Ishmael
• Joshua 24:2-3 — Historical Summary
• Nehemiah 9:7 — The Choice of Abraham
• Isaiah 42:6 — The Pattern of Calling
• Romans 4 — Abraham and Justification by Faith
• Romans 9:6-8 — Election and the Promise
• Galatians 3:6-29 — Abraham as the Father of the Faithful
• Hebrews 11:8-12 — Abraham's Faith and Obedience
• 1 Peter 2:9-10 — The Elect as Abraham's Offspring

Related Pages on This Site

• Old Testament Election
• Systematic Theology
• Key Theologians on Election
• Extended Resources

Recommended Books

• The Marrow of Modern Divinity by Thomas Boston — A clear and penetrating defense of sovereign grace
• Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (Book III, Chapters 21-24) — Calvin's masterful treatment of election
• The Theology of Election by Herman Bavinck — A comprehensive Reformed treatment
• The Sovereignty of God by Arthur Custance — A thoughtful exploration of freedom and sovereignty
• Desiring God by John Piper (Chapter 7) — A modern meditation on God's election