that one elect nation some were chosen to a higher calling than the majority, whose hopes

were correspondingly higher, and who will not merely enter into the unconditional

promises pertaining to all Israel and the land of promise, but will also have the right to

enter into "the city which hath the foundations, whose maker and builder if God." Only

the "election" obtained the righteousness of faith provided by Christ, the rest were

hardened (Rom. 11: 7). Election takes absolutely no account of works either good or bad,

as may be seen from Rom. 9: 11, but we must not be tempted into this line of teaching

here; let us come back to the actual word "predestinate."

Proorizõ is a compound word made up of pro (before), and horizõ (to bound, limit or

determine). Turning to this word horizõ we find that it comes from horos (a bound,

limit). The LXX uses the word horizõ in Numb. 34: 6, Josh. 13: 27, and many other

places, to translate the Hebrew word gebul (border). In the N.T. the word usually means

to determine, decree, appoint or set. Acts 2: 23, "determinate counsel"; Acts 10: 42,

"ordained of God to be the Judge"; Acts 17: 26, "hath determined the times before

appointed,"; Acts 17: 31, "whom He hath ordained"; Heb. 4: 7, "Again, He limiteth a

certain day"; Rom. 1: 4, "declared to be the Son of God." The word horizõ has come into

English in the word "horizon" which is the apparent line of demarcation or boundary

between earth and sky. Proorizõ consequently means, "to decree, determine, or mark off

beforehand." Acts 4: 28, Rom. 8: 29, 30, I Cor. 2: 7, and Eph. 1: 5, 11 are all the

occurrences of the word in the N.T.

At the forefront of the Epistle to the Ephesians and, for that, of the dispensation of the

mystery, are election and predestination. Every member of the one body is an elect

member, mark off beforehand, chosen in Christ before the overthrow of the world.

Argument, teaching, preaching cannot enable one solitary soul to step over the decreed

boundary. There are many believers who have never been predestinated to the position

indicated in Ephesians. This does not warrant the idea, however, that there are no other

spheres of blessing; that is grossly erroneous, and is the outcome of the man-made dogma

that two dispensations cannot be running at the same time. Any number of dispensations

can be in operation together. The Bible is full of such instances. God dealing with Israel

under one economy and the nations under another. Then with some of Israel in a

narrower circle of calling than that which embraced the whole nation. Among believers

to-day there are those who are found under the dispensation indicated by Paul's

administration during the Acts, whose doctrine, practice and hopes are largely founded

upon Romans, I Corinthians and I Thessalonians. While that is still obtaining to-day,

God is putting into operation that purpose in which He predestinated some believers to a

higher calling. That is what we have to grasp here. We hope to consider unto what we

are predestinated in our next article.