1 Corinthians 1:9 “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
1 John 1:3 “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
The first reason why God decides who can and cannot be saved, is fellowship. And so, in order for us to understand why it is that God decides, we need to understand why God created man in the first place. Unlike the angels of God, which He created to be His ministers (Hebrews 1:7), God has created men to have fellowship with Him. Both the apostles Paul and John, in the above quoted passages of scripture, confirm that truth to us. And you will also recall that our Lord Jesus has told us, that no longer does He call us His servants but that He now calls us His friends (John 15:15). Nevertheless, in order for two individuals to become friends and enjoy true fellowship with each other, there must be the willingness of both parties to enter into that relationship of friendship with each other. And so, God is not foolish, and it would be foolish of God to create a being to have fellowship with Him, if that being has no freedom to choose whether they want to fellowship with God or not. In other words, God does not force us to be His friends. Think about the church for example. God has created her to become the bride of Christ. God would certainly want a willing bride for His Son and not one of compulsion. Therefore, God has created mankind with the free will, to choose whether they will be willing to be the friend of God or not. And so, God has plainly made known to men, His desire to enter into a friendship relationship with them. And God requires an honest response from men, as to whether they want to fellowship with Him or not. Sadly however, most of mankind literally hates God, for Jesus said they did (John 15:18-24), and they are not desirous of being His friend at all. And so, God will only save those who of their own free wills, desire to fellowship with Him.
Michael E.B. Maher
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