CHOSEN, INVITED, COMPELLED

In John's Gospel, he speaks of two groups of people who were invited to become His children by faith. These would form a "new group," described as being composed of individuals from each, and forming what would be called the Church, or the Body of Christ (Eph. 2:1-22). John speaks of the three when he says,

"He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (Jn. 1:10-13).

Up until the time of Christ, there were only two divisions of mankind: Gentiles (the world), and Jews (His own). But when God's chosen people, the Jews, rejected God's invitation to accept Jesus as their Lord, God chose "whosoever will" (Rom. 10:9-10, 13), to become His children; a new division was formed: the Church. Today, there are three: Jews, Gentiles, and born again believers. Notice I did not say Jews, Gentiles, and Christians. That is because I believe the majority of those who call themselves Christians, in actuality, have a relationship with an organization, and not a relationship with God.

From the Creation until God chose Abraham to be the "father" of His chosen nation, a period of about 2000 years, God offered Himself to a world populated by only Gentiles. They rejected His offer. From the time of Abraham until the Crucifixion of Christ, another period of about 2000 years, God attempted to have a "Father-child" relationship with the Jews. They, too, rejected His offer. It has been about 2000 years since the birth of the Church, and based upon the parables of Matthew 13, the Church has been taken over by "tares, leaven, birds, and bad fish." Like Israel throughout its history, today, God has within Christianity a "remnant" called the "Body of Christ" (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 4:12).

God offered Himself as God to the Gentiles (Gen. 35:11), as King to the Jews (1 Sam. 8:20), and as Savior to any and all who would accept Him (Lk. 2:10-11). In His parable in Luke 14:16-24, Jesus shows how all three groups have been offered to sup with Him in His Kingdom:

"So that servant came, and shewed his Lord these things. Then the Master of the house being angry said to His servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as Thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled" (Lk. 14:21-23).

It is clear that by grace,
God has invited Gentiles, Jews, and "whosever will,"
to come to His Kingdom and feast.