Corporate Election

Corporate election refers to a Christian soteriological view that understands Christian salvation to be based on "God choosing in Christ a people whom he destines to be holy and blameless in his sight." Put another way, "Election is the corporate choice of the church 'in Christ.'" Paul Marston and Roger Forster are convinced that, "The central idea in the election of the church may be seen from Ephesians 1:4": "For he chose us in him, before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." William Klein agrees, but would add that

Here Paul states that God chose Christians in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. The "chosen ones" designate the corporate group to whom Paul writes with himself (and presumably all Christians) included: God chose us. The focus is not on the selection of individuals, but the group of those chosen. As Westcott notes, "He chose us (i.e. Christians as a body, v. 4) for Himself out of the world." Paul specifies the timing of this choice—it was pretemporal, before the world was created. God made the choice "in him" (that is, "in Christ"). In other words, Christ is the principal elected one, and God has chosen a corporate body to be included in him."

Read more about Corporate Election:  Historical Perspectives On Election, Arguments Against Corporate Election

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