A Glimpse at Biblical Election

“Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” – Hebrews 1:14 ESV

What has to be in place in order for someone to receive an inheritance? Well, at the most basic human level, one has to have a possession he or she wants to give to another, and then from there make the necessary preparations for it to be passed on. There is planning that takes place. There is also a process of election where those who are chosen to receive the inheritance are incorporated into that plan by the one who intends to do the giving.
Scripture often speaks in similar language when it refers to God’s plan of redemption. A group often referred to as the Elect in scripture are described as those who receive salvation only by their Savior’s merits and not of their own, they are called adopted sons and daughters, they are those who have received a great inheritance.

Hebrews 1:14 comes at the tail end of an awesome section of scripture where the Father is talking about the eternal glory of the Son and how much more magnificent he is above all things including the created angels. The Father here asks a rhetorical question to make a point as to the purpose for which His angels perform their appointed duties. He says they are “sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.” Here is then a glimpse into God’s redemptive means – the elect are served by God’s angels for the express purpose that they will inherit salvation. Also worth noting is that the passage doesn’t say those who “may” inherit but rather “who are to.” I see preordained election in this passage; a glimpse into the plan where God has made known His intentions – to make alive those who are dead in sin through those servants of the gospel. How beautiful are those messengers who bring good news! May we servants of Christ be about this awesome business.