FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH
Many Are Called to Repentance, Few Are Chosen Worthy
And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ 5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.7 But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
15 Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
16 Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ 18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’21 So that servant came and reported these things to his master. 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 here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ 23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’”
The above Scriptures speak of the same thing. However, in Matthew 22:14, it says, “many are called but few are chosen.” This is not saying that some are considered more ‘special’ than others in God’s eyes but more so that many are called into REPENTANCE but few are chosen WORTHY, deemed fit, or deserving to be chosen to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Why? The kingdom of heaven is considered a feast in these parables and in those times when Jesus spoke about this, feasts were considered sacred assemblies (Joel 1:14; Joel 2:15-16). Christ regarded the wedding feast as being no different than the seven feasts of Israel. This supper or banquet spoken of is to be sacred, meaning holy and consecrated unto the Lord. Christ was saying that His Father, the King of all the earth (Matthew 22:2; Psalm 47:7; Psalm 95:3; Psalm 145:1) was assembling (gathering) His people into a holy or consecrated place spiritually in Him, so that they may be dressed appropriately for the occasion or favorable time of His Son’s return (Mark 13:32-37). This place is not a literal place but a spiritual position they need to be, in order that they may be WITH Christ and behold His glory that His Father gave Him (John 17:24). There is a literal place that believers do go to be with Christ in the end, but Christ was speaking of something much deeper. He was speaking of being in agreement WITH Him in all things, so that we may join (or be one with Him) in the position He’s in—which is to BEHOLD, perceive, see, or gaze upon the glory of God (1 Corinthians 13:12-13; 1 John 3:2; Job 19:26-27; Psalm 17:15; Matthew 5:8; Luke 17:30; Colossians 3:4).
The appropriate attire for this special assembly is to be holy and consecrated unto the Lord (1 Peter 1:14-19; Leviticus 11:44-45; Leviticus 19:2; Leviticus 20:7). This can only be accomplished in Christ (or IN the same place Christ was in with His Father, where He did and said only what the Father told Him, John 5:30; John 6:38; John 8:28; John 12:49-50; John 14:10) through the complete obedience unto the Holy Spirit Whom leads you into all things that are right and perfect in the eyes of God (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:21-24; John 16:13; Psalm 23:3). Many are called or invited into repentance which brings forth salvation and righteousness.
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
In Matthew 22 and Luke 14 above, there were people called or invited into repentance but they made all kinds of excuses not to (Matthew 22:5; Luke 14:18-20). They were not willing to come before the Lord when He asked them to, instead they clothed themselves with the world and its ways, therefore clothing themselves in the garment of flesh and not of salvation. Both Job and David spoke of this garment of flesh and how God saw it.
Job spoke of his own flesh in himself, as a futile life. Even though he experienced natural conditions in his flesh and he described it here, it was symbolic of the appearance of sin in God’s eyes:
My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.
David spoke of how the enemies of God would be clothed because of their fleshly nature in sin.
Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.
The clothing of shame and dishonor is no different than the when Adam and Eve were trying to avoid or hide from God when He called them, after they sinned (Genesis 3:8-10). They were in an exposed state and ashamed but when they realized it they were not willing to reveal themselves before a Holy God. They instead said they were afraid and tried to hide their sin; because of this they tried to cover (hide) their sin before God, which led to their futile life limited in true spiritual prosperity fulfilling:
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
Those that go on in their lives of sin rejecting the invitation of God when He calls them unto true repentance will not obtain the mercy when God’s judgment falls. They will be cast into utter darkness as their judgment and will not taste (or experience) the kingdom of heaven (supper) that God offered them in the beginning. Ones that go on to make excuses that the things of this world are more important than God’s way of doing things led by the Spirit and also think lightly of the things of God, do not have true Godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10-11). True Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation. The type of sorrow that one harbors who rejects God’s invitation is instead supportive of trouble, mischief, toil, and labor (Psalm 55:10; Psalm 90:10; Psalm 116:3; Proverbs 10:10). Solomon referred to fleshly sorrow as contributing to evil and compared it to being actually childish (or immature), therefore being as vanity.
Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
This is opposite of what God offers to those that truly come to Him with a repentant and obedient heart (Psalm 51:17; 1 Samuel 15:22; 2 Kings 22:19; Psalm 34:18; Joel 2:13). With this type of heart in place, God offers through His Son, in obedience to the Holy Spirit:
– A position spiritually to rest from the fleshly labors that lead to sorrow.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
– God will give you rest from pain and turmoil and harshness as a result of being under enslavement to sin and death through spiritual harlotry and uncleanness before God (as in Babylon, Revelation 18:1-8).
And it will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved
– God promises that those that are redeemed through Him will have joy and gladness and the fleshly sorrow will leave them.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
So, in conclusion there are many called (or appointed) which means they are called (or appointed) into repentance from sin and into an obedient, consecrated, and holy life through the leading of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:10). However, there are also those that are few, which are chosen as their excellence being preeminent. These few are chosen for who they are to God in His plan just the same way the ones called were—by God’s will or decree before the foundation of the world (Romans 9:11). It is not determined by what they’ve done but by what God has already done, which is chosen for them to do what they had to by and through Him and His Power or Wisdom. The Lord has shown variations of order throughout the Scriptures from Adam and Eve, to Moses and the priests along with the rest of the Israelites divided into tribes with judges and officials (Exodus 3:10-22; Numbers 3:10; Deuteronomy 16:18; Deuteronomy 1:9-11; Genesis 49:1-28) , to the prophets, to the twelve apostles chosen by Christ to have authority to perform certain spiritual miracles (Matthew 10:1), and even differentiated the subjection of spiritual order of the Godhead to name a few (1 Corinthians 15:23-28; 1 Corinthians 13:13). He revealed this to make clear the distinction of those He chose worthy or deemed to be fit to do some of the more notable or outstanding services He required of them as opposed to those called into repentance. This is not to say that what God requires of others into repentance isn’t remarkable in any way, but we have to remember that if it’s all done in the Power of Christ or in the leading of the Holy Spirit then it is always excellent. This is more so a distinction of roles that God has required of someone and what they have been asked to do for God’s purposes (1 Timothy 5:17-18; Luke 12:48; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13); and God sees it as of great worth in His eyes because His excellencies are proclaimed through them (1 Peter 2:9-10). The chosen have become a sign of God’s mercy (1 Peter 2:9-10), sovereignty (Ezekiel 24:24), love, and judgment (Luke 11:29-30).
The best thing for His Body to understand in all of this is the importance of everyone’s role in God’s plan and not to think lightly of ANYTHING God is doing in and among His people. We can only continue to pray and hope that those that are called into repentance understand their calling is of utmost importance to the functioning of the Body as being whole, a holy sacrifice unto the Lord, into maturity (Ephesians 4:11-13); and that those that are chosen are made mighty for the best interest of the Body in being able to help them, and for the revealing of God’s Wisdom made manifest to all His people to have and know (2 Corinthians 4:7-18):
“Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a spring;
Its branches run over a wall.
23 “The archers bitterly attacked him,
And shot at him and harassed him;
24 But his bow remained firm,
And his arms were agile,
From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
25 From the God of your father who helps you,
And by the Almighty who blesses you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 “The blessings of your father
Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills;
May they be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.