To select
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ἐκλέγομαι is the NT's verb for God's choosing; the act of divine election that stands behind the existence of the church, the appointment of the apostles, and the salvation of every believer. ' The direction is irreversible: the choosing runs from Christ to the disciples, not from the disciples to Christ.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐκλέγομαι (G1586) · Open the biblical lexicon
ἐκλέγομαι is the NT's verb for God's choosing; the act of divine election that stands behind the existence of the church, the appointment of the apostles, and the salvation of every believer. ' The direction is irreversible: the choosing runs from Christ to the disciples, not from the disciples to Christ.
The BSB source-word alignment has 22 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include chose (7), chosen (2), choose (1), has chosen (1), have chosen (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 13:20. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (7), John (5), Luke (4), 1 Corinthians (3).
ἐκλέγομαι is the NT's verb for God's choosing; the act of divine election that stands behind the existence of the church, the appointment of the apostles, and the salvation of every believer. John 15:16 is the pastoral summit: 'You did not choose me, but I chose you.' The direction is irreversible: the choosing runs from Christ to the disciples, not from the disciples to Christ.
This does not eliminate human faith and response; the same chapter calls them to remain, to obey, to love; but it establishes the order: the response is to prior grace, not the ground of it. Eph 1:4 extends the timeline before creation: 'He chose us in him before the foundation of the world.' The election is in Christ, not independent of Him; the chosen are chosen in the Chosen One (Isa 42:1; Matt 12:18).
1 Cor 1:27-28 gives the consistent OT pattern: God chose the foolish, the weak, the low, the despised; specifically 'so that no human being might boast before God' (v. 29). The purpose of election is doxological: it makes grace visible by eliminating any other explanation.
The local Greek index currently counts about 22 occurrences for exact Strong's ID G1586. Key clusters: Jesus choosing the Twelve (Luke 6:13; John 6:70; 13:18; 15:16, 19), God's election in Pauline theology (1 Cor 1:27-28; Eph 1:4; Acts 13:17), and specific appointment contexts (Acts 1:2, 24; 6:5; 15:7, 22, 25). The usage is remarkably consistent in placing divine initiative before human response.
You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
The directional statement. The reversal is explicit; 'you did not... but I did.' The choosing (ἐξελεξάμην, aorist) is prior to the appointment and the fruitbearing. Election is the ground of mission, not the reward for it. 'Bear fruit' follows from 'I chose you'; it does not precede it.
For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
Election is 'in him,' in Christ, and 'before the foundation of the world.' The temporal location (pre-creation) removes any contribution from the chosen. The purpose ('that we should be holy') shows election is not only about rescue from wrath but about formation into holiness. Election is both forensic (being counted blameless) and formative (becoming holy).
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
The threefold ἐξελέξατο; God chose, God chose, God chose; applied to the Corinthian congregation. The explicit logic: 'so that no human being might boast before God' (v.29). Paul is applying Deut 7:7's pattern ('not because you were greater') to the new covenant community. The principle of election-bypassing-the-obvious is structural.
The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers. He made them into a great people during their stay in Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out of that land.
Paul's synagogue sermon begins with election: God chose the fathers. The entire history that follows, including Egypt, the wilderness, the conquest, the judges, Saul, and David, is framed as the unfolding of a prior divine choice. History is the story of what God's ἐκλέγομαι produces.
When daylight came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated as apostles:
Jesus ἐκλέγομαι the Twelve from a larger group of disciples. The verb echoes the OT's בָּחַר; Jesus acts with divine prerogative, selecting specifically, appointing deliberately. John 6:70 darkens this: 'Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil'; election to apostolic office does not guarantee personal salvation.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Divine selection of persons or things for a specific purpose, especially Christ choosing disciples
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 21 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I choose, elect
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Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 22 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 22 lexical occurrence verses.
ἐκλέγομαι is built from these roots:
Expresses sovereign selection. Luke 6:12–16
Affirms Jesus as the divinely appointed Messiah. Luke 9:28–36
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
John 15:16's reversal, 'You did not choose me, but I chose you,' is preachable at the pastoral level as an antidote to every form of spiritual self-congratulation. The disciples were not recruited on the basis of observable qualities; they were chosen, and the choosing produced what was needed. 1 Cor 1:27-28's triple ἐξελέξατο on the weak and foolish extends this into the life of the local church: if your congregation looks unremarkable, that is consistent with how God has always worked.
The purpose is stated in v. 29: 'so that no human being might boast before God.' Election is the architecture that makes grace visible.
John.15.16
The middle voice of ἐκλέγομαι (choosing for oneself) gives divine election a relational quality: God is not operating a selection algorithm; He is choosing people for Himself. The ἐκ- prefix means the choosing is always from a larger set; election is particular, not universal. This is what makes it grace: not all are chosen, which means those who are chosen are not chosen because they are the better part of the whole.
John 6:70's note that one of the chosen twelve is 'a devil' is a guardrail built into the narrative: apostolic election to office and personal saving election are not identical.
The OT trajectory: Gen 12:1-3 (Abraham called and set apart) → Deut 7:6-7 (Israel chosen from all peoples, not because of greatness) → Isa 42:1 (the Servant chosen, Spirit-endowed) → John 15:16 (I chose you) → Eph 1:4 (chosen in him before creation) → 1 Pet 2:9 (chosen race, royal priesthood; Exod 19:6 language applied to the church). The NT does not introduce election as a new doctrine; it shows that the church is the community constituted by the same divine בָּחַר / ἐκλέγομαι that always characterized God's people, now centered in and defined by the Chosen One, Christ.
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