“You did not choose Me”

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C.Longinus said:
What does John 15:16 mean for synergy?
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Luke 6
12 Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
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Yes, Jesus chooses them. But, even before Jesus voices the words “Follow Me”, God infused grace into their souls which aided them to be open to His call to follow Him. When they cooperated with this grace, subsequent graces were given to them. Their efforts, united/fueled by God’s grace, will bear far more fruit (John 15:16) than would be accomplished by their human efforts alone.
 
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Bruh you can’t even pray without Grace. You can’t even wash your hands, walk, read your Bible, EAT, SLEEP, poop, without Grace. Everything is a grace. Apart from Jesus you can do nothing.
 
Thought a little info on Catholic teaching regarding grace might help any readers here who are not familiar with it. Will try to be brief; for more, see the Catechism.

There are 2 main categories of grace: habitual**/sanctifying** grace (meant to be permanent) and “actual” grace/s (temporary aids to accomplish certain acts). See CCC #2000 & 2024 in the above link to the Catechism.

Regarding Jesus choosing the apostles: God granted them actual graces to aid them in accepting Jesus’ call. (This kind of actual grace is sometimes referred to as “prevenient” because it is given before the desired act). And they cooperated. Not everyone did. Matthew 19:16-22 tells us about a young man Jesus called to “follow me”, who freely chose not to cooperate. ( It is presumed Jesus would not ask someone to do something they had not been given sufficient grace to carry out.)

End of lecture on grace. 🙂

There’s another story in Scripture regarding Jesus choosing those he desires to follow and travel with Him. It’s the cured demoniac in Mark 5:18-20. Even tho’ he begs to go with Jesus, Jesus says “No”. I always found that interesting. But, Jesus has a different mission for him.
 
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The Israelites were God’s chosen people, we are chosen by Christ, and in Islam it is said, Allah chooses whom he wills.
 
C.Longinus said:
What does John 15:16 mean for synergy?
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To understand Jesus’ final comments to His Apostles just prior to Him being led into the arms of the Jewish Leadership who bribed Judas I to betray Him, it’s much better to read the entire discourse in John which covers several chapters.

It keep this simple - here’s far better context…

It’s JESUS speaking to those whom are become His Apostles.

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunesso that it will be even more fruitful.

3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

17 This is my command: Love each other.
 
It means God chooses to call those that He knows will respond to Him (the 11 apostles and all His people) and it is not their own human intelligence that led them to follow Jesus, but a call from God Himself and by His grace. Remember what Jesus says to Peter (after Peter confesses Him as the Christ)

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17)

God called them, God gave them faith, God revealed Jesus’s identity. Our salvation is a gift from God, not a work of our flesh or ourselves apart from God. And God, through Christ who lives in us by the Holy Spirit, allows us to bear “fruit that will last.”

To the question of if God calls some and not others. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 says: “…God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

Romans 8:30 says: “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

So from 1 Timothy 2:3-4 we can see that God desires that all shall be saved. And from Romans 8:30 we can see that He always calls those He predestined (those he knows will respond to Him and believe.) So anyone who will believe if given the chance, God will call.
 
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Yes completely. God desires that all would turn to repentance and believe in Christ because He is a loving Creator. Those who willfully deny Christ are hopeless. God’s mercy is conditional because we must choose to make ourselves open to receiving His graces through Christ, and we must surrender to His Will and the promptings of His Holy Spirit. I’m sorry if my previous response could be misinterpreted.
 
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