Blessings in the Elect One

In a recent comment, Andrew asked me, "If election is conditional (rather than unconditional), then what is it conditioned upon?"

Here's a real brief explanation of my understanding of the "election" language in Paul's writings.

• Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant. "The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say 'and to seeds,' meaning many people, but 'and to your seed,' meaning one person, who is Christ" (Gal. 3:16). All of the blessings God promised Abraham belong to Jesus Christ.

• If you want the blessings promised to Abraham, you must be in Christ. "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:26-29). To benefit from the blessings that God promised Abraham, you must believe in Christ. In other words, we become the seed of Abraham when we believe in the Seed of Abraham.
  

• Since Jesus is the heir to the blessings that God promised Abraham, He is the elect one. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Every spiritual blessing that God has promised belongs to Jesus Christ. The word "blessing" used here should cue us in that Paul is alluding to the Abrahamic covenant. Jesus is the chosen one, the seed of Abraham, and heir of the Abrahamic blessings.

• Notice that in Paul's thesis statement for Ephesians, he mentions the promise that God made Abraham. "This mystery is that through the gospel, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 3:6). Thus, the theme of the letter is that Jews and Gentiles both share in the promise that God made to Abraham. If I am correct in identifying 3:1-6 as the thesis, then we should expect to see this theme developed in every pericope. I would like to suggest that the theme of 1:3-14 is praise to God for His blessings that Jews and Gentiles share in Christ.
  

• We are elect when we believe in Jesus Christ. "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory" (1:13-14) Notice the shift in the pronouns. Throughout 1:3-12, Paul uses 1st person plural pronouns. In v. 13-14, he starts using 2nd person plural pronouns. What does this mean? Based of the theme of the letter (3:1-6), the 1st person pronouns probably refer to Jews while the 2nd person pronouns refer to Gentiles. Thus, the point is that the Gentiles were included in Christ when they believed the word of truth. When someone is joined to Christ, God's chosen one, he is now a part of God's chosen people.
  

This is a brief overall of my position on election. If you have any questions, I can address the subject in more detail.