We may here note two different uses to which the word 'elect' or its equivalent idea is put in the Gospels, (a) It describes those who are chosen tor a certain definite work, and are for this purpose endowed with suitable characteristics, and elected to certain special privileges and spiritual graces (see Mt 2422. 24, Mil 1320. 22). For them endurance and active perse- verance to the end alone ensure their final salvation (ev t^ ire- wflv^ ifjMv xrv^iniTHi rocs ■i'vxets vfj,i^v, Lk 2119), though they are always to remember that God's active sympathy is ever on their side (18''). ()3) It is also used of those whose salvation is assured by their sharing in the power and glorv of the returning Messiah Ousri Imi/jLUti; xo.; iiir.s 3-oXAii,-, Mt •i43i = Mk 1326; of. oXtyoi ixXucToi, Mt 2'21*).
In conclusion, we may be permitted to point out that in acting on ' the principle according to elec- tion,' God has for ever vindicated His justice and righteousness by choosing us ' in Christ ' (see iv XpitTTi^, iv avT(f, Eph V-). By and in the Incarna- tion the human race and the separate individuals of the race have received tliuM- cipacitics and en- dowments which fit them for lliiii wml^ and for their Divinely appointed desliii'i (us iriwra^ dvepih- Tov$ eiXei. ffueijvai, 1 Ti 2''). No unc in tlie fore- ordaining counsels of God is contemplated as doomed to eternal exclusion from His presence {nv pov\6ixev6i rivas dTroXecrflai, 2 P 3"), and if they are thus shut out finally (S-rrov 6 (tkuXi]^ avrCv ov rfXerrg, K.T.X., Mk Q^), it is becau.se of tlicir own (Irlil.riMtc action in causing their bodies to In' MT\aiit-. of un righteousness, and thus in bein;.; .stniiililiii.u Moc ks in the N\av of tlio s.-ilvation of their fellow-men (ci. Mt :<'-"■ ls'>'', Ml, iH-n- etc.). No excuse as to lack of opporl unit y oi |iiivilege will avail ; for although inc(iu:ilit\' « ill .'Uways here as elsewhere exist, none shall 1)6 judged apart from their capacities and opportunities {ixda-rcp Kara rriv Idiav Svya/xiv, Mt 25"') ; and all shall be recompensed according to the kno^v- ledge they were able to acquire (Lk 12"'-). It is
514
ELI, ELI
ELISABETH
true that apart from Christ (xwpls 4ix.ov, Jn 15^) we are powerless for good ; but as none, not even those who have never heard His name, are outside Him (rairavTa iv avTif avviaT-qKev, Col 1"; cf. Epll 1™'), so none need be apart from Him in that profounder sense whereby human life becomes Divinely active and abundantly fruitful. To all is given the oppor- tunity of attaining the end to which they are called and chosen. J. It. AViLLIs.
ELI [ELOI], ELI [ELOI], etc.— See Sevkn Words.
ELIAKIM.— Two ancestors of Jesus bore this name, according to Mt 1" and Lk 3'".
ELIEZER.— An ancestor of Jesus, Lk 3=^
ELIJAH (AV Elias) is mentioned in the Gospels on 9 occasions, reported in 15 passages (rejecting Lk 9"). Of these passages only one, Lk 4^'-, alludes to the story of Elijah as it is contained in the OT. Here Jesus justifies His performance of miracles in Capernaum, while refraining from working them in Nazareth, by citing the well- kno\vn story of Elijah's going away from Israel in time of famine to relieve the distress of a Sidonian widow (1 K 17*' "). All the other passages refer to the present or future work of an Elijah who, according to common Jewish belief, still lived and would appear again upon earth.
The dominant note in the belief is that the pro- phet was to appear as the forerunner of the Mes- siah. This notion appears in its simplest form in the accounts of the avowal of the Messiahship of Jesus at CiBsarea Philippi (Mt 16"»-, Mk 8-'^f-, Lk gisff.) fiig answers then given by the disciples to Jesus' question as to the popular estimate of Him- self were varied, and doubtless representative : He was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets (cf. Mk 6'*, Lk 9'). Only one, Simon, saw in the work of Jesus the consumma- tion, rather than the postponement, of their Mes- sianic hope. The period of Elijah the forerunner is past, and the Messiah is here.
The relation between the prophet Elijah, the lawgiver Moses, and the Messiah Jesus, is dra- matically presented in the narrative of the Trans- figuration (Mt 17, Mk 92f-, Lk Q"-'"'-)- Here, too, the logical proof is presented that Elijah has come already, and is Joliu the Baptist. When once Jesus has been accepted as the Messiah, the work of John cannot fail to be known as the great pre- paratory work of Elijah. This work finds expres- sion in St. Matthew s report of Jesus' character- ization of John (11"; omitted from the parallel in Lk.).
The Baptist's denial that he was Elijah (Jn 1-'^-) is the natural expression of his lofty idea of the work of preparation for the Messiah contrasted with the insufficiency of the work he had actually been able to perform. The passage incidentally describes one of the functions of Elijah who was to come, viz., that he should baptize. Baptism was then one of the preliminaries of the salvation wliich tlie Messiah was to bring.
Elijah is mentioned again in connexion with the Crucitixi.m (Mt 27*'-«, Mk IS"-^*). The bystanders professedly misunderstood Jesus' cry, 'Eli, Eli,' as a call to Elijah. They proposed to wait and see if he would come down to help Him. Bearing in mind that Elijah is the forerunner of the Messiah, their curiosity seems not simply whether Jesus would have supernatural relief, as a man might, but whether Elijah would, by coming to His aid, prove that Jesus was after all the Messiah.