Preliminary Points:
Some notes on the use of the word “elect” and “election” in the NT:
1) The election (and diaspora) of the readers (1 Peter 1:1)
(a) NT usage of elect as a noun/adjective (NA27 NT)
(i) 22 uses total
(ii) Matthew 4 uses:
(I) Many are called but few are chosen (Matt. 22:13)
(II)In Matthew 24 used to refer to those who are chosen to be separated in the Tribulation (Matt. 24:21, 23 & 30).
(iii) Mark 3 uses: all with respect to Tribulation, Mark 13:19, 21 & 26 (parallels Matthew 24 usage).
(iv) Luke twice
(I) Luke 18:7: those whose prayers will be heard, he will give justice to his elect who cry out to him ….
(II) Luke 23:35: Those mocking Jesus on the cross, “if you are the Christ of God, the Elect/Chosen One”.
(v) John none.
(I) SBL John 1:34 reads, “This is the Elect [NA27 Son] of God”. The SBL apparatus reads, “34 ἐκλεκτὸς Holmes WHmarg ] υἱὸς WH Treg NIV RP”.
(II) The Metzger textual commentary reads, “Instead of “the Son of God” several witnesses, chiefly Western (codex Bezae is defective here), read “the chosen one of God” (P5vid א* itb, e, ff2* syrc, s Ambrose) and a few read “the chosen Son of God” (ita, ff2c syrpal mss copsa). On the basis of age and diversity of witnesses a majority of the Committee preferred the reading ὁ υἱός, which is also in harmony with the theological terminology of the Fourth Evangelist.”
(III) The appellation “elect” is used of Jesus otherwise only in connection with the cross: Luke 23:35, those mocking Jesus; 1 Peter 2:4 & 6, referencing Jesus’ election as The Stone of the Temple.
(vi) Acts: none.
(vii) Romans twice:
(I) Romans. 8:33: Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?
(II)Romans 16:33, a reference to Rufus, “chosen in the Lord”.
(viii) Colossians 3:12, Put on then as the elect of God, holy and beloved.
(ix) 1 Timothy 5:21, “In the presence of God and of Jesus Christ and of the elect angels, I charge you ….”
(x) 2 Timothy 2:10, “I endure everything for the sake of the elect”
(xi) Titus 1:1, “Paul a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus for the sake of the elect of God ….”
(xii) 1 Peter, four uses
(I) 1 Peter 1:1, the addressees, “to the elect ….”
(II)1 Peter 2:4, Jesus “in the sight of God, chosen and precious”
(III) 1 Peter 2:6:, “I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious”
(IV) 1 Peter 2:9, “but you are chosen race ….”
(xiii) 2 John 1, twice
(I) 1:1, The elder to the elect lady
(II) 1:13, The children of your elect sister greet you
(xiv) Rev. 17:14,”those with him are called chosen and faithful.”
(b) Observations: a title for the people of God while in the world.
(i) It is originally used of God’s people as those being saved through judgment (cf. Hamilton), in that it begins as a designation of Jesus.
(ii) It is used generally as a designation for believers (similar to the usage of “saints”).
(iii) Twice (Col. 3:12, 1 Pet. 2:9) used as the predicate for an imperative, because you are chose, then you must X.
(iv)At most used of Jesus four times. Once mocking. Twice based upon a quotation of Is. 28:16 (Peter uses the language as a referent for Jesus and then quotes the text. It is common for Peter in this letter to introduce a proposition and then provide Scriptural support afterwards as a proof and summation). The passage is in the context of God’s judgment upon those in rebellion against him. The structure is similar to Psalm 2: Men in rebellion and God responds by sending his Son.
(v) Once it is used of the angels who willingly serve God.
(c) The verb is used 22 times (NA27).
(i) Mark 13:20, as a description of those who will be chosen to preserve in the Tribulation.
(ii) Luke four uses
(I) Luke 6:13, Jesus chose the 12.
(II)Luke 9:35, The Mt. of Transfiguration, The Father says, This is my Son, my Chosen One …. In the parallel of Matt. 17:5 & Mark 9:7, the word “beloved” is used in place of “chosen”.
(III) Luke 10:42 & 14:7, used of people choosing something.
(iii) John 6:70 & 13:18: Jesus referring to choosing the 12.
(iv)John 15:16, You did not chose me, but I chose you …
(v) John 15:19, I choose you out of the world
(vi)Acts
(I) 1:2 & 24: references to Jesus having chosen the 12 and Jesus choosing the replacement for Judas.
(II) 6:5, choosing Stephen
(III) 15:7, Peter, God chose me to evangelize the Gentiles.
(IV) 15:25, the letter to the Gentiles, we chose some men to send to you
(vii) 1 Corinthians 1:27-28: God chose lowly, weak things of this world.
(viii) Eph. 1:4: God chose us in him
(ix)James 2:5, God has chosen the poor.
(d) Observations: With the exception of two incidental uses, choosing is an act of God. Jesus’ saw himself as sovereign over the members of the 12, which was understood to continue even after the ascension. The actions of the early apostles choosing Judas’s replacement, Stephen, and the men to carry the letter were seen as congruent or originating in God’s choice. Peter saw his personal action in evangelism as the choice of God. God’s choosing is independent of the world or the world’s valuation (before the foundation of the world, things despised in the world, the poor).
(e) The phrase God’s chosen people may be slightly restructured as “the people whom God has chosen.” It is important, however, in choosing a term for “chosen,” to avoid the implication that such individuals are merely privileged individuals. The implication should be that they are “chosen for a purpose.” It is particularly important to avoid any term which will suggest that they are the ones that “God has bet on” (Daniel C. Arichea and Eugene Albert Nida, A Handbook on the First Letter from Peter, UBS handbook series; Helps for translators (New York: United Bible Societies, 1994), 8).