Foreknowledge and Predestination and Election…Oh My! (Part Two)

An example of Doctrinal Apology

In Part One this example of doctrinal apology, the topic of God’s foreknowledge was reviewed – each of the passages addressing “foreknowledge” were exposited in order to provide clarity of understanding.  In this post we will apply the same process to the ideas of predestination and election or choosing.  Our last entry on the foreknowledge of God from Romans 8 gave us the connection between God knowing and God doing.  It is seen in three other passages, a total of six times. 

I do want to clarify an inference that may be taken from my comments regarding the suggestion of predestination in the stories of the Old Testament.  First, my intent was to note what seems to me to be the idea that even a promise made by God with conditions for its fulfillment being based on the actions of those who received the promise should be fulfilled by God, nonetheless.  Second, the Septuagint does not include the actual Greek word translated “predestined” in the Old Testament.  The Hebrew word that comes closest to the meaning would be the verb “manah” which is a primary root word that means “to count, number, reckon” that is first seen in Genesis 13:16 when the Lord God promises Abram (after he separated his family from Lot’s) that He would make his descendants like the dust of the earth “so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.”

PREDESTINATION

The Greek word translated predestination is the verb “proorizō” defined as “to predetermine, foreordain”.  It is a compound word that is made of the word “pro” = before and “horizō” which means “to mark off by boundaries, to determine”.  (In Acts 2 Peter references “horizō” when he notes that the turning over of Jesus to be crucified was within the boundaries of God’s plan; it is often translated as “predetermined” or “predestined”, the more common translation would simply be “determined”.)  I believe it is helpful to understand the meaning of the word to be speaking of deliberate action based on purposeful, defined intentions and dependent on the foreknowledge of God.

We first see this word in the prayer that all of the saints, in one accord, lifted to the Lord after Peter and John were released from the prison they were thrown into because they healed the lame man at the gate Beautiful, shared another defense for Jesus as their Messiah, and some five thousand men believed their message.

“For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to come into being.” Acts 4:27-28

The key phrase, found in our verse 28, is “to do whatever Your Hand (power, authority) and Your purpose (the Eternal Plan of God as defined in the Everlasting Covenant) determined to come into being.”  What we learn in the prayers of the thousands of those who in the last 7 to 10 days have converted their beliefs to the recognition and acceptance of Jesus as their promised Savior, is the understanding that the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God was ordained by God in accordance with His power and His purpose.  The word “purpose” is the noun form (“boule”) of the verb for “to will” (“boulomia”); and it was His will that it (the Sacrifice) come into being within the confines of time in fulfillment of the Son’s agreement before the foundations of creation to be the Lamb Slain (Rev.13:8).

In his letter to those who assembled in fellowship in Corinth Paul points out the difference between the wisdom of men and the power of God – declaring that he demonstrated the power of God to them in order to demote the idea of their dependency on the intellect of Man (see 1Cor.2:2-5).

Starting in verse 6 of that chapter he makes another comparison between the wisdom of Man and the wisdom that was hidden:

Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” 

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.  For whom, among men, knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?  Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 1Cor.2:6-11 

God hid the wisdom of His plan from the rulers of this age – and whether that includes those humans who had authority regarding Christ’s crucifixion or only the principalities and powers of this age is inconsequential to the central point: God had a plan set in motion before creation and that plan included enabling His creation to partake in His glory. 

Paul then elaborates on a prophecy from Isaiah 64:4, with the clear and co-related thought that the predetermined plan brings unimaginable blessings “for those who love Him.”

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Our last passage in our review of predestination echoes much of what we saw in the passage from Romans covered in the previous post.  Below is the entirety of the passage from the letter to those in Ephesus:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 

In Him we are ransomed through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the ransoming of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:3-14

The first time, in this passage, that Paul mentions the idea of predestination centers in our “being in Christ.”  It is because we have accepted His ransom of His sinless blood, the price for our release from being hostage to sin and death and have been born by the Spirit into His kingdom that we are found “in Him” holy and blameless.  The blessings of Christ reside in the realm of the heavenly – the place of God’s presence where He abides in the Eternal Now.  It is there that His love encompassed the purpose of His adoption of us to Himself; an act of Grace and Kindness intentionally and freely imparted to those Ransomed.  The blessings of being in Him, we are told, were a part of what was “bounded before” even the foundations of the “kosmos”, the created order, had been laid.  His love, having predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself – according to the good pleasure of His choice.  It was this choice, the choice He made when He designed the Eternal Plan and created the Everlasting Covenant within Himself, that enabled Him to share eternity with His creation – but at the cost of the life of His Son.

In verse 7 we are told that our Ransom was His sinless blood.  This is often translated “redemption” but the word in the Greek is quite specific.  The word is “apolutrōsis” and it specifically means “a release effected by payment of ransom” and is the noun form of “apolutroō” which means “to release on payment of ransom”.  The concept of redemption, as drawn from Old Covenant language, is specifically associated with the restoration of a lost inheritance.  The idea is beautifully demonstrated and defined by the Year of the Ram’s Horn (the Hebrew word is “yobel” but is often translated as jubilee) when all bond-slaves were returned to their families and all surrendered land was restored to the heir of inheritance as determined by lot when the people of covenant entered the promised land.

The ransom He paid released us from all that held us captive to sin and the death that it produced; our debt has been paid in full by Him.  It is ours for the asking: the act of asking is only required for our sake.  It is the evidence of our recognition that we need Him; it is the act of humility that makes us fit for eternity.  His sacrifice unlocked the mystery of how vast His love for us is.  He so desires to share Eternity with us that He is willing to humble Himself (over and over and over again).  As we will see in the next section – greater love has no Man than that He willingly laid down His life for His friends: this is the mystery that became manifest by Jesus’ sacrifice.

Once we accept His ransom, Paul tells us, we are then able to become His Inheritance…that for which He died becomes His Eternal Heritage in alignment with His predetermine purpose.  And it is He Who works all things according to His counsel (the word is “boule”).  Paul ends the passage by reminding those in Ephesus: “In Him you also, after hearing the message of truth – the good news of salvation – having also believed, were sealed in with the Holy Spirit of promise; given to you as the earnest money of your inheritance – the proof that your ransom was paid!”

ELECTION

We will begin this section by going back to the part of the passage from Romans chapter 8 that was deferred from the first part of this topic.  In that post it was noted that the sequence began with God’s foreknowledge and culminated with our sharing in His righteousness and His honor.  In verse 31, Paul asks the somewhat rhetorical question regarding the progression of God’s dealings with each of us as Hs creation: “What shall we say to these things?”

The answer: “If God for us, who against us?”  And then he reiterates the extreme nature of God’s favor – how far He was determined to go in order to share Eternity with us.  As a reminder:

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 

“God’s elect” – the word in the Greek, “eklektos”, is an adjective, a description of those who have been called and it infers being a favorite.  It is derived from the verb “eklegō” which means “to select” and is often translated “choose” or a form of the word.  There are over forty references in the New Testament where either of these two words are found – we will not attempt to review them all but will instead focus on those the either include or suggest association with one or both of our other concepts.

And so we are told in this portion of the passage that being on God’s side, accepting His grace, makes us impervious to our enemy’s tactics.  The risen Son of God, Who sits at the Father’s right hand, intercedes for us – and therefore our case is settled!  He has chosen to advocate on our behalf because we have chosen to believe in Him.

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In his letter to those in Colossae, Paul gives a description of how those who are favored should behave; what our natural response to being called by Him should look like.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.  Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.  Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

First: these are not commands (though we will see those in a moment), these are recommendations that will enable the believer to fully experience all that the Lord has in store for us in this life (with just a hint of what eternity will contain).  Second: in the Body of Christ we are all accepted as holy and beloved.  We all have a part to play.  And, if we can accept it, there is no part more important than any other.  It is unfortunate, but, too often, we would rather trust someone else’s “gift” than to draw from the Holy Spirit within ourselves for that which will admonish and teach those with whom we share Christ.  That is, however, an essential element to our being “chosen” in Him.

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We are also shown this descriptive word in an interesting sidebar conversation between John and a human messenger (who had just poured out one of the bowls of wrath, one of the last plagues that will bring to a close the wrath of God that resulted from the stubbornness of Man’s heart).  The conversation is found in the Revelation 17:11-14:

“The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.  The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.  These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” Rev.17:11-14

(By the way – and I have an entire series on the topic if you are interested – this short passage, hidden away in the description of the great harlot Babylon, gives clarity to many of the mysteries associated with the time of the end!)

John was told that the unrepentant who (in this conversation) would at some time in the future be resurrected, would gather around the devil and his ten kings or commanders to demonstrate one last time their defiance of the Almighty.  (The fulfillment of what the messenger describes is seen precisely in Rev.20:7-9, 11-12.)  They will march against the Lamb and those who stand with Him – the “Chosen” who have reigned with Him on earth for a thousand years – and they will be utterly defeated.

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In the gospel of John – quoting Jesus – we see the verb form of the word as Jesus prepares His disciples for life, as those He has chosen, after He returns to the Father.  In verses 12-17 of chapter 15 He is specifically addressing how they should relate to one another.

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.  You are My friends if you do what I command you.  No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose Me but I chose you and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.  This I command you, that you love one another. John 15:12-17

Jesus begins by laying down the “Law”:  “This is My commandment that you love one another just as (after the pattern and model) I have loved you.”  This and the love for God, comprise the original Constitution of the assembling of God’s people under the New Covenant (see also John 13:34; Matt.22:37-40).

Jesus then expounds on what that will look like – by His own example, thereby reinforcing the “just as” pattern of their love for one another: to lay down your life for your friends.  Though this may include (and at times has included) actually dying for your friends, it was and is intended to describe how we are to live with one another.

And then Jesus calls out the fact that that is exactly how He sees them: as friends.  Friends because they know His plan, the plan of the Father that Jesus shared with them.  The Father disclosed His plan to Jesus Who, by becoming Man, had laid down His essential attributes.  This disclosure from the Father occurred after Jesus’ “baptism” (the word means to dunk or sink and is a transliteration not a translation), His commissioning from the Father, His Anointing by the Spirit, and His proving in the wilderness of temptation.  It was then that He began to identify and “choose” His disciples.  Some by words, other by the witness of others, others by signs and miracles.  And it is to these in particular that He says, “You did not choose Me but I chose you and set you in place that you would go and bear fruit, fruit that will abide…”  And then He gives a promise: “so that the certain thing that you ask of the Father in My name and by My authority He gives you.”  He closes this lesson by repeating the command to love one another.

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The last passage of our review of the concept of election (though as noted, this is not exhaustive) will be broken into two segments.  The setting is found in Acts 15:1-29 (I will include the specific verses for each of the two occurrences).  Those who are still abiding in Jerusalem become aware that it was being declared to the Gentile converts (likely from some zealous priests who had believed) that they needed be circumcised “according to the custom of Moses” in order for the Ransom of Jesus to save them from the price of their sin – death!  The whole assembly, including the ones Jesus had appointed to be sent out and the mature members, gathered to discuss what part they should play in the controversial doctrine.

The first section of this passage, our verses 1-11, summarizes the wave of Gentile conversions seen primarily in response to Paul and Barnabas’ ministry and the message they had been sharing in the region of Antioch of Syria.  Paul and Barnabas traveled from Antioch, after witnessing the teaching of circumcision as a requirement of salvation, to seek unity with those in Jerusalem, sharing stories of the conversions along their journey – causing many to rejoice.

It is germane to what we see in verse 6 and 7 that we note that it is the entire “ekklesia” in Antioch that sent Paul and Barnabas.  What we will see in verse 3 regarding who sent them is echoed in verse 4 regarding who received them.  (I have addressed in previous posts that though “church” is inserted in most translations, the term and concept that the Holy Spirit had the writers of the New Testament use when describing those for whom Jesus would build a home, founded on the truth that He is the Son of God, was that of “those assembled for a purpose”.  Sourced from Athens, “ekklesia” described the gathering of all the citizens of the city who had been called to assemble to act on the business of the city.  Each member of the “ekklesia” had the same rights and impact on the outcome of the meeting as any other member.)   

Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”  And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.  Therefore, being sent on their way by the assembly, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the brethren.  When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the assembly and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.  But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”

The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.  After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.  And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.  Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?  But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.” Acts 15:1-11

We are told that those from Antioch were welcomed by the “ekklesia” of Jerusalem, which included those appointed by Jesus and the older, more experienced saints.  After Paul and Barnabas’ report, we are told that some of the converts who had been of the sect of the Pharisees rose up and declared their conviction that to be a follower of the Anointed One they (the Gentile converts) would also need to comply with the seal of the covenant with Abraham and the “Laws of Moses”.  So, in essence they would need to be proselytes of Judaism in order to accept Jesus as Messiah.

After much debate, as was the case in Antioch (an example of the ekklesia being the ekklesia), Peter spoke up: “Men and brothers, you know that from original days God chose (selected) that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.”  Peter went on to note that there was no distinction made by God in the “cleansing of their hearts by faith”.  He reminds the assembly that the Jews had not been able to keep the Law, why then, since God did not require it, should the Gentiles be bound to it?  God did not require them to be proselytes before He filled them with His Spirit, why should they then require it? 

The next section of this passage, verses 19-29, picking up after James draws from Amos 9:11-12 and presents what he believes is good advice.  (There is no clear indication of who this James is, by the way.  Also, a debate could be held as to whether James’ counsel included conditions that were truly required or were simply an attempt to avoid completely alienating the converts who were Pharisees.  Both Paul and Peter’s later writings certainly would indicate that they perceived it as a compromise.)

“Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.  For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, and they sent this letter by them:

“The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings. Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.  For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

To our point is what we find in our verse 22: “Then it was the opinion of…the whole “ekklesia” to choose men…” to go back to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The election or selection of those who would be sent was the responsibility of the entire assembly.  And to take with them a letter that expressed their opinion on the matter of the Gentile converts and their need to be circumcised.

The letter, it would seem, was drafted by James.  The greeting however notes that it was from those sent ones appointed by Jesus, the brothers (or saints – so the ekklesia) and elders and that it was to the brethren (the ekklesia) in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia (where Paul was from).  The contents confirm what we have already noted about the selection of those sent; that it was never the intent of those in Jerusalem to disturb them by words that caused them to recoil from their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The notable usage of the concept of election from these last few passages demonstrates the idea that election based on faith in Jesus as our Savior stands at the first or primary level; with a secondary or subsequent “choosing” from among the ransomed for specific tasks or missions.

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And so ends our review of Election. 

What has been uncovered and/or confirmed for me by reviewing these three concepts are the following:

1.     Foreknowledge – the fact of “knowing before” an actual event occurs in time, that it will indeed occur – is an aspect of Who God is.  Since He is not bound by time, but instead abides in the Eternal Now, He must know All.  I posted in The Absurdity of Eternity how deeply this challenges our understanding and yet how absolutely true it is.

2.     Predestination – when understood both from the core meaning of the term itself (the setting of boundaries beforehand) and the context of all of its uses, is also an undeniable reality in God.  When God, before the foundations of His created order were laid, established the Everlasting Covenant He pre-set or foreordained the boundaries under which He would interact with His creation.  And not just the creation made in His image and likeness, but all of the created order (”kosmos”).  God knowing and God doing are synonymous concepts with Him; unlike with Man in our finite, created reality.

3.     Election – this is indeed the concept that I believe has the greatest nuance.  Ultimately the question may actually be merely an academic one.  If God knows-before the choices we will make, and then, in time we do indeed make that choice, does that preclude free-will?  And if, as one made in His Image and Likeness, I, by design must have the freedom to choose, as I purpose in The Need for Choice does that remove or diminish the Grace of God that allows me to benefit by the choice I make? 

To be chosen by God, in the strictest sense of the term is a two-fold reality.  It begins with the calling or wooing of God (just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world) – our God Whom we are told does not want anyone to perish, but that all of us would come to the knowledge of Truth.  Step two then is our choosing to answer His call, to accept His Ransom and to be Born of the Spirit into our New Life in Christ (In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the ransoming of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory).  This is precisely what a strict reading of Matthew 22:14 would describe.  The many who are called by God, is reduced in number based on the fewer who choose to respond to His call.

4.     I do understand that there are certain “trouble” verses that we might infer to mean that man’s choice is not possible or at least not impactful.  The most often referenced would be Romans 9, in which Paul quotes from Exodus 33 regarding God’s attestation that He will show compassion on those to whom He will show compassion. The reality is that Paul’s entire treatise in the letter to those believers in Rome (who at the time of his writing, were predominately of Gentile heritage since the Jewish converts had been banished from the city for over five years) was to encourage the re-mixing in the assembly of both Jews and Gentiles as the Jewish believers returned.  In doing so (as I discussed in the Roman Road) Paul emphasizes the universality of Man’s condition while advocating for his “brothers” – those of Jewish heritage.  To parse statements (verses) from within the total treatise will undoubtedly demonstrate his intent to emphasize certain points before bringing balance to the entirety of his admonitions (as can be seen in the last 4 or 5 of our chapters).  When his entire treatise is embraced, any appearance of specific conflicts are united in a consistent declaration of the life available for all those who have faith.

5.     Ultimately, I do not presume that these two posts will be sufficient to cause those who are hardened in their conviction to change their stance.  As was true for the early days (or as Peter put it, the old days) of the building of the house for His assembly, differences of understanding will continue to exist today within the Body of Christ: and apparently that is as He would allow it.  It (the difference of opinions) is, I believe, a cause and motivator for us to strive to hear His voice AND to respect and love all of those whom He has chosen; chosen by the reality of His foreknowing of their acceptance of His Ransom; chosen even before the foundations of creation were put in place and with whom we will share eternity with our God!