Tag: foreknew

Romans 8:29 – Who Chose Whom?

Posted on by Will

Because whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Truth to Learn

God chose us to be Christ-like before He created anything.

 

Behind the Words

The word “foreknew” is the Greek word proginōskō, which is a compound word made up of pro, meaning “before, in place or time” and ginōskō, meaning “to know in a completed sense, that is, to have full knowledge of.”

This word translated “predestined” is the Greek word, prooridzō, which is made up of pro, meaning “before, in place or time” and horidzo, meaning “to mark out, appoint, or determine.” Thus we see that prooridzō means “to predetermine” or “to decree beforehand.”

 

Meaning Explained

Entire chapters of theological books have been written on the subject matter of this verse, but I will attempt to give the meat of the meaning as clearly and concisely as I can. The controversy of this verse revolves around a single Greek word. It’s meaning and proper interpretation, though much debated, is very clear and uncontestable, and yet there are still many Bible-believing Christians who choose not to accept it. The word I’m talking about is proginōskō, translated “foreknew.” Foreknowledge means that God had full, intimate knowledge of us before we were born. In Ephesians 1:3-5 Paul tells us:

Blessed is 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, for us to be holy and without blemish before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

God’s foreknowledge and choosing of us as his adopted children actually happened before the world was created.

I have heard competent, sound, fundamental Christians say to this, “Yes, of course. God foreknew who would accept Christ as Savior and chose them.” In fact, if this were true, then it would also be true that He foreknew who would not accept Christ as Savior, and according to the current verse in Romans He would have to predestinate them to be conformed to the image of His son as well (whom He foreknew, He also predestined). Hence, everyone would be saved. But this simply isn’t true. This faulty type of reasoning speaks of God’s foresight, not His foreknowledge. Also, if God chose us based on our decision to accept Christ as Savior, then in reality we chose Him, and He had no choice in the matter. That’s a big man, little god theology, which simply isn’t true.

God’s foreknowledge and His choosing flow directly from one another. According to the current verse, as a result of His foreknowledge of us He predestined us to be like His son Jesus.

 

Application

It is hard for us to accept the fact that God chose us for salvation while He allowed others, as a result of their sins, to suffer in Hell for eternity. However, that’s exactly what the Bible teaches. So, instead of fighting against God (a futile activity, at best) let us praise Him for having chosen us to be conformed to the image of Christ and to be adopted as His children!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 11:2 – Securely Chosen

Posted on by Will

Romans 11:2 – Securely Chosen

God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying,

Truth to Learn

God does not reject or desert any of His children whom He has chosen.

Behind the Words

The words translated “did not cast away” are the Greek words ouk apōsato. The word ouk is a form of ou, which we talked about in the previous verse. It expresses the absolute negative. The word apōsato is a form of apōtheomai, which means “to thrust away from oneself, to cast off, or to reject.”

“Foreknew” is translated from the Greek word proegnō, which we talked about back in Romans 8:29. It is a compound word made up of pro, which means “before, in place or time” and a form of ginōskō, which means, “to know in a completed sense, that is, to have full knowledge of.”

The word “pleads” is from entugchanō, which is made up of en, meaning “in or by” and tugchanō, which properly means “to affect or to obtain.” Entugchanō, therefore, refers to “meeting with someone for the purpose of obtaining a request.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul asked the rhetorical question, “Did God put away His people?” Then he immediately answered it with the declarative, “No way!” He is now giving more clarification as to why he said that. He starts off this verse by stating, “God did not cast away his people.” Paul is saying that God absolutely did not thrust away or reject His people.

The next phrase describes an attribute of God’s chosen people, those whom He did not reject. They are those, “whom He foreknew.” You may recall that in Romans 8:29 Paul said:

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.

In other words, these are the elect, the chosen ones of God. Paul is saying that God did not reject His people whom he foreknew and chose as His children. In fact, God can’t reject those whom He has chosen, which Paul pointed out in the earlier chapters of this book. Next, Paul will quote a passage from Elijah, but since this is so closely tied to the next verse we will cover it there.

The thing I want us to get from the current verse is the fact that God chose some of the Jews to be saved, but not all of them. And even though He will turn from Israel as a nation, He will not turn away from those Israelites whom He has chosen. God does not change! Let me repeat that, God does not change!

Application

If God did not reject his chosen ones from the Old Testament dispensation, He is not going to reject those whom He has chosen in the church age. That’s another way of saying, “Once you are saved, you are saved for good.” That means that no amount of grieving the Spirit or willfully sinning against God is going to cause you to lose your salvation. Remember that you did not do anything to get it in the first place (God chose you), so there’s nothing you can possibly do to lose it (God won’t reject you).

That’s eternal security!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 8:29 – Who Chose Whom?

Posted on by Will

Romans 8:29 – Who Chose Whom?

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Truth to Learn

God chose us to be Christ-like before He created anything.

Behind the Words

The word “foreknew” is the Greek word proginōskō, which is a compound word made up of pro, meaning “before, in place or time” and ginōskō, meaning “to know in a completed sense, that is, to have full knowledge of.”

This word translated “predestined” is the Greek word, prooridzō, which is made up of pro, meaning “before, in place or time” and horidzo, meaning “to mark out, appoint, or determine.” Thus we see that prooridzō means “to predetermine” or “to decree beforehand.”

Meaning Explained

Entire chapters of theological books have been written on the subject matter of this verse, but I will attempt to give the meat of the meaning as clearly and concisely as I can. The controversy of this verse revolves around a single Greek word. Its meaning and proper interpretation, though much debated, is very clear and uncontestable, and yet there are still many Bible-believing Christians who choose not to accept it. The word I’m talking about is proginōskō, translated “foreknew.” Foreknowledge means that God had full, intimate knowledge of us before we were born. In Ephesians 1:3-5 Paul tells us:

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 should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

God’s foreknowledge and choosing of us as his adopted children actually happened before the world was created.

I have heard competent, sound, fundamental Christians say to this, “Yes, of course. God foreknew who would accept Christ as Savior and chose them.” In fact, if this were true, then it would also be true that He foreknew who would not accept Christ as Savior, and according to the current verse in Romans He would have to predestinate them to be conformed to the image of His son as well (whom He foreknew, He also predestined). Hence, everyone would be saved. But this simply isn’t true. This faulty type of reasoning speaks of God’s foresight, not His foreknowledge. Also, if God chose us based on our decision to accept Christ as Savior, then in reality we chose Him, and He had no choice in the matter. That’s a big man, little god theology, which simply isn’t true.

God’s foreknowledge and His choosing flow directly from one another. According to the current verse, as a result of His foreknowledge of us He predestined us to be like His son Jesus.

Application

It is hard for us to accept the fact that God chose us for salvation while He allowed others, as a result of their sins, to suffer in Hell for eternity. However, that’s exactly what the Bible teaches. So, instead of fighting against God (a futile activity, at best) let us praise Him for having chosen us to be conformed to the image of Christ and to be adopted as His children!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, send an e-mail to: