Tag: predestined

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

Ephesians 1:11 – His Free Will

Posted on by Will

In Him, in whom we also obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

Truth to Learn

All of the aspects of our salvation have come about because God determined them of His own free will.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “we … obtained an inheritance” is klēroō. Literally, it means “to cast lots.”  By application it means “to allot” or “to assign something.” It is expressed here in the aorist tense (a completed action in the past) and the passive voice (something done to the subject). Thus, it refers to something that was allotted to us; that is, an inheritance which was assigned to us at a point in time in the past.

“Being predestined” is from the Greek word prooridzō, which we saw back in verse five. There we learned that it means “to establish or determine something beforehand.”

“The purpose” is from protithēmi, meaning “something put in place beforehand.”

The word “works” is from energeō, which means “to be active, to make something happen, to do something, or to work.”

The phrase “the counsel of His will” is from tēn boulēn tou thelēmatos autou. The two key words are boulēn, meaning “a wish or a desire” and thelēmatos, meaning “a determination.” We could paraphrase this as “The desire of His determination.” Thus, this expression indicates something that God determined to do simply because He wanted to do it.

 

Meaning Explained

Back in verse two we noted that the content and meaning of these verses is sort of like drinking from a fire hose. Paul has packed a lot of doctrine (teaching) into each of these verses.

Here he tells us that “In Him,” that is, in Christ, we obtained (past completed action) an inheritance from God. This is not something that we earned, but something that is freely given to us simply because we have been adopted into God’s family (see verse five). Paul also tells us that this inheritance (our adoption), our redemption, and the forgiveness of our sins were all put in place beforehand. All of this goes back to His choosing us before He created anything. This is the point in time (actually before time) when God determined the plan of salvation and set it in place. For those of you who believe that we can somehow lose our salvation, how can we possibly lose something that God put in place before the world was created?

The last phrase of this verse is a powerful statement of how our God operates. It says that God does everything He does simply because He wants to. He is not constrained to do anything. Nobody can force or even entice God to do anything. So what Paul is telling us here is that the entire plan of salvation, from His choosing us, to His adopting us, to His paying the ransom for our sins, to His casting our sins far, far away, to granting us an inheritance, is all done simply because He wanted to do it. In other words, God did not do all these things because we chose to believe the gospel message and get saved. That would be us telling God what to do. The entire plan of salvation is all His doing and only His doing.

 

Application

As hard as it is for many of us to believe, our salvation is all God’s doing. That shouldn’t make us complacent, it should make us eternally grateful and humbled before Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will! Praise God!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 1:5 – Holy Adoption

Posted on by Will

having predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

Truth to Learn

Not only has God chosen us, He also has adopted us.

 

Behind the Words

“Having predestined” is the translation of the verb prooridzō. The first half of this compound word is pro, meaning “before in time or place.” The second half is horidzō (from which we get our English word horizon), meaning “to mark out or create a boundary,” that is, “to establish or determine.” Therefore, we see that prooridzō means “to establish or determine something beforehand.”

The phrase “adoption as sons” is from huiothesia, which is made up of huios, meaning “son” and a form of tithēmi, meaning “to set in place.” Huiothesia, therefore, refers to the action of establishing a person as a son, not by natural birth but by legal action.

“Good pleasure” is from eudokia, which is made up of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and a form of the verb dokeō, meaning “to think.” Thus, eudokia refers to “good thoughts.” It stresses the freedom of an intention regarding what is good. Thus, it could be translated as “good intent” or “kindness.”

The word translated “will” is thelēma, indicating a determination. It is one of two nouns translated “will.” The other is boulēma which implies a desire. Therefore, we can translate the end of this verse as “… according to the good intent of His determination.”

 

Meaning Explained

The expression “having predestined us” is grammatically tied to “He chose us” in the previous verse. Thus we see that in eternity past, when God chose us (to be holy and without blemish), He also predestined us. That is, before time began God also established ahead of time (pun intended) that we would be legally adopted as His children. One exciting thing about this is what Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans:

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery again to fear, but you received a Spirit of adoption by which we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, also heirs, truly heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, (Romans 8:15-17a)

Because God chose us, He also adopted us, making us legally his children and heirs to all that He has. This adoption has two aspects. Presently, we Christians are God’s children, having access to our Father and the spiritual riches He has bestowed upon us. The future aspect is alluded to in Romans 8:23:

And not only so, but also we ourselves having the firstfruit of the Spirit, also we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly expecting the adoption, the redemption of our body.

As adopted children, God will one day provide for us a perfect, heavenly body.

Finally, we are told that He has done this according to His own determination, which He is pleased with. It is not legally required of Him, even by His own righteousness. He did it simply because He wanted to do it.

 

Application

Thank you, God, for choosing me and for adopting me into your heavenly family. In gratitude I offer all that I am and all that I have to be used to bring glory to your name!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 1:11 – His Free Will

Posted on by Will

Ephesians 1:11  – His Free Will

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

Truth to Learn

All of the aspects of our salvation have come about because God determined them of His own free will.

Behind the Words

The word translated “we have obtained an inheritance” is klēroō. Literally, it means “to cast lots.”  By application it means “to allot” or “to assign something.” It is expressed here in the aorist tense (a completed action in the past) and the passive voice (something done to the subject). Thus, it refers to something that was allotted to us; that is, an inheritance which was assigned to us at a point in time in the past.

“Being predestined” is from the Greek word prooridzō, which we saw back in verse five. There we learned that it means “to establish or determine something beforehand.”

“The purpose” is from protithēmi, meaning “something put in place beforehand.”

The word “works” is from energeō, which means “to be active, to make something happen, to do something, or to work.”

The phrase “the counsel of His will” is from tēn boulēn tou thelēmatos autou. The two key words are boulēn, meaning “a wish or a desire” and thelēmatos, meaning “a determination.” Thus, this expression indicates something that God determined to do simply because He wanted to do it.

Meaning Explained

Back in verse two we noted that the content and meaning of these verses is sort of like drinking from a fire hose. Paul has packed a lot of doctrine (teaching) into each of these verses.

Here he tells us that “In Him,” that is, in Christ, we obtained (past completed action) an inheritance from God. This is not something that we earned, but something that is freely given to us simply because we have been adopted into God’s family (see verse five). Paul also tells us that this inheritance, our adoption, our redemption, and the forgiveness of our sins were all put in place beforehand. All of this goes back to His choosing us before He created anything. This is the point in time (actually before time) when God determined the plan of salvation and set it in place.

The last phrase of this verse is a powerful statement of how our God operates. It says that God does everything He does simply because He wants to. He is not constrained to do anything. Nobody can force or even entice God to do anything. So what Paul is telling us here is that the entire plan of salvation, from His choosing us, to His adopting us, to His paying the ransom for our sins, to His casting our sins far, far away, to granting us an inheritance, is all done simply because He wanted to do it. In other words, God did not do all these things because we chose to believe the gospel message and get saved. That would be us telling God what to do. The entire plan of salvation is all His doing and only His doing.

Application

As hard as it is for many of us to believe, our salvation is all God’s doing. That shouldn’t make us complacent, it should make us eternally grateful and humbled before Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will! Praise God!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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

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Ephesians 1:5 – Holy Adoption

Posted on by Will

Ephesians 1:5 – Holy Adoption

having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

Truth to Learn

Not only has God chosen us, He also has adopted us.

Behind the Words

“Having predestined” is the translation of the verb prooridzō. The first half of this compound word is pro, meaning “before in time or place.” The second half is horidzō (from which we get our English word horizon), meaning “to mark out or create a boundary,” that is, “to establish or determine.” Therefore, we see that prooridzō means “to establish or determine something beforehand.”

The phrase “adoption as sons” is from huiothesia, which is made up of huios, meaning “son” and a form of tithēmi, meaning “to set in place.” Huiothesia, therefore, refers to the action of establishing a person as a son, not by natural birth but by legal action.

“Good pleasure” is from eudokia, which is made up of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and a form of the verb dokeō, meaning “to think.” Thus, eudokia refers to “good thoughts.” It stresses the freedom of an intention regarding what is good.

The word translated “will” is thelēma, indicating a determination. It is one of two nouns translated “will.” The other is boulēma which implies a desire or a purpose.

Meaning Explained

The expression “having predestined us” is grammatically tied to “He chose us.” Thus we see that in eternity past, when God chose us (to be holy and without blemish), He also predestined us. That is, before time began God also established ahead of time (pun intended) that we would also be legally adopted as His children. One exciting thing about this is what Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans:

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, (Romans 8:15-17a)

Because God chose us, He also adopted us, making us legally his children and heirs to all that He has. This adoption has two aspects. Presently, we Christians are God’s children, having access to our Father and the spiritual riches He has bestowed upon us. The future aspect is alluded to in Romans 8:23:

Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

As adopted children, God will one day provide for us a perfect, heavenly body.

Finally, we are told that He has done this according to His own determination, which He is pleased with. It is not legally required of Him, even by His own righteousness. He did it simply because He wanted to do it.

Application

Thank you, God, for choosing me and for adopting me into your heavenly family. In gratitude I offer all that I am and all that I have to be used to bring glory to your name!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 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:

Romans 8:30 – Righteous & Glorious

Posted on by Will

Romans 8:30- Righteous & Glorious

Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Truth to Learn

All Christians have been called, justified, and glorified!

Behind the Words

The word translated “justified” is dikaioō, which means “to regard as just, innocent, or righteous.”

“Glorified” is from doxadzo, meaning “to consider or to make glorious” or “to give honor to someone.”

Meaning Explained

Paul told us that all things work together for good to those “who are the called according to His purpose.” And, those whom God foreknew He predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. Now he tells us those whom He foreknew and predestined, He also called, justified, and glorified. Let’s look at each of these three things. All of these verbs (foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified) are expressed in the Greek aorist tense indicating that all these things were done at a point in time in the past.

What does it mean to be “called” by God? There are two senses of this word. The first is often referred to as the “external call.” This is a simple invitation to action. In Matthew chapter 22, Christ referred to a man who was present at a wedding without a wedding garment. The master of the wedding had asked his servants to invite as many as they could find to the wedding and this man may have heard the invitation. But, this man did not have the wedding garment, which was a sign of true invitation. As a result, the master of the wedding commanded that this man be cast into outer darkness, stating that “many are called but few are chosen.” This man heard the external call. The other sense of the word is referred to as the “internal call.” Going back to Christ’s parable, the guests who had the official wedding garment were ones who received the internal call. They were the true guests; they were chosen.

Now, Paul makes it very clear that those who are foreknown, predestinated, and called are truly saved Christians. How do we know that? Paul tells us that they were also justified. Remember that Paul started out this letter teaching us that justification does not come from obeying the Law; rather, it comes only by the grace of God through faith. He says it was not earned because if it was earned, then it was not of grace. It is the gift of God. That’s also what he says in Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. It is because of this gift, this calling, this predestination, that we are also justified, that is, we are imputed with the righteousness of Christ, not because we have done anything, but because God chose us. That’s grace!

Finally, Paul tells us that because God has justified us, He has also glorified us. Even though from our perspective this hasn’t yet happened, from God’s perspective He has already glorified us. He has already given us our glorified bodies and made us in all ways like Christ.

Application

The Bible teaches us that we have been chosen by God; therefore, let’s submit to His will and commit to serving Him and glorifying Him with every fiber of our being. And, let’s give all the praise to God!

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: