Introduction
This topic I have chosen to write on can become very confusing. Many non-Christians and Christian believers have varying viewpoints. In trying to sort this out I can only write on what I understand and try to make it as simple as possible. Making something this complicated simple is not an easy task. Understand, this is my opinion. I’m sure my readers will have questions. This is a blog. Please respond to what you read. Let me know if you agree or not, or if your point of view is different. There will be no offense. This is how we learn.
Definitions
Foreknowledge
Foreknowledge is that doctrine that describes God’s consciousness (foreknowledge) of all events going to happen to mankind before they happen. It has much to do with our understanding of time. It is because of God’s foreknowledge that predestination exists.
Free Will
The ability to choose right from wrong without being coerced by any outside source, Divine or otherwise. This gift is essential for the love of God and each other to be genuine and not forced. Free will is a paradox of predestination, a seeming contradiction. If you follow my reasoning it is not a contradiction at all.
Metaphysics
(Wikipedia definition) is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists (Aristotle) view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of human understanding. It becomes speculation for questions that are unanswerable to scientific observation, analysis, or experiment.
(My definition) I find the above definition somewhat confusing. To a Christian, metaphysics is trying to reach God’s concept of humanity and the world with your mind rather than your Spirit. Those who do this do not recognize the scripture that says it is the spirit that speaks to the spirit:
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:16-17) ESV
Predestination
To some, predestination is the idea that God, being omniscient and omnipotent, has predetermined the fate or destiny of individuals, including their salvation or damnation, before the foundation of the world. This is not true as most people perceive it, and I will show you why.
My definition refers to the result of God’s redemptive ability (the process). If we choose, by our own free will to follow Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior we are predestined to receive glory and nothing will change that outcome. The same holds if we choose not to follow Him, we are predestined to eternal damnation.
Time
A measurement of a series of events from point A to point B as measured by an instrument of continuous spatial reality (the stars?) within God’s creation but outside of Heaven and Hell and outside of the existence of God Himself. God does not exist in time as we know it. He created it. (My definition.)
“…for before the world time had no existence, but was created either simultaneously with it, or after it; for since time is the interval of the motion of the heavens (This is an instrument by which time is measured), there could not have been any such thing as motion before there was anything which could be moved; but it follows of necessity that it received existence subsequently or simultaneously.” (Philo)
Google refers to time as a “non-spatial continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future.”
The Argument
If God knows everything, from the beginning to the end, He must know whether or not we are going to Heaven or Hell. Therefore, why bother doing anything right or wrong? We can’t change the outcome anyway. This, almost, sounds like a reasonable argument.
The Answer
The answer to this argument lies in the fact that many confuse the process of Salvation with the outcome. The process focuses on God’s abilities and the outcome focuses on man’s actions.
God’s Perspective
I have written about three specific attributes of God in previous articles. You may want to follow up on these at your leisure by searching the web and/or reading my articles. (You may wish to search my website because these are mentioned several times.)
1. God is Omnipotent. That is He possesses all power, and nothing is impossible for Him.
2. God is Omniscient. That is He knows all things, including our thoughts.
3. God is Omnipresent. That is He is present everywhere.
We also know that God the Father does not exist on a timeline as we do. He created time. He simply exists. By existing the way He does He can look down on this timeline (visualizing our history) and see the past, present, and future. In seeing the future we can say He has foreknowledge of what is to happen. Remember, God is not human, He is God – a Spirit being.
Note, however, that Jesus Christ (God the Son) is on our timeline and did live, die, and will return.
Foreknowledge
The word “foreknowledge” is mentioned two times in the English Standard Version of the Bible as follows:
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. (Acts 2:23) ESV
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” 1 Peter 1:1-2 (1 Peter 1:2) ESV
All of these things that God foreknew are authenticated by the Prophets throughout the Old Testament and many are verified by the coming of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
Predestination
The word “predestination” is mentioned 5 times in the English Standard Version of the Bible as follows:
“…to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” (Acts 4:28) ESV.
This scripture refers to what the Prophets spoke of when they spoke of Whom they crucified. This was all a part of God’s plan for the salvation of mankind from before creation itself.
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:29) ESV.
All those who accept the Cross are predestined to conform to the image of His Son if they continue to walk His path.
“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:30) ESV
This is an expansion of that spoken of in Romans 8:29.
“he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,” (Ephesians 1:5) ESV
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, (Ephesians 1:11) ESV
These scriptures confirm again the separation of God’s ability to save mankind (the process) through the Cross from the free will choice (the outcome of mankind exercising his free will) of mankind to follow Jesus.
This is the Way it Happens
From before creation, God the Father had a plan and in this plan, being God, He had foreknowledge of its outcome because not living on our timeline, He can look down on history and see the beginning from the end.
“…he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:4-5) ESV
“…Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose… (Isaiah 46:10) ESV
Having this foreknowledge He predestined those called to His purpose to have eternal life with Him knowing that not all called are chosen thereby guaranteeing our free will to choose His path or that of His advisory the Devil.
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14) ESV
“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:30) ESV
The Contemporary English Version says,
“God then accepted the people he had already decided to choose, and he has shared his glory with them.” (Romans 8:30) CEV
The bottom line is; that God foreknew those He would choose and those He chose were those who were willing to give up all to follow in the footsteps of His Son Jesus Christ. Consequently, those who would follow in His footsteps were predestined to enjoy eternal glory with Him.
Summary
God is all-powerful, he sees everything, knows everything and He has a plan that will not fail and this is how it works. We can say that His plan is predestined to succeed.
For us to love God we must do it of our own free will or it is meaningless. Many have loved Him and turned their backs on Him. Even the angels did so and many fell. How can He prevent this from happening again?
God had a plan. He created mankind, living outside the benefits of heaven. He knew they would fall and sin as the angels did. But, in His plan He provided a way, through the sacrifice of His Son, to redeem sinful mankind. In short, He created a universe, outside Heaven, where mankind would choose to follow Him of their free will, despite all the evils surrounding. Mankind, deciding to have eternal life with Him, will never fall as the angels did because those chosen have seen the consequence of sin. They would then serve God for eternity never to sin again.
Know this also, we must live our lives to the end of God’s foreknowledge or all this becomes moot. Only God has this foreknowledge, we don’t. (The gift of knowledge in 1 Corinthians 12 is an exception.) This foreknowledge and predestination do not interfere with our free will. We still have to live our lives to the end, even though He knows what will happen.
Conclusion
It may appear to some that “foreknowledge” and “predestination” are the same. Suffice it to say that we who choose to follow Jesus Christ, by an act of our will are predestined to be with Christ throughout eternity and God foreknew this from the beginning of time. Yes, He has foreknowledge of what will happen but the choice is always ours.
A Case for Further Study
If you like headaches you may wish to pursue other aspects of this study generated by people like Augustine and Calvin, etc. However, I have no intention of following up on these various positions. I only mention them to inform my readers that there are many points of view regarding this topic and that it has been discussed for many centuries by men more scholarly than I. It is my opinion that such discussions, which enter into the realm of metaphysics, have no redemptive value and do not add any understanding to the truth of the Gospel but confuse the common populace making a religion out of the simple message of Salvation. Salvation is a sovereign act of God alone and needs no explanation beyond that.
Enough Said
“Thy Words were found, and I did eat them, and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16) ESV
