 |  |
"For those God foreknew He also predestinated to be conformed to the likeness of His
Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He
also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified"
(8: 29, 30, N.I.V.).
Many regard the Bible merely as a book for devotional exercise but it is much more
than this. It is a record of the plan God had in mind when He created the heaven and
earth. We are too limited to have a full understanding of this, but the divine outline is
clear for those who are willing and keen enough to search the Word of God* (* - such
may be interested in the author's The Kingdom of God in heaven and on earth where this
subject is dealt with). In order that this plan can never miscarry we have God working
along the lines of foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification and glorification.
We may be sure that any plan left to created beings to carry out would finally founder
and God cannot and will not allow this for then all His plan would be in vain. The first
link is foreknowledge and we should note that it is put before predestination. We find
that similarly foreknowledge is put before election in I Pet. 1: 2. It is absolutely essential
that this order be kept otherwise we shall land ourselves in all sorts of difficulties. If only
Bible students had kept to God's order and gone no further than what is revealed in
Scripture much profitless argument and dissension would have been avoided.
God knows everything, past, present and future; He is omniscient.
". . . . . I am God, there is none else; I am God and there is none like Me, declaring
the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,
saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure" (Isa. 46: 9, 10).
God's purpose (counsel) will stand and be fulfilled because He knows the end from the
beginning and can prepare in advance. If this was not so there could be no certainty of
fulfillment. Something could happen in the future concerning which God had no
knowledge and thus could overthrow His purpose. Those who do not accept the
omniscience of God are throwing away the ground for complete assurance.
It is important that we do not read into foreknowledge what is not there. The word
means just to know beforehand without exercising any control over future events. This is
inherent in other words as we shall see, but God in past eternity was able to devise a
wonderful plan because He has all-knowledge of the future, and therefore cannot be taken
by surprise and He has all power and so can carry it out in every detail. 100: H. Welch
writes:
"We shall be wise, therefore, to leave the word foreknowledge to mean just what it
says and no more. The infinite knowledge of God makes it impossible that He shall not
know who will preach and who will teach; where they will go, and when they will go;
who shall hear, who reject, who accept, and who be left without a word of the gospel.
The one great demand upon all who hear the gospel is that they believe the testimony of
God concerning His Son. Whoever so believes passes into all the blessings purchased by
the blood of Christ. Whoever does not believe makes God a liar (I John 5: 10). If there
were any idea of preordination in this, refusal to believe would be as much a part of
God's predeterminate decree as is election to glory, and it would not be possible to make
God a liar by so refusing His testimony . . . . . We therefore understand the passage