Predestination I. Introduction A. Why are we here today? 1. Sure, in one line of thought, we set an alarm or otherwise intended to wake up, prepare ourselves, used transportation to come together 2. But what if it had already been determined in advance by a higher power that we would come together today? 3. Would that change anything about our assembling? Would it be a source of encouragement or concern? B. While we have no reason to speculate as to whether our meeting together today was predetermined or not, the New Testament does talk about predestination or foreordination C. An issue of major disputation and disagreement for the past 1,500 years! D. Let us explore what the New Testament teaches about predestination 1. What is predestination/foreordination? 2. In what ways does the New Testament speak of predestination? 3. Why have so many gone in so many different directions in terms of doctrines of predestination? II. What is Predestination? A. The generic aspect of the definition of predestination according to Webster: the act of decreeing or foreordaining events B. Foreordain, according to Webster: to ordain or appoint before; to preordain; to predestinate; to predetermine C. The Greek term is proorizo 1. Thayer: to predetermine, decide beforehand; in the NT of God decreeing from eternity; to foreordain, appoint beforehand 2. Root word is horizo, "to establish a boundary, mark off, appoint, determine," thus used in Luke 22:22, Acts 2:23, 10:42, 11:29, 17:26, 31, Romans 1:4, Hebrews 4:7 3. Root preposition is pro, here as beforehand D. Therefore, predestination or foreordination is the determination of a matter beforehand E. What things were determined beforehand according to the New Testament? III. Predestination in the New Testament A. The Greek word proorizo is found six times in the New Testament B. Acts 4:26-28 1. The Apostles are praying to God after they stood before the Sanhedrin and were not punished (Acts 3:1-4:23) 2. In the prayer they directly apply Psalm 2 to at least the death and likely also the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 4:24-28) 3. The actual petition will request God's continued blessings of proclaiming the word of Jesus with boldness and healing, signs, and wonders in the name of Jesus to continue (Acts 4:29-30) 4. Yet in the prayer they declare that as Psalm 2 foretold, Herod and Pilate, Jews and Gentiles had gathered together in Jerusalem against Jesus to do what God's hand and plan had predestined to take place 5. Acts 2:23: Jesus as delivered up "according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God" 6. Ephesians 3:10-11: God as having an eternal purpose which He realized in Christ Jesus our Lord 7. As demonstrated by the prophecies in Moses, the Psalms, and the prophets, God had pre-determined the way it would go for Jesus His Son, who accomplished the Father's purposes (cf. Luke 24:25-27, 44-48) 8. What would be done was predetermined, but predetermination in its own was not sufficient: Jesus had to actually carry it out and experience it, learning obedience in the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:7-10) C. 1 Corinthians 2:7 1. Paul declares that he declares the wisdom of God in a previously hidden mystery, predestined by God before the world began so we could obtain glory 2. Ephesians 3:1-6: mystery of the Gospel how the Gentiles have been added as full members of God's people 3. Paul demonstrates how the Gospel could be preached to Abraham, 2000 years before Jesus: God sought to bless all nations through the seed of Abraham, that is, Jesus, and how it is maintaining the same faith as Abraham which leads one to obtain the promises given to Abraham (Romans 4:1-25, Galatians 3:1-29) 4. Further demonstration that God's plan of salvation and the substantive reality behind the gospel message were predetermined from the beginning of the creation 5. An important point: Jesus' death and resurrection not an accident, not a hasty correction to a failed plot, not "God's Plan B," but in fact the very thing to which He had been testifying from the beginning 6. The predestination of God's purposes and the Person of Christ, therefore, to be a source of encouragement: this is the realization of God's desire to save all mankind from sin, and it is not a new desire, nor was it hastily cobbled together, but pre-planned, predicted, and pre-determined! D. Romans 8:29-30 1. Romans 8:28: for those who love God all things work together for good, for those called according to God's purpose 2. Paul then says those whom God foreknew He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son so that the Son would be the firstborn of many brothers 3. Those whom God predestined He called; those He called He justified; those He justified He glorified E. Ephesians 1:5, 11 1. Ephesians 1:3-14 one long sentence in Greek 2. God has given us every spiritual blessing in Christ 3. God chose us in Jesus before foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him (in love) 4. (In love) He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus according to purpose of His will 5. In Jesus we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses through His grace 6. In all wisdom and insight God has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His purpose in Christ, a plan for the fullness of time, uniting all things in Him in heaven and earth 7. We have obtained an inheritance in Christ, having been predestined to the purpose of God who works everything according to the counsel of His will 8. Believers, having heard the word of truth, the Gospel of their salvation, believed in Him and were thus sealed by the Spirit, the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire it 9. An epic summary of theology, Christology, and soteriology, highlighting many of the themes previously discussed F. Romans 8:29-30 and Ephesians 1:5, 11 are the focal point for the disputations regarding predestination and the believer G. What is Paul trying to say, and what is he not saying? IV. The Nature of the Predestination of the Believer A. The nature of the predestination of the believer has been a disputed matter for 1500 years 1. One of the battlegrounds of the divine grace vs. human freedom dispute 2. Does God predestine individuals in any way, or is it only a predestination of plan and/or type? 3. If God does predestine individuals, is He not infringing on man's free will? 4. If God predestines individuals for salvation, then, by necessity, does He not predestine individuals for condemnation, otherwise known as double predestination? B. In such an environment we do well to first consider exactly what Paul says and then consider how people's assumptions have colored their application of the concept 1. After all, Paul is a first century Jewish Christian 2. He is not a fifth century Roman or North African theologian, nor responding to the challenges of Roman Catholicism in the 16th century 3. For that matter, he is also not a post-16th century theologian responding to Calvinism! C. What Paul has said about predestination in terms of believers 1. Those whom God foreknew He predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29) 2. Those whom God predestined He also called, justified, glorified (Romans 8:30) 3. God predestined "us" for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of His will (Ephesians 1:5) 4. "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) D. Notice some of the things Paul does not say 1. Paul does not talk in terms of unbelievers and their fate: predestination is always discussed in terms of those who follow the Lord 2. Paul does not speak of predestination to salvation: the predestination is to adoption and conformity to the image of Jesus 3. While Paul does say that predestination is by God's foreknowledge and will, the exact nature of that foreknowledge and will are not specified E. What can we say about these disputed matters? F. While it is no doubt true that God has predestined the plan and the type, it cannot be denied that He has predestined individuals as well 1. Some attempt to get around the difficulty of predestination by saying that God has only pre-determined the plan, the means by which one might obtain salvation, and the overall group or type of people who would be saved, but does not predestine individuals 2. Yet the context of the statements in Romans 8:28-30 and Ephesians 1:5, 11 cannot sustain the final conclusion! 3. It is not a plan or a type that is adopted as sons, but individuals (cf. Romans 8:11-17) 4. A plan or a type cannot become conformed to the image of Jesus, but individuals can (1 Corinthians 11:1, 1 John 2:6) 5. We do not speak of the calling, justification, or glorification of only a plan or a type, but individuals as called, justified, and glorified (Romans 8:30) 6. The same is true for redemption (Ephesians 1:5-7) G. Nevertheless, predestination of individuals need not invalidate free will nor demand double predestination 1. The Augustinian-Calvinist system holds to a view of God's sovereignty that would demand that predestination be essentially arbitrary, done purely at God's discretion by His will without any consideration of the individual and whether they will be faithful or not 2. The inescapable conclusion, not denied by Augustine or Calvin, is double predestination: God pre-determines who will be saved and who will be condemned 3. Yet this is never taught in Scripture; condemnation is always spoken of in terms of man's disobedience, not God's active choice or even passive resignation (Matthew 7:21-23, Romans 2:5-11, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10, etc.) 4. Furthermore, Scripture is clear that God desires all to be saved and is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11, 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:8-9): how can God desire all to be saved yet pre-determine that not everyone will be saved? 5. On the other hand, God's predetermination need not demand that man's free will is entirely compromised: as Paul says, God predestines based on His foreknowledge 6. We do well to keep 2 Peter 3:8 in mind: God transcends the space-time continuum; God declares the end of a matter at its beginning (Isaiah 46:10), and is the Beginning and the End (Revelation 21:6, 22:13)! 7. Since time is irrelevant to God, why do we impose a timeline on God's role in salvation? 8. As with election, so predestination: we do not merit them by our works, since we have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory, and He has graciously done through Christ what we could not do ourselves by providing the means of redemption from sin, yet we still must put our trust in the Lord and seek to follow after Him (Romans 3:20-23, 6:1-23, Ephesians 1:3-14) 9. Therefore, it is not a stretch to declare that God predestines based on His foreknowledge of people's obedience or disobedience, and provides the means by which His people will be adopted as sons and conformed to the image of the Son 10. In concert with, not overwhelming, man's free will H. Biblical illustration: Jesus before Pilate 1. As seen in Acts 2:23, 4:28, God predestined that Jesus would be delivered up, executed 2. Yet, in Gospel texts, Pilate seems to be making his own decisions based upon his own free will determinations 3. Likewise, in Gospel texts, Jesus seems to be making His own decisions based upon His own free will determinations 4. Yet all is according to God's predetermined plan and purpose for these people: God knows Pilate and Jesus, knows how they will respond in the situation, and it happens just as He intended I. Predestination as Encouragement 1. We do well to remember that Paul speaks of predestination of believers to believers in order to encourage them 2. Just as Jesus' life, death, and resurrection were no accidents, but part of God's express plan and purpose for humanity, so with us 3. God has prepared the way of salvation for us through His redemptive work throughout time and principally through Jesus (Romans 5:6-11, etc.) 4. We are part of God's eternal plan (Ephesians 3:11) 5. Yet that is not just true of us as a group or as a type: each one of us has our place in God's express will and counsel to become His adopted children and conformed to the image of His Son to His glory for our glorification! 6. Just as Jesus was no accident, so our ability to become Christians is no accident! 7. This is to encourage us: we have our place in God's eternal plan, and we will accomplish it through His strength! V. Conclusion A. The New Testament does speak of God's predestination, or pre-determination, of God's plan for salvation in Christ Jesus and the Gospel message as well as of the predestination of the believer B. Such does not mean that God plays favorites, that God makes a mockery of free will, or has actively determined who will be saved and who will be condemned C. Instead, it means that we can have every confidence that we are not an accident, that God has called us for His purposes, to be His adopted children and to be conformed to the image of Christ, to do what He wants for us to do D. Saul of Tarsus 1. Most Pharisees who persecuted Christians did not see the Risen Lord in a vision 2. Yet, by God's will, Saul of Tarsus did in Acts 9:1-31 3. He was called with a purpose: to proclaim the Gospel before the Gentiles (Acts 26:16-18) 4. Yet he still needed to arise, be baptized, and actually do the things God told him to do in Christ Jesus, and could still be disqualified if he turned away (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:27) E. God called Paul for His purposes which He had determined beforehand: what if God has called us for His predetermined purposes as well? F. Let us heed the call of God, become His adopted children in Christ, and seek to be conformed to the image of the Son, and fulfill God's purpose for our lives! G. Invitation/songbook