One of the blessings that God has already blessed us with in Ephesians is that "He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved" (Eph 1:5-6). Now, that's quite a blessing, but it needs to be explored.
First, what does He mean, "predestined"? Most of us think of predestination as the Doctrine of Election. But that was in verse 4, so this isn't the same thing. Biblically, what is "predestination"? Let's look at its use in Scripture. In Acts 4, the disciples spoke of Herod and Pontius Pilate and the Gentiles and the Jews doing "whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur (Acts 4:28). God predestined Jesus's murder. In Romans, Paul writes, "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren" (Rom 8:29).In 1 Cor 2:7, he speaks about "God's wisdom in a mystery" as being predestined. And in Eph 1:11, he speaks of us receiving an inheritance because we were "predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will." Note that these are not about who gets saved. I think the most comprehensive definition for "predestination" is "according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will." That is, biblical predestination if whatever happens at all. And that would include Election. David wrote, "In Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them" (Psa 139:16). Every day ordained ... that's biblical predestination.
So this blessing of ours is that in God's predestining all that occurs (which, by the way, is not "causing"). In this case, He predestined us to adoption as sons. Now, I know it's a happy thought that we're all God's children, and, in the sense that we're all God's creation, we are, but there is a special blessing found in God' predestining us to adoption. In John 1 we read, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12). This version of "children of God" isn't being created by Him. It is predicated on receiving Him. So there is a special category of people -- believers -- who have been destined in advance to be His children in a special sense. It is "according to the kind intention of His will" and it is "to the praise of the glory of His grace" so it isn't about us. It's about Him. I'm sorry if you don't like the notion of predestination, but it isn't an invention of Calvin. It's God's idea. Learn to love it.
4 comments:
It seems to me, in the anti-Calvinist camp, predestination is more often interchangable with foreknowledge. Just like the difference between predestination and election, there is a difference between predestination and foreknowledge. Between foreknowledge and predestination, one is passive and one is active. God's foreknowledge is just an outworking of His omniscience, it is something that is. Predestination implies action, decree, choice, ordaining. The two are linked, since He couldn't predestine what He doesn't foreknow, but they are also distinct. And anti-Calvinists can't stand or accept that difference, from what I've experienced.
My link of "predestination" and "election" comes from just about every commentary I looked at regarding "predestination." But, clearly, "foreknowledge" and "predestination" might be related, but they're not interchangeable, since Paul uses them in the same sentence -- "those whom He foreknew He also predestined" (Rom 8:29).
I know that a truly biblical theology must include the doctrine of predestination; this topic (with its subtopics of election and reprobation) is a deep subject matter, for sure--more than this mere mortal can fully comprehend (since it deals with the nature and will of God). However, to the degree that I can understand what Paul (and others) have revealed about God’s “kind intention of His will” for His creatures, I find great comfort and joy. To know that God chose me in particular for adoption--changing this sinner’s default eternal destiny [through His gracious predestination]--has made me “Learn to love it,” indeed!
I know people equate predestination with election. Those people are wrong too.
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