Election, Pre-destination & Foreknowledge

 

Studies in Soteriology (Doctrine of Salvation)

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Dr. Alexander Kurian

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Election, Predestination and Foreknowedge are vital doctrines in Soteriology (the doctrine of Salvation). At the same time, these concepts are riddled with controversies and diverse interpretations. Believers struggle to understand these glorious truths and in that process many have stumbled over it. If we avoid the excesses and leave the mysterious to God, we can understand and appreciate these precious doctrinal concepts. We try to present here a very simple study on these profound truths making it profitable to all who read.

 

​Election

 

​Election refers to God’s sovereign choice in eternity past of those whom He will in time save by His grace through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. God’s election is not on account of any foreseen merit or goodness in them. It is totally and completely independent of any works on our part, and is only because of His good pleasure, and to the praise of His glory.

Election may be defined as “that eternal act of God whereby He, in His sovereign good pleasure, and on account of no foreseen merit in them, choose a certain number of men to be the recipients of special grace and of eternal salvation” (Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 114).

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We find several direct statement of this doctrine in the Bible. “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love 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…..having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph.1:4-6,11). Paul wrote these words to Timothy: God “has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim.1:9).

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Thus, election is Unconditional (nothing in man that conditions God’s choice), Pretemporal (before the foundation of the world), and Unmerited (by grace). The verb “chose” (eklego) is always used in the middle voice, meaning, God freely and for His own purpose chose for Himself. Election is not based on God’s foreknowledge of our faith (who will believe in Christ and who will not). Some people try to solve the mystery of election by teaching that God knew in advance those who would choose Him. On the basis of that knowledge God chose them. In other words, election is conditioned upon their choice of God first. Thus they find a basis for God to choose them, making election dependent on their merit.  If God were to have looked through the corridors of time to see all those who were to choose Him, He would see no one. All people being sinners deserved hell. Election eliminates boasting. It is not based on the virtue of the sinner. It is totally unconditional and unmeritorious.

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 “For though the twins were not yet born, and had not done anything good or bad, in order that God’s purpose according to His choice might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls” (Rom.9:11). God sovereignly chose Jacob over Esau before they were even born. He chose them without any regard for what they would do in their lives that God’s purpose according to His choice might stand. Election is unconditional, and completely apart from any consideration of human merit. Is election based upon the virtue of the sinner? No. Is God’s choice conditioned upon foreseen faith in the sinner? No. Does something in the sinner cause God to choose him? Absolutely not. (See also John 6:36-40; 6:44; 6:65; 15:16; Acts 13:46-48; 2 Thess.2:13; 1 Peter 1:1).

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Doctrine of Election Summarized (Eph.1:3-6)

 

1. Source of Election - God the Father (1:3-4)

2. Sphere of Election – In Christ (1:4)

3. Time of Election – Before the foundation of the world (1:4)

4. Intention of Election – That we should be holy and blameless before Him (1:4)

5. Basis of Election – In accordance with the good pleasure of His will (1:5) and not because of anything in us.

6. Ultimate consequence of Election – To the praise of the glory of His grace (1:6).

So, let us be persuaded by the text and not by our theological preferences forced upon the text.

Features of Divine Election

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• Election is an act of God’s sovereignty (Eph.1:4, 9,11)

• Election took place in eternity past (Eph.1:4)

• Election is in Christ (Eph.1:4)

• Election is in love (Eph.1:4)

• Election is a part of God’s eternal plan (Eph.1:4,9,11)

• Election is not conditioned on man in any way (2 Tim.1:9; Rom.9:11)

• Election reflects the justice of God (Rom.9:14, 20).

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God Has Chosen; But We Must Choose

 

We do not know who God’s elect are before they are saved by grace through faith. Those who proclaim the Gospel, those who believe, and also those who reject it, do not know in advance who is chosen by God. God does not reveal this ahead of time. He has only commanded us to preach the good news of salvation. Election is His sovereign act. When people come to faith in Christ, we can be confident that God had already chosen them for salvation.

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​While God in His sovereignty chooses whom He will save, men are commanded to believe in Jesus and are held accountable for their decision. It is the sacred duty of anyone who hears the gospel to believe. Although salvation is wholly the work of God, there is something that a person must do to be saved – believe the good news of salvation in Christ. Proclamation of the Gospel is the means by which God calls the elect persons to faith. Thus election promotes evangelism.

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​Those who are not chosen do not believe in Jesus, and don’t want to. God saves those who believe. They are also those He has chosen. No one can come to faith in Jesus unless he/she is chosen by God. It is likewise true that we are not saved unless we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Election does not take away man’s responsibility. Man is held accountable for his choices. Scripture never suggests that man is lost because he is not elect. The plain and repeated teaching of Scripture is that man is lost because he refuses to believe the Gospel.

Our responsibility is to proclaim the Gospel, to fulfill the Great Commission, and not to seek the elect. The difficulties, problems and mysteries in the doctrine of election baffle us. But God has not asked us to find the solution to make it logical and reasonable for us to comprehend. Leave the mysteries to God. He is Sovereign: He will handle it. Let us be faithful in our stewardship of preaching the Gospel. Be committed to what He has asked you to do and leave the rest to God.

 

​The Bible nowhere suggests that some people (the unbelievers) are elected to damnation. The doctrine of election only applies to believers.

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​Predestination

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​Predestination and election are similar concepts. But there is a difference in the emphasis of the two terms. Election is God’s sovereign choice. Predestination is God’s decision in relation to His plan for the destiny of the elect, which He has predetermined for them. To predestine is to preplan a destiny (proorizo means “to mark out beforehand”). The word predestination occurs six times in the New Testament (Acts 4:28; Rom.8:29-30; 1 Cor.2:7; Eph.1:5, 11).God by His sovereign choice marked believers off in eternity past. Predestination assures the elect of their present position and future blessings. In election, God chooses the person and in predestination God establishes the future program for the person. Predestination signify the destiny of the elect.

 

​The elect are predestined to:

• Adoption (Eph.1:5)

• An Inheritance (Eph.1:11)

• Glory (1 Cori.2:7)

• Ultimate Conformity to Christ (Rom.8:28-29)

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The concept of predestination is also used in Scripture as a synonym for the total plan and purpose of God. In Acts 4:28, Peter declared that the death of Christ was predestined by God.

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Foreknowledge

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The basic meaning of the word “foreknowledge” (prognosis) is knowing things or events before they occur. In theology it refers to the all-knowing nature of God whereby He knows everything before they happen, and all people before they exist. The apostle Peter teaches that God had foreknowledge of His Son’s sacrificial death long before the event took place (1 Peter 1:20; see also Acts 2:23).

 

In relation to our salvation, the Bible teaches that God’s children were chosen beforehand according to the foreknowledge of God the Father (1 Pet.1:1-2). “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son….. (Rom.8:29).  But God’s choice was not simply based upon His foreknowledge, but with a view to fix His regard upon those whom He chose. He has a plan and a glorious purpose for their eternal destiny. Foreknow (proginosko) “emphasizes not mere foresight but an active relationship between the one who foreknows and those who are foreknown” (Charles Ryrie, Biblical Theology of the New Testament, 169).

 

Election was based on His good pleasure or the kind intention of His will (Eph.1:5). He chose us to be holy and blameless in His sight and in love He predestined us (Eph.1:4-5). The process of election, predestination and foreknowledge suggests an eternal connection (relationship) between God and His chosen ones. “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew” (Rom.11:2). The foreknowledge of God is far more than His ability to foresee the future, it emphasizes God’s free loving initiative in grace.

The Hebrew verb “to know” expresses much more than mere intellectual cognition. It denotes a personal relationship of care and affection (Gen.4:1: “Adam knew Eve his wife.” See also Gen.4:17; Matt.1:25).  The word “knowing” is the same word translated “chosen in Amos 3:2. God knew Israel in the unique sense of loving and choosing her as His people. The meaning of foreknowledge in the New Testament is similar.  As John Murray writes, “know” is practically synonymous with “love.” “Whom He foreknew is virtually equivalent to whom He foreloved. “Foreknowledge is sovereign, distinguishing love” (John Murray, Epistle to the Romans, Vol.1, 317-318). The same truth was echoed by Moses when he wrote about the sovereign choice of Israel. “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples……but because the LORD loved you” (Deut. 7:7-8). Divine love is the only source of election.

 

Jesus warned the unbelievers and declared to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt.7:23). He had no intimate relationship with them. But of believers Paul wrote: “The Lord knows those who are His” (2 Tim.2:19). The Galatians “have come to know God or rather to be known by God” (Gala.4:9). Yes, this knowledge is intimate and on a personal level.

 

Foreknowledge is not just intellectual knowledge or perception; it is personal and relational.