Reference: Predestination
Easton
This word is properly used only with reference to God's plan or purpose of salvation. The Greek word rendered "predestinate" is found only in these six passages, Ac 4:28; Ro 8:29-30; 1Co 2:7; Eph 1:5,11; and in all of them it has the same meaning. They teach that the eternal, sovereign, immutable, and unconditional decree or "determinate purpose" of God governs all events.
This doctrine of predestination or election is beset with many difficulties. It belongs to the "secret things" of God. But if we take the revealed word of God as our guide, we must accept this doctrine with all its mysteriousness, and settle all our questionings in the humble, devout acknowledgment, "Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight."
For the teaching of Scripture on this subject let the following passages be examined in addition to those referred to above; Ge 21:12; Ex 9:16; 33:19; De 10:15; 32:8; Jos 11:20; 1Sa 12:22; 2Ch 6:6; Ps 33:12; 65:4; 78:68; 135:4; Isa 41:1-10; Jer 1:5; Mr 13:20; Lu 22:22; Joh 6:37; 15:16; 17:2,6,9; Ac 2:28; 3:18; 4:28; 13:48; 17:26; Ro 9:11,18,21; 11:5; Eph 3:11; 1Th 1:4; 2Th 2:13; 2Ti 1:9; Tit 1:2; 1Pe 1:2. (See Decrees of God; Election of Grace.)
Hodge has well remarked that, "rightly understood, this doctrine (1) exalts the majesty and absolute sovereignty of God, while it illustrates the riches of his free grace and his just displeasure with sin. (2.) It enforces upon us the essential truth that salvation is entirely of grace. That no one can either complain if passed over, or boast himself if saved. (3.) It brings the inquirer to absolute self-despair and the cordial embrace of the free offer of Christ. (4.) In the case of the believer who has the witness in himself, this doctrine at once deepens his humility and elevates his confidence to the full assurance of hope" (Outlines).
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And unless the Lord had made those days few, no flesh could be saved: but for the sake of the elect whom he has chosen, he has made those days few.
And the Son of man goes, as it is determined; but alas for that man by whom he is delivered up.
All that the Father gives me, will come to me; and him that comes to me, I will by no means cast out.
You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and appointed you, that you may go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit may remain; that whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he may give you.
as thou hast given him authority over all flesh, that he may give eternal life to all that thou hast given him.
I have made known thy name to the men that thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest them, to me, and they have kept thy word.
I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Thou didst make known to me the ways of life; thou wilt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
But the things which God fore told by the mouth of all his prophets, that the Christ should suffer, he has thus fulfilled.
to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel determined to be done.
to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel determined to be done.
When the Gentiles heard this they rejoiced, and glorified the word of the Lord; and as many as were determined to obtain eternal life, believed.
and he has made from one blood every nation of men, that they might dwell on all the face of the earth, having marked out their appointed times, and the bounds of their dwelling:
For those whom he foreknew, he predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren: and those whom he predestinated he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
(the children, indeed, having not yet been born, and having done neither good nor evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calls,)
Therefore, he has mercy on whom he wills to have mercy: and whom he wills to harden, he hardens.
Has not the potter power over the clay, to make from the same mass one vessel for honor, and another for dishonor?
Thus, then, at the present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
having predestinated us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,
in him in whom we have obtained our portion, having been predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
according to the arrangement of the ages, which he established by Christ Jesus our Lord,
rooted, and built up in him, and strengthened in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
in hope of eternal life, which God, who can not lie, promised be fore the times of the ages,
holding fast the sure word as it is taught, that he may be able, by sound teaching, both to exhort and to convince the opposers.
Fausets
(See ELECTION.) Ac 2:23; 4:28, "whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done" (proorisen). God has "predestinated" believers "unto the adoption of sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace." "He hath chosen us in Christ" out of the rest of the world, "predestinated" us to all things that secure the inheritance for us (Eph 1:4-5,11). "Predestination" refers to God's decree, embodied in God's "election" of us out of the mass; His grand end. in it being "the praise of the glory of His grace" (Eph 1:6,12,14). It is by virtue of our union to Christ, "foreordained before the foundation of the world" (1Pe 1:20), that we are "predestinated" (2Ti 1:9).
Believers are viewed by God before the world's foundation as "IN CHRIST" with whom the Father makes the covenant (Re 13:8; 17:8; Eph 3:11), "according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." In 2Th 2:13 the Greek for "chosen" (heilato) means rather "taken for Himself"; He adopted them in His eternal purpose; "in (Greek) sanctification of (i.e. by) the Spirit" (by consecration to perfect holiness in Christ once for all, next by imparting it to them ever more and more). There was no doubt or contingency with God from the first. All was foreordained. God's glory and the believer's salvation are secured unchangeably. All pride on man's part is excluded; all is of God's unmerited grace. Yet the will of man is, in the sense of preserving our reponsibility, free. God alone knows how the two harmonize, His predestination and our freedom; it is enough for us they are both distinctly revealed.
At the same time fatalism is excluded, for God who predestinated believers to salvation as the end predestinated them to be conformed to the image of His Son as the means. We must make as sure of the means as of the end. Not to have the Spirit of Christ is to be none of His. Yet God's predestination is not founded on the believer's character, but the believer's character results from God's predestination (2Th 2:13; Ro 8:9,28-30). God the Father gives us salvation by gratuitous election; the Son earns it by His blood-shedding; the Holy Spirit applies the Son's merits to the soul by the gospel word (Calvin): Ga 1:4,15; 1Pe 1:2; the element IN (Greek) which we are elected is "sanctification of (consecration once for all by) the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ" (the end aimed at by God as regards us).
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him, delivered up by the fixed purpose and foreknowledge of God, you took, and with wicked hands did crucify and slay:
to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel determined to be done.
But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if any one has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.
And we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren: read more. and those whom he predestinated he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
But when God, who chose me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, was pleased
according as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love, having predestinated us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, read more. for the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he has shown us favor in the Beloved,
in him in whom we have obtained our portion, having been predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, that we should be for the praise of his glory; even we, who before had hope in the Christ:
which is the earnest of our inheritance, given for the redemption of his possession to the praise of his glory.
according to the arrangement of the ages, which he established by Christ Jesus our Lord,
But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God did, from the beginning, choose you to salvation, by sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth,
But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God did, from the beginning, choose you to salvation, by sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth,
who 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 given us in Christ Jesus be fore the times of the ages,
who was indeed foreordained before the foundation of the world, but manifested in these last times for you,
And all that dwell upon the earth will worship him, those whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world.
The beast that you saw, was, and is not, and will come out of the abyss, and go to perdition; and those who dwell on the earth, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder, when they see the beast that was, and is not, though he is yet present.
Hastings
The English word 'predestinate' in the AV is, in the few cases in which it occurs (Ro 8:29,36; Eph 1:5,11), exchanged in the RV for 'foreordain,' a return to the usage of the older Versions. The Gr. word (proorizo) conveys the simple idea of defining or determining beforehand (thus, in addition to above, in Ac 4:29; 1Co 2:7). The change in rendering brings the word into closer relation with a number of others expressing the same, or related, meanings, as 'foreknow' (in pregnant sense, Ac 2:23; Ro 8:29; 11:2; 1Pe 1:2,20), 'determine' (Ac 17:26), 'appoint' (1Pe 2:8), 'purpose' (Eph 1:9), in the case of believers, 'choose' or 'elect' (Eph 1:4 etc.). In the OT the idea is expressed by the various words denoting to purpose, determine, choose (e.g. Isa 14:24-27; 46:10-11), with the ahundance of phrases extolling the sovereignty and immutability of God's counsel in all the spheres of His operation (see below; so in NT). The best clue to the Scripture conception will he found in tracing it as it appears in these different spheres of the Divine action.
1. In its most general aspect, foreordination is coextensive with the sphere of God's universal providence, is, in fact, but another name for the eternal plan, design, purpose, counsel of God, which executes itself in providence. The election of believers, to which 'predestination' is sometimes narrowed, is hut a specific case of the 'purpose' of Him 'who worketh all things after the counsel of his will' (Eph 1:11). It is in this wider regard, accordingly, that foreordination must be studied first. It cannot be reasonably doubted that all Scripture
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Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven.
Are not two sparrows sold for a far thing? and yet not one of them shall fall upon the ground with out your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
him, delivered up by the fixed purpose and foreknowledge of God, you took, and with wicked hands did crucify and slay:
Thou didst make known to me the ways of life; thou wilt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel determined to be done. And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings, and grant to thy servants that they may speak thy word with all boldness,
For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:
and he has made from one blood every nation of men, that they might dwell on all the face of the earth, having marked out their appointed times, and the bounds of their dwelling:
For those whom he foreknew, he predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren:
For those whom he foreknew, he predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren:
For those whom he foreknew, he predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren:
As it is written: For thy sake, we are killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
What, then, shall we say? Is there unrighteousness with. God? It can not be. For he says to Moses: I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy; and I will show compassion to whom I will show compassion. read more. Therefore, it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh: For this very purpose have I raised you up, that I may show in you my power, and that my name may be published in all the earth.
For the scripture says to Pharaoh: For this very purpose have I raised you up, that I may show in you my power, and that my name may be published in all the earth. Therefore, he has mercy on whom he wills to have mercy: and whom he wills to harden, he hardens. read more. You will then say to me, Why does he yet find fault? For who has resisted his will? No, but rather, O man, who are you that dispute with God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed, it, Why have you made me thus?
No, but rather, O man, who are you that dispute with God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed, it, Why have you made me thus? Has not the potter power over the clay, to make from the same mass one vessel for honor, and another for dishonor?
Has not the potter power over the clay, to make from the same mass one vessel for honor, and another for dishonor? What, then, if God, intending to show his wrath, and to make his power known, yet, in much long-suffering bore with the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction:
What, then, if God, intending to show his wrath, and to make his power known, yet, in much long-suffering bore with the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction:
What, then, if God, intending to show his wrath, and to make his power known, yet, in much long-suffering bore with the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction: and, that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he before prepared for glory, showed mercy to us,
God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Know you not what the scripture says, in regard to Elijah? how he intercedes with God against Israel, saying:
the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or, who has been his counsellor?
according as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love,
according as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love,
according as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love, having predestinated us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,
having predestinated us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,
by making known to us the mystery of his will according to his good purpose which he had before established in himself,
in him in whom we have obtained our portion, having been predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
in him in whom we have obtained our portion, having been predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
in him in whom we have obtained our portion, having been predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
Even you, being dead to offenses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is actively at work in the sons of disobedience: read more. among whom also we all formerly lived in the desires of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of the feelings, and were by nature children of wrath, even as others: but God, being rich in mercy, on account of his great love with which he loved us, made alive with Christ even us, being dead to our offenses, (by grace you are saved,) and raised us up, and made us sit together in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus; that he might show, in the ages to come, the exceeding riches of his grace by his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through the faith; and this matter is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God:
Husbands, love your wives, as the Christ also loved the church, and delivered himself up for it, that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the bath of water through the word, read more. in order that he might present it to himself a glorious church, having neither stain, nor wrinkle, nor any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
rooted, and built up in him, and strengthened in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God did, from the beginning, choose you to salvation, by sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth,
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by our letter.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the sojourners that are dispersed through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense to the disobedient, who stumble at the word because they are disobedient, to which stumbling they were also appointed.
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. To him that loves us, and that has washed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father; to him be glory and might from age to age. Amen.
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and they cried with a loud voice, saying: Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.
And I saw, and behold, the Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, that had his name and his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder; and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. read more. And they sung a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the elders: and no one was able to learn the song, but the hundred and forty-four thousand that had been redeemed from the earth. These are they that were not defiled with women; for they are virgins; these are they that follow the Lamb wherever he goes: these were redeemed from among men, the first-fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile; for they are blameless. And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having the eternal gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, even to every nation and tribe and tongue and people;
Watsons
PREDESTINATION, according to some, is a judgment, or decree of God, by which he has resolved, from all eternity, to save a certain number of persons, hence named elect. Others define it, a decree to give faith in Jesus Christ to a certain number of men, and to leave the rest to their own malice and hardness of heart. A third, more Scripturally, God's eternal purpose to save all that "truly repent and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel,"