Our God Is Sovereign!

“The Predestination of God”
Romans 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

Last week we looked at the word “foreknow” and we know that “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” Acts 15:18. That is everything and anything God has chosen to accomplish throughout the timeline of this world including who He has chosen to save. Now we take a deeper step in proving that point by saying God predestinated all things. The word “predestinate” means - limit in advance – and it comes from the Greek word - proorizō - which occurs 4 other times in the New Testament other than here in Romans 8. Of the six times this word appears in the New Testament 4 of the 6 speaks of God “limiting in advance” those that are going to be saved and the other two also means that. The most hated doctrine of today is the doctrine of limited atonement however just using this one Greek word we see that God says He has limited salvation 4 times and in many other passages He says He has salvation limited, for example in Matthew 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” We see the general call to go out to the whole world but we see few chosen to salvation. However the religionists like to condemn this doctrine with scriptures that they single out and use out of context to condemn the predestination of God, like John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” However this can be looked at several ways to explain: (1.) the word men was added by the translators and is not part of the original text, (2.) who are the “all” or even “all men” it is the elect of God. God never promised to call all men of the earth to Him because there are so many lost and will never come to Christ, and if God called those that will die lost then didn’t God fail to save them? If this were true then doesn’t that make God a liar, because He said in Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Or all that are called comes.

Now some say that when God speaks of predestination He is not speaking of those who are going to be save, however He says in Romans 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son…” the word “conformed” means - jointly formed or fashioned like unto – so those He predestinated were “fashioned like unto” in the image of His Son Jesus Christ, but would this not have to mean they were saved, being that is the only possible way to be in the image of His Son. So this scripture actually reads “For whom he did foreknow (or chose before hand), he also did predestinate (limit in advance) to be conformed (fashioned like unto) to the image of his Son (or saved)…” I know that many have not been taught these doctrines and if they have been it has been taught as a doctrine of hatefulness; however it is truly a wonderful teaching if one takes the time to learn it. God never has opened salvation to the entire world as most religionist would have us to believe, but rather He has profoundly made the point it is limited to those He has predestinated. Lets notice Ephesians 1:4 - 5 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (5.) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,” Here in verse 5 the very same Greek word is used for “predestinated” when speaking of the “adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself” and this is done “according to the good pleasure of his will,” not according to our will but His will. Beloved please do not fall into the religionist trap of free-willism because it does not exist.