For those whom God foreknew, what does it imply that they were predestined? (Romans 8:29)
Paul mentions God’s omnipotence and participation in the justification process in a number of different settings (declared righteous). Paul outlines what we may learn about God via election in Romans 8:29, saying, “For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so he could be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
Paul makes the profound claim that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His plans just before he talks about how God predestined people He foreknew (Romans 8:28). That promise offers Christians hope that God is in charge and has a plan, even though it may not make sense to them at the time.
Then, Paul goes into specifics to prove that God can be trusted to use bad circumstances for good. To those whom God had foreknown, He had already predestined to be transformed into the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29a). There are several crucial truths about God that we pick up here. To begin, we learn that God knows each individual before they are born. According to Jeremiah, God anointed and ordained him before he was even born (Jeremiah 1:5). David said that God had predetermined his whole lifespan by recording each day of his life in a book (Psalm 139:16).
The second thing we discover is that God does indeed predestine certain individuals (that is, He marks them out beforehand). Paul teaches that God the Father predestined Christians to adoption as sons of God before the creation of the world in Ephesians 1, choosing them to be in Christ (Ephesians 1:4). (Ephesians 1:5).
When we consider that the Bible teaches that God foreknows and predestinates His offspring, we are left with some difficult concerns about free will and whether or not God’s sovereignty precludes human power to choose. In contrast to the Arminian view, which values human agency above God’s sovereignty, the Calvinist view has traditionally prioritized the former. The seeming conflict between free will and God’s will is addressed by these two religious tenets. The Bible simplifies matters more than any of the other two traditions.
God’s sovereignty and free will are discussed in the Bible, but rather than leading us to door 1 or 2, the texts point us toward door 3. If God predestined those He foreknew, then predestination is a theological reality that reveals God’s sovereignty. Yet the Bible teaches us that individuals must take responsibility for their actions. Mary is praised for her decision (Luke 10:42), as is Moses (Hebrews 11:24–25). Paul decided on an alliance with certain people (Acts 15:40). There are many examples of free will throughout the Bible, yet there are also many comments that assert God’s will above human choice (for example, Romans 9:16).
In some theologies, human beings don’t have much of a say since God is all-powerful. One alternative argues that because humans have free will, God cannot control what they decide to do with their lives. The third possibility is simply that both propositions are correct: both God and humans have perfect control over the outcomes of their decisions. In the Bible, they are not presented as opposites that cannot be reconciled (as theological traditions sometimes do). The fact that God chose beforehand those He foreknew teaches us that He has complete knowledge of and control over His creation even before it comes into being. The coexistence of His sovereignty with human decision, choice, and accountability is not a conundrum for a God who is big enough to be the Creator of all.
Rather than relying on theological traditions, which may derive their conclusions from sources other than Scripture, maybe we should let the Bible be the final authority on how God should be understood. Only if God Himself discloses anything about His nature in His Word can we be sure of what we are saying about Him.
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