Previously we read about "by the will of God" and Providence. In addition to God's Eternal Will and His Will for the Universe, God has a Will for us in that:
1. He Created us
2. He Redeemed us
3. He Forgave us
4. He Gifted us
5. He Set us Apart (unique, saints)
Now we read that God "chose us before the foundations of the world" and "He predestined us to adoption". How we think about God is the single, most significant determinate of our lives. As Christians we incorporate into our "becoming" God's sovereignty, His Providence:
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. - 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 NASB
Additionally we know Biblically that God created us with a Free Will (Genesis 2:7), and we are responsible for our choices as written in Romans 5:19 - "19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous."
How does Predestination work? Predestined (a word not used in today's vernacular) means to determine or plan ahead of time, we also get the word "ordain" from this. In our modern language we use this concept in real estate with surveying and setting legal boundaries to a parcel of land. The highest form of God's Love is His giving us Freedom. What does this mean - God's Grace is not irresistible but is persuasive not coercive. Free Will predestined in the creation of us before the foundations of time means that we have the ability to choose otherwise.
Two examples of this ability to choose are Jesus in the Garden just prior to his crucifixion, and Judas Iscariot with his betrayal at the Last Supper. Jesus answer of "not My will by Thy will be done" is found in Luke 22:41-44. Judas' answer is found philosophically in that God before the foundations of the earth (predestination) knew that Judas would exercise his free will to betray Jesus. God did not coerce nor cause Judas to betray. How does this work? As a parent I knew that my son when he was born would some day speed and break the law when he got his drivers license, thereby get a traffic ticket. I "foreknew" this, but more importantly my foreknowledge did not cause my son to speed and break the law.
St. Augustine wrote that "if there is no free will there would be no Hell" and as such evil is the miss-use of freedom.Therefore one is not Predestined to Hell but to Freedom. Biblically we are given the ability to obey God and to participate in His timeline of history, just as we are given the ability to chose to be a slave to the culture. We can chose the actuality of performing God's work (to know God's will and then do God's will) and no longer be a slave to our selfishness (see Romans 1:18-26).
God determined before the foundations of the world His plan of creating man with Free Will, therefore because God is Love (1 John 4:16) this Free Will Plan must be Good by Necessity. By Necessity I mean God's plan is not random but intentional. That intentional plan is to mature us while on earth.
Providence - God provides everything - creator of all
Necessity - There is no arbitrary (i.e., fate), then there must be an order (the best possible way)
Freedom - The best possible world means to be free means to be free to choose the wrong thing
Negativity - Choosing the wrong thing has harmful effects on us and those around
Maturity - Choosing to do the right response in the mist of negative stuff produces maturity
Providence - 1 Cor. 4:7
Necessity - Eph. 2:8-9
Freedom - Gen. 3:21
Negativity - Matt. 8:5-13
Maturity - Phil. 4:6-8
C'ya Sunday
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