Those He Predestined
Notes
Transcript
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Overview of Romans 8
Overview of Romans 8
Book of Romans is the pinnacle of Christian Theology
What we believe in and why
Romans 8 is the highlight of the book of Romans
Romans 8 can be broken down into 4 sub sections
V. 1-11
Freedom from sin and death made available to all who put their trust in Christ
V. 12-17
Not only set us free, but made us children of God and co-heirs of Kingdom of God with Jesus
V. 18-30
That future glory we have as co-heirs in worth the suffering and hardship of fighting against all desires of the fleshSin and our own fleshly passion
V. 31-39
A beautiful and remarkable outburst of worship and praise of God’s unfathomable love
Review of Romans 8:20-25
Review of Romans 8:20-25
We presevere but there is also help
Our weakness is very real.
The pain and suffering of present age is very real
We don’t know how to pray, what to pray for, or even what we need.
However, there is hope.
The Holy Spirit is our helper
The Holy Spirit makes intercession for us.
Importance of praying in the spirit
God will work all things for our good
Not to be understood as “It’s okay to do whatever we want because God will work it out for our benefit.”
This is only available for those who sincerely love Him and fully seek His kingdom
When there is pain and suffering in preseverence, God will ultimately cause these people to see His kingdom manifest and bring true joy.
Predestination
Predestination
Romans 8:29
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
This passage has been a hot debate topic amongst theologians for centuries.
The philosophical idea of “predestination” has been debated amongst Jewish scholars even before Christ was incarnate.
The two most popular interpretation today are
Calvin and his double predestination
Arminius and his Gods foreknowledge
Of course, these two men did not “invent” these interpretations, many prominent biblical scholars such as Origen of first century and Augustine of fourth century held these beliefs.
Calvin and double predestination
John Calvins understood and taught that these verses in Romans 8 spoke of God actively choose each and every person that will be saved as well as each person who will be condemned.
The person that God chose, or “predestined” to be saved will ultimately accept Christ. Called “Irresistable grace.” Meaning the person simply cannot resist the grace of God.
Jocubus Arminius and foreknowledge of God
Arminius interpreted that the “predestination” of God is in fact speaking of God having foreknowledge of the future.
God simply knows who will ultimately accept Christ and receive salvation versus who will not.
I personally fall under the Arminian camp.
Even amongst Calvist camp, there is a division called “Sublapsarians” and “Supralapsarians.” We will not discuss this here.
Calvinists use plenty of Bible verses to support their belief as well as Arminians.
However, I personally cannot come to terms that God would destine someone to eternal damnation.
However, both Calvin and Arminius missed this verse
However, both Calvin and Arminius missed this verse
The debate between Calvinists and Arminians is an important one.
However, I do not believe the central focus of this verse is not regarding that debate topic.
Scripture reads, “Whom He foreknew...”
It would be a serious push to say that “foreknew” means “pre-picked.”
It simply means knowledge.
Continue reading, “He also predestined TO BECOME CONFORMED to the image of His Son...” not “He also predestined to be saved.”
“Those He knew will be saved, He predestined to be sanctified into the image of His Son.” This is how this verse should be understood.
It is not a debate whether God predestined some to salvation and some to condemnation or He honors our free-will.
The second phrase of the verse also touches on the heart of the Father.
Jesus being the firstborn, firstborn implying there are other after Jesus.
Ultimately meaning that God is indeed a “Father” who desires a large family.
Whom He predestined, He also called
Whom He predestined, He also called
Romans 8:30
and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Some continue to take the conversation towards the debate because of this verse because of the phrase, “He also called.”
However, it is important to note that “called” precedes “predestined.” Meaning “Those whom He has predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, He also called.”
Paul continues, “justified…also glorified.”
Glorification is something that is understood as “coming in the future” within Christian belief.
However, here, Paul puts it in a past tense. How should we understand this?
The past tense of “glory” here should be understood as “the glory we will have in the coming age is so certain that we might as well say it as it already happened.”
This verse shows the boldness and the confidence of Paul in the coming glory.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Can you imagin the glory that we are destined for?
When you center your life around the coming glory, isn’t persevering through this life worth it?
I know and fully feel with all of you that materialistic posessions of this world is beyond tempting. However, isn’t the eternal glory of the Kingdom of God worth fighting that temptation?