Romans 8.28c-The Christian Is Chosen By God In Accordance With God's Predetermined Plan
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday January 11, 2009
Romans: Romans 8:28c-The Christian Is Chosen By God In Accordance With God’s Predetermined Plan
Lesson # 276
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 8:28.
This morning we will complete our three part study of Romans 8:28.
Paul teaches in Romans 8:28 that for those characterized by love for God, namely, the Christian, the Spirit works all things together for good, i.e. conformity to the image of Christ, for the chosen ones in accordance with God’s predetermined plan.
This past week, we studied Romans 8:28a and in this passage, Paul teaches that on behalf of the Christian, the Spirit works all things together for good, which refers to conformity to the image of Christ.
Thursday we noted Romans 8:28b, in which Paul teaches that the Christian is characterized by love for God.
This evening, we will complete the verse by noting Romans 8:28c, which teaches that the Christian is chosen by God in accordance with God’s predetermined plan.
Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
“To those who are” is the articular dative masculine plural present active participle form of the verb eimi (ei)miv) (i-mee), which means, “to belong to a particular class of individuals.”
It refers to “belonging to a particular class of individuals” in the human race who are identified by Paul with the adjective kletos, which means, “the chosen ones.”
“Called” is the dative masculine plural form of the adjective kletos (klhtov$) (klay-tos), which means, “chosen ones.”
This word does not refer to the “call of God,” which is related to “common grace” meaning grace given to all sinners by God in the form of being exposed to the gospel.
In other words, it does not refer to the “invitation” to receive the gift of salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior.
Rather, it refers to those sinners who have responded to the divine invitation or call of God when they were presented the gospel and have exercised faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Thus, it is an “effectual call” as many commentators describe it.
Therefore, kletos means “chosen ones” since it refers to those sinners who have accepted Christ as Savior.
By responding in faith they manifest in time that they have been elected to privilege by God.
God who is omniscient looked down the corridors of time and saw that the Christian would trust in His Son Jesus Christ as Savior and had prepared in advance a plan for them and elected to privilege these justified sinners.
Therefore, when the Christian placed his or her trust in Jesus Christ as Savior, he or she was manifesting the fact that they have been elected to privilege by the Father.
He did not coerce the Christian’s volition by electing but rather elected them to privilege when He saw through His omniscience that they would believe in His Son.
Election is never used in Scripture in relation to the unbeliever since 1 Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9 teach that God desires all men to be saved.
This word kletos describes the Christian as one who is “elected” to the privilege, responsibilities and blessings of obtaining salvation as well as an eternal relationship and fellowship with the Trinity and service to the Father through faith in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:3-4, “Worthy of praise and glorification is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who has blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in the Person of Christ. When He elected us to privilege in Him before the foundation of the world for the purpose of being holy and blameless before Him.”
God elected the believer before the foundation of the world in the sense that God, in His foreknowledge, which is based upon His omniscience, knew before anything was ever created, that we would believe in His Son in time.
God elected the believer before the foundation of the world since He knew beforehand that the believer would accept Jesus Christ as Savior in time and therefore elected the believer to privilege.
Election means that God has a plan for your life, which is to be conformed to the image of Christ.
Romans 8:28-30, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 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.”
The believer’s election to privilege is a gift and irrevocable.
Romans 11:29, “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
God elected the believer before the foundation of the world since He knew beforehand that the believer would accept Jesus Christ as Savior in time and therefore elected the believer to privilege.
There are three elections to privilege in history: (1) Israel (Deut. 7:6-7; 10:15; 14:2; Isa. 14:1; 44:1; 45:4; 48:12; Isa. 65:9; Ezek. 20:5; Psa. 135:4; Acts 13:17; 15:7; Rom. 11:5, 7, 28). (2) Christ (Isa. 42:1; Matt. 12:18; Luke 9:35; 23:35; 1 Pet. 2:4-6). (3) Church (Rom. 8:30, 33; 9:24-26; 1 Cor. 1:27; Eph. 1:4, 18; 4:1, 4; Phil. 3:14; Col. 3:12, 15; 1 Thess. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:9; 2:10; Tit. 1:1; Heb. 3:1; James 2:5; 1 Pet. 1:1, 15; 2:4, 9, 21; 3:9; 5:10, 13; 2 Pet. 1:3, 10; Rev. 17:14).
Election is based upon God’s grace policy meaning that the believer does not merit his election but rather receives it based upon the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross.
2 Timothy 1:8-9, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God 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 granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.”
We have been elected to privilege in order that we may be freed from the bondage of the old sin nature and that we might serve one another through love.
Galatians 5:13, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
Election is an expression of God’s love for the believer.
We have been elected in order that we may live in the eternal life we received when we believed in Christ for salvation (1 Tim. 6:12; Heb. 9:15).
We have been elected in order that we may receive eternal glory, which means that God is not only going to bless us with a resurrection body but also with an eternal inheritance, if we persevere and overcome (1 Pet. 5:10).
We have been elected in order that we may have fellowship (1 Cor. 1:9).
1 Corinthians 1:9, “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
We have been elected in order to form the body of Christ, which will be completed at the Rapture (Col. 3:15).
Colossians 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
Paul prayed that the Ephesian believers would be enlightened as to the confidence that this election can produce in them.
Ephesians 1:18-23, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
The believer has a great responsibility to conduct himself in a manner worthy of his election to privilege.
Ephesians 4:1-3, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
God has elected us to sanctification and not immoral degeneracy (1 Thessalonians 4:7).
We have been elected in order that we may go through undeserved suffering for Christ’s sake (1 Peter 2:18-25).
Therefore, in Romans 8:28, the adjective kletos means, “chosen ones” and refers to the sinner who has accepted by faith Jesus Christ as his or her Savior and is now been justified and made a son and child of God and placed in union with Christ through the power of the Spirit.
The word signifies that the Christian as one who is elected to the privilege, responsibilities and blessings of obtaining salvation as well as an eternal relationship and fellowship with the Trinity and service to the Father through faith in Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
“According to His purpose” is composed of the preposition kata (katav), “according to” and the accusative feminine singular form of the noun prothesis (provqesi$) (proth-es-is), “His purpose.”
In Romans 8:28, the noun prothesis refers to the “predetermined plan” of God the Father or in others words, the Father’s plan of salvation for mankind, which originated in eternity past and is also known as the “divine decree” of God.
In Romans 8:29-30, Paul goes onto to further elaborate regarding this “predetermined” plan of God the Father.
Romans 8:29-30, “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.”
Paul is teaching in Romans 8:28 that the Christian is an individual who is characterized as loving God, which the unbeliever has no capacity whatsoever to do since God can only be loved with His love.
The Christian is also characterized in verse 28 as someone who is chosen by God according to His predetermined plan indicating that the Christian was in the mind of God from eternity past.
No one can stop God’s plans from being accomplished since His divine decree or eternal plan has taken into consideration both positive and negative decisions by His creatures and decreed that His sovereign will, will co-exist with the volition of men and angels.
This passage teaches that the member of the Trinity that it is actively working in the Christian’s life as an agent for both the Father and the Son to conform the Christian into the image of Christ is the Holy Spirit.