Romans 8.29a-The Father Predestined The Christian To Be Conformed To The Likeness Of His Son
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday January 18, 2009
Romans: Romans 8:29a-The Father Predestined The Christian To Be Conformed To The Likeness Of His Son
Lesson # 278
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 8:28.
This morning we will begin a study of Romans 8:29, and in this passage, the apostle Paul teaches the Christians in Rome that they were foreknown by the Father and were predestined by Him to be conformed to the image of His Son so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brethren.
This passage is divided into two sections: (1) Epexegetical (explanatory) clause (2) Purpose clause.
This morning we will note the epexegetical clause and on Tuesday the purpose clause.
In the former, Paul describes the predetermined plan of the Father mentioned by Paul at the end of verse 28 by saying that the Christian was known by the Father in eternity past and predestined by Him to be conformed to the likeness of His Son 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.”
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.”
Corrected translation of Romans 8:28-29:
Romans 8:28, “In fact, we know without a doubt that for the benefit of those who are characterized as divinely loving God the Father, He (the Spirit), as an eternal spiritual truth, always works each and every circumstance together for the good, for the benefit of those who are, as an eternal spiritual truth, the chosen ones, in accordance with His predetermined plan.”
Romans 8:29, “That is, whom He knew in advance, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son in order that He Himself would, as an eternal spiritual truth, be the firstborn among many spiritual brothers.”
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.”
“For” is the conjunction hoti (o^ti) (hot-ee), which is employed with the indicative mood of the verbs proginosko, “He foreknew” and proorizo, “He predestined” in order to form a dependent “exegetical” clause.
It is providing additional information regarding the predetermined plan (prothesis) mentioned in the appositional clause at the end of Romans 8:28.
“Those whom” refers to all Christians because its antecedent is the dative masculine plural form of the adjective kletos, “the chosen ones” that appears in Romans 8:28.
“He foreknew” is the third person singular aorist active indicative form of the verb proginosko (proginwvskw) (prog-in-oce-ko), which is a compound word composed of the preposition pro, “before” and the verb ginosko, “to know,” thus the word literally means, “to know beforehand” or “to know in advance.”
In Romans 8:29, the verb is used with reference to the Father’s “foreknowledge” of the church, which is composed of both Jews and Gentiles.
God’s foreknowledge is related to His attribute of omniscience and the divine decree, which is His eternal and immutable will, regarding the future existence of events, which will happen in time and regarding the precise order and manner of their occurrence.
The decree of God is the chosen and adopted plan of all God’s works.
Foreknowledge acknowledges only what is in the decree of God and so chronologically speaking, foreknowledge follows the divine decree since nothing can be foreknown until it is first decreed.
There is a distinction between God’s foreknowledge and His omniscience.
With His omniscience God knows perfectly and eternally all that is knowable whether it is the actual or the possible or in other words the reality and the alternatives to that reality.
However, God’s foreknowledge only deals with reality.
Foreknowledge acknowledges what is in the divine decree and merely acknowledges what is certain to take place in time.
It refers only to those things, which God did decree or adopt as the plan of God-those things related to the believer only.
Only the decree establishes certainty or reality; only reality can be foreknown; nothing can be foreknown until first decreed.
God’s decree never originated from His foreknowledge.
Although all three exist simultaneously in the mind of God, omniscience, the decree, and foreknowledge must be separated into a logical sequence for us to understand them.
First we have God’s omniscience, then the decree, which is based on His omniscience and then lastly, we have God’s foreknowledge, which is based on the decree.
In Romans 8:29, the verb proginosko is used of the Father “knowing beforehand” or “knowing in advance” that the Christian would accept by faith Jesus Christ as Savior indicating that the Christian’s faith in Christ as Savior is the object of the Father’s foreknowledge.
This verb emphasizes that the salvation of men is based upon God’s initiative.
The Scriptures teach that the sinner does determine his own destiny in the sense that he must respond to God’s initiation and invitation through the presentation of the gospel to enter into a relationship with Him by making the non-meritorious decision to accept by faith Jesus Christ as Savior (John 3).
The Scriptures teach that God seeks out the sinner in order to save the sinner.
The sinner, who is spiritually dead, does not have the capacity or the desire to seek God out.
The fact that God has to seek out the sinner in order to present him the gospel so that the sinner can make a decision to accept by faith Christ as Savior or reject Him indicates that the salvation of men is based upon God’s initiative and sovereign choice.
Therefore, God is sovereign in predestinating the Christian and electing the Christian since the salvation of man is based upon God’s initiative and not the sinner’s faith in Christ since the sinner has no capacity or desire whatsoever to seek out or establish a relationship with God.
So we can see that since Paul teaches that God the Father first foreknew the Christian and then predestinated the Christian to be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus Christ that the predestination of the Christian is based upon God’s foreknowledge.
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.”
“He predestined” is the third person singular aorist active indicative form of the verb proorizo (proorivzw) (pro-or-id-zo), which like proginosko is a compound word and is composed of the preposition pro, “before” and the verb horizo, “to set a boundary,” thus the word literally means, “to set a boundary in advance.”
Now, in Romans 8:29-30, the verb proorizo is used of God the Father “determining beforehand” or “predestinating” the Christian in eternity past to be conformed into the image of Christ.
Therefore, Romans 8:29 teaches that predestination is sharing the destiny of Jesus Christ.
It is also related to the divine decree of God and describes the act of the infinite, eternal omniscience of God, which determined the certain future existence of events, which will happen in time to the believer.
The Bible does not teach double-predestination or that the unbeliever is predestined to the eternal lake of fire since the Bible teaches that God desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9).
In Ephesians 1:5, the verb refers to the fact that God the Father before the foundation of the world “determined beforehand” or “predestined” the Christian to adoption as a son through Jesus Christ in order to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
In Ephesians 1:11, Paul teaches that God the Father has also predestinated every church age believer in eternity past in order to bless them with an eternal inheritance.
In Romans 8:29, Paul teaches that God the Father first foreknew the Christian and then predestinated the Christian to be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus Christ, thus indicating that predestination is based upon God’s foreknowledge.
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.”
“To become conformed to” is the accusative masculine plural form of the adjective summorphos (suvmmorfo$) (soom-mor-fos), which is a compound adjective composed of the preposition sun, “with, together with” and the noun morphe, “essence, nature,” thus the word literally means, “having the same essence as something.”
In Philippians 3:21, the adjective summorphos is used in relation to ultimate sanctification or in other words, the believer in a resurrection body.
Philippians 3:20-21, “For our citizenship exists from eternity past in the realm of the heavens, out from which also we ourselves at the present time are eagerly anticipating as Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who will cause our humiliating body to be outwardly transformed to be identical in essence with His glorious body because of the power that will enable Him to marshal all things created to Himself.”
In Romans 8:29, the adjective summorphos refers to the Christian being “conformed” into the image of Christ, both inwardly (perfect Christ-like character) and outwardly (Christ’s resurrection body).
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.”
“The image” is the articular genitive feminine singular form of the noun eikon (ei)kwvn) (i-kone), which refers to the Christian’s “likeness” to Christ “bodily” as well as “spiritually.”
Therefore, Paul is teaching us in Romans 8:29 that the Father’s predetermined plan for us as Christians to be conformed to the likeness of His Son Jesus Christ.
This work of conforming the Christian into the image of Christ began the moment the Christian expressed faith alone in Christ alone.
It continues after salvation in the believer who obeys the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Holy Spirit through the communication of the Word of God and it will be completed at the resurrection of the church.
The Father’s purpose for extending us grace, for crucifying us with Christ and burying us with Him as well as raising and seating us with Christ at His right hand is so that we might become conformed to the image of His Son Jesus Christ.
The sole objective of God the Father saving us, justifying, sanctifying and glorifying us through His Son Jesus Christ is so that we might become like His Son Jesus Christ and by doing so bring many sons to glory.
His purpose for giving us a new nature, the nature of Christ, the mind of Christ and the Spirit of Christ is so that we might become like His Son Jesus Christ.