The Foreknowledge Of God # 2

 The Foreknowledge Of God # 2

Take the word "immortality." Surely it requires no study! Obviously it has reference to the indestructability of the soul. Ah, my readers, it is foolish and wrong to assume anything where the Word of God is concerned.

If the reader will take the trouble to carefully examine each passage where "mortal" and immortal" are found, it will be seen that these words are never applied to the soul, but always the body.

Now what has been said on "flesh," the "world," "immortality," applies with equal force to the terms "know" and "foreknow." Instead of imagining that these words signify no more than a simple cognition, the different passages in which they occur require to be carefully weighed. The word "foreknowledge" is not found in the Old Testament. But "know" occurs there frequently. When that term is used in connection with God, it often signifies to regard with favor, denoting not mere cognition but an affection for the object in view, "I know you by name" (Exodus 33:17). "You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you" (Deuteronomy 9:24). "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you" (Jeremiah 1:5). "They have made princes, and I knew it not" (Hosea 8:4). "You only have I known of all the families of the earth" (Amos 3:2). In these passages "knew" signifies either loved or appointed.

In like manner, the word "know" is frequently used in the New Testament, in the same sense as the Old Testament. "Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you" (Matt. 7:23). "I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me" (John 10:14). "If any man loves God, the same is known by Him" (1 Cor. 8:3). "The Lord knows those who are His" (2 Tim. 2:19).

Now the word "foreknowledge" as it is used in the New Testament is less ambiguous than in its simple form "to know." It is people God is said to "foreknow," not the actions of those people. In proof of this we shall now quote each passage where this expression is found.

The first occurance is in Acts 2:23. There we read, "Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." If careful attention is paid to the wording of this verse, it will be seen that the Apostle was not there speaking of God's foreknowledge of the act of the crucifixion, but of the Person crucified. "Him (Christ) being delivered by..."

The second occurrence is in Romans 8:29-30. "For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those he justified, He also glorified." Weigh well the pronoun that is used here. It is not what He did foreknow, but those He foreknew. It is not the surrendering of their wills nor the believing of their hearts, but the people themselves, that are here in view.

"God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew" (Romans 11:2). Once more the plain reference is to people, and to people only.

Now in view of these passages (and there are no more) what Scriptural ground is there for anyone saying God "foreknew" the acts of certain ones, namely, their repenting and believing, and that because of those acts He elected them unto salvation? The answer is: None whatsoever! Scripture never speaks of repentance and faith as being foreseen or foreknown by God. Truly, He knew from all eternity that certain ones would repent and believe, yet this is not what Scripture refers to as the object of God's foreknowledge. The word uniformly refers to God's foreknowing people, then let us "hold fast the form of sound words." (2 Tim. 1:13).

The plain truth in Romans 8:29 is that God, before the foundation of the world, singled out certain sinners and appointed them unto salvation (2 Thess. 2:13). This is clear from the concluding words of the verse: "He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son." God did not predestine those whom He foreknew were conformed," but, on the contrary, those whom He foreknew (that is, loved and elected). "He predestined to be conformed." Their conformity to Christ is not the cause, but the effect of God's foreknowledge and predestination.

God did not elect any sinner because He foresaw that he would believe, for the simple but sufficient reason that no sinner ever does believe until God give him faith; just as no man sees until God gives him sight. Sight is God's gift, seeing is the consequence of my using His gift. So faith is God's gift (Eph. 2:8, 9), believing is the consequence of my using His gift. 

Once more, in Romans 11:5 we read of "a remnant according to the election of grace." There it is, plain enough; election itself is of grace, and grace is unmerited favor, something for which we had no claim upon God whatever.

If then the reader is a real Christian, he is so because God chose him in Christ before the foundation of the world, and chose not because He forsaw you would believe, but chose simply because it pleased Him to choose; chose you notwithstanding your natural unbelief. This being so, all glory and praise belongs alone to Him. You have no ground for taking any credit to yourself. You have "believed through grace", and that, because your very election was "of grace." (Romans 11:5).

~A. W. Pink~

(The End)

The Foreknowledge Of God # 1

 The Foreknowledge Of God # 1

What controversies have been engendered by this subject in the past! But what truth of Holy Scripture is there which has not been made the occasion of theological and ecclesiastical battles? The deity of Christ, His virgin birth, His atoning death, His second advent; the believer's justification, sanctification, security; thechurch, its organization, officers, discipline; baptism, the Lord's prayer and a score of othert precious truths might be mentioned. Yet, the controversies which have been waged over them did not close the mouths of God's faithful servants; why then, should we avoid the vexing question of God foreknowledge, because, forsooth, there are some who will charge us with fomenting strife? Let others contend if they will, our duty is to bear witness according to the light given us.

There are two things concerning the foreknowledge of God about which many are in ignorance; the meaning of the term, and its Scriptural scope. Because this ignorance is so widespread, it is an easy matter for preachers and teachers to palm off perversions of this against error, and that is to be established in the faith; and for that, there has to be prayerful and diligent study, and a receiving with meekness the engrafted Word of God. Only then are we fortified against the attacks of those who assail us.

There are those today who are misusing this very truth in order to discredit and deny the absolute sovereignty of God in the salvation of sinners. Just as higher critics are repudiating the divine inspiration of the Scriptures; evolutionists challenge the work of God in creation; so some pseudo Bible teachers are perverting His foreknowledge in order to set aside His unconditional election unto eternal life.

When the solemn and blessed subject of divine foreordination is expounded, when God's eternal choice of certain ones to be conformed to the image of His Son is set forth - the enemy sends along some man to argue that election is based upon the foreknowledge of God, and this "foreknowledge" is interpreted to mean that God foresaw certain ones would be more pliable than others, that they would respond more readily to the strivings of the Spirit, and that because God knew they would believe, He accordingly predestined them unto salvation.

But such a statement is radically wrong. it repudiates the truth of total depravity, for it argues that there is something good in some men. It takes away the independence of God, for it makes His decrees rest upon what He discovers in the creature. It completely turns things upside down, for in saying God foresaw certain sinners would believe in Christ, and that because of this, He predestined them unto salvation, is the very reverse of the truth.

Scripture affirms that God, in His high sovereignty, singled out certain ones to be recipients of His distinguishing favors (Acts 13:48), and therefore He determined to bestow upon them the gift of faith. False theology makes God's forknowledge of our believing the cause of His election to salvation; whereas, God's election is the cause, and our believing in Christ is the effect.

Before proceeding further with our discussion of this much misunderstood theme, let us pause and define our terms. What is meant by "foreknowledge"? To know beforehand," is the ready reply of many. But we must not jump to conclusions, nor must we turn to Webster's dictionary as the final court of appeal, for it is not a matter of the etymology of the term employed. What is needed is to find out how the word is used in Scripture. The Holy Spirit's usage of an expression always defines its meaning and scope. It is failure to apply this simple rule which is responsible for so much confusion and error. So many people assume they already know the signification of a certain word used in Scripture, and then they are too dilatory to test their assumptions by means of a concordance. Let us amplify this point.

Take the word "flesh." Its meaning appears to be so obvious that many would regard it as a waste of time to look its various connections in Scripture. It is hastily assumed that the word is synonymous with the physical body, and so no inquiry is made. But, in fact, "flesh" in Scripture frequently includes far more than what is corporeal, all that is embraced by the term can only be ascertained by a diligent comparison of every occurrence of it and by a study of each separate context.

Take the word "world." The average reader of the Bible imagines this word is the equivalent for the human race, and consequently, many passage where the term is found are wrongly interpreted.

~A. W. Pink~

(continued with # 2)