Two major concepts are involved in the scriptural/biblical meaning of predestination.
First, God who is all-powerful in the universe, has foreknown and predestined the course of human history and the lives of individuals. If He were not in complete control of human events, He would not be sovereign and thus, would not be God.
Second, God's predestination of human events does not eliminate human choice. A thorough understanding of how God can maintain His sovereignty and still allow human freedom seems to be reserved for His infinite mind alone.
Although the term predestination is not used in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, the apostle Paul alludes to it in Ephesians 1:11-12 :
And it is in him that we were claimed as God's own,
chosen from the beginning,
under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things
as he decides by his own will;
chosen to be,
for his greater glory,
the people who would put their hopes in Christ before he came. - Eph. 1:11-12 -
'We have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will'.
All Christians agree that creation is moving within the purpose of God. This purpose is to bring the world into complete conformity to His will. From the very beginning of time, God predestined to save humankind by sending His Son to accomplish salvation. Thus, God our saviour: he wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. - 1Timothy 2:4 -
We know that by turning everything to their good God cooperates with all those who love him, with all those that he has called according to his purpose. They are the ones he chose specially long ago and intended to become true images of his Son, so that his Son might be the eldest of many brothers. He called those he intended for this; those he called he justified and with those he justified he shared his glory. - Rom. 8:28-30 -
The doctrine of predestination does not mean that God is unjust, deciding that some people will be saved and that others will be lost. Mankind, because of Adam's FALL in the Garden of Eden, sinned by FREE CHOICE. Thus, no person deserves salvation. But God's grace is universal, His salvation is for everyone who believes. - Rom. 1:16 -
Apostle Paul declared that he was a debtor under obligation to take the message of the Good News to other people so they might hear and obey. Saint Paul clearly meant that no one is saved apart from the will of God and no one is lost apart from the will of God. But the will of God functions within an order which God Himself has established.
I owe a duty to Greeks just as much as to barbarians, to the educated just as much to the uneducated and it is this that makes me want to bring the Good News to you too in Rome. - Rom. 1:14-15 -
Predestination is a profound and mysterious scriptural/biblical teaching. It focuses our thinking on man freedom and responsibility as well as God's sovereignty.
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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