What does it mean that God foreknew whom he predestined?

Explanation:

In Romans 8:29, Paul likely means that God knew beforehand that he would enter into a relationship with specific people, then ordained those people to come to faith. We can detect that this is Paul’s meaning because he uses the verb προγινώσκω (to know). The verb has to do not just with knowledge but with knowledge that occurs before.⁴ So to what time does God’s knowledge before refer? We know from Ephesians 1:4 that God chose us in him before the foundation of the world. So this before has to do with the time before creation. Of course, if God foreknew before creation who will be predestined, called, justified, and glorified, then God must ordain those whom he foreknew to come to faith.⁵

Counterargument:

That Paul uses the verb προγινώσκω (to know) does not imply that God ordains those to come to faith. Rather, God may know beforehand precisely who would respond to the gospel positively and therefore have faith.⁶ Since God foreknew who would have faith, he predestined those whom he knew would have faith to be called, justified, and glorified. So the fact that God’s knowledge is before the foundation of the earth does not rule out God’s knowledge being grounded in who would respond positively to the gospel, so we cannot say with certainty that those God knew beforehand, he ordained to faith.

Response to counterargument:

Unfortunately, this counterargument will not do, because Paul does not mention anything about faith in these verses. Rather, Paul is describing the process of salvation from God’s perspective, and from God’s perspective, he foreknew before he even created the world whom he will predestine, call, justify and glorify, not because he sees their faith but because he is sovereign over all events in the universe.⁷

Explanation:

In order to understand what it means that God foreknew those he predestined, called, justified, and glorified, we need to consider his logic. He indicates that those God foreknew are those who are ultimately saved. We can detect this by the fact that those he foreknew are those predestined, and these are called, justified, and glorified. So the ones foreknown are also the ones saved. Now, we know from other passages that humans are corrupted by sin. For example, in Romans 5:10 Paul writes that while we were enemies with God we were reconciled to God through Christ. In other words, our corrupted nature made us an enemy of God so that salvation could only come by God’s grace. Likewise, in Ephesians 2:3 we read that when we lived in the passions of the flesh, we were children of wrath, which suggests we were wholly corrupted by sin. Of course, if we were wholly corrupted by sin before coming to faith in Christ, this sin actually prevents us from coming to faith in Christ. Thus, while salvation is offered to those who have faith, humans do not have the natural resources for faith.

So we can put these points together. Those God foreknew he saves, and humans do not have the natural resources for faith. Thus, those who have faith have it because God ordained them to have it, so God foreknew those whom he ordained to have faith, and those he ordained to have faith he called, justified, and glorified.⁸

Counterargument:

This view assumes that sinful people cannot have faith. But it is not clear from the fact that humans have a corrupt sinful nature that they cannot have faith. Faith has to do with believing God’s promises, and there is no reason sinful humans do not have the capacity to believe God’s promises. Of course, because sinful people are God’s enemies, they do not choose to reconcile themselves to God before God reconciles them. That is, sinful people do not seek reconciliation from God before they learn that God graciously offers them salvation through Jesus Christ. Still, once people learn that God offers them salvation through Jesus Christ, it still seems possible for them to believe that God has made this offer, which is to have faith. And if God foreknew who would have faith, then God’s foreknowledge could be of those he knew would respond positively to the gospel.

Response to counterargument:

Not only does Scripture explain that humans are corrupted by sin, but it also says that the only way to God is if he draws us to him. First, in John 6:37 Jesus explains that all whom the Father has given him will come to Jesus. Then in John 6:44 he explains that no one can come to him unless the Father draws him.⁹ When we combine the fact that no one can come to Jesus unless they are drawn by the Father with the fact of our corrupt sinful nature, we can deduce that no one can come to faith unless God ordains faith in them. And this is what Paul explains in Romans 8:29 when he says that those God foreknew he also predestined, called, justified, and glorified. That is, he foreknew them in the sense that he ordained to give them faith and be in a relationship with them.

Explanation:

To understand what it means that those God foreknew he also predestined, called, justified, and glorified, it is important to understand the Old Testament idea of predestination. For Paul’s Jewish audience, the notion of predestination has to do with the fact that God chose or predestined Israel to be his people. What Paul is explaining here is that God is so sovereign that his predestination is not tied to Jewish ethnicity, but open to whoever God chooses to save.¹³ Importantly, Paul qualifies the notion that those God predestined he called, justified, and glorified, by stating that God foreknew these. By qualifying that those God predestined he also foreknew, Paul leaves open the idea that those God predestined, he foreknew would come to faith. Since God foreknew that these would come to faith, he predestined them to be called, justified, and glorified. So those foreknown are those God knows would come to faith in Jesus Christ, even before he creates.¹⁴

Counterargument:

While this argument asks us to consider the Old Testament theme of predestination, it fails to keep in mind the Old Testament theme of foreknowledge. That is, God’s foreknowing is also found in the Old Testament, but it does not have to do with foreknowledge of faith. Rather, his foreknowledge in the Old Testament has to do with his choosing beforehand. For example, in Jeremiah 1:5 we read that before Jeremiah was in the womb God knew him, and before he was born God consecrated him as a prophet to the nations. The meaning here is not that God foresaw Jeremiah’s faith and thus appointed him a prophet, but that God forechose Jeremiah to be a prophet.¹⁵

Response to counterargument:

There are two problems with this counterargument. First, one passage from the Old Testament related to God knowing Jeremiah beforehand is not enough to establish that foreknowledge is related to choosing rather than foreseen faith. Second, even if Jeremiah 1:5 is related to the notion of foreknowledge as Paul uses it in Romans 8:29, it could be that God foreknew Jeremiah’s faith, which is why God chose him to be a prophet. So this argument does not establish that foreknowledge in the Old Testament is always related to choosing beforehand, and it is possible that God chose Jeremiah because he foresaw his faith.

Explanation:

To understand what Paul means when he writes that those God foreknew he also predestined, called, justified and glorified, it is important to consider the immediate context. Paul has just explained that all things work together for those who love God (Romans 8:28). He builds on this by presenting to his audience five steps by which God cares for those who respond positively to the gospel. That is, God foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified them. Thus, even though believers might endure hardship, they can be sure that God’s providential hand watches over every circumstance of those who respond positively to the gospel.¹⁶

Counterargument:

This argument overlooks a critical aspect of the immediate context. For while Paul does write that all things work together for those who love God, he goes on to qualify that those who love God are those God called. That is, it is those called by God who love God, and for them all things work together for good. Of course, to be called by God is not to be invited, but to be summoned. In other words, the call of God is not resistible, but an effectual calling to be in a relationship with him.¹⁷ Then, Paul goes on to affirm the effectual calling of God by explaining that those God foreknew he predestined, called, justified, and glorified, which is to say, those whom God chose beforehand, he predestined, called, justified, and glorified.¹⁸

Response to counterargument:

This view assumes that to be called by God is to be summoned by him. But it could refer to being invited by him. That is, Paul could be saying that those God foreknew would respond to the gospel if they heard it, he also called by inviting them to repentance and faith. Of course, since God foreknew these would respond positively to God’s call, these do in fact respond positively to God’s invitation, so they are justified and glorified.

The weakness of this view is that it is not clear why some people might respond positively to God’s call and others not. That is, it seems to push the problem of sin back one step, but does not resolve it. It notes that humans are sinful, but some will respond positively to the gospel. God foresees this positive response, and these are the ones God predestined, called, and so on. The question is how these could respond positively to the gospel given that they are sinful. In other words, what is the good in them, which allows them to respond positively, that is not found in those that do not respond positively? If we say that these just have some good that others do not, this good is inexplicable. On the other hand, if we say that these are no better than those who do not respond, then what explains the fact that they do respond positively?