Family of God: [Church_of_Christ] Re: The Good News!

by Dr. Mark G. Cambron,

FOREKNOWLEDGE
ELECTION
PREDESTINATION

There are so many theories today concerning foreknowledge,
predestination and
election, until the mind of the normal and average Christian is so mixed
up that
he really doesn't know what to believe. If we do not get these three
doctrines
straight, our whole Christian life will be warped, and soul winning will
become
a lost grace. Let us turn first to the foreknowledge of God.

THE FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to
the image
of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." (Romans
8:29)

Foreknowledge means to have knowledge of things to be. Foreknowledge is
an
attribute of God, while Predestination and Election are acts of God.
Only God
knows the future. And He does know the future. He wouldn't be God if He
didn't,
but the fact that He knows who is going to be saved, and who isn't going
to be
saved, does NOT determine who is going to be saved and who is going to
be lost.
Someone may ask, ''If God does know who is and who isn't going to be
saved, how,
then, can the sinner get out of it?" Foreknowledge, in Scripture, never
determines what is to be - foreknowledge is only the knowledge of things
to be
beforehand. It is the same with our scientists, they can tell when there
is to
be an eclipse of the sun or of the moon: on a certain day at a certain
hour,
minute and second; but the scientists do not bring about the eclipse.
God has
foreknowledge, and by this foreknowledge knows the future, but that is
where it
ends.

Of course God knows everything! He knows the very number of the hairs of
our
heads. He knows the number of the stars and calleth them by name. God
knows
everything, including the future. And, not only that, but God knows what
would
have happened if things had happened that didn't happen. He knows the
results of
all possibilities. The same is illustrated when David inquired of the
Lord
concerning his enemy. If he should go to one place, would the enemy be
there?
God said they would. So David went in another direction. Foreknowledge
simply
means to possess knowledge of things to be.

THE PREDESTINATION OF GOD

Here is where many of the saints falter in their Christian witnessing.
They read
something or other in the Word about predestination and then reason that
God
predestinates some people to be saved, and thus predestinates some
people to be
lost. That is not the case. To begin with, predestination is never for
the lost
man, to be saved or to be lost; but rather, predestination is for the
saved man.
We have only to read our Bibles, and read the context where it is
speaking of
predestination, to clearly understand that Salvation is, indeed, a
personal
matter based upon the "whosoever wills."

As stated before, Predestination is for the saved man. God knows who is
going to
be saved, and thus He has predestinated certain blessings for those who
are
going to get saved by faith. In other words, God draws a circle,
figuratively
speaking, and says that whosoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will
get in
that circle. So the believer, upon his faith in Jesus Christ, steps into
the
circle. Then God says, figuratively speaking, "Whosoever is in that
circle by
faith, I have predestinated that they shall receive these blessings,"
and here
they are:

"TO BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON."

"For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to
the image
of His Son" (Rom. 8:29a). This one of the blessings God has
predestinated for
the believer - that the believer is going to be fashioned, made,
transformed,
transfigured into the likeness of the image of Jesus Christ. The things
you
might be suffering at this moment are happening to you (Rom. 8:28) to
make you
more like Jesus. And at the rapture, whether we be dead or alive at His
coming,
we are all going to be changed and be wholly like unto Christ.

"UNTO THE ADOPTION OF CHILDREN BY JESUS CHRIST.''

"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ
to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will" (Eph. 1:5). Again
we want
to state that predestination is the predetermined blessings for the
saved man
and has nothing to do with salvation. Now, in the above text, we are
told that
the Christian is predestined unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ. It
doesn't say that the sinner was predestinated to become a child of God;
no, but
rather the saint has been predestinated unto the adoption of children.

To get a better idea of this great truth, it is well to explain the
meaning of
adoption. In America and England, when we adopt a child, we go by legal
means
and take a child of another family and get the court to make it our own.
But not
so with Jewish family, nor with the ancient Roman and Greek family.
These
adopted their own children. Adoption simply means "to declare as a son,"
or "son
placed." The fourth chapter of Galatians clearly defines the meaning of
adoption. It is the time appointed by the father when his boy ceases to
be
considered a child and becomes a recognized son. According to even
present day
Jewish custom it is called BAR MITZVAH - declared to be a Son of the
Law, Son of
Blessing. The boy becomes of age after his thirteenth birthday, on the
day
selected by the father. So it is with us: we are children of God, but we
are
waiting our BAR MITZVAH, our adoption, the time when our Heavenly Father
will
declare us of age and place us as Sons before the whole universe: "even
we
ourselves groan within ourselves, WAITING FOR THE ADOPTION, TO WIT, THE
REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY" (Rom. 8:23). This is one blessing that God has
predestinated for the saved man, for all who are trusting the Lord Jesus
Christ
- that we all shall be declared to be of age and as His SONS - at the
resurrection!

"PREDESTINATED ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE OF HIM."

Here is the third blessing for the child of God - "that which God has
predestinated for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith:
"Being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things
after the
counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory,
who first
trusted in Christ" (Eph. 1:11, 12). You will notice that it is not
salvation the
Holy Spirit is speaking about, but that which is for those who are
saved. So
many fail to read the 12th verse; herein is what God has predestinated -
that we
should be to the praise of His glory; Nowhere do we find predestination
for, or
not for, salvation.

ELECTION

"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the
world, that
we should be holy and without blame before him in love." (Eph. 1:4) The
New
Testament words "chosen, choose, and election" are the same. The Old
Testament
word is simply "chosen." From the above Scripture many have felt that
God
chooses some to be saved and some to be lost. Again I want to point out
that
predestination and election (choosing) have nothing to do with the lost,
but are
for the saved.

From the following Scriptures we learn what the choosing, or election,
of God is
about:'' For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and
Sarah
shall have a son. And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived
by one,
even by our father Isaac; (For the children being not yet born, neither
having
done any good or evil, THAT THE PURPOSE OF GOD ACCORDING TO ELECTION
MIGHT
STAND, not of works, but of him that calleth); It was said unto her, THE
ELDER
SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I
hated." (Rom. 9:9-13).

At once we point out that election, or choosing, has to do with service;
THE
ELDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER. It does not say, "The younger shall be
saved, and
the elder shall be lost." No, but simply, "the elder shall SERVE the
younger."
Thus choosing, or election, has to do with service. "Jacob have I loved,
but
Esau have I hated" wasn't said of these two men before they were born,
but
hundreds of years after they died.

God hated the descendants of Esau because of their unbelief, and loved
the
descendants of Jacob because of their faith.
In the 15th chapter of John's Gospel, the Lord Jesus said that He had
chosen
(elected) them disciples. For salvation? No, for service. Even Judas was
chosen!
For damnation? No, but like Pharoh, who was a fit vessel unto wrath -
after
being given many chances to believe, refused, and thus was used for
God's
purpose.

The prophet Isaiah says that Israel is God's chosen people (Isaiah
41:8). Does
this mean that all Jews are saved? No. It simply means that God has
chosen
Israel for a service. And we know what that service was: to give us the
Word of
God and to give us the Lord Jesus Christ!

The same prophet, Isaiah, says that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Chosen
Servant
of God (Isaiah 42:1). Does this mean that God chose the Lord Jesus to be
saved?
Of course not! For He is the SAVIOUR! But God did choose His Son for a
service -
and that service was to be the Lamb of God who would die for the sins of
the
world. And He was the obedient Servant, being obedient unto death, even
the
death of the Cross!

Now back to the original text, as found in Ephesians 1:4. What has God
elected
or chosen us for? Not salvation; but He has chosen us even before the
foundation
of the world (He knew that we would believe on His Son) for service -
"that we
should be holy and without blame before Him in love."

Thus, we conclude that God does not predestinate or elect men to be
saved or
lost, but that salvation is on the basis of "WHOSOEVER WILL!"- "And the
Spirit
and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth, say, Come. And let
him that
is athirst come. And WHOSOEVER WILL, let him take the water of life
freely."
(Rev. 22:17).

by Dr. Mark G. Cambron,

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