◄ Foreknown of God ►

FOR those God FOREKNEW…. He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.
Romans 8:28-30

All Believers

All believers are 'the called' of God. They are His children.. redeemed by His blood: and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28-30 And how we claim this verse and apply it – especially when things go wrong! And rightly so, for this is one of God’s very precious promises to His own children.

The Called of God

But who are 'the called?'  And how are they called and why are they 'the called' of God? How difficult to understand that there are some that are not called! Is God unfair? Not at all – for all His plans emanate from His sovereign, uncreated, eternal essence. Those that God FOREKNEW He also predestined to be the image of His Son and those He predestined, He also called. Romans 8:28

Foreknown by God

'The called' are those predestined to be conformed into the image of the Lord Jesus. 'The called' are also predestined for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. 'The called' are predestined according to the purpose of God’s will... but before we were predestined we were foreknown by God. In life, we must be conceived before we are born. In God’s economy, we must be foreknown before we become 'the called'. So who are 'the called' – and how are they called and why are they 'the called' of God?

Divine Decree

Well, God in His Sovereignty, planned in eternity past to save fallen humanity. God’s plan was a divine decree which had to comply with ALL His holy attributes. The essence of God is displayed in His character – which God can never deny. All that God planned had to comply with His righteousness; goodness; truth; justice. Also, all that God purposed had to abide by the wider universal laws that He instituted.

Holy Character

His divine decisions could not violate His own eternal essence or His holy character, and His divine decrees could not contravene all He purposed for mans’ sovereign will... for in His divine decrees God was to attribute to man volition – his own free-will.

Glorious Plan

In His love, He designed a glorious plan that was suitable for the good of mankind. In His omnipotence and power, God contrived a wonderful plan that could not fail. In His eternity, He planned that man would share eternal life on the basis of His grace. In His mercy, not one person was to be excluded from the offer of His great salvation. In His omnipresence, there was to be no place in the universe His plan would not touch. In His justice, it would be totally compatible with all His attributes and His creation. In His veracity, His plan couldn’t fail for He never violates His own truthfulness.

Universal Laws

Every aspect of the essence of His character must conform to His own perfect plan. Every feature of His plan must adhere to the universal laws that He Himself instituted.  But one of the eternal attributes of God is His omniscience – for God is all-knowing. In Acts 15:8 we read 'God is the One who will do these things that have always been known!’ 'Known from eternity are the works of God. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. Known from eternity are the wonderful works of God.' Acts 15:18

Aspects of Omniscience

God is all-knowing, and He knows everything, everywhere, every-time – forever. He knows the number of hairs on our head. He knows the thoughts of our hearts and the choices we will make before we do. He cannot learn for He knows everything. He cannot be surprised for He is omniscient. FOREKNOWLEDGE is one aspect of God’s eternal omniscience. FORESIGHT is knowing ahead of time and is an aspect of omniscience.

Free Gift of Grace

God alone knows the end from the beginning for He alone is omniscient. Omniscience is beyond our understanding but omniscience is an attribute of God. And God foreknows EVERYONE that will accept His plan of salvation. God foreknows EVERYONE that will reject His plan of salvation. God foreknows the free-will choices that every man will ever make, and God will never coerce or override man’s volition regarding his choices. Salvation is a free gift of God’s grace to whosoever will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. So who are 'the called' – and how are they called and why are they 'the called' of God? And is God unfair to those that are not called?

Man’s Choice

Well, all believers are 'the called' of God. All believers are His children and are redeemed by His blood, and all that are not called, made a deliberate choice to reject God’s plan of salvation. All believers are 'the called' of God, but before they were called they were predestined to be made into the image of God’s Son. And before they were predestined God FORENEW everything about them. God foresaw who would accept His free gift of salvation and who would reject it.

Firstborn Among Many

In His omniscience, God foresaw those that would believe in the Lord Jesus. In His foresight, He knew ahead of time who would believe. He FOREKNEW. And those God FOREKNEW, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be - the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called, those He called, He also justified, those He justified, He also glorified. AMEN.