By Nick Bibile
Many today believe that God merely looked into the future, saw who would believe in Christ, and then predestined them based on that foreseen faith. This teaching, however, misrepresents Scripture and the nature of God. We must consider foreknowledge from God’s perspective, not man’s. The difficulty arises when we attempt to analyze divine truths through our finite, temporal minds. We are creatures of time; God is eternal. He exists outside past, present, and future. He is the great “I AM”.
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
The word “for” indicates that verses 29-30 provide the foundation for verse 28: they explain why we can confidently know that all things will work together for the good of those called according to God’s purpose. In these few verses, we see the great doctrines of election, predestination, effectual calling, justification, and glorification.
The Greek word for foreknowledge is proginosko, related to our modern word prognosis, which means a prediction based on prior diagnosis. Unlike mere prediction, Scripture teaches that God’s foreknowledge is not passive observation but personal and active choice.
In the Old Testament, when God is said to “know” someone, it often means He chooses, sets favor upon, or acknowledges that person:
“I know you by name” (Exodus 33:17)
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5)
“You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day I knew you” (Deut. 9:24)
Other references include Romans 11:2, Genesis 18:17-19, Hosea 13:4-5, 1 Corinthians 8:3, 2 Timothy 2:16-19.
John Owen writes:
“God’s foreknowledge is not a bare prescience of future events, but an act of unchangeable love, by which He chooses His own to salvation from eternity.”
Thus, foreknowledge does not depend on foreseen faith or works. Faith is the effect of predestination, not its cause. Acts 13:48 affirms:
“As many as were ordained to eternal life believed.”
And Ephesians 2:10 reminds us:
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Scripture never ties foreknowledge to human works. God did not elect individuals because He foresaw they would believe; He elects them, and their faith follows:
Acts 2:23: Christ was delivered by God’s determinate counsel and foreknowledge—not referring to the action of crucifixion, but to the Person of Christ.
Romans 8:29: “Whom He foreknew, He also predestined…” Here, foreknowledge refers to persons, not actions.
1 Peter 1:2: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ…” The elect are called aliens in the world, their true home is heaven.
Jonathan Edwards explains:
“The decree of God reaches to persons, and not to their acts. God foreknew His people as He foreordained them to salvation; His love is personal, not conditional upon future deeds.”
The correct order is: election → foreknowledge → predestination → effectual calling → faith → justification → glorification.
God’s choice is unconditional, not based on human merit or foreseen faith.
Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“Whatever may be said about the doctrine of election, it is written in the Word of God as with an iron pen. To me, it is one of the sweetest and most blessed truths in the whole of revelation.”
God predestined us to be conformed to the likeness of His Son (Romans 8:29). Faith comes only as a gift from God (Romans 10:17, Ephesians 2:8). The sinner is spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-5) and cannot seek God apart from His regenerating grace.
Arminians argue that John 3:16 teaches universal love and universal atonement. But context and Scripture comparison reveal otherwise:
John 1:29: Christ takes away the sin of the world—but not all men are saved.
2 Timothy 1:9: God calls the elect before the foundation of the world.
John 17:9: Christ prays specifically for those given Him by the Father, not the entire human race.
Francis Turretin explains:
“The love treated of in John 3:16 cannot be universal towards all, but special towards a few… If therefore God sent Christ that through Him the world might be saved, the world would either be saved entirely, or Christ’s purpose failed. But only the elect are saved; therefore, the ‘world’ here refers to the elect indiscriminately from Jews and Gentiles.”
Arthur Pink adds:
“The term ‘world’ is general rather than absolute. The objects of God’s love in John 3:16 are precisely those of Christ’s love in John 13:1: ‘His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.’”
Objection: God’s sovereignty makes man a robot.
Answer: Adam and Eve were created with free will, holy and perfect. But sin corrupted human nature (Romans 5:12; Psalm 51:5). We are spiritually dead and cannot believe until God regenerates us. Faith is God’s gift (Ephesians 2:8; Acts 13:48).
John Owen:
“God’s grace alone is the efficient cause of faith; man’s will cannot move toward God except it be first made alive by the Spirit.”
Objection: Election is unfair.
Answer: The only fair action for God would be to send all to hell, as all have sinned (Romans 3:23). God is perfectly righteous in showing mercy to whom He will and hardening whom He will (Romans 9:14-22).
Psalm 115:3:
“But our God is in the heavens; He hath done whatsoever He pleased.”
Daniel 4:35:
“He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand.”
John Gill clarifies: God’s longsuffering toward the wicked exists for the sake of His elect, ensuring that the elect are gathered in faith and repentance before Christ returns.
God’s elect are referred to throughout Scripture as:
The Seed of the Woman (Genesis 3:15)
The Seed of Abraham (Genesis 9:9)
The Elect of God (Isaiah 65:9)
His People (Romans 9:25-26)
A Peculiar People (Titus 2:14)
My Sheep (John 10:27-29)
The Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27)
The Lamb’s Wife (Revelation 21:9)
A Holy Nation (1 Peter 2:9)
Jesus commands us to preach the gospel universally, but only the elect will respond (John 10:27).
All glory belongs to God alone. Election, foreknowledge, predestination, and calling are acts of His sovereign grace. Man contributes nothing; faith itself is a gift. Salvation is entirely by grace, through Christ, for the glory of God (Ephesians 1:4-5, 1:11; 2 Timothy 1:9).
Revelation 7:9-10:
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”