(CHOSEN)
ACCORDING TO
THE FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE FATHER: kata prognosin theou patros: (Acts 2:23;
15:18;
Ro 8:29,30;
9:23,24;
11:2)
(see
EBD; Torrey's Topic
Counsels
and Purposes of God)
God
planned long ago to choose you by making you His holy people."
You were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father"
(TEV),
God the Father chose you according to His Own purpose”
In just a few strokes of his
pen, Peter paints the grand picture of our salvation as orchestrated
from start to finish by God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy
Spirit...
THE
MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY
and
THE MARVEL OF SALVATION
Foreknown
by the Father
Sanctified
of the Spirit
Sprinkled with the
blood of the Son
All members of the Trinity work to bring about our salvation and
provide a threefold assurance to believers.
Vincent agrees that this section speaks of
The foreknowledge of the Father, the sanctification of the Spirit, the
obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ the Son. The
Father foreknowing, the Son atoning, the Spirit applying the Son’s
work in sanctifying.
God the Father elects
the sinner to salvation (see note
Ephesians 1:4),
God the Spirit brings him to the act of faith (2Thes 2:13),
and God the Son cleanses him from sin (see notes
Romans 5:6;
5:7;
5:8;
5:9;
5:10) having given
"Himself for our sins, that He
might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will
of our God and Father to Whom be the glory forevermore. Amen." (Gal
1:4-5)
C. E. B. Cranfield comments on this
phrase (chosen according to the foreknowledge of God) writing
If all our attention is
concentrated on the hostility or indifference of the world or the
exiguousness (excessive scantiness) of our own progress in the
Christian life, we may well be discouraged. At such times we need to
be reminded that our election is according to the foreknowledge of God
the Father. The Church is not just a human organization—though, of
course, it is that. Its origin lies, not in the will of the flesh, in
the idealism of men, in human aspirations and plans, but in the
eternal purpose of God.
In this section
Peter presents truth to undergird the faith of the "elect
sojourners" by emphasizing that the entire Godhead is active
in their salvation experience (Click and scroll down to Macarthur's excellent summary of
six "Advantages of God's Election").
Peter begins by explaining to his readers how they became "the
chosen". Remember that the "chosen" are those
individuals who have been picked out of all mankind by and for God
Himself. God's choosing anyone for salvation is a reflection of His
sovereign unmerited favor (grace). Furthermore, God chose us in Christ
even before the foundation of the world (see note
Ephesians 1:4).
In eternity, before the universe came into existence, God had the
elect in His heart for salvation! Believers are not an afterthought,
but a forethought of God. Dearly beloved, be greatly encouraged by
this incomprehensible, profound truth.
Next Peter explains that this
salvation is according to the Father's foreknowledge.
According to is the Greek word katá
which means "down" and in the context of this verse conveys the
idea of domination. In other words God's choice was "dominated"
(or controlled or determined) by the foreknowledge of
the Father.
What does the "foreknowledge of God the Father"
imply? Some mistakenly reason that the elect are chosen because God
knew beforehand that they would receive Him. The reasoning is that God
looked down through the ages and in His omniscience saw what each
person would do in regard to His Son, and then He chose or didn't
choose individuals based on whether or not they believed. This might
sound plausible but it is not how Scripture defines God's
election and foreknowledge. So let's do a
"simple" (actually somewhat technical) word study of foreknowledge to help understand.
Foreknowledge
(4268)
(prognosis
from verb
proginosko
[word study] from pro
= before + ginosko = know) literally means to know in
advance or beforehand.
In the classic use foreknowledge simply
indicates a previous knowledge of someone or some event, as in
Acts 26:5 where Paul says "they have known about me...previously"
and in
2 Peter 3:1 (note)
where Peter reminds the saints that they "know
beforehand" that there are those who will distort the Scriptures.
As discussed below God's foreknowledge means that He
planned before, not that He observed before (cf. similar idea in
Ex 33:17;
Jer 1:5;
Amos 3:2;
Matthew 7:22;
7:23 [notes]).
John Macarthur comments on foreknowledge
that
A common explanation of election is that the elect are chosen
because God knew beforehand what they would do. That defines
foreknowledge as foresight. I've heard it explained that God
looked down through the eons of history, saw by virtue of His
omniscience what you and I would do, and then chose or didn't choose
us based on whether we did or didn't believe. That at first sounds
like a good explanation--but it's not the truth. There are
several reasons for wanting to believe that God's foreknowledge means
foresight. Our fallen nature desperately want some responsibility for
our salvation. Likewise our fallen perspective makes God's sovereign
choice appear unfair. But because our minds are polluted by sin, we
are in no position to exalt our pride and call ourselves virtuous, or
pull down the justice of God and call Him unfair." (Read Dr Macarthur's interesting explanation of why
many men want to believe that foreknowledge is simply foresight.
Scroll down to the section entitled "Man's Decline")
(Bolding added)
In other NT uses both prognosis and the verb root
proginosko are used in relationship to God and acquire an
additional meaning as explained in the next section.
The first occurrence of either
prognosis or
proginosko related to God and the usage which is the
pattern for the usage of both words in other places in the New
Testament is found in
Acts 2:23, where prognosis is used.
Acts 2:23 (Context: Peter is preaching
to the unsaved Jewish audience and declares): "this Man
(Jesus), delivered over (betrayed by Judas, to the power
and will of His enemies) by the (definite article "te" in
Greek placed before both the following nouns connected by "and"
= kai)
predetermined plan
and (Greek = kai)
foreknowledge
of God, you nailed
to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death."
The words "the
predetermined plan
and
foreknowledge
of God" (Acts 2:23), are a Greek
construction governed by the Granville-Sharp rule. This grammatical
rule simply states that when two nouns are joined by the word “and”
(the Greek kai) and the first noun has the article (article = "the")
in front of it and the second does not, both nouns refer to the same
thing.
In
Acts 2:23, this rule shows that the word foreknowledge
refers to the same act as does the phrase predetermined plan and is an additional description. The Greek word “plan”
(boule),
means to have an interchange of opinions, a mutual advising or the
exchange of deliberative judgment. "Plan" refers to the results of a consultation between
individuals.
Predetermined
(perfect
tense
- past completed act with ongoing effect) refers to the past act of putting limits upon
something with the present result that some certain thing has been
appointed or decreed. It describes this consultation as one that had
as its purpose the fixing of limits upon, thus determining the destiny
of someone, in this case of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, in
eternity (see notes
2 Timothy 1:9;
Revelation 13:8), the Trinity, determined that the Lord Jesus
Christ should be
given over into the hands of godless men to be crucified. The word
foreknowledge (prognosis) refers to the same act,
and therefore includes in it the truth indicated by the
predetermined plan. Foreknowledge, however, adds
the idea of the foreordination or appointment in advance of the Person
whose destiny was decided upon in the plan referred to. Stated
succinctly the Granville Sharp rule in
Acts 2:23 equates foreknowledge
to a predetermined plan. According to
Peter, God's foreknowledge is a deliberate choice. God
foreknew not by prior observation, but by bringing into
reality His predetermined plan.
Spurgeon
writes that...
With God there are no
contingencies. The mighty charioteer of Providence has gathered up all
the reins of all the horses, and He guides them all according to His
infallible wisdom. There is a foreknowledge and predestination which
concerneth all things, from the motion of a grain of dust on the
threshing-floor to that of the flaming comet which blazes athwart the
sky. Nothing can happen but what God ordains; and therefore, why
should we fear? (Barbed Arrows from the Quiver of C. H. Spurgeon)
Prognosis
is used again by Peter explaining that Christ "...was foreknown (prognosis) before the foundation of the world,
but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you." (see
note
1 Peter 1:20) In eternity past, before Adam and Eve sinned, God
did not just know it would happen but also planned the redemption of
sinners through Jesus Christ. In this verse as in 1 Peter 1:2, "foreknown"
does not simply refer to awareness of what is going to happen, but
conveys the added nuance of a predetermined relationship in the
knowledge of God. In other words, God brought the salvation
relationship into existence by decreeing it into existence ahead of
time and believers are foreknown for salvation in the same way
Christ was predetermined (or foreordained) before the
foundation of the world to be a sacrifice for sins (see discussion of
Granville-Sharp rule above in reference to
Acts 2:23)
Nelson's New Illustrated Bible
Dictionary says it this way --
God’s foreknowledge is much more
than foresight. God does not know future events and human actions
because He foresees them; He knows them because He wills them to
happen. Thus God’s foreknowledge is an act of His will. (Youngblood,
R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
John Piper
warns of...
An increasingly popular movement
afoot today is called "open theism," which denies that God has
exhaustive, definite foreknowledge of the. entire future. (Desiring
God) (See
Piper's discussion Open Theism and the Undermining of Biblical
Christianity)
See also Piper's Resources on
The Foreknowledge of God
Wiersbe adds that
Foreknowledge
does not suggest that God merely knew ahead of time that we would
believe, and therefore He chose us. This would raise the question,
“Who or what made us decide for Christ?” and would take our salvation
completely out of God’s hands. (Ed note: To say that God made a
decision based on His prevision would mean that there was a time of
indecision!) In the Bible, to foreknow means “to set
one’s love on a person or persons in a personal way. (Wiersbe,
W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor)
Regarding foreknowledge,
John Macarthur writes that
God pre-thought and pre-determined or
predestined each Christian’s salvation...God predetermined to set His
love upon certain people. If you are a Christian, you were
foreknown by God as a part of that plan. God's foreknowledge
of Christ serves as a model of God's foreknowledge of you.
Christ is the elect stone--chosen and precious (see note
Peter 2:6)."
William MacDonald
writes that
foreknowledge is
knowledge with a purpose that could never be frustrated. It is not
enough to say that God foreknew those whom He realized would one day
repent and believe. Actually it is His foreknowledge that insures
eventual repentance and belief! (MacDonald,
W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson)
J I Packer said it this way God
knows, and foreknows,
all things, and His foreknowledge is foreordination; He, therefore,
will have the last word, both in world history and in the destiny of
every man.
D. Edmond Hiebert
writes that
proginosko (foreknowledge)
does not imply mere intellectual apprehension; it also indicates an
active and affectionate desire to bless.
Kenneth Wuest writes that
foreknowledge
is to be understood less as a passive ‘knowing in advance’ than as an
active ‘taking note of’ or an eternal intention to bless.
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
William Kelly writes that God's
"foreknowledge is of persons, not of their state or
conduct; it is not what, but whom He foreknew."
The discerning
believer like all good Bereans needs to be aware that not all well known Christian
scholars agree
with the preceding interpretation of foreknowledge. Although this
website follows no particular school of interpretation (other than the
natural, literal approach), you should be aware that those who hold to
the "Calvinist" school insist that God knows all events precisely
because He sovereignly determines what is to happen in human history.
Therefore in the Calvinist mindset, foreknowledge is closely related
to foreordination (or predestination). Most Calvinists assert
that men are still responsible for their choices and are not merely
victims of "blind fate".
Those known as
Arminian distinguish foreknowledge from the foreordination.
While salvation and human history are predetermined by God, Arminians
argue that individual response to God is not so predetermined. Hence,
God can foreknow an event without directly decreeing that event to
take place. There are other differences between these two schools of
theology but you will need to consult other resources for more in
depth discussion.
Scripture
teaches both God’s foreknowledge of all things and the man's
responsibility and these truth are like two parallel train tracks
that never intersect. Both are true even if they cannot be resolved by
our finite minds. To alter either of these truths is to not rightly
handle the interpretation of the Word of Truth.
The verb proginosko is used 5x in the NT, two of those uses (Acts 26:5,
2 Peter 3:17 [note]) simply referring to
previous
knowledge that anyone might have.
Below are the other
three of uses of proginosko that convey the meaning not just that
God knew before, but that He also foreordained or appointed in
advance.
Romans 8:29 (note)
For whom He foreknew (proginosko), He also
predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son,
that He might be the first-born among many brethren."
(Comment:
As discussed above "foreknew" is not just a
reference to God’s omniscience—that in eternity past He
knew who would come to Christ but has the added notion of
His predetermined choice to set His love on us and
established an intimate relationship.)
Romans 11:2 (note)
"God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew
(proginosko) (Amplified adds " [whose destiny]
He had marked out and appointed and foreknown from the
beginning).
Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage
about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?"
(Comment:
The situation was similar to that which existed in the
time of Elijah when most of the nation had turned away
from God to idols. Conditions were so bad that Elijah
prayed against Israel instead of for it! Paul's point is
that even Israel's gross disobedience and turning away of
most of the nation did not nullify God’s predetermined
love relationship with her!)
1 Peter 1:20 (note)
"For He was foreknown (proginosko) before the foundation of
the world, but has appeared in these last times for the
sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who
raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your
faith and hope are in God." (Comment:
The Fall of man in the Garden of Eden did not take God by
surprise. Christ’s work for us was no afterthought on
God’s part. The Redeemer was destined to die for us before
the creation of the world. Christ's sacrificial death was
a set appointment not a serendipitous accident and began
to be worked out in
Ge 3:7 vs. Ge 3:21, when God
killed animals that He might clothe Adam and Eve. The ram
dying as a substitute for Isaac (Ge
22:13), the Passover lamb being slain for each
Jewish household (Ex
12), and the One "like a lamb...led to
slaughter" (Isaiah
53:6-7), all pictured the predetermined
and foreknown plan which culminated
in John the Baptist's presentation of the Messiah as "the
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world”
Jn
1:29)
C. H. Spurgeon in his inimitable style described God's actions
in salvation:
"Before Salvation came into this world,
Election marched in the very forefront, and it had for its work
the billeting [assigning of lodging especially to soldiers] of
Salvation. Election went through the world and marked the houses
to which Salvation should come and the hearts in which the
treasure should be deposited. Election looked through all the
race of man, from Adam down to the last, and marked with sacred
stamp those for whom Salvation was designed. 'He must needs go
through Samaria,' said Election; and Salvation must go there.
Then came Predestination. Predestination did not merely mark the
house, but it mapped the road in which Salvation should travel
to that house; Predestination ordained every step of the great
army of Salvation; it ordained the time when the sinner should
be brought to Christ, the manner how he should be saved, the
means that should be employed; it marked the exact hour and
moment, when God the Spirit should quicken the dead in sin, and
when peace and pardon should be spoken through the blood of
Jesus. Predestination marked the way so completely that
Salvation doth never overstep the bounds, and it is never at a
loss for the road. In the everlasting decree of the Sovereign
God, the footsteps of Mercy were every one of them ordained" from the
sermon
"The
Things that Accompany Salvation"
BY THE
SANCTIFYING
WORK OF THE SPIRIT:
en
hagiasmo
pneumatos:
(1Th 5:23,
26:18,
Heb 10:14,
1Co 1:30,
6:11 See Torrey's Topic
Sanctification)
Literally "in sanctification of (the) Spirit" (no Greek
word for "work"); "made a holy people by God's Spirit"
What does this mean? It means
that a person
cannot be saved anytime he wants and any way he wants.
It means that a person cannot just choose some religion and some
particular time of life to come to God. Two things are absolutely
necessary for a person to be saved and to receive eternal life. A
person must be sanctified by the Holy Spirit of God and obedience is the
purpose and end of sanctification.
This is not an exaltation of works in which we could ever boast. It is
an exaltation of the Holy Spirit. It is not sanctification by works. It
is sanctification by the Spirit, Who is Holy. Salvation is a work of God
-- God chooses and the Holy Spirit sanctifies. From the inception of
their salvation the Spirit is active in their our to set God’s seal on
us as His people and to initiate a new separated way of life that
should characterize the children of God and shine forth as His lights
into the sin saturated darkness of this present evil age.
By
is really the Greek preposition "en" which is
literally translated
"in" and in this verse is
used as what is referred to as the "locative of sphere".
Wuest explains that in this verse the "locative of
sphere" means that it was in the sphere of
the sanctifying,
"setting apart work of the Spirit that the sinner
was chosen. That is, God the Father chose the sinner out from among
mankind to be the recipient of the setting-apart work of the Spirit,
in which work the Holy Spirit sets the sinner apart from his unbelief
to the act of faith in the Lord Jesus. The act of faith is spoken of
here by the word “obedience,” which is not the obedience of the saint,
but that of the sinner to the Faith, for this act is answered by his
being cleansed in the precious blood of Jesus. In
Acts 6:7 we read
that “a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”
Thus, the second step in the salvation of a sinner is taken by the
Holy Spirit who brings the one chosen to the act of faith in the Lord
Jesus as Saviour."
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
Barclay elaborates on the Spirit's "sanctifying work"
writing that
"It is the Holy Spirit Who awakens within us the first
faint longings for God and His goodness. It is the Holy Spirit Who
convicts us of our sin and leads us to the Cross where that sin is
forgiven. It is the Holy Spirit Who enables us to be freed from the
sins which have us in their grip and to gain the virtues which are the
fruit of the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit Who gives us the assurance
that our sins are forgiven and that Jesus Christ is Lord. The
beginning, the middle and the end of the Christian life are the work
of the Holy Spirit." (Barclay,
W: The Daily Study Bible Series, Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The
Westminster Press)
Marvin Vincent notes Peter's
interesting use of three prepositions in close proximity in this
passages --
"Note the three prepositions: according to (kata)
the foreknowledge; in (en) sanctification; unto (eis)
obedience. The ground, sphere, and end of spiritual sanctification."
Sanctifying
(38)
(hagiasmos from hagiazo = sanctify from
hagios =
holy, set apart, consecrated) literally means sanctification
and includes the ideas of consecration, purification, dedication and
holiness. The dominant idea of sanctification is separation from the
secular and sinful and setting apart for a sacred purpose, for God’s
special use, all made possible by the atoning work of Christ.
Hagiasmos does
not denote the state of holiness but rather the process of being made
holy, of becoming more and more in character and conduct that which
God desires us to be.
Wuest puts
it this way
The word “sanctify” in the Greek
means “to set apart,” and the word “sanctification” refers to the
setting apart process.
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
Hagiasmos is used twice in
the
Septuagint (LXX)
(Ezekiel 45:4, Amos 2:11) and 10 times in the NT...
Romans 6:19
(note) I am
speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For
just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to
lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your
members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
Romans
6:22
(note) But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to
God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the
outcome, eternal life.
1 Corinthians 1:30 But by
His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God,
and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
1Thessalonians 4:3
(note) For this
is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you
abstain from sexual immorality;
1Thessalonians 4:4
(note)
that each of you know how to possess
his own vessel in sanctification and honor
1Thessalonians 4:7
(note)
For God has not
called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we
should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the
Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation
through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
1 Timothy 2:15 But women
shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in
faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.
Hebrews 12:14 (note) Pursue peace
with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will
see the Lord.
1 Peter 1:2 according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the
Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His
blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure.
Hagiasmos
was used in the Greek pagan religions to describe buildings,
altars or offerings set apart for religious purposes. The object set
apart was thus declared sacred, holy, devoted to religious purposes.
It applied also to the worshippers. They were set apart persons, thus
religious devotees of the temple.
As explained below, hagiasmos
can refer either to a state of being set apart from sin and the
world unto God (equating with our initial salvation) or secondly can
refer to the process by which a saint becomes progressively
more set apart to God. Thus sanctification in one use
takes place at a moment in time (salvation) but in the other use
sanctification is a continuous process until we are
glorified. Peter uses hagiasmos primarily with the former
meaning. The Holy Spirit is crucial both aspects of sanctification.
Wuest adds that
This pre-salvation work of the Spirit is
spoken of in Scripture as the sanctification of the Spirit. It is the
setting-apart work of the Spirit in that He sets the unsaved person
apart from his unbelief to the act of faith, from his standing in the
first Adam which brought him sin and death, to a new standing in the
Last Adam which brings him righteousness and life. This we call
positional sanctification."
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
The Evangelical Dictionary of
Biblical Theology has a note that helps illustrate the meaning of
hagiasmos: "The generic meaning of sanctification is
“the state of proper functioning.” To sanctify someone or something is
to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by its
designer. A pen is “sanctified” when used to write. Eyeglasses are
“sanctified” when used to improve sight. In the theological sense,
things are sanctified when they are used for the purpose God intends.
A human being is sanctified, therefore, when he or she lives according
to God’s design and purpose." (Elwell,
W. A., & Elwell, W. A. The Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology
. Baker Book House)
The College Press NIV Commentary
states that...
"The concept of
sanctification can be understood by comparing the sanctification
of people to the sanctification of the temple or its utensils. A
sanctified building, lampstand, or pot is designated to be used only
in service to God. A sanctified person has also been set apart for
service. The Holy Spirit both marks us for God’s service and empowers
us to render that service." (1 & 2 Peter: The College Press NIV
Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing).
As discussed, Peter uses
hagiasmos to describe the work of the Holy Spirit in
regeneration or the new birth, by which a sinner is taken out of Adam
and placed into Christ, thus equating sanctification in this
context with salvation.
Writing to the
Thessalonian believers (whose faith had been shaken
by false teachers cf
2Th 2:1ff) Paul reminds them of the
source and security of their salvation, explaining that they are
brethren beloved (perfect
tense = their
permanent state) by the Lord, because God has chosen you (election --
<