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“ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
The Foreknowledge of God
Written by A.W. Pink
What controversies have been engendered by this subject in the past! But what truth of Holy Scripture is there which has not been made the occasion of theological and ecclesiastical battles? The deity of Christ, His virgin birth, His atoning death, His second advent; the believer’s justification, sanctification, security; the church, its organization, officers, discipline; baptism, the Lord’s supper, and a score of other precious truths might be mentioned. Yet, the controversies which have been waged over them did not close the mouths of God’s faithful servants; why, then, should we avoid the vexed question of God’s Foreknowledge, because, forsooth, there are some who will charge us with fomenting strife? Let others contend if they will, our duty is to bear witness according to the light vouchsafed us.
There are two things concerning the Foreknowledge of God about which
many are in ignorance: the meaning of the term, its Scriptural scope.
Because this ignorance is so widespread, it is an easy matter for
preachers and teachers to palm off perversions of this subject, even
upon the people of God. There is only one safeguard against error, and
that is to be established in the faith; and for that, there has to be
prayerful and diligent study, and a receiving with meekness the
engrafted Word of God. Only then are we fortified against the attacks
of those who assail us. There are those today who are misusing this
very truth in order to discredit and deny the absolute sovereignty of
God in the salvation of sinners. Just as higher critics are repudiating
the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures; evolutionists, the work of
God in creation; so some pseudo Bible teachers are perverting His
foreknowledge in order to set aside His unconditional election unto
eternal life.
When the solemn and blessed subject of Divine foreordination is
expounded, when God’s eternal choice of certain ones to be conformed to
the image of His Son is set forth, the Enemy sends along some man to
argue that election is based upon the foreknowledge of God, and this
"foreknowledge" is interpreted to mean that God foresaw certain ones
would be more pliable than others, that they would respond more readily
to the strivings of the Spirit, and that because God knew they would
believe, He, accordingly, predestinated them unto salvation. But such a
statement is radically wrong. It repudiates the truth of total
depravity, for it argues that there is something good in some men. It
takes away the independency of God, for it makes His decrees rest upon
what He discovers in the creature. It completely turns things upside
down, for in saying God foresaw certain sinners would believe in
Christ, and that because of this, He predestinated them unto salvation,
is the very reverse of the truth. Scripture affirms that God, in His
high sovereignty, singled out certain ones to be recipients of His
distinguishing favors (Acts 13:48), and therefore He determined to
bestow upon them the gift of faith. False theology makes God’s
foreknowledge of our believing the cause of His election to salvation;
whereas, God’s election is the cause, and our believing in Christ is
the effect.
Ere proceeding further with our discussion of this much misunderstood
theme, let us pause and define our terms. What is meant by
"foreknowledge?" "To know beforehand," is the ready reply of many. But
we must not jump at conclusions, nor m
ust we turn to Webster’s
dictionary as the final court of appeal, for it is not a matter of the
etymology of the term employed. What is needed is to find out how the
word is used in Scripture. The Holy Spirit’s usage of an expression
always defines its meaning and scope. It is failure to apply this
simple, rule which is responsible for so much confusion and error. So
many people assume they already know the signification of a certain
word used in Scripture, and then they are too dilatory to test their
assumptions by means of a concordance. Let us amplify this point.
Take the word "flesh." Its meaning appears to be so obvious that many
would regard it as a waste of time to look up its various connections
in Scripture. It is hastily assumed that the word is synonymous with
the physical body, and so no inquiry is made. But, in fact, "flesh" in
Scripture frequently includes far more than what is corporeal; all that
is embraced by the term can only be ascertained by a diligent
comparison of every occurrence of it and by a study of each separate
context. Take the word "world." The average reader of the Bible
imagines this word is the equivalent for the human race, and
consequently, many passages where the term is found are wrongly
interpreted. Take the word immortality. Surely it requires no study!
Obviously it has reference to the indestructibility of the soul. Ah, my
reader, it is foolish and wrong to assume anything where the Word of
God is concerned. If the reader will take the trouble to carefully
examine each passage where "mortal" and "immortal" are found, it will
be seen these words are never applied to the soul, but always to the
body.
Now what has just been said on "flesh," the "world," immortality,
applies with equal force to the terms know and "foreknow." Instead of
imagining that these words signify no more than a simple cognition, the
different passages in which they occur require to be carefully weighed.
The word "foreknowledge" is not found in the Old Testament. But know
occurs there frequently. When that term is used in connection with God,
it often signifies to regard with favour, denoting not mere cognition
but an affection for the object in view. "I know thee by name" (Exo
33:17). "Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I
knew you" (Deu 9:24). "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee"
(Jer 1:5). "They have made princes and I knew it not" (Hos 8:4). "You
only have I known of all the families of the earth" (Amos 3:2). In
these passages knew signifies either loved or appointed.
In like manner, the word "know" is frequently used in the New
Testament, in the same sense as in the Old Testament. "Then will I
profess unto them, I never knew you" (Mat 7:23). "I am the good
shepherd and know My sheep and am known of Mine" (John 10:14). "If any
man love God, the same is known of Him" (1Co 8:3). "The Lord knoweth
them that are His" (2Ti 2:19).
Now the word "foreknowledge" as it is used in the New Testament is less
ambiguous than in its simple form "to know." If every passage in which
it occurs is carefully studied, it will be discovered that it is a moot
point whether it ever has reference to the mere perception of events
which are yet to take place. The fact is that "foreknowledge" is never
used in Scripture in connection with events or actions; instead, it
always has reference to persons. It is persons God is said to
"foreknow," not the actions of those persons. In proof of this we shall
now quote each passage where this expression is found.
The first occurrence is in Acts 2:23. There we read, "Him being
deli
vered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have
taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." If careful
attention is paid to the wording of this verse it will be seen that the
apostle was not there speaking of God’s foreknowledge of the act of the
crucifixion, but of the Person crucified: "Him (Christ) being delivered
by," etc.
The second occurrence is in Romans 8:29,30. "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. Moreover whom He did
predestinate, them He also called," etc. Weigh well the pronoun that is
used here. It is not what He did foreknow, but whom He did. It is not
the surrendering of their wills nor the believing of their hearts but
the persons themselves, which is here in view.
"God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew" (Rom 11:2). Once
more the plain reference is to persons, and to persons only.
The last mention is in 1 Peter 1:2: "Elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father." Who are elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father? The previous verse tells us: the
reference is to the "strangers scattered" i.e. the Diaspora, the
Dispersion, the believing Jews. Thus, here too the reference is to
persons, and not to their foreseen acts.
Now in view of these passages (and there are no more) what scriptural
ground is there for anyone saying God "foreknew" the acts of certain
ones, viz., their "repenting and believing," and that because of those
acts He elected them unto salvation? The answer is, None whatever.
Scripture never speaks of repentance and faith as being foreseen or
foreknown by God. Truly, He did know from all eternity that certain
ones would repent and believe, yet this is not what Scripture refers to
as the object of God’s "foreknowledge." The word uniformly refers to
God’s foreknowing persons; then let us "hold fast the form of sound
words" (2Ti 1:13).
Another thing to which we desire to call particular attention is that
the first two passages quoted above show plainly and teach implicitly
that God’s "foreknowledge" is not causative, that instead, something
else lies behind, precedes it, and that something is His own sovereign
decree. Christ was "delivered by the (1) determinate counsel and (2)
foreknowledge of God." (Acts 2:23). His "counsel" or decree was the
ground of His foreknowledge. So again in Romans 8:29. That verse opens
with the word "for," which tells us to look back to what immediately
precedes. What, then, does the previous verse say? This, "all things
work together for good to them. . . .who are the called according to
His purpose." Thus God’s foreknowledge is based upon His purpose or
decree (see Psa 2:7).
God foreknows what will be because He has decreed what shall be. It is
therefore a reversing of the order of Scripture, a putting of the cart
before the horse, to affirm that God elects because He foreknows
people. The truth is, He "foreknows" because He has elected. This
removes the ground or cause of election from outside the creature, and
places it in God’s own sovereign will. God purposed in Himself to elect
a certain people, not because of anything good in them or from them,
either actual or foreseen, but solely out of His own mere pleasure. As
to why He chose the ones He did, we do not know, and can only say,
"Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight." The plain truth
of Romans 8:29 is that God, before the foundation of the world, singled
out certain sinners and appointed them unto salvation (2Th 2:13). This
is clear from the concluding words of the verse
: "Predestinated to be
conformed to the image of His Son," etc. God did not predestinate those
whom He foreknew were "conformed," but, on the contrary, those whom He
"foreknew" (i.e., loved and elected) He predestinated to be conformed.
Their conformity to Christ is not the cause, but the effect of God’s
foreknowledge and predestination.
God did not elect any sinner because He foresaw that he would believe,
for the simple but sufficient reason that no sinner ever does believe
until God gives him faith; just as no man sees until God gives him
sight. Sight is God’s gift, seeing is the consequence of my using His
gift. So faith is God’s gift (Eph 1:8,9), believing is the consequence
of my using His gift. If it were true that God had elected certain ones
to be saved because in due time they would believe, then that would
make believing a meritorious act, and in that event the saved sinner
would have ground for "boasting," which Scripture emphatically denies:
Ephesians 2:9.
Surely God’s Word is plain enough in teaching that believing is not a
meritorious act. It affirms that Christians are a people "who have
believed through grace" (Acts 18:27). If then, they have believed
"through grace," there is absolutely nothing meritorious about
"believing," and if nothing meritorious, it could not be the ground or
cause which moved God to choose them. No; God’s choice proceeds not
from anything in us, or anything from us, but solely from His own
sovereign pleasure. Once more, in Romans 11:5, we read of "a remnant
according to the election of grace." There it is, plain enough;
election itself is of grace, and grace is unmerited favour something
for which we had no claim upon God whatsoever.
It thus appears that it is highly important for us to have clear and
scriptural views of the "foreknowledge" of God. Erroneous conceptions
about it lead inevitably to thoughts most dishonoring to Him. The
popular idea of Divine foreknowledge is altogether inadequate. God not
only knew the end from the beginning, but He planned, fixed,
predestinated everything from the beginning. And, as cause stands to
effect, so God’s purpose is the ground of His prescience. If then the
reader be a real Christian, he is so because God chose him in Christ
before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4), and chose not because He
foresaw you would believe, but chose simply because it pleased Him to
choose: chose you notwithstanding your natural unbelief. This being so,
all the glory and praise belongs alone to Him. You have no ground for
taking any credit to yourself. You have "believed through grace" (Acts
18:27), and that, because your very election was "of grace" (Rom 11:5).
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