Chapter 11
The
Foreknowledge of God
·
“For whom he did foreknow
(Gk. proginosko),
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might
be the firstborn among many brethren,” (Rom. 8:29).
·
“God
hath not cast away his people which he foreknew
(Gk. proginosko).
Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God
against
·
“Ye
therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before
(Gk. proginosko),
beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your
own stedfastness,” (2 Pet. 3:17).
·
“Which knew
(proginosko)
me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect
of our religion I lived a Pharisee,” (Acts 26:5).
·
“Who
verily was foreordained (Gk.
proginosko)
before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for
you,” (1 Pet. 1:20).
·
“Him,
being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
(Gk. prognosis)
of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:” (Acts
2:23).
·
“Elect
according to the foreknowledge (Gk.
prognosis)
of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be
multiplied,” (1 Pet. 1:2).
In
the foregoing
Scriptures we have given every passage in the New Testament where the word
“foreknowledge” is used. It will be noted that it is used five times in the verb
form and two times in the noun form. In the verb form it is used three times of
God and two times of man. One time when used of God it is translated
“foreordain,” (1 Pet. 1:20).
It
is our candid
judgment that there is hardly any doctrine more generally and more woefully
misunderstood than the doctrine now before us. It is well to remember that the
meaning of Bible terms is not determined by their current and popular use, or by
reference to human dictionaries, but by their usage in the Scriptures. We are
apt to assume that we know the meaning of a particular word and fail to test our
assumption by the use of the concordance. Ask the average person what the word
“flesh” means, and he will be quick to reply that it means the body of man or
beast. But the word does not always have that meaning. It often refers to the
sinful and fleshly nature. “For
I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is
present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not,”
(Rom. 7:18); “But
put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil
the lusts thereof,” (Rom. 13:14); “For
we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,” (Phil.
3:3). Most people think the word “world” stands for the human race, when, in
fact, the word is seldom so employed in the Scriptures. “If
the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
If ye were of
the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world,
but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you,”
(John 15:18,19); “I
pray for them: I pray
not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine,”
(John 17:9); “And
we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness,”
(1 John 5:19). Spurgeon says that the word “world” is used in some seven or
eight different senses in the Bible. Again, take the word “immortality.” The
popular idea is that it refers to the indestructibility of the soul. But the
word is never used of the soul; it always refers to the body. “For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying
that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory,” (1
Cor. 15:53,54); “But
is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath
abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel:” (2 Tim. 1:10).
Foreknowledge A Divine
Attribute
A
fresh study of the subject before us raised the question as to whether
“foreknowledge” should be classed as one of the Divine attributes. A Divine
attribute is a quality belonging to the
nature of God, one of His personal perfections, something
which belongs inherently to His character or nature.
For example, love, mercy, grace, and wisdom are
qualities of the Divine nature, and are therefore attributes. Our conclusion,
after further study, is that “foreknowledge” is both an attribute
and an act of God. When the word is used in the
popular sense, in the sense most people use it, it refers to God’s knowledge of
events before they actually
happen. In this sense “foreknowledge” is one of the Divine
attributes like love, mercy, wisdom, grace, etc.
Foreknowledge A Divine
Act
The word
foreknowledge as used in the Bible can hardly be made to refer to a quality or
attribute of the Divine nature. It is used in the sense of a Divine act rather
than a Divine
quality.
We would not say that predestination and election
are
Divine
attributes,
but rather
Divine
acts.
Foreknowledge, when used of events, is an
attribute; when used of persons, it is an immanent act of God, an act remaining
and operating within the divine nature. It is the difference between God’s
nature and God’s
activities;
between
what He is, and what He does. Foreknowledge, when
considered as an attribute, is a branch of the Divine omniscience; and when
considered as an act it is a branch of the doctrine of the Divine decrees.
After writing
the foregoing paragraph, we turned to the article on “Foreknowledge” in The
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, written by Dr. C. W. Hodge. And he
states exactly what we have been trying to say. Let the reader study his
statement along with what we have already written.
The word
“foreknowledge” has two meanings. It is a term used in theology to denote the
prescience or foresight of God, that is, His knowledge of the entire course of
events which are future from the human point of view; and it is also used in AV
and RV to translate the Greek words
proginoskein and prognosis in the
NT, in which instances the word “foreknowledge” approaches closely the idea of
foreordination. In the sense of prescience foreknowledge is an aspect of God’s
omniscience. God’s knowledge, according to the Scriptures, is perfect, that is,
it is omniscience, (C. W. Hodge).
Foreknowledge and Foreordination
When
foreknowledge is used as a divine act, it is
practically the same as foreordination. Let Dr. Hodge Speak again:
While, therefore, the foreknowledge of God in the sense of prescience is
asserted in the New Testament, this is not the meaning of the term when used to
translate the Greek words proginoskein
and prognosis. These words which are
translated in the AV and RV by the word “foreknowledge” and once by the word
“foreordain:” “Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world,
but was manifest in these last times for you,” (1 Pet. 1:20), mean much more
than mere intellectual foresight or prescience. Both the verb and the noun
approach the idea of foreordination and are closely connected with that idea in
the passages where these words occur.
When “foreknowledge”
is applied to events, including the free action of men, it means God’s foresight
or knowledge beforehand. But when it refers to persons it signifies to regard
with favor, denoting not mere cognition but an affection
for the person in view. The word “foreknowledge” is
not in the Old Testament, but the word “know” occurs often, and frequently means
to love or choose or ordain.
“They
have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of
their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut
off,” (Hosea 8:4). “Before
I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the
womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations,”
(Jer. 1:5). “You
only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities,” (Amos 3:2). “For
the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall
perish,” (Ps. 1:6). In these passages it is not
acquaintance but affection or appointment that is meant. And the word “know” is
often used in the New Testament in the same sense. “And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work
iniquity,” (Matt. 7:23). This means He did not know
them savingly. “I
am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine,”
(John 10:14). “But
if any man love God, the same is known of him,” (1
Cor. 8:3). And again, “The
Lord knoweth them that are his,” (2 Tim. 2:19). In
these verses the knowledge of Christ its limited to the saved, and therefore,
cannot signify an acquaintance with, but rather an affection for. God is
acquainted with everybody; there is no limit to His knowledge about people.
Now, the “foreknowledge
of persons” means to foreknow with a benign purpose. It means to know with the
intention of blessing. For God to foreknow a person is to regard that person
with favor and with a purpose to save. The foreknown are to be finally
glorified, because God foreknew them for this purpose. God’s first act of
benevolence towards sinners was to foreknow them. And His foreknowledge of them
is the foundation (historically speaking) of all subsequent blessings.
“For whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,” (Rom.
8:29).
God looked upon some poor sinners with gracious favor and determined to
make them like His glorious Son. “God
hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture
saith
of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against
Here Dr. Robertson makes the word “foreknow” mean to choose beforehand. Those
whom God looked upon with gracious favor, back in eternity, will not be cast
away either in the present or in the future. They are the “Elect
according to the foreknowledge of God
the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling
of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied,”
(1 Pet. 1:2). In this verse election is based upon the foreknowledge of God the
Father. Those whom the Father looked upon with gracious favor were elected unto
the obedience of faith and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. And this
obedience is the result of the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. And may the
reader note and remember, that while election is unto salvation, this salvation
is not without faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. The elect are to be
justified, but they are to be justified by faith. “Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
(
To
be exact and critical, the writer believes that, although divine foreknowledge
is close akin to and associated with such words as election, predestination, and
foreordination, it has a distinct meaning of its own. The divine order in “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: and whom he called, them he also
justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified,”
(Rom. 8:29, 30), is foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and
glorification. “Elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the
Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto
you, and peace, be multiplied,” (1 Pet. 1:2). The
order is foreknowledge, election, and sanctification. So the foreknown are
elected, predestinated, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified. And since
every aspect of salvation is of grace, God’s foreknowledge of persons is His
gracious regard and love for poor sinners. And because of this gracious regard
for them, He chose them unto salvation, predestinated them unto the adoption of
sons, calls them by His grace, justifies them by grace through faith in the
blood of His Son, sanctifies them by His Spirit, and will glorify them when the
Lord comes. May every reader
“give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these
things, ye shall never fall,” (2 Pet. 1:10).
