Truly, the doctrine of predestination has given rise to many such conflicting and seemingly irreconcilable questions in the history of the Church and thus has managed to remain a source of confusion. In this issue, we are to study such a doctrine in detail with the guidance of the Bible.
(2) Some argue that the Church is a group of people, predestined by God from the beginning to the end. By that they mean that God has foreordained not only who should become Christians but also has pre-decided who in the end would make it to heaven. The father of this concept of absolute predestination is the 16th century Christian theologian John Calvin. The crux of his theory of absolute predestination is that entry into heaven is not in the hands of man. Those whom God has predetermined will certainly make it to heaven and those who are not foreordained will certainly not. The verse they chiefly cite to justify their beliefs is this – “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10: 27, 28). Superficially, it can be construed from these verses that Christ will not allow the destruction of even one member of the Church. However, what we need to keep in mind when we study the Bible is that it can’t contradict itself. In spite of that, if the Bible seems to self-contradict then the mistake is only in our understanding. The Bible states very clearly in many places that those Church members will certainly be destroyed who intentionally sin and choose to remain unrepentant (1 Corinthians 9: 24-27, 2 Peter 2: 20-22, Philippians 2:12). So, Jesus couldn’t have contradicted this in John 10:27,28. Actually, what is the context of John 10:27,28? It is about the sheep that listen to the voice of Jesus. If so, it is about those sheep who listen to His voice that Jesus is talking about. And, He means to say that he would not let anyone separate them from Him. Since Jesus calls them ‘my sheep’, these sheep could be called predestined. That’s acceptable. Those who are predestined alone can belong to the Church of Christ and, this is a correct teaching. We shall explore this in greater detail later. But, Jesus doesn’t say that ‘all my sheep’ will listen to Him, follow Him and get eternal life. So, it is possible for some of ‘his (my) sheep’ who listened to His voice initially, to later go astray. So, just because Jesus uses the term ‘my sheep’, it is not possible to say with assurance that the statement of Jesus means that all those who come into the Church would be successful in their spiritual race. At the same time there are other verses in the Bible that inform with absolute assertion and clarity that if the members of the Church go wrong, they will lose their spiritual race and will face second death. Therefore, the teaching of absolute predestination is without doubt wrong. To substantiate, please read these verses – “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame… whose end is to be burned”(Hebrews 6:4-8). It is very clear from these verses that if a Christian is overcome by the world then destruction is for certain. If on one side there are preachers of absolute predestination, on the other side are people who declare that there is absolutely no predestination in the selection of the Church. Listening to the gospel, people are attracted to become Christians and God has no role to play in this – say this group of people. There are others who proclaim that God has predestined the number 144000, but has not preordained who would take baptism or eventually win. Actually, to say that there is no predestination in the selection of the Church is an equally wrong teaching. It is for sure that there is predestination in the selection of the Church. But, what needs to be noted is that preordination extends only up to baptism. After which, victory in the baptismal race is in the hands of every individual Christian. Let us examine this in some detail.
(3) As we saw earlier, scriptural evidence proves that after a person has come into Christ, if he or she is overcome by the world and backslides, then it is certain that that person would definitely be destroyed in second death. Therefore, it becomes obvious that God has not predestined who of the Church will complete the race. In fact, it is God’s choice to not to predestine or foreknow that. We will look into the reason for this later. But, it is for certain that God has predestined who will take baptism and begin the baptismal race. It is only those who are predestined that can take the true baptism. But who of the truly baptised will ultimately win the spiritual race has not been predetermined. Does it seem confusing? It is for sure that many questions will rise in our mind. So, let us deliberate carefully with the support of the many verses available in the scripture. Let us first look at the verses first to prove that the Church is indeed predestined. Paul’s one particular statement makes this crystal clear – “But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased” (Galatians 1:15). Here Paul says that he was set apart even while he was in his mother’s womb. Paul alone could not have been specially chosen, isn’t it? God predestined everyone of the Church and set them apart from their mothers’ wombs. “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world …he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1: 4-6). Isn’t it amazing! Even before the creation of the world he chose us to be predestined. How clearly the Bible presents the predestination of the Church. When we have such direct biblical evidence, how is it possible to say that the Church is not a predestined group? There is one question we need to ask. This predestination took place before the creation of which world? The most popularly known idea is that God foreknew the fall of Adam-Eve into sin, and so God predestined Christ as a ransom even before the creation of the world. Nevertheless, this teaching is wrong. Christ was chosen as a ransom before the creation of the world is true (Revelations 13:8), but again we need to ask the same question – the creation of which world? For a normal person the world means only this world. But, we, the church, shouldn’t be ignorant as they are in this – “But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed” (2 Peter 3:5, 6). Yes, we live in the second world. There is a description of the creation of the first world in the first chapter of Genesis. The second world is slightly different and was created after the flood, and there is a detailed description of it in Psalm 104 – “He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth” (Psalm 104:5-9). Yes, these verses describe the creation of the second world. It is before the creation of this second world that God predestined Christ as a ransom sacrifice and predestined the Church in Christ. It is reasonable to say that God would have come up with a plan for the redemption of man only after the fall of Adam-Eve. So, after the fall of Adam-Eve, and before the creation of the second world, God predestined the sacrifice of Christ, and also made the choice regarding the members of the Church. It certainly is not possible as many presume for God to have foreordained the sacrifice of Christ before the creation of the first world. For that would mean that God foreknew with certainty that Adam –Eve would sin even before they sinned. That is not possible. If we were to accept that presumption then it would mean that God had allowed the temptation on Adam-Eve, even though he foreknew that that temptation would be beyond their ability to overcome! Many believe that this is what happened. But, is there any possibility of this being true? Even by human standards it is unfair to punish a person for failing to do something that we foreknww that he or she will certainly fail at! Moreover the Bible very clearly says that our God is not that kind of God – “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Yes, God does not allow temptation beyond one’s endurance. So, the temptation that came upon Adam-Eve wasn’t beyond them, and they could have overcome. Since God has given humans the free-will, success or failure is completely in the hands of man. It is essential to understand this very carefully. Since God bestowed humans with free-will, God does not foreknow the thoughts of humans. This may be difficult for some to accept. Yet, it is essential that we understand this. Since God endowed humans with free-will, and the human mind fluctuates constantly it is not for God to predict the decisions of humans. It would have been possible for Eve until the last moment to have contemplated against partaking of the forbidden fruit when tempted by Satan. To predestine or to foresee the decisions of man endowed with self-will doesn’t mean that it is not in God’s power to do it. Our God is not an inconstant God. After he had himself given humans the right to free-will, would he seek to trespass it? Though nothing is impossible for God, he can’t lie. Similarly, he won’t infringe on the right to free-will that he gave to humans. Please think. Our God is straightforward. It is true that God didn’t foresee that Adam-Eve would sin. Only after their fall, he planned the redemption strategy with the ransom sacrifice of Christ and predestined the Church before the creation of the second world.
(4) There are many more verses to substantiate the predestination of the Church. For example, how are we to explain this statement of Christ’s – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:44). This verse confirms that one can become a Christian only if God wills it and man has no control over it. Some may now wonder what about human free-will then. In the last paragraph, we explained that God can’t trespass the free-will of man, but now we claim that the decision of baptism rests with God and not with man. This may seem contradictory. A good question! The answer to this question is in understanding who has the gift of free-will and who doesn’t. When God created man he created him with free-will. Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of their own free will. But, what happened after that? They lost their free-will and became slaves to sin. See John 8:34-35, Acts 13: 39, Romans 6:7, 18, 20-22. Yes, since sin enslaved humankind, we lost our free-will. It is very easy for God to foresee the behaviour of humans who have lost their free-will. Since fallen humans rely on their flesh for guidance, in a given situation, it is possible for God to foresee what kind of decision a fallen human would take. For example, the Bible tells us that to exhibit his power in front of the world, God hardened the heart of the Egyptian Pharaoh (Exodus 4:21). How is that possible? That’s because God was able to foreknow how a Pharaoh, a slave to sin would take a decision in flesh in a given situation. Therefore, God created circumstances that would harden his heart. Similarly, God can foresee and control all humans who are slaves to sin and also their history. That’s why God is able to prophesy historical events. God is organizing situations to control man’s history so as to fulfil his plans. Similarly, he is enabling the predestined to enter the baptismal covenant from among the entire humankind. Since we were slaves to sin until baptism, it was easy for God to lead us into a situation conducive to baptism. Yes, as Jesus say, he draws us towards him. Paul explains this very beautifully –“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” (Romans 8: 29,30). Here Paul explains systematically about the predestination very clearly. Yes, only those that God has predestined can become the new creation. Paul’s statement is that God calls, justifies, and glorifies those who are predestined by Him. The preachers of the absolute predestination try to interpret this verse to fit their theory. They say that the Church has already been predestined and glorified to conform to the image of his Son’s heavenly image. That’s incorrect. As confirmed earlier through many verses, we shouldn’t forget the fact that if the Church goes wrong then they enter second death. Moreover, the predestined Church that is to conform to the earthly image of the Son, are to attain the heavenly image through their own efforts (Timothy 2:8-12, 2 Corinthians 3: 16-18). If so why then does Paul say “also glorified”? The Bible answers this question – “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come “ (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). Yes, the anointment of the Holy Spirit is what Paul calls glorified. How great a glory it is to be anointed by the Holy Spirit! Doesn’t the Bible call the Holy Spirit the Spirit of glory? Even Peter states that we have the Spirit of glory (1 Peter 4:14). Paul refers to the same here. Yes, God called those whom He had predestined, made them justified through the blood of Christ, glorified them through the anointment of the Holy Spirit. We quote a few more verses to prove that the Church is indeed a predestined class –“All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. .. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day” (John 6: 37- 39). Doesn’t Christ himself say that he would not drive away those (the predestined) God has given him? The preachers of absolute predestination confuse this statement of Jesus too. Since it is the will of God that he lose none of whom God has given him, therefore they say that God has predestined the Church until the very end. But, what does the next verse state – “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:40). This verse explains clearly that only those that stay true in their faith in Christ will get eternal life. Even though it is the will of God that all escape from the clutches of sin, yet it is also his stipulation that it is possible only for those who trust in his Son until the very end. That’s why God who predestined who should belong to the Church didn’t predestine who should be the victorious in the end. In fact, it will be out of character for God to seek to know who of the Church will be successful. Why so?
(5) Adam-Eve possessed free-will, and therefore, we saw that God couldn’t have foreknown they would err. After the fall into sin, because humans lost their free-will and became slaves to sin, God was able to control them through circumstances and lead them according to his will. We also saw that he leads the predestined into baptism covenant, but there is a difference after one enters into the baptismal covenant. What is the difference? Let us hear what Jesus has to say regarding this –“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Yes, the Church becomes free from the slavery to sin after the baptismal covenant! We can quote many verses to support this – please see Acts 13:39, Romans 6:7, 18, 20, 22; 8:2, Galatians 4: 31; 5:1, 13, James 1:25. Yes, we regain the free-will lost by Adam! The implication of this statement is – just as God was unable to predict that the free-will possessed Adam-Eve would go wrong, so also he can’t predetermine the decisions of the Church which now possesses the free-will. This is because we are not slaves to sin like the people of this world. Since the Holy Spirit works in us, we might sometimes heed to our flesh and some other times we might discern and take decisions according to the Spirit. Ultimately, what our final decision will be is left to us, and this is something God can’t foreknow. It might be still difficult for some to accept that God can’t trespass into the free-will of man to foreknow. It is of course possible for God to foreknow the action of man devoid of free-will. That’s why Jesus was able to foretell how Peter would deny him thrice because at that point of time Peter was not anointed of the Holy Spirit. He was able to foretell the betrayal of Judas, and also predict how Saul would accept him. God is able to foretell the history of humankind because except for the few members of the Church, the rest of humanity is devoid of free-will. It is true that God is in possession of extraordinary wisdom and power compared to the humans, and so if he wants to, he can control the life of the free-willed human according to his will. Even the powerful emperors of the earth tried to enforce their will as long as their power lasted, didn’t they? Since God’s sovereignty is forever and ever he can control the history of humans until the end (Isaiah 46:10). But since God is fair, he will not enforce his will on those who possess free-will. Therefore, whether they be the decision taken by Adam-Eve or those of the Church taken now, it is not possible for God to foreknow or predestine. He has placed both the good and evil in front of us. The decision is in our hands. God is able to read our thoughts, but ultimately, what decisions those thoughts of ours would take is dependent on our free-will. Surely, the life of the Church is not God’s scripted play. But, he does guide his predestined people who are without free-will, through circumstances into the baptismal covenant. We saw this very directly stated in the Bible. At the same time, after the baptism, whether a believer will complete the Christian race or not is not predestined by God, but it is solely in the hands of him or her. And the reason we understand now is because the Church lives with free-will.
(6) Why did God choose only a few to enter the Church? Is it fair? These questions do arise in our minds. Paul who talks about the predestination of the Church in Romans 8:28-30, continues in Romans 9 to answers to the question of fairness in predestination. Paul’s reply is that as a creator, God has every right to predestine (Romans 9:15, 16, 20, 21). He chose Jacob even before he was born (Romans 9:10-13). This doesn’t mean that injustice has happened to those who aren’t predestined. In the end, all will be saved during God’s good plan for the earth (God’s kingdom) – (Romans 9:14, 19, 25-28). Paul says that to reveal his sovereignty and glory, God predestined a group as the objects of his mercy and the rest became objects of his wrath (Romans 9: 22 – 23). Paul explains in Romans 9:23 that God requires the others to be objects of wrath for a short period of time (they would be saved in the kingdom of God, isn’t it) to demonstrate the richness of his glory on his predestined objects of mercy. That is, Paul says that God doesn’t destroy the objects of wrath immediately, but is patient towards them for the good of the Church. What we need to understand is that that God uses the objects devoid of free-will for the good of the Church. If he were to destroy them immediately they would not be available to test the Church. God creates situations using the other people who lack free-will to test the free-willed Church. Paul doesn’t give a firm answer to why only a few are predestined, instead he counsels that we don’t question this but accept that it is the will of God. Therefore, let us also accept this. Since all are to get the opportunity of salvation, others are not going to endure injustice. There is in fact a valid reason as to why God didn’t give the heavenly opportunity to the others. For example, the believers in the period of the Old Testament weren’t ready to receive the invitation of Christ. If God had given them the opportunity at that point of time, all would have had to face second death. This we have discussed in a previous issue of Grace (See Grace – Issue 31: July 10, paragraph 5). God probably predestined only those of this age who could endure the arduous trials of the heavenly race. Isn’t it possible for God who knows the mysteries of our DNA, to know if a person has to the ability to endure the severe trials of the heavenly race? Since we are all from the living cell of Adam, God would have been able to predetermine even at that point of time that how many of the humanity would be able to endure. Even those who have the ability to run can go wrong through their personal decisions. But, if those who don’t have the ability to endure were brought into the Church, then they would certainly lose and end in second death. Therefore, the call to belong to the Church would have become a curse. God is impartial, and therefore there is sure to be reason to his predestination. This we saw in the study of Jacob in a Grace issue (See Grace – Issue 36: December 10, paragraph 02). Though most of the Church are the weak and foolish according to this world, it is clear why God predestined them (1 Corinthians 1:26). The wisdom of God is indeed great.
(7) If God doesn’t know who of the Church will be victorious, the next question that comes up is – how does God foreknow that only 144000 will finally be victorious. The answer to this question is not only easy but also important. The Bible describes this Christian race as a contest (Hebrews 12:1, 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27). All the predestined of God participate in this race. The winners in this contest are those who do the most works of faith and make it to the first 144000. God has predetermined that 144000 is the number to make it to the heavenly position. We all do the works of God. Let us assume that God is keeping a count of the works of faith we do. There are only 144000 places. How will God choose finally? Won’t he choose those who made it in the first 144000? That’s why the Bible says that each person would be rewarded according to his works (Romans 2:6, Revelations 22:12). Yes this is indeed a contest. If we don’t do more and more amount of works of the gospel to make it to the 144000, then we fail the ultimate contest and can make it only to the Great Multitude. Those who fall into unrepentant sin and backslide by not finishing the race will make it to the second death. In this way God has fixed 144000, a definite number of seats, but God has not predestined who will get which spot. This should not only be a warning but also something that energises us. We are in the supreme call for contest to win the prize, and therefore we must do as much gospel work as possible and try to assure for ourselves a place in the 144000. Since we don’t know how much would be enough, we need to do works of the gospel and serve the Church to the best of our ability till death. And then with confidence like Paul, we can say that our crown is waiting for us. Otherwise someone else will win the crown (Revelations 3:11). Since the referee for this contest is God, whatever gain or glory is appropriate to the works, it will be distributed without partiality. He knows what our strength is and how much we have strived to the best of our strength.
(8) Finally some may ask if only God predestined ones will take the baptism, what is the need for us to do gospel work. We saw in a previous Grace issue that we do the gospel work not only so that baptism can be given but also to spread the good news about Christ so that people of the next world as well would be profited by it –“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17, See Grace – Issue 25: February 10, paragraph 08). Not only that- didn’t we see that our gospel work is what makes us win the prize in the race. Truly, this is a great blessing to us. Please think! The only true God has predestined us and called us in Christ. Let us not let this great blessing slip away. Instead let us run as winners to do the works of the gospel and establish our faith and thus win the prize! Amen.
Do remember to read the ‘Appendix’ attached with this issue regarding the same topic!