2025 #2
“P,” from Shreveport, asks:
What is predestination?
Mark Riser — Apologist responds,
This is an important question, P. It speaks to us and what we believe about God and how He interacts with His creation.
“Predestination” is a Biblical word. It comes to us from the Greek word, proorizō. It’s origin means “to limit in advance” or “to establish boundaries beforehand.” Strong’s Greek lexicon define it with the words “determine before, ordain, predestinate.”
The word is used six times in the New Testament.
In Acts 4:28, Pilate, the Jewish leadership, and the crowd in Jerusalem moved in accordance with God’s plan. The cross of Jesus Christ was the central point of that plan which led to the salvation of people who would believe.
Paul writes of predestination twice in Romans 8:29-30. God’s plan, which He has predestined or decided beforehand, for believers is that they become like Jesus (“the image of His Son”). Those that are called according to His purposes in verse 28 and are predestined to be called, justified, and eventually glorified.
Paul also uses the word “predestined” in I Corinthians 2:7. Here God’s wisdom and His salvific plan are a “mystery” that God knew from before the beginning of the universe. That plan for that Paul declared led to the gospel which, for believers, will lead to our glory at the end of time. That plan also included the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s offer of salvation through Christ.
Finally, Paul speaks of predestination in Ephesians 1:5 and 11. Ephesians 1 speaks to the spiritual blessings afforded to believers. Through Jesus’s death on the cross, believers have been adopted to a position of sonship before God. Because believers have been redeemed through trusting in Jesus, they will receive an inheritance, which Paul also refers to as “the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8:23). We look forward to a future with God in new bodies in Heaven, which has been His plan and will for believers.
What theological conclusions can we draw from these occurrences of the word predestination?
Definitions of predestination often include the terms of individual salvation. In those definitions, predestination is coupled with meticulous determinism, the idea that God decides beforehand which people will be saved and which will be lost. This coupling is not warranted, given an examination of the texts of the New Testament which speak of predestination. Each of the texts noted above speak to God’s plan and how He moves in history, but not to God selecting individuals for salvation or damnation. The cross of Christ was God’s plan to bring salvation to individuals and believers benefit from God’s plan to become conformed to Christ both in growing maturity now and in a future eternal life with God. God has made those promises to believers and He has determined beforehand that He will carry out those promises.
Many of us have used tracts to communicate the gospel. One such tract is The Four Spiritual Laws tract. The first spiritual law in that pamphlet says “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” As we examine the usages of the word predestined in the Christian Scriptures, we find the truth of that statement. God’s love is abundantly stated and affirmed in the Scriptures and we also find that His plan for us is wonderful both now and in eternity.
Mark Riser - Apologist 