by Jamie Pantastico | Jan 14, 2024 | Daily Encouragement |
Foreknowledge is an attribute of God. It is one of the aspects of God’s omniscience, which means God’s all-encompassing and perfect knowledge. Foreknowledge specifically refers to God’s knowledge of events, choices, and outcomes before they occur in the course of human history.
This attribute underscores the fact that God, being outside the constraints of time, possesses a complete understanding of the past, present, and future. It is not limited to mere awareness but includes an intimate knowledge that allows God to see and comprehend the intricate details of every moment in time.
As an attribute, foreknowledge showcases the depth and perfection of God’s understanding, emphasizing His control and authority over the unfolding of human history.
Here are 10 Bible verses that delineate the sovereignty of God as exemplified in His foreknowledge.
1. Romans 8:29
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
2. 1 Peter 1:2
“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.”
3. Acts 2:23
“Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death.”
4. Isaiah 46:10
“Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.'”
5. Psalm 139:16
“Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book, they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.”
6. Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
7. Ephesians 1:4-5
“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”
8. 2 Timothy 1:9
“who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”
9. Amos 3:7
“Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”
10. Matthew 10:30
“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
by Jamie Pantastico | Jan 14, 2024 | Daily Encouragement |
The theological debate between God’s sovereignty and mankind’s free will has been a contentious topic since the apostle Paul came on the scene. Examining the truth and reality of God’s foreknowledge, we begin to uncover the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God in His “choosing” the elect.
…whosoever will… + …He has chosen us…
God’s Unwavering Sovereignty and Foreknowledge
The book of Romans illuminates the depth of God’s sovereignty and foreknowledge in Romans 8:29: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
Here, the Apostle Paul emphasizes the direct connection between God’s foreknowledge and the predestination of those who respond to the gospel. God’s choice is not arbitrary but a purposeful selection rooted in His sovereignty, omniscience, and foreknowledge. In other words, God, in His foreknowledge, already knows who will believe the gospel and who will reject it.
Human Choice and Free Will
Even as God’s sovereignty stands unwavering, the Bible upholds the reality of human free will. Joshua 24:15 unequivocally declares, “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
This verse underscores the inherent capacity for choice granted to humanity by God. God’s choosing aligns with the acknowledgment of personal responsibility and the significance of the individual’s faith in the gospel or rejection of the truth in “unbelief.” No one seeks after God, but all mankind has been given enough light to know God and escape condemnation (read Romans 1 and John 1:9; Romans 1:20).
Chosen by God Through Divine Foreknowledge
The divine choice, revealed in Ephesians 1:4-5, takes on a profound clarity: “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”
God’s choosing is intentional and absolute, and it is made clear that He chooses those because of His foreknowledge. This “choosing” is not subject to chance or human merit but is a testament to God’s sovereignty, power, and omniscience—the already knowing of those who will respond to the gospel with authentic faith. On the other hand, those who choose to reject the gospel in unbelief seal their destination in the lake of fire.
A Definitive Conclusion
When studying the topic of God’s “choosing,” scripture reveals God’s foreknowledge aligns seamlessly with His sovereign will, and human free will exists within the bounds of His divine order. As we examine God’s foreknowledge, we do so with the assurance that God’s choice is not random but a purposeful, deliberate selection based on His foreknowledge of hearts that surrender to Him by believing the gospel alone by faith alone.
‘Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!’
Romans 11:33
by Jamie Pantastico | Jan 10, 2024 | Daily Encouragement |
Hebrews 11:28 recounts the faith of the Israelites during the Passover, applying the blood to their doorposts. In that moment, their faith, trust, believing in God’s instructions (His word) saved them from a certain death. Similarly, in this age of grace, our faith determines our salvation. When God sees our faith alone in the gospel— when we believe that Christ’s shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection saves us—He saves us.
Romans 3:24–25, Ephesians 1:7, and 1 Peter 1:18–19 highlight the significance of Christ’s blood, emphasizing that we are saved by grace through faith in His blood. Because without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22) Let this truth be a source of encouragement: we are saved by the blood of Christ.
Verses:
Hebrews 11:28
“By faith, he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.”
Romans 3:24-25
“being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness.”
Ephesians 1:7
“In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
1 Peter 1:18-19
“knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
by Jamie Pantastico | Jan 9, 2024 | Daily Encouragement |
Hebrews 1:1-3
“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
“If Christ’s finished work on the cross was enough for Him to sit down at the right hand of the Majesty on High, then let us rest assured, for indeed, ‘It is finished!’ Embrace the completeness of His sacrifice and find your rest in the assurance that the work is done—once and for all.”
In God’s great plan of redemption, Christ’s flawless work on the cross is the culmination of all that God does. The resounding declaration from Calvary was not a tentative “to be continued” but a triumphant “it is finished.” As the sinless Lamb, He bore the weight of our transgressions (our sins), and with arms outstretched, He declared perfection in the death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
The image of Christ seated at the right hand of the Majesty on High (God the Father) is the divine proclamation of a completed work. There, at the pinnacle of heaven, He sits—having purged our sins by Himself. The redemption price, once and for all, paid in full. There is nothing left undone, nothing left for us to add.
The redemption story concludes with an invitation to all: come as you are and believe. Simply, wholly, believe by faith alone in the finished, perfect work of Christ. By faith alone, we find not just redemption (salvation) but a profound peace that comes from resting in His flawless, finished work of the cross.
The gospel
‘Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, ‘
I Corinthians 15:1-4
by Jamie Pantastico | Jan 8, 2024 | Daily Encouragement |
The Abrahamic Covenant illuminated a profound truth—Gentile blessings would find their channel through Israel (Isaiah 42.1, 60.1-3; Zechariah 8.22–23). Contingent upon national Israel’s obedience, this blessing was intricately linked to the obedience of the chosen people. The Messiah, the conduit of blessings for Israel and, subsequently, for the Gentiles through Israel, framed the covenant’s narrative. However, a critical question arose (or at least it should, and it did for the so-called church fathers): How could Gentiles partake in these blessings amidst Israel’s disobedience, especially in their rejection and crucifixion of their own Messiah? They couldn’t.
In all of the Old Testament, the four gospels, and the early chapters of the book of Acts, there is no scripture record of God having a plan to bless the Gentiles apart from and through the nation of Israel.
The answer lay in the divine foreknowledge of God. Sovereign and omniscient, God knew Israel would reject their Messiah and devised a plan (Romans 11:32; Romans 11:25) before time began (Acts 2:23; 1 Peter 1:20), before He created the heavens and the earth, to bless Gentiles despite Israel’s disobedience. Putting a pause on the prophesied Day of the Lord, God does what is mind-boggling: He temporarily blinds Israel, commits them all to disobedience (read Romans chapter 11; highlighted in Romans 11:32), and pours out His love and grace in the unexpected call and conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Through Paul, God established the Church—the body of Christ—not based on a covenant (Ephesians 2.11–14), but on grace alone (Ephesians 2.5, 8–9), apart from the Mosaic law and temple worship.
This new revelation, the “secret” (μυστήριον) (Romans 16:25; Colossians 1:26; Ephesians 3:1-11; Romans 11:25), remained veiled until the ascended Lord revealed it to Paul alone many years after Pentecost. God’s preordained plans manifested as He blessed Gentiles (Romans 11; Romans 11:32) through the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4) and established the Church, which is His body, the body of Christ, despite Israel’s fall (Romans 11.25). A future awaits national Israel, poised to fulfill its role as a blessing to the nations during the tribulation and beyond, beginning with 144,000 young Jewish men preaching the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 24:14) during 7 years of tribulation.
In all, God’s sovereignty prevails!