Many people read the Bible and think the word "foreknowledge" means something like this: God looking down the corridors of time and seeing something in advance. This is not the way the Biblical writers used the term. Look at how they used it:
The object of "knowledge" or "knowing" is always set on individuals, not actions or events.Romans 8:29
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
You see, foreknowledge is not seeing events in the future, it is a term of relationship. It is a term that denotes that God has entered into a special relationship with an individual.Romans 11:2
God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah--how he appealed to God against Israel:
In the Bible, Adam "knew" Eve. What is implied in the "knowing" is that Adam knew Eve sexually. This was a term of intimate relationship. In the end, Jesus will say to the goats "I never KNEW you", meaning that Jesus never had an intimate relationship with them.I Peter 1:2
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.
Election is based on this relational situation. God has set his love on the elect and entered into relationship with them. And that is the wonderful thing about foreknowledge: That it is not God seeing events in the future, but it is God out of love choosing to enter into a relationship with an individual and presenting them faultless before Him.
Site Information
About Us
- RonPaulForums.com is an independent grassroots outfit not officially connected to Ron Paul but dedicated to his mission. For more information see our Mission Statement.
Connect With Us