Predestination or free wiil.

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ForestGreenCook

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1 Corinthians

2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?


The natural man in 1 Cor 2:14 does not have to refer to the person who is not born again as some insist.

The natural man referred to in 1 Cor 2:14 signifies the born again believer who is carnal and, in fact, this rendering fits the context of 1 Cor 1 – 3.

The word "natural" is the Greek word psyxikós and the word typically describes the natural ("lower") aspect of humanity, i.e. behavior that is "more of earth (carnality) than heaven."

When we read the first 3 chapters of 1 Corinthians, we see that Paul wrote to the church and pointed out the carnal behavior of the believers.

The church at Corinth was contentious (1 Cor 1:11). They were divided into factions because the believers followed men (1 Cor 3:3-4).

Paul commented that he could go no further in his teaching than the very basics of Christianity – Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor 2:2) and he fed them with milk and not meat because they were not able to bear it (understand) (1 Cor 3:2).

Born again believers who are "carnal" and who behave like "natural man" cannot understand the wisdom of God in a mystery (1 Cor 2:7) which Paul taught to those who were perfect (1 Cor 2:6) ... not "perfect" as in no sin, but "perfect" as in full grown, adult, mature.

Paul was able to teach those believers who were no longer babes in Christ about the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory (1 Cor 2:7). Paul taught those who needed to be fed the milk of the word (1 Cor 3:1-2) about Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor 2:2).

However, Paul was unable to teach the hidden wisdom to those who were carnal and who behaved in accordance with who they were in Adam.

That is the meaning of natural man as shown in 1 Cor 2:14.
Paul was not able to teach the natural man the hidden wisdom only, but Paul was not able to teach the natural man anything about spiritual things.
 

ForestGreenCook

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Book Chapter and verse please.
I think when we discuss the scriptures that we should always reference book Chapter and verse, and I am sorry for not doing so. Justification by faith of Christ for eternity, Gal 2:16. Justification by faith of man for things here on earth.- The whole chapter of Hebrews 11.
 
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eternally-gratefull

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I think when we discuss the scriptures that we should always reference book Chapter and verse, and I am sorry for not doing so. Justification by faith of Christ for eternity, Gal 2:16. Justification by faith of man for things here on earth.- The whole chapter of Hebrews 11.
Gal 2: 16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

This says we were justified by Faith, because we have believed in the one Christ.

So why would you use a passage tht says we are justified when we trusted God, tosupport a view we were not justified by faith?
 

ForestGreenCook

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*Blows trumpet* ALL CALVINISTS GATHER HERE!

I have a question! Its an ancient one, but how exactly do you explain:


1 Timothy 2:1-4 King James Version (KJV)
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

It specificially says there yup, pray for kings and those in authority so that we can live a peaceful life. Sure. No argument. BUT IT SAYS prayers made for ALL MEN, not JUST kings or all KINDS of men. Further on it says "Who WILL HAVE ALL MEN to be saved". This is just absolute devastation to calvinism.

Im seriously wondering HOW do you get around that verse while remaining true to the text? AN EXPLANATION is required i'd say. ! Someone explain that to me please. Im hoping its my good friend posthuman, he is a nice calvinist. BUT ALL ARE WELCOME to explain!

PS: The "who will have all men to be saved" cannot be thought to mean "All kinds of men" due to the fact that it doesnt SAY all kinds of men. That interpretation might fly in Geneva, but it doesnt fly with me!
Salvation according to Strong's Greek definition means "a deliverance". 1 Tim 2:1-4 - There is a deliverance here in time when you come to the knowledge of the truth. Another example of this is in Romans 10:1-2.
 

ForestGreenCook

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Gal 2: 16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

This says we were justified by Faith, because we have believed in the one Christ.

So why would you use a passage tht says we are justified when we trusted God, tosupport a view we were not justified by faith?
Evidently you are not using the KJV of bible. Some other versions have changed the little word "OF" to read "IN", taking Christ's faith away from him and giving it to man. We believe in Christ, that he justified us eternally.
 
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eternally-gratefull

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Evidently you are not using the KJV of bible. Some other versions have changed the little word "OF" to read "IN", taking Christ's faith away from him and giving it to man. We believe in Christ, that he justified us eternally.
Lol.

Are you sure your not John??

think, what your saying does not make sense. It goes against what was said, “even we who believe”

So when you see, “we have the faith OF Christ, even in we who believe.....” You have us having faith and us having faith, either way, It is our faith which justifies us.

Yeah, thats why the KJV is flawed in some areas..
 

ForestGreenCook

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Here is where you missed it. God has asked natural men to obey His laws. All the time dealing with ancient Israel, God was not offering salvation. They were physically God's people and they had to physically obey. Salvation as we know it wasn't on the table.

That said, God has always been open to people for salvation. Those that sought God with all their hearts and minds were promised to find Him.

Jer. 29:11-14a "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD:"

2 Ch. 15:2 "And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you." :cool:
This is where you missed it. This chapter 29 of Jeremiah is a letter from Jeremiah written to, verse i, the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and in verse 4, Thus sayeth the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon. God was not talking to the natural man who could not discern spiritual things. If you could keep in mind that none of the scriptures were written to the natural man, but to God's elect as instructions for them to live their lives while here on earth. So, neither is 2 Ch 15;2 written to the natural man described in 1 Cor 2:14.
 

ForestGreenCook

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Lol.

Are you sure your not John??

think, what your saying does not make sense. It goes against what was said, “even we who believe”

So when you see, “we have the faith OF Christ, even in we who believe.....” You have us having faith and us having faith, either way, It is our faith which justifies us.

Yeah, thats why the KJV is flawed in some areas..
I have already stated it, but will repeat, The regenerated man can justify himself by his faith in matters here on earth, but man's faith cannot justify him eternally. That is why I referenced he 11th chapter of Hebrews.
 

ForestGreenCook

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*Blows trumpet* ALL CALVINISTS GATHER HERE!

I have a question! Its an ancient one, but how exactly do you explain:


1 Timothy 2:1-4 King James Version (KJV)
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

It specificially says there yup, pray for kings and those in authority so that we can live a peaceful life. Sure. No argument. BUT IT SAYS prayers made for ALL MEN, not JUST kings or all KINDS of men. Further on it says "Who WILL HAVE ALL MEN to be saved". This is just absolute devastation to calvinism.

Im seriously wondering HOW do you get around that verse while remaining true to the text? AN EXPLANATION is required i'd say. ! Someone explain that to me please. Im hoping its my good friend posthuman, he is a nice calvinist. BUT ALL ARE WELCOME to explain!

PS: The "who will have all men to be saved" cannot be thought to mean "All kinds of men" due to the fact that it doesnt SAY all kinds of men. That interpretation might fly in Geneva, but it doesnt fly with me!
By the way, The natural man described in 1 Cor 2:14 cannot come to the knowledge of the truth.
 

ForestGreenCook

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If you would compare this verse, with what Paul stated when he prayed the Lord would take away that "thorn in his side" in 2nd Corinthians 2:7, as "the natural man?"

You might "see", that even Paul, as great a teacher as he was, or still is, for that matter, had "God's little fail safe" instilled within his "own" natural man!

In other words? It "harmonizes?" Just FINE!
When we have been regenerated as Paul was, we still carry our fleshly nature with us, as Paul describes in the Galatians letter. The natural man described in 1 Cor 2:14 has not been regenerated and does not have the Spirit within him, as Paul does.
 

Hevosmies

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By the way, The natural man described in 1 Cor 2:14 cannot come to the knowledge of the truth.
You just dodged the question!

Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

!!!!! If calvinism is true, and the verse ^ above is true, universalism is true. Only consistent calvinist is a universalist! God wants all to be saved, God's will ALWAYS happens -> therefore all are saved.

See how easy it is to flip the script? You guys always do that to us who believe in free will and say we should be open-theists or "well if God foreknows and chooses to create anyway then ...." on and on.

Calvinism got exposed yet again. Im waiting for my good friend posthuman to reply, maybe he can tell me something instead of running away to a completely unrelated passage.
This topic gets me fired up. Imagine preaching the gospel as a calvinist and realizing you are preaching BAD NEWS to most people. Its only good news to the elect.
 

ForestGreenCook

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No, I do not believe this, and please, if your going to talk to me, stop with this JUNK type of response. It is nothing but a strawman.

Gods will is plain and simple. His will is whoever seees believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

John 6: For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

So you see, My will is not more powerful than Gods, It is in alignment with Gods will. If he did not will me to be saved, there woudl be no hope period. I would be lost before I was even born. I can not over rule Gods will. So again, Please stop with this nonsense argument




The fact is, Jesus died for justification. The forgiveness of all sin.

1. John knew who he came for. He called him the lamb of God who takes away the SIN OF THE WORLD
2. Jesus said he came tha ALL may have life.
3. Jesus said numerous times, he came and was sent, so that ALL WHO BELIEVE will have eternal life (meaning anyone)

4. As paul said, He is is the propotiation, who made propitiation for not only our (Believers) sins, but the sins of the whole world.

Yes, Jesus said he would not lose even one. But who will he not lose? THOSE WHO SEE AND BELIEVE.

You can not leave FAITH out of the equation. We are justified by faith period.
Just common sense will tell you that if it was God's desire that all mankind would obey him and come to him and be saved eternally, and he had the power to save them even if they did not say yes, save me, that if he loved them, then he would take them anyway. I don't know if you have children, but if you do. If a pack of pit bull dogs were attacking your three children out in your front yard and you were calling them to come into the safety of your house and one of them refused to come because he was too scared, would you just stand there and let the dogs kill him, or go and save him? Can you see how unreasonable that sounds.
 

John146

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Just common sense will tell you that if it was God's desire that all mankind would obey him and come to him and be saved eternally, and he had the power to save them even if they did not say yes, save me, that if he loved them, then he would take them anyway. I don't know if you have children, but if you do. If a pack of pit bull dogs were attacking your three children out in your front yard and you were calling them to come into the safety of your house and one of them refused to come because he was too scared, would you just stand there and let the dogs kill him, or go and save him? Can you see how unreasonable that sounds.
Saved people are attacked and killed all the time. Do you blame that on God or His lack of protection?

God can have a desire for man to be saved, and man makes the choice not to choose God's way of salvation. That is possible you know.
 
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eternally-gratefull

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I have already stated it, but will repeat, The regenerated man can justify himself by his faith in matters here on earth, but man's faith cannot justify him eternally. That is why I referenced he 11th chapter of Hebrews.
You can say it all you want. But its your opinion, And you can not prove it with scripture.. Again, You also did not answer the question I possed to you concerning Gal 2 passage, why is that?
 
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eternally-gratefull

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Just common sense will tell you that if it was God's desire that all mankind would obey him and come to him and be saved eternally, and he had the power to save them even if they did not say yes, save me, that if he loved them, then he would take them anyway. I don't know if you have children, but if you do. If a pack of pit bull dogs were attacking your three children out in your front yard and you were calling them to come into the safety of your house and one of them refused to come because he was too scared, would you just stand there and let the dogs kill him, or go and save him? Can you see how unreasonable that sounds.
Well yeah, God could have made all people robots. Forced them all to obey him and do as he pleases. Never give them the ability to see what it is like to go outside of his will, and see what happens when they do this. In whihc case it would not be a love relationship between a child and his creator it would be a dictatorship between a dictator (in this case, God) and his subject (in this case, mankind)

If God wanted this type of creation, he never would have put the tree of Good and Evil in the garden, and never gave Adam and Eve even the possibility of sinning, He did it Because any relationship if any kind demands two people recieving love and trust from each other.

God created mankind to serve them, and them to recieve his love and in turn serve others.

So no, You example not only does not make any sense, it is horrific. You want to be a robot have fun. But God never desires to make us his robots. Thats what Satan wants you to think
 
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eternally-gratefull

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Just common sense will tell you that if it was God's desire that all mankind would obey him and come to him and be saved eternally, and he had the power to save them even if they did not say yes, save me, that if he loved them, then he would take them anyway. I don't know if you have children, but if you do. If a pack of pit bull dogs were attacking your three children out in your front yard and you were calling them to come into the safety of your house and one of them refused to come because he was too scared, would you just stand there and let the dogs kill him, or go and save him? Can you see how unreasonable that sounds.
By the way,

Can you explain to me how myself, trusting in God to COMPLETELY SAVE ME, because I have come to the knowledge that I can not save mysekf no matter what I do. Is me saving myself?
 
Mar 23, 2016
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What great lengths you go to in order to make man's works play a part in his eternal salvation.
What great lengths you go to in asserting I stated what you claim.

Please provide the post submitted by me wherein I said what you claim. Thank you.




ForestGreenCook said:
1 Cor 2:14 does not depict the natural man as a born again child of God who is a babe in Christ.
Right. 1 Cor 2:14 depicts the born again child of God who is a babe in Christ who is living in light of who he/she is in Adam. This young believer is living according to the natural ("lower") aspect of humanity, i.e. the behavior that is "more of earth (carnality) than heaven". That is the definition of the Greek word psyxikós which is translated into the English word "natural".




ForestGreenCook said:
He has the spirit of man, but not the Holy spirit of God.(Eph 2:2-3).
The "natural man" described in 1 Cor 2:14 is the same as those described a couple verses later in 1 Cor 3:1 ... those who are "carnal" and who are yet "babes in Christ".

That you want the natural man of 1 Cor 2:14 to be the same as those described in Eph 2:2-3 does not make it so.

Just stick to the context of what is written in 1 Cor 1 – 3 and there is no confusion as to who is the "natural man".

Because you jump from 1 Cor 2:14 to Eph 2:2-3, you change the carnal Christian of 1 Cor 2:14 into the unbeliever of Eph 2:2-3.

In so doing, you completely miss the point Paul is trying to make in 1 Cor. Paul wrote to those who followed men instead of the Lord Jesus Christ and because they followed men, there were contentions (1 Cor 1:11) and division (1 Cor 1:13, 3:3).

The division in the church was not because some were believers and some unbelievers. The division in the church was a result of some believers turning from the Lord Jesus Christ to follow men. When we follow men and/or man's doctrine, we remain in spiritual infancy and must feed on the milk of the Word. The carnal Christian can understand Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor 2:2).

The carnal Christian cannot understand the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory (1 Cor 2:7).

We know and understand this because Scripture teaches this truth in 1 Corinthians chapters 1 through 3.




ForestGreenCook said:
The natural man described in 1 Cor 2:14 was DEAD in sin when God regenerated him (eph 2:5). When you are DEAD to spiritual things, you are not a babe in Christ. You are not IN CHRIST until you have been regenerated.
Rather than go to Eph 2 in your efforts to make 1 Cor 2:14 state what you claim, why not just read what is written in 1 Cor? Oh yeah, if you did that, your dogma falls apart.



 
Mar 23, 2016
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Paul was not able to teach the natural man the hidden wisdom only, but Paul was not able to teach the natural man anything about spiritual things.
As shown in 1 Cor 2:2, Paul was able to teach the natural man, those believers who were babes in Christ (1 Cor 3:1) about Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor 2:2).

But because you jump from 1 Cor 2:14 to Eph 2:2-3, you change the Word of God to fit your preconceived doctrine.

Your doctrine does not change the context of what is written in 1 Cor 1 – 3.
 
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theanointedsinner

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This is just my thoughts, but i believe is Predestination for God, because God knows everything that was and is going to happen, but for us is free will because we are currently living in the present and do not know the future, but being completely honest, i'm not sure if is that clear. I myself do not know this perfectly, so i just leave it as part of the mysteries that will be reveal on God's perfect time.
if I understand correctly what you are trying to say
perception relative to knowing or not knowing the future

whereas, knowing (predestination), while "not knowing" (free will)