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I have learned from past experience that it is a complete waste of time trying to explain anything to you and I am sure that this will have no effect on you. However, for the sake of others who may be following this, let me explain.
Verse 30 is part of a larger context of amplification that I will not go into at this time except as it relates to verses 29-30.
Amplified comprehension carries us beyond any mere psychological understanding of who we are. Man is not just the product of a set of supposed random cause to effect natural events that we call the evolutionary process. This is nothing but foolishness. Our presence on this earth and our relationship to the Creator is a matter of the eternal will of God.
1. “For those whom He foreknew,”
This makes us the subject of eternal foreknowledge. We were in the mind of God before time began. This means that time and everything in it exists for the benefit of those whom God foreknew. The language expresses not individuals but a collective.
2. “He also predestined.”
We are embedded in the eternal arrangement of divine fellowship. This is the purpose for our existence in this world. To what then were we predestined?
* We are predestined to conformity, “To be conformed to the image of his Son.” 29.
* We are predestined to first-born status, “that we might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
3. “Those whom predestined, he also called.”
There is a misconception about the extent of God's calling among Calvinists. This does not say that God only called those whom he foreknew. This is not an exclusionary act. This is assumed by Calvinism to defend their idea of election. The call is not just some mysterious nebulous feeling or irresistible desire that God imposes on the hearts of a select few. The call is the preaching of the gospel. Everyone who has ever heard the gospel preached has been called. 2Thesselonians 2:14, “It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The call is not limited to only a select and predetermined few, and not everyone who is called is chosen. Matthew 22:14, “Many are called but few (of those who are called) are chosen.” The invitation from the Lord goes out to all, and all who are willing are encouraged to “come.” Revelation 22:17-19, “The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” This is an open invasion to all. God is actively pursuing the willing. In so doing, he has called those whom he foreknew. In time, here on the earth, and while up to our necks in experiences, both good and bad, God has called us to this hope.
4. “These whom He called, He also justified;”
We stand in accredited righteousness, free from sin. As Paul says in 2Corinthians 5:21, “That we might become the righteousness of God in him.”
5. “These whom He justified, He also glorified.”
We are to be distinguished from those who rejected the amplified comprehension. Those who wish to live according to this world forfeit glorification by God for ephemeral concerns. This certainly does not exclude members of the body of Christ. We are certainly not perfect but, the Holy Spirit has amplified our understanding of who we are and what we are about. We now exist, “To be conformed to the image of his Son that we might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
None of this says that God predestined anyone to be saved and as chapter nine explains, this is about a collective and not individuals. What God predestined was that the saved would be conformed to the image of his Son, that they would be called, glorified, and justified.
Dead or alive, we are part of the eternal family of God and we will remain so even when this creation is assigned to destruction.
Verse 30 is part of a larger context of amplification that I will not go into at this time except as it relates to verses 29-30.
Amplified comprehension carries us beyond any mere psychological understanding of who we are. Man is not just the product of a set of supposed random cause to effect natural events that we call the evolutionary process. This is nothing but foolishness. Our presence on this earth and our relationship to the Creator is a matter of the eternal will of God.
1. “For those whom He foreknew,”
This makes us the subject of eternal foreknowledge. We were in the mind of God before time began. This means that time and everything in it exists for the benefit of those whom God foreknew. The language expresses not individuals but a collective.
2. “He also predestined.”
We are embedded in the eternal arrangement of divine fellowship. This is the purpose for our existence in this world. To what then were we predestined?
* We are predestined to conformity, “To be conformed to the image of his Son.” 29.
* We are predestined to first-born status, “that we might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
3. “Those whom predestined, he also called.”
There is a misconception about the extent of God's calling among Calvinists. This does not say that God only called those whom he foreknew. This is not an exclusionary act. This is assumed by Calvinism to defend their idea of election. The call is not just some mysterious nebulous feeling or irresistible desire that God imposes on the hearts of a select few. The call is the preaching of the gospel. Everyone who has ever heard the gospel preached has been called. 2Thesselonians 2:14, “It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The call is not limited to only a select and predetermined few, and not everyone who is called is chosen. Matthew 22:14, “Many are called but few (of those who are called) are chosen.” The invitation from the Lord goes out to all, and all who are willing are encouraged to “come.” Revelation 22:17-19, “The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” This is an open invasion to all. God is actively pursuing the willing. In so doing, he has called those whom he foreknew. In time, here on the earth, and while up to our necks in experiences, both good and bad, God has called us to this hope.
4. “These whom He called, He also justified;”
We stand in accredited righteousness, free from sin. As Paul says in 2Corinthians 5:21, “That we might become the righteousness of God in him.”
5. “These whom He justified, He also glorified.”
We are to be distinguished from those who rejected the amplified comprehension. Those who wish to live according to this world forfeit glorification by God for ephemeral concerns. This certainly does not exclude members of the body of Christ. We are certainly not perfect but, the Holy Spirit has amplified our understanding of who we are and what we are about. We now exist, “To be conformed to the image of his Son that we might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
None of this says that God predestined anyone to be saved and as chapter nine explains, this is about a collective and not individuals. What God predestined was that the saved would be conformed to the image of his Son, that they would be called, glorified, and justified.
Dead or alive, we are part of the eternal family of God and we will remain so even when this creation is assigned to destruction.
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