Foreknowledge of God by Arthur W. Pink

[Selah7]

Hey sibs… While doing a search of the foreknowledge of God, I came across this synopsis of a study by Arthur W. Pink. I thought it was so interesting that I also looked up the original article.  Here are some of the highlights:

https://www.chapellibrary.org/images/authors/pinkarthurw.jpg?width=30 Arthur W. Pink (1886-1952)

According to A. W. Pink, many in the church are ignorant of the Scriptural meaning of foreknowledge. Because of this ignorance, it is easy for unlearned teachers to spread erroneous doctrine. The most common error is the following: in opposition to the clear teaching of Scripture that God sovereignly chose certain people for salvation, these teachers argue that God, in His “foreknowledge,” looked into the future and saw that certain people would believe—and so predestined them to salvation. This turns Scripture on its head, making man the final arbiter of his salvation rather than God. In repudiating this error, Pink explains the true meaning of foreknowledge as taught in Scripture, showing that it is “never used in connection with events or actions, but always refers to persons.” It is individual people that God is said to foreknow, not the actions of those people.

…

The fact is that “foreknowledge” is never used in Scripture in connection with events or actions; instead, it always has reference to persons. It is persons God is said to “foreknow,” not the actions of those persons. In proof of this we shall now quote each passage where this expression is found.

The first occurrence is in Acts 2:23. There we read, “Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” If careful attention is paid to the wording of this verse it will be seen that the apostle was not there speaking of God’s foreknowledge of the act of the crucifixion, but of the Person crucified: “Him [Christ] being delivered by . . .

The second occurrence is in Romans 8:29, 30. “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called . . .” Weigh well the pronoun that is used here. It is not what He did foreknow, but whom He did. It is not the surrendering of their wills nor believing of their hearts, but the persons themselves, which is here in view.

“God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew” — Romans 11:2. Once more the plain reference is to persons, and to persons only.

The last mention is in I Peter 1:2: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” Who are “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”? The previous verse tells us: the reference is to the “strangers scattered,” i.e., the Diaspora, the Dispersion, the believing Jews. Thus, here too the reference is to persons, and not to their foreseen acts.

Now in view of these passages (and there are no more) what scriptural ground is there for anyone saying God “foreknew” the acts of certain ones, viz., their “repenting and believing,” and that because of those acts He elected them unto salvation? The answer is: None whatever. Scripture never speaks of repentance and faith as being foreseen or foreknown by God. Truly, He did know from all eternity that certain ones would repent and believe, yet this is not what Scripture refers to as the object of God’s “foreknowledge.” The word uniformly refers to God’s foreknowing persons; then let us “hold fast the form of sound words” (II Tim 1:13).

Another thing to which we desire to call particular attention is that the first two passages quoted above show plainly and teach implicity that God’s “foreknowledge” is not causative, that instead, something else lies behind, precedes it, and that something is His own sovereign decree. Christ was “delivered by the (1) determinate counsel and (2) foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). His “counsel” or decree was the ground of His foreknowledge. So again in Rom. 8:29. That verse opens with the word “for,” which tells us to look back to what immediately precedes. What, then, does the previous verse say? This: “All things work together for good to them... who are the called according to His purpose.” Thus God’s “foreknowledge” is based upon His “purpose” or decree (see Psa 2:7).

God foreknows what will be because He has decreed what shall be. It is therefore a reversing of the order of Scripture, a putting of the cart before the horse, to affirm that God elects because He foreknows people. The truth is, He “foreknows” because He has elected. This removes the ground or cause of election from outside the creature, and places it in God’s own sovereign will. God purposed in Himself to elect a certain people, not because of anything good in them or from them, either actual or foreseen, but solely out of His own mere pleasure. As to why He chose the ones He did, we do not know, and can only say, “Even so, Father, for it seemed good in Thy sight.” The plain truth in Romans 8:29 is that God, before the foundation of the world, singled out certain sinners and appointed them unto salvation (II Thess 2:13). This is clear from the concluding words of the verse: “Predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son,” etc. God did not predestinate those whom he foreknew were “conformed,” but, on the contrary, those whom He “foreknew” (i.e., loved and elected) He predestinated “to be conformed.” Their conformity to Christ is not the cause, but the effect of God’s foreknowledge and predestination.

God did not elect any sinner because He foresaw that he would believe, for the simple but sufficient reason that no sinner ever does believe until God gives him faith; just as no man sees until God gives him sight. Sight is God’s gift, seeing is the consequence of my using His gift. So faith is God’s gift (Eph 2:8,9), believing is the consequence of my using His gift. If it were true that God had elected certain ones to be saved because in due time they would believe, then that would make believing a meritorious act, and in that event the saved sinner would have ground for “boasting,” which Scripture emphatically denies (Eph 2:9).

[Dennis1209]

17 hours ago, Selah7 said:

Hey sibs… While doing a search of the foreknowledge of God, I came across this synopsis of a study by Arthur W. Pink. I thought it was so interesting that I also looked up the original article.  Here are some of the highlights:

https://www.chapellibrary.org/images/authors/pinkarthurw.jpg?width=30 Arthur W. Pink (1886-1952)

According to A. W. Pink, many in the church are ignorant of the Scriptural meaning of foreknowledge. Because of this ignorance, it is easy for unlearned teachers to spread erroneous doctrine. The most common error is the following: in opposition to the clear teaching of Scripture that God sovereignly chose certain people for salvation, these teachers argue that God, in His “foreknowledge,” looked into the future and saw that certain people would believe—and so predestined them to salvation. This turns Scripture on its head, making man the final arbiter of his salvation rather than God. In repudiating this error, Pink explains the true meaning of foreknowledge as taught in Scripture, showing that it is “never used in connection with events or actions, but always refers to persons.” It is individual people that God is said to foreknow, not the actions of those people.

…

The fact is that “foreknowledge” is never used in Scripture in connection with events or actions; instead, it always has reference to persons. It is persons God is said to “foreknow,” not the actions of those persons. In proof of this we shall now quote each passage where this expression is found.

The first occurrence is in Acts 2:23. There we read, “Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” If careful attention is paid to the wording of this verse it will be seen that the apostle was not there speaking of God’s foreknowledge of the act of the crucifixion, but of the Person crucified: “Him [Christ] being delivered by . . .

The second occurrence is in Romans 8:29, 30. “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called . . .” Weigh well the pronoun that is used here. It is not what He did foreknow, but whom He did. It is not the surrendering of their wills nor believing of their hearts, but the persons themselves, which is here in view.

“God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew” — Romans 11:2. Once more the plain reference is to persons, and to persons only.

The last mention is in I Peter 1:2: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” Who are “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”? The previous verse tells us: the reference is to the “strangers scattered,” i.e., the Diaspora, the Dispersion, the believing Jews. Thus, here too the reference is to persons, and not to their foreseen acts.

Now in view of these passages (and there are no more) what scriptural ground is there for anyone saying God “foreknew” the acts of certain ones, viz., their “repenting and believing,” and that because of those acts He elected them unto salvation? The answer is: None whatever. Scripture never speaks of repentance and faith as being foreseen or foreknown by God. Truly, He did know from all eternity that certain ones would repent and believe, yet this is not what Scripture refers to as the object of God’s “foreknowledge.” The word uniformly refers to God’s foreknowing persons; then let us “hold fast the form of sound words” (II Tim 1:13).

Another thing to which we desire to call particular attention is that the first two passages quoted above show plainly and teach implicity that God’s “foreknowledge” is not causative, that instead, something else lies behind, precedes it, and that something is His own sovereign decree. Christ was “delivered by the (1) determinate counsel and (2) foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). His “counsel” or decree was the ground of His foreknowledge. So again in Rom. 8:29. That verse opens with the word “for,” which tells us to look back to what immediately precedes. What, then, does the previous verse say? This: “All things work together for good to them... who are the called according to His purpose.” Thus God’s “foreknowledge” is based upon His “purpose” or decree (see Psa 2:7).

God foreknows what will be because He has decreed what shall be. It is therefore a reversing of the order of Scripture, a putting of the cart before the horse, to affirm that God elects because He foreknows people. The truth is, He “foreknows” because He has elected. This removes the ground or cause of election from outside the creature, and places it in God’s own sovereign will. God purposed in Himself to elect a certain people, not because of anything good in them or from them, either actual or foreseen, but solely out of His own mere pleasure. As to why He chose the ones He did, we do not know, and can only say, “Even so, Father, for it seemed good in Thy sight.” The plain truth in Romans 8:29 is that God, before the foundation of the world, singled out certain sinners and appointed them unto salvation (II Thess 2:13). This is clear from the concluding words of the verse: “Predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son,” etc. God did not predestinate those whom he foreknew were “conformed,” but, on the contrary, those whom He “foreknew” (i.e., loved and elected) He predestinated “to be conformed.” Their conformity to Christ is not the cause, but the effect of God’s foreknowledge and predestination.

God did not elect any sinner because He foresaw that he would believe, for the simple but sufficient reason that no sinner ever does believe until God gives him faith; just as no man sees until God gives him sight. Sight is God’s gift, seeing is the consequence of my using His gift. So faith is God’s gift (Eph 2:8,9), believing is the consequence of my using His gift. If it were true that God had elected certain ones to be saved because in due time they would believe, then that would make believing a meritorious act, and in that event the saved sinner would have ground for “boasting,” which Scripture emphatically denies (Eph 2:9).

Top of the morning to ya Selah,

“Pink explains the true meaning of foreknowledge as taught in Scripture, showing that it is “never used in connection with events or actions, but always refers to persons.” It is individual people that God is said to foreknow, not the actions of those people.”

How do we fit the following in with the above expository?

1 Samuel 23: ¹¹ Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the Lord said, He will come down. ¹² Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the Lord said, They will deliver thee up. ¹³ Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth.

[AdHoc]

16 hours ago, Selah7 said:

The plain truth in Romans 8:29 is that God, before the foundation of the world, singled out certain sinners and appointed them unto salvation (II Thess 2:13). This is clear from the concluding words of the verse: “Predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son,” etc. God did not predestinate those whom he foreknew were “conformed,” but, on the contrary, those whom He “foreknew” (i.e., loved and elected) He predestinated “to be conformed.” Their conformity to Christ is not the cause, but the effect of God’s foreknowledge and predestination.

God did not elect any sinner because He foresaw that he would believe, for the simple but sufficient reason that no sinner ever does believe until God gives him faith; just as no man sees until God gives him sight. Sight is God’s gift, seeing is the consequence of my using His gift. So faith is God’s gift (Eph 2:8,9), believing is the consequence of my using His gift. If it were true that God had elected certain ones to be saved because in due time they would believe, then that would make believing a meritorious act, and in that event the saved sinner would have ground for “boasting,” which Scripture emphatically denies (Eph 2:9).

I am in agreement with most of your article, but I have to comment on this section. You have added the word "salvation" which does not appear in Roman's 8:29. This changes the meaning drastically. You further define the word "foreknew" as "loved and elected". But this is not the meaning of "foreknew".

I have narrated the following facts before, so please bear with me if you have read it before. Every year, multiple times, the various Air Forces of the countries that have an Air Force set about selecting candidate pilots. In those countries that have had an Air Force and even battle experience, have this selection down to a fine art. The reason is that the training and the equipment is so expensive and so deadly. Thousands of young men apply every year and a process begins - a process that will divide the thousands from the few hundred that have the aptitude and motor skills to pass the intensive training. What the Air Force does in that process is gain knowledge of the individual. And based on their experience, they do not give just anyone a position to fly their aircraft. This knowledge, gain be-FORE the course starts, is "FORE-KNOWLEDGE".

Man was made in the image of God (Gen.1:26-28). But man, even before sin came in, was by no means perfect. Eve was deceived - that in itself shows a weakness, and Eve disobeyed God because she was (i) not fully for God, but for herself, and (ii) she was led to believe that God was holding back on her. When our Lord Jesus put the sin and sins of the world away, man had fallen very low. His disposition was at enmity with that of God. So even when men received the gift of faith, and were born again, the road back to the complete man was a difficult one. The word "conformed" means to take something and force it to be like something else. A big solid bar of alloy metal is cut and pressed into the shape of an alloy rim for a sports car with great pressure. Gold is conformed to a purity standard by great heat in which the dross is removed. But since man has a free will, and must have one to be in the image of God, the question is; "Will he undergo the rigorous "conforming". Will the aspirant pilot buckle under and even refuse the rigors of pilot training? The Air force KNOWS - and God KNOWS BE-FORE the training starts. So Romans 8:29 does not need various words to be defined. It is fully adequate in itself. 

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

God had foreknowledge of the person's disposition, NOT whether he should be saved or not, but whether he would agree with the rigors of being pressed into the image of Christ. The goal is NOT SALVATION. The goal is the increase of Christ's Body and the Household of God. And the way to this is in verse 28. ALL circumstances are used by God to achieve this CONFORMITY. And God has the FORE-KNOW-LEDGE about who will fail and, like the Air Force, doesn't choose those who He KNOWS WILL FAIL. The predestination is not to salvation. The predestination is to be conformed to the image of Christ so that the brothers of Christ think, feel, decide and act like He does.

There are no verses that indicate God predestinates men to be SAVED.

[David1701]

6 hours ago, Rosie1jack2pauline3 said:

Good morning, Selah,🙏

 

Can you please explain ,no man sees until God gives him sight, what does sight mean?

Also, believing is the consequences of my using His gift?....what does that mean?

 

 

Sometimes people speak of "seeing" the solution to a problem, or the answer to a puzzling question.  This is somewhat similar, but in the spiritual realm.  You cannot "see" that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, until God gives you that sight.  You cannot "see", with the eyes of faith, that Jesus took your sins and punishment upon himself, on the cross, until God gives you that sight (no matter how often you are told about it).

The Bible says that faith is a gift from God.  Once it has been given to us, it is our faith; and faith, by definition, trusts (believes) in Jesus Christ.  This is said to be us using His gift; although, it is really better to say that it is the gift in action.  It's like a surgeon giving someone a new heart.  You "use" your new heart by it pumping blood round your body; however, although you can increase the strength of the pumping, by physical activity, and decrease it by relaxation and rest, the pumping is really simply a function of a working heart being present in your body.

Edited October 4, 2022 by David1701

[David1701]

8 minutes ago, AdHoc said:

I am in agreement with most of your article, but I have to comment on this section. You have added the word "salvation" which does not appear in Roman's 8:29. This changes the meaning drastically. You further define the word "foreknew" as "loved and elected". But this is not the meaning of "foreknew".

I have narrated the following facts before, so please bear with me if you have read it before. Every year, multiple times, the various Air Forces of the countries that have an Air Force set about selecting candidate pilots. In those countries that have had an Air Force and even battle experience, have this selection down to a fine art. The reason is that the training and the equipment is so expensive and so deadly. Thousands of young men apply every year and a process begins - a process that will divide the thousands from the few hundred that have the aptitude and motor skills to pass the intensive training. What the Air Force does in that process is gain knowledge of the individual. And based on their experience, they do not give just anyone a position to fly their aircraft. This knowledge, gain be-FORE the course starts, is "FORE-KNOWLEDGE".

Man was made in the image of God (Gen.1:26-28). But man, even before sin came in, was by no means perfect. Eve was deceived - that in itself shows a weakness, and Eve disobeyed God because she was (i) not fully for God, but for herself, and (ii) she was led to believe that God was holding back on her. When our Lord Jesus put the sin and sins of the world away, man had fallen very low. His disposition was at enmity with that of God. So even when men received the gift of faith, and were born again, the road back to the complete man was a difficult one. The word "conformed" means to take something and force it to be like something else. A big solid bar of alloy metal is cut and pressed into the shape of an alloy rim for a sports car with great pressure. Gold is conformed to a purity standard by great heat in which the dross is removed. But since man has a free will, and must have one to be in the image of God, the question is; "Will he undergo the rigorous "conforming". Will the aspirant pilot buckle under and even refuse the rigors of pilot training? The Air force KNOWS - and God KNOWS BE-FORE the training starts. So Romans 8:29 does not need various words to be defined. It is fully adequate in itself. 

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

God had foreknowledge of the person's disposition, NOT whether he should be saved or not, but whether he would agree with the rigors of being pressed into the image of Christ. The goal is NOT SALVATION. The goal is the increase of Christ's Body and the Household of God. And the way to this is in verse 28. ALL circumstances are used by God to achieve this CONFORMITY. And God has the FORE-KNOW-LEDGE about who will fail and, like the Air Force, doesn't choose those who He KNOWS WILL FAIL. The predestination is not to salvation. The predestination is to be conformed to the image of Christ so that the brothers of Christ think, feel, decide and act like He does.

There are no verses that indicate God predestinates men to be SAVED.

What???

Foreknowledge, in the Bible, as has been explained, is of people, not things about those people.  It is equivalent to setting favourable, familial knowledge upon a person, or people, before they are even born.  This is somewhat like an author deciding to favour some particular characters in his book more than others, before he has written the book.

You cannot be predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, without being saved!

Edited October 4, 2022 by David1701

[Dennis1209]

42 minutes ago, AdHoc said:

I am in agreement with most of your article, but I have to comment on this section. You have added the word "salvation" which does not appear in Roman's 8:29. This changes the meaning drastically. You further define the word "foreknew" as "loved and elected". But this is not the meaning of "foreknew".

I have narrated the following facts before, so please bear with me if you have read it before. Every year, multiple times, the various Air Forces of the countries that have an Air Force set about selecting candidate pilots. In those countries that have had an Air Force and even battle experience, have this selection down to a fine art. The reason is that the training and the equipment is so expensive and so deadly. Thousands of young men apply every year and a process begins - a process that will divide the thousands from the few hundred that have the aptitude and motor skills to pass the intensive training. What the Air Force does in that process is gain knowledge of the individual. And based on their experience, they do not give just anyone a position to fly their aircraft. This knowledge, gain be-FORE the course starts, is "FORE-KNOWLEDGE".

Man was made in the image of God (Gen.1:26-28). But man, even before sin came in, was by no means perfect. Eve was deceived - that in itself shows a weakness, and Eve disobeyed God because she was (i) not fully for God, but for herself, and (ii) she was led to believe that God was holding back on her. When our Lord Jesus put the sin and sins of the world away, man had fallen very low. His disposition was at enmity with that of God. So even when men received the gift of faith, and were born again, the road back to the complete man was a difficult one. The word "conformed" means to take something and force it to be like something else. A big solid bar of alloy metal is cut and pressed into the shape of an alloy rim for a sports car with great pressure. Gold is conformed to a purity standard by great heat in which the dross is removed. But since man has a free will, and must have one to be in the image of God, the question is; "Will he undergo the rigorous "conforming". Will the aspirant pilot buckle under and even refuse the rigors of pilot training? The Air force KNOWS - and God KNOWS BE-FORE the training starts. So Romans 8:29 does not need various words to be defined. It is fully adequate in itself. 

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

God had foreknowledge of the person's disposition, NOT whether he should be saved or not, but whether he would agree with the rigors of being pressed into the image of Christ. The goal is NOT SALVATION. The goal is the increase of Christ's Body and the Household of God. And the way to this is in verse 28. ALL circumstances are used by God to achieve this CONFORMITY. And God has the FORE-KNOW-LEDGE about who will fail and, like the Air Force, doesn't choose those who He KNOWS WILL FAIL. The predestination is not to salvation. The predestination is to be conformed to the image of Christ so that the brothers of Christ think, feel, decide and act like He does.

There are no verses that indicate God predestinates men to be SAVED.

Good morning, AdHoc,

"What the Air Force does in that process is gain knowledge of the individual. And based on their experience, they do not give just anyone a position to fly their aircraft. This knowledge, gain be-FORE the course starts, is "FORE-KNOWLEDGE".

I agree with what you are saying overall. But I think your example of foreknowledge is a bit off-target, and I do not see this as any foreknowledge in this example. It is; past performance is the best indicator of future performance, an evaluation, and a predictor (odds) of what may or may not happen in the future.

OMNIS'CIENT, a. Having universal knowledge or knowledge of all things; infinitely knowing; all-seeing; as the omniscient God,^[1]

"But man, even before sin came in, was by no means perfect." I know in which context you mean (sin), but Adam was perfect in the sense that he was created mature. Noah was perfect in his generation, probably meaning his created DNA was still fully intact and 100% human.

I know, I'm nitpicking.

 

---

^[1] Webster, Noah. Noah Webster’s first edition of An American dictionary of the English language. 2006: n. pag. Print.

[Selah7]

2 hours ago, Dennis1209 said:

Top of the morning to ya Selah,

“Pink explains the true meaning of foreknowledge as taught in Scripture, showing that it is “never used in connection with events or actions, but always refers to persons.” It is individual people that God is said to foreknow, not the actions of those people.”

How do we fit the following in with the above expository?

1 Samuel 23: ¹¹ Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the Lord said, He will come down. ¹² Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the Lord said, They will deliver thee up. ¹³ Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth.

Well, let’s see now….  We know that Our Creator is omniscient and knows ALL things.  From the very beginning, God had a plan. When we see the words “foreknowledge” or “foreknow” or “foreknew,” it is always in reference to predestination and election and points to an individual or persons.  There is a reason why some were predestined and elected.  He foreknew them! —just like He knew Jeremiah, and He knew He could count on them and use them for His purposes. 

"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."

- Jeremiah 1:5 

Selah

[Marathoner]

18 hours ago, Selah7 said:

Hey sibs… While doing a search of the foreknowledge of God, I came across this synopsis of a study by Arthur W. Pink. I thought it was so interesting that I also looked up the original article.  Here are some of the highlights:

https://www.chapellibrary.org/images/authors/pinkarthurw.jpg?width=30 Arthur W. Pink (1886-1952)

According to A. W. Pink, many in the church are ignorant of the Scriptural meaning of foreknowledge. Because of this ignorance, it is easy for unlearned teachers to spread erroneous doctrine. The most common error is the following: in opposition to the clear teaching of Scripture that God sovereignly chose certain people for salvation, these teachers argue that God, in His “foreknowledge,” looked into the future and saw that certain people would believe—and so predestined them to salvation. This turns Scripture on its head, making man the final arbiter of his salvation rather than God. In repudiating this error, Pink explains the true meaning of foreknowledge as taught in Scripture, showing that it is “never used in connection with events or actions, but always refers to persons.” It is individual people that God is said to foreknow, not the actions of those people.

…

The fact is that “foreknowledge” is never used in Scripture in connection with events or actions; instead, it always has reference to persons. It is persons God is said to “foreknow,” not the actions of those persons. In proof of this we shall now quote each passage where this expression is found.

The first occurrence is in Acts 2:23. There we read, “Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” If careful attention is paid to the wording of this verse it will be seen that the apostle was not there speaking of God’s foreknowledge of the act of the crucifixion, but of the Person crucified: “Him [Christ] being delivered by . . .

The second occurrence is in Romans 8:29, 30. “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called . . .” Weigh well the pronoun that is used here. It is not what He did foreknow, but whom He did. It is not the surrendering of their wills nor believing of their hearts, but the persons themselves, which is here in view.

“God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew” — Romans 11:2. Once more the plain reference is to persons, and to persons only.

The last mention is in I Peter 1:2: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” Who are “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”? The previous verse tells us: the reference is to the “strangers scattered,” i.e., the Diaspora, the Dispersion, the believing Jews. Thus, here too the reference is to persons, and not to their foreseen acts.

Now in view of these passages (and there are no more) what scriptural ground is there for anyone saying God “foreknew” the acts of certain ones, viz., their “repenting and believing,” and that because of those acts He elected them unto salvation? The answer is: None whatever. Scripture never speaks of repentance and faith as being foreseen or foreknown by God. Truly, He did know from all eternity that certain ones would repent and believe, yet this is not what Scripture refers to as the object of God’s “foreknowledge.” The word uniformly refers to God’s foreknowing persons; then let us “hold fast the form of sound words” (II Tim 1:13).

Another thing to which we desire to call particular attention is that the first two passages quoted above show plainly and teach implicity that God’s “foreknowledge” is not causative, that instead, something else lies behind, precedes it, and that something is His own sovereign decree. Christ was “delivered by the (1) determinate counsel and (2) foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). His “counsel” or decree was the ground of His foreknowledge. So again in Rom. 8:29. That verse opens with the word “for,” which tells us to look back to what immediately precedes. What, then, does the previous verse say? This: “All things work together for good to them... who are the called according to His purpose.” Thus God’s “foreknowledge” is based upon His “purpose” or decree (see Psa 2:7).

God foreknows what will be because He has decreed what shall be. It is therefore a reversing of the order of Scripture, a putting of the cart before the horse, to affirm that God elects because He foreknows people. The truth is, He “foreknows” because He has elected. This removes the ground or cause of election from outside the creature, and places it in God’s own sovereign will. God purposed in Himself to elect a certain people, not because of anything good in them or from them, either actual or foreseen, but solely out of His own mere pleasure. As to why He chose the ones He did, we do not know, and can only say, “Even so, Father, for it seemed good in Thy sight.” The plain truth in Romans 8:29 is that God, before the foundation of the world, singled out certain sinners and appointed them unto salvation (II Thess 2:13). This is clear from the concluding words of the verse: “Predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son,” etc. God did not predestinate those whom he foreknew were “conformed,” but, on the contrary, those whom He “foreknew” (i.e., loved and elected) He predestinated “to be conformed.” Their conformity to Christ is not the cause, but the effect of God’s foreknowledge and predestination.

God did not elect any sinner because He foresaw that he would believe, for the simple but sufficient reason that no sinner ever does believe until God gives him faith; just as no man sees until God gives him sight. Sight is God’s gift, seeing is the consequence of my using His gift. So faith is God’s gift (Eph 2:8,9), believing is the consequence of my using His gift. If it were true that God had elected certain ones to be saved because in due time they would believe, then that would make believing a meritorious act, and in that event the saved sinner would have ground for “boasting,” which Scripture emphatically denies (Eph 2:9).

Thank you for sharing highlights of this excellent article with us, sister. The author holds to a plain reading of scripture; refreshing to say the least! I'll look at this passage from the portion you quoted above:

"God purposed in Himself to elect a certain people, not because of anything good in them or from them, either actual or foreseen, but solely out of His own mere pleasure."

Indeed. As the apostle writes in the 9th chapter of Romans, 

What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? Far from it! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will show compassion to whomever I show compassion.” So then, it does not depend on the person who wants it nor the one who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very reason I raised you up, in order to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the earth.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. (Romans 9:14-18 NASB)

The purpose and will of God, then, is the agency involved; as Arthur Pink writes, "... solely out of His own mere pleasure." At no time does scripture state that the Lord's foreknowledge of our deeds is the basis of His mercy toward us. God knew us beforehand as mind-bending as this proves to be for man who is, after all, the work of His hand. We're reminded of the following:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts."
(Isaiah 55:8-9 NASB)

I have not forgotten. I have not forgotten how all those years ago, I was a clueless young man making his way through this world. How could I have known that the Lord God, whom I did not know let alone conceive of, chose to have mercy upon me? Not only did He choose to have mercy upon me, but the Lord knew of me before I was born (foreknowledge). The Lord chose that day when He revealed Himself and when He had done so, declaring that He had set me aside for His purpose before I was born (refer to the first chapter of Jeremiah for a scriptural example), life as I had known it was over. Jesus Christ claimed me as His own possession. 

This had nothing to do with me, my friends. I was not an exceptional man --- I'm truly no one special --- but then, the scriptures inform us that man has nothing to do with the purpose and will of God. We have no reason to boast... unless we join together to boast about Christ Jesus and the glory of our Father in heaven, that is! As for myself, if I have any reason to boast, then I will boast about what a clueless dolt I was (and continue to be now and then).

All glory to the Lord God upon His throne.  

[Selah7]

6 minutes ago, Marathoner said:

Thank you for sharing highlights of this excellent article with us, sister. The author holds to a plain reading of scripture; refreshing to say the least! I'll look at this passage from the portion you quoted above:

"God purposed in Himself to elect a certain people, not because of anything good in them or from them, either actual or foreseen, but solely out of His own mere pleasure."

Indeed. As the apostle writes in the 9th chapter of Romans, 

What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? Far from it! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will show compassion to whomever I show compassion.” So then, it does not depend on the person who wants it nor the one who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very reason I raised you up, in order to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the earth.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. (Romans 9:14-18 NASB)

The purpose and will of God, then, is the agency involved; as Arthur Pink writes, "... solely out of His own mere pleasure." At no time does scripture state that the Lord's foreknowledge of our deeds is the basis of His mercy toward us. God knew us beforehand as mind-bending as this proves to be for man who is, after all, the work of His hand. We're reminded of the following:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts."
(Isaiah 55:8-9 NASB)

I have not forgotten. I have not forgotten how all those years ago, I was a clueless young man making his way through this world. How could I have known that the Lord God, whom I did not know let alone conceive of, chose to have mercy upon me? Not only did He choose to have mercy upon me, but the Lord knew of me before I was born (foreknowledge). The Lord chose that day when He revealed Himself and when He had done so, declaring that He had set me aside for His purpose before I was born (refer to the first chapter of Jeremiah for a scriptural example), life as I had known it was over. Jesus Christ claimed me as His own possession. 

This had nothing to do with me, my friends. I was not an exceptional man --- I'm truly no one special --- but then, the scriptures inform us that man has nothing to do with the purpose and will of God. We have no reason to boast... unless we join together to boast about Christ Jesus and the glory of our Father in heaven, that is! As for myself, if I have any reason to boast, then I will boast about what a clueless dolt I was (and continue to be now and then).

All glory to the Lord God upon His throne.  

Actually, my belief is that some people were predestined or chosen by God because of knowledge He had about them long before the earth was created.  Selah

[DeighAnn]

w

19 hours ago, Selah7 said:

Hey sibs… While doing a search of the foreknowledge of God, I came across this synopsis of a study by Arthur W. Pink. I thought it was so interesting that I also looked up the original article.  Here are some of the highlights:

https://www.chapellibrary.org/images/authors/pinkarthurw.jpg?width=30 Arthur W. Pink (1886-1952)

According to A. W. Pink, many in the church are ignorant of the Scriptural meaning of foreknowledge. Because of this ignorance, it is easy for unlearned teachers to spread erroneous doctrine. The most common error is the following: in opposition to the clear teaching of Scripture that God sovereignly chose certain people for salvation, these teachers argue that God, in His “foreknowledge,” looked into the future and saw that certain people would believe—and so predestined them to salvation. This turns Scripture on its head, making man the final arbiter of his salvation rather than God. In repudiating this error, Pink explains the true meaning of foreknowledge as taught in Scripture, showing that it is “never used in connection with events or actions, but always refers to persons.” It is individual people that God is said to foreknow, not the actions of those people.

…

The fact is that “foreknowledge” is never used in Scripture in connection with events or actions; instead, it always has reference to persons. It is persons God is said to “foreknow,” not the actions of those persons. In proof of this we shall now quote each passage where this expression is found.

The first occurrence is in Acts 2:23. There we read, “Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” If careful attention is paid to the wording of this verse it will be seen that the apostle was not there speaking of God’s foreknowledge of the act of the crucifixion, but of the Person crucified: “Him [Christ] being delivered by . . .

The second occurrence is in Romans 8:29, 30. “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called . . .” Weigh well the pronoun that is used here. It is not what He did foreknow, but whom He did. It is not the surrendering of their wills nor believing of their hearts, but the persons themselves, which is here in view.

“God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew” — Romans 11:2. Once more the plain reference is to persons, and to persons only.

The last mention is in I Peter 1:2: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” Who are “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”? The previous verse tells us: the reference is to the “strangers scattered,” i.e., the Diaspora, the Dispersion, the believing Jews. Thus, here too the reference is to persons, and not to their foreseen acts.

Now in view of these passages (and there are no more) what scriptural ground is there for anyone saying God “foreknew” the acts of certain ones, viz., their “repenting and believing,” and that because of those acts He elected them unto salvation? The answer is: None whatever. Scripture never speaks of repentance and faith as being foreseen or foreknown by God. Truly, He did know from all eternity that certain ones would repent and believe, yet this is not what Scripture refers to as the object of God’s “foreknowledge.” The word uniformly refers to God’s foreknowing persons; then let us “hold fast the form of sound words” (II Tim 1:13).

Another thing to which we desire to call particular attention is that the first two passages quoted above show plainly and teach implicity that God’s “foreknowledge” is not causative, that instead, something else lies behind, precedes it, and that something is His own sovereign decree. Christ was “delivered by the (1) determinate counsel and (2) foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). His “counsel” or decree was the ground of His foreknowledge. So again in Rom. 8:29. That verse opens with the word “for,” which tells us to look back to what immediately precedes. What, then, does the previous verse say? This: “All things work together for good to them... who are the called according to His purpose.” Thus God’s “foreknowledge” is based upon His “purpose” or decree (see Psa 2:7).

God foreknows what will be because He has decreed what shall be. It is therefore a reversing of the order of Scripture, a putting of the cart before the horse, to affirm that God elects because He foreknows people. The truth is, He “foreknows” because He has elected. This removes the ground or cause of election from outside the creature, and places it in God’s own sovereign will. God purposed in Himself to elect a certain people, not because of anything good in them or from them, either actual or foreseen, but solely out of His own mere pleasure. As to why He chose the ones He did, we do not know, and can only say, “Even so, Father, for it seemed good in Thy sight.” The plain truth in Romans 8:29 is that God, before the foundation of the world, singled out certain sinners and appointed them unto salvation (II Thess 2:13). This is clear from the concluding words of the verse: “Predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son,” etc. God did not predestinate those whom he foreknew were “conformed,” but, on the contrary, those whom He “foreknew” (i.e., loved and elected) He predestinated “to be conformed.” Their conformity to Christ is not the cause, but the effect of God’s foreknowledge and predestination.

God did not elect any sinner because He foresaw that he would believe, for the simple but sufficient reason that no sinner ever does believe until God gives him faith; just as no man sees until God gives him sight. Sight is God’s gift, seeing is the consequence of my using His gift. So faith is God’s gift (Eph 2:8,9), believing is the consequence of my using His gift. If it were true that God had elected certain ones to be saved because in due time they would believe, then that would make believing a meritorious act, and in that event the saved sinner would have ground for “boasting,” which Scripture emphatically denies (Eph 2:9).

It occurred to me that 'foreknowledge' would be of people,  like as prophecy is of events, (more or less because 1st was of persons and events)

I don't agree with all of it but thank you for sharing the perspective.