Biblical Foreknowledge

Anthony D'Arienzo said:

From A.W.Pink;

When that term is used in connection with God, it often signifies to regard with favor , denoting not mere cognition but an affection for the object in view. “I know thee by name” ( Exo.33:17). “Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you” ( Deut. 9:24). “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee” ( Jer. 1:5). “They have made princes and I knew it not ”( Hosea 8:4). “You only have I known of all the families of the earth” ( Amos 3:2).

In these passages knew signifies either loved or appointed .

In like manner, the word “know” is frequently used in the New Testament, in the same sense as in the Old Testament. “Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you” ( Matt. 7:23). “I am the good shepherd and know My sheep and am known of Mine” ( John 10:14). “If any man love God, the same is known of Him” ( 1 Cor. 8:3). “The Lord knoweth them that are His” ( 2 Tim. 2:19).

Now the word “foreknowledge” as it is used in the New Testament is less ambiguous than in its simple form “to know.” If every passage in which it occurs is carefully studied, it will be discovered that it is a moot point whether it ever has reference to the mere perception of events which are yet to take place. 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 Personcrucified: “Him (Christ) being delivered by,” etc.

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,” etc.

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 the believing of their hearts but the persons themselves, which is here in view. “God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew” ( Rom. 11:2).

Once more the plain reference is to persons, and to persons only.

The last mention is in 1 Pet. 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.

see pt2;

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lforrest said:

This whole thing stinks of 1 Corinthians 1:12.

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Anthony D'Arienzo said:

Hello ScottA,
Thank you for responding to the OP.
Many have ignored the fine teaching contained in it.
People know that God Himself is outside of time and refer to God as supra temporal.
Nevertheless, God created time for us and He Himself controls time.
The ot sabbath reflected that one day in 7 was set aside for worship. The Nt. Lords day shows the same.
Jesus we are told came in the fulness of time to redeem the elect Gal.4;4.
Now to the OP.
The biblical use of the word foreknowledge is used of persons...whom He did Foreknow...it was not concerned with time, but the elected persons.
This foreknowledge was before the world was, and revealed in time.
2tim1:9

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ScottA said:

"Foreknowledge" is a word used for explanation, good only for the time that it was intended. That is to say, that men living in their times will live and think and understand all things according to time. So the scriptures explain in that context; and, yes, within the greater scheme of God's overall truth, time is its own context to be understood accordingly.

However, time and the ways of men living in their times, is not the context for fully understanding the knowledge of God regarding anything within the time context...because God is not in the time context. Thus, in that greater timeless context of the knowledge of God...regarding any man's life...was not foreordained at all. With God in His "I am" context, everything...just [is]. "Foreknowledge" then, is simply a figure of speech, or a translation of the timeless things of God, into the times of men. This truth, this mystery, changes the word of scripture into proper context. This is what is meant by "rightly dividing the word of truth."

In proper context, the knowledge of God that would appear to be "foreknowledge", is rather an unfolding revelation by manifestation in the world showing all people doing what they does because of what and who they [are] with God: All things have their source in the timelessness of God, and are merely revealed as the writings of a book that was written before the foundation of the world, "as it is written." As such, what we perceive to be a timeline of world events, is no timeline at all, but rather a story line. History, is His story.

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Anthony D'Arienzo said:

Many who resist the truth of God seek to obscure clear revelation with philosophical jargon rather than revealed scripture.

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Anthony D'Arienzo said:

Scott,
You like several others are confusing foreknowledge with omniscience.
Omniscience is WHAT God knows.
Foreknowledge is WHOM God knows.
Rom8:29-30...it says WHOM 4times

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John Caldwell said:

I had to read this several times (I never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the toolbox).

You are right - and you point out a flaw in an argument here. God is not man - why does "neo-Calvinistic" foreknowledge ace God within the timeline?

Omniscience is an attribute of knowing all things (not just being able to peer into the future). Even this should give us a glimps of God's timelessness.

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ScottA said:

This is the renewing of our minds, that we should come to a full and correct understanding that God being translated as "the same, yesterday, today, and forever", does not mean He has access to all points on a timeline of His creation. But rather that there is no timeline: "I am."

Even science tells us that time is a mere illusion.

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ScottA said:

Foreknowledge of what was before, revealed in time, is simply God revealing what is true from His perspective, as foretold and told within the created world--which was only created "for a time, times, and half a time", for the temporal purpose of judgement the last day.

But you are also wrong about the seventh day. His rest is not a holiday in the world, but from the world.

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Anthony D'Arienzo said:

You are not addressing the texts of Rom8:29-30, but rather a twilight zone philosophical discussion that is off topic.

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Anthony D'Arienzo said:

Once more the plain reference is to persons, and to persons only.

The last mention is in 1 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 didknow 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” ( 2 Timothy 1:13).

Another thing to which we desire to call particular attention is that the first two passages quoted above show plainly and teach implicitly 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 Romans 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 worktogether for good to them...who are the called according to His purpose.” Thus God’s foreknowledge is based upon His purpose or decree (see Psalm 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 so it seemed good in Thy sight.” The plain truth of Romans 8:29 is that God, before the foundation of the world, singled out certain sinners and appointed them unto salvation ( 2 Thessalonians 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 ( Ephesians 1:8,9), 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: Ephesians 2:9.

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