3 "Blessed be the GOD and FATHER of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4 According as He hath CHOSEN us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:

5 having PREDESTINATED us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved:

7 in Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace;

8 wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

9 having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself:

10 that in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in Him,

11 in Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being PREDESTINATED according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will:

12 that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ."

The Blessing of God the Father's Electing Grace

In verses 3-4 of this wonderful text, we have the great doctrine of election set forth so clearly that it is difficult to understand how anyone could deny it. In God's Plan of Salvation, that agreement or unity of purpose within the Godhead regarding man's salvation, God the Father is the author of election, which means that, before the foundation of the world, He chose, or elected, in Christ, according to His own free and sovereign will, a certain definite number of individuals to be saved out of Adam's fallen and condemned race, a number that no man can number, out of all nations, and kindreds, and people and tongues (Revelation 7:9), who would be the objects of His redeeming love and grace for all eternity. The ultimate goal of this election is stated in verse 4, "that we should be holy and without blame before Him." This exactly corresponds with Romans 8:28-30, where the final goal of predestination of those whom God foreknew, or elected, is "to be conformed to the image of His Son."

We have already seen from our study of Romans 9:1-24 that this election, or choice, of persons by God the Father before the foundation of the world to salvation was UNCONDITIONAL -- that is, it was based solely upon the sovereign, free grace and mercy of God (Romans 9:11-15), and had absolutely no reference whatsoever to the will or the works of any man, "So then it is not of HIM THAT WILLETH, nor OF HIM THAT RUNNETH, but OF GOD that showeth mercy" (Romans 9:16).

In the Gospel of John, we also find numerous references to these "elect" persons, who are referred to there as those "given" to Christ by the Father. In John 6:37, Christ said, "ALL THAT THE FATHER GIVETH ME shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." And then in verses 38-39 Christ said,

"For I came down from Heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of ALL WHICH HE HATH GIVEN ME I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day."

In verse 44, the Lord Jesus spoke these words, "No man can come to Me, except the FATHER which hath sent Me DRAW HIM..." This same truth is confirmed again in verse 65,

"Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were GIVEN UNTO HIM of My Father."

It is absolutely essential that a person come to CHRIST in order to be saved. This "coming to Christ" is not a physical coming. It is not physically coming forward in an evangelistic meeting, or kneeling at an altar, or repeating a prayer after someone else. Multitudes respond in this way whose subsequent lives reveal that did not experience true conversion.

No, it is a spiritual coming, a coming to the Lord Jesus by faith as a poor, needy, guilty sinner, apprehending Who He is and what He has done to save sinners, and trusting in Him and His substitutionary blood atonement alone for salvation. Since "There is NONE that understandeth, there is NONE that seeketh after God" (Rom. 3:11), no man naturally has the inclination, nor the desire, nor the will, to come to Christ -- in that sense, he "cannot" come. However, in these verses we learn that those persons whom God the Father chose and gave to God the Son before the foundation of the world are, in time, drawn to Him by the Father. In themselves, they are no different from the rest of mankind (Ephesians 2:3; Titus 3:3-5), but since God the Father has chosen them and given them to Christ before the foundation of the world, He therefore, in time, singles them out by the call of the Gospel, effectually overcoming their natural enmity and aversion to God through a work of enlightenment and conviction, and draws them to Christ. These individuals, who were also once rebels and enemies of God, begin to seek after Christ, through the drawing power of God the Father (John 6:44). (See also Psalm 110:3 and Phil. 2:12-13).

In John chapter 17, we have recorded the great High Priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ, the day before He was crucified, where He prays, not for the whole world, but for a specific people whom the Father has given Him. In verses 1-2 He says, "Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." The prayer is not only for His immediate disciples, but He also includes all future believers which have been given Him by the Father in these words, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word" (ve. 20).

I praise God, and thank Him so much for His sovereign, elective grace! If He had not chosen me in Christ before the foundation of the world, I know that, in my own rebellion and spiritual blindness, I would never have chosen Him. None of Adam's fallen race would ever have been saved if it had been left up to them to make the right choice. God took the initiative in eternity by election, and in time by effectual calling, in order that we might be saved entirely by His free and sovereign grace, through the precious shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. God's election should be cherished by every believer, for it is the very source from which our salvation flows! We should rejoice and praise God for it!

The Blessing of God the Father's Predestinating Love

Before the foundation of the world, God the Father chose His people, with the ultimate goal that they should be holy and blameless before Him, gave them to God the Son, and then in love predestinated them "unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself." This means that His elect people, those He had already chosen, were marked out by God the Father beforehand, before the foundation of the world, to be His adopted children through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Their election and predestination by God the Father was not because of anything good that He foresaw in them, such as their faith or good works, but was only "according to the good pleasure of His will", and for only one reason -- "to the praise of the GLORY of His GRACE." Faith and good works are the results or fruits of election, not the cause of election, according to Acts 13:48, "...as many as were ORDAINED TO ETERNAL LIFE believed", and Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath BEFORE ORDAINED that we should walk in them."

4. God the Father's Wonderful "Blueprint of Grace"

In Romans 8:28-30, we have perhaps the briefest, yet most comprehensive, revelation of God's eternal purpose of Grace in the Lord Jesus Christ that can be found anywhere in the Word of God. I like to think of it as God's wonderful "Blueprint of Grace," because it reveals God's Plan of Redemption -- His Planned Remedy for Man's Ruin. The scope of the passage is exceedingly broad, reaching back to ETERNITY PAST, before God spoke the universe into existence, extending down through TIME AND SPACE, and then reaching out into ETERNITY FUTURE, which is yet to come, when time as we know it shall be no more. God is the Infinite, Eternal One, which means that He is not limited by time or space; He created and transcends time and space, and with Him all things, including time, is the eternal present (Isaiah 57:15). There was never a "time" when God did not exist, and there shall never be a "time" when He does not exist. See Isaiah 43:13; Hebrews 1:8-12; Psalms 45:6,7; Psalm 102:25-27. Surely there is no passing of time, no past or future with the eternal God -- the past and the future are always equally present with Him. But we will use the terms "Eternity Past" and "Eternity Future" -- only as an accommodation to our own limited, finite understanding (Psalm 90:2).

This wonderful text of Scripture deserves our undivided attention, and therefore we want to study it very closely. Here is Romans 8:28-30:

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified."

In these verses, we see an unbreakable chain of five links. The first two links in the chain are anchored in eternity past, before the creation of the world, and before any created being had existence. The first link refers to those persons whom God foreknew, or elected. As we have already seen in our study of Romans 9:1-24, God's sovereign election, or choice, of persons to salvation was unconditional, and took place before the foundation of the world. Then, in the second link of this unbreakable chain, we find that those same persons whom God unconditionally chose to salvation before the foundation of the world, were predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son. This predestination also took place in the mind and purpose of God, before the foundation of the world. For the third and fourth links of this unbreakable chain, we move into the realm of time and space. In the third link of this unbreakable chain, we find that these same persons who were foreknown or fore-chosen, and predestined before the foundation of the world, are now viewed as being actually in existence, and they are now called. This calling is an effectual calling; it cannot fail because it is the outworking of God's eternal purpose. Those whom God has chosen and predestined before the foundation of the world are now effectually called by His grace into the New Birth, and to fellowship and faith in His beloved Son, which results in the fulfilment of the fourth link of this unbreakable chain: Those same persons who were chosen, predestined and called are now justified by faith in Christ, which means that by virtue of the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus in their behalf, they are declared righteous in Him. And finally, for the fifth link of this unbreakable chain of grace, we move into the realm of eternity future, where these same persons shall be glorified, which means that they shall at last reach the final goal of God's eternal purpose for them -- they shall be perfectly conformed to the image of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The chain is pictured in the illustration below:

Now that we have seen the scope of this passage, let's look at it in much closer detail, studying each link of God's unbreakable Chain of Grace.

(1) The Link of Foreknowledge

"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."

The first link of God's unbreakable Chain of Grace is God's Foreknowledge, as found in verse 29, "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son . . ." Much confusion exists concerning the meaning of the word "foreknow," as used in this verse of Scripture. There are those who just assume that it simply means that God knew beforehand who would respond by faith and repentance to the Gospel message, and on that basis, He then predestinated those individuals to be conformed to the image of His Son. However, a more detailed study of the Scriptures will reveal that the foreknowledge of God has a much deeper meaning than simply His perfect and detailed knowledge beforehand of all events, or what every individual will do. If we attempt to add some qualifying phrase to this verse, such as "whom He did foreknow (would repent and believe in Christ)" we are imposing our presuppositions upon the text, rather than to let the language of the text speak for itself. A much better way is to compare Scripture with Scripture, and let Scriptural usage of the word determine its meaning.

In the first place, this verse speaks of God foreknowing particular individuals, not their actions or what they will do. When the prefix "fore" is added to "know," it adds the sense of "beforehand" to the word "know." And so if we are to truly understand what is meant by God's fore-knowledge in this text, we must see how the word "know" is used in Scripture when it refers to God knowing individuals. According to the Bible, if God "knows" a person or a people, it means that God has a special regard for that person or people -- they are the special objects of his affection and love. This thought is expressed so clearly in Amos 3:2, where God, in speaking to Israel, says, "You only have I known of all the families of the earth..." Does this mean that He knew nothing about the rest of the families of the earth? Obviously it doesn't mean that. The Lord in His omniscience knows in intimate detail about all the families of the earth, but He knew Israel in a special way -- they were His chosen people whom He had set His heart upon. And why did the Lord love and choose Israel above all the other families of the earth? It certainly was not because of any foreseen good in them, but simply because it pleased Him -- it was His own sovereign good pleasure to do so, according to Deuteronomy 7:6-8. In connection with these thoughts, see Romans 11:2.

Another Old Testament example of God's special knowledge of particular individuals is found in Jeremiah 1:5, where God, in speaking to Jeremiah, had this to say, "Before I formed you in the womb, I KNEW you." Much more than just foreknowledge of all the intimate details of Jeremiah's life is meant. God is saying to Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in your mother's womb, I had a special affection, love, and regard for you."

When we come to the New Testament, this same concept is clearly expressed in a negative fashion in Matthew 7:22-23,

"Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity."

Does Christ mean here that He will say to these individuals, I never knew anything at all about you, or your actions? No. It is obvious that He knew every detail of their works of iniquity. Clearly, His meaning must be, "I never had a special affection, love and regard for you." But in contrast, notice how in John chapter 10 the Lord Jesus uses the word "know" to express the tender and loving relationship that exists between Himself and His sheep, and between Himself and His Father,

"I am the Good Shepherd, and KNOW my sheep, and am KNOWN of mine. As the Father KNOWETH Me, even so KNOW I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep."

The Apostle Paul uses the word "know" in the same sense in 2 Timothy 2:19,

"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord KNOWETH them that are His."

Surely the Lord knows every detail about all men, but He knows in a special way of affection and love those that are His, "them that love God ... who are the called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28). Again, the same thought is expressed by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 4:9, "But now, after that ye have KNOWN God, or rather, are KNOWN of God..."

In the light of the above truths, Romans 8:29 can then be understood to mean that those individuals whom God "fore-knew" or "fore-loved," -- those that He fixed His distinguishing love upon and chose beforehand, those chosen by God the Father even before the foundation of the world (Ephes. 1:4) to be His own from among Adam's fallen and condemned race -- He predestinated these individuals to be conformed to the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is just another way of expressing the teaching of God's sovereign, unconditional electing grace that we have already seen so clearly taught in so many other passages of Scripture. These "elect," or "chosen ones" are in themselves no different from the rest of fallen mankind -- they are also by nature "children of wrath, even as others" (Ephes. 2:3; Titus 3:3), but God has chosen to make them trophies of His grace and mercy -- "vessels of mercy which He had prepared beforehand for glory" (Romans 9:23).

(2) The Link of Predestination

"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."

As we continue to study this wonderful text of Scripture, we are now confronted with the second link in this "unbreakable Chain of Grace," that was conceived in the Mind of God the Father before the world began -- His blueprint of redemption. The first link focused upon the OBJECTS of His sovereign, redeeming love and grace. Now this second link of the chain focuses upon the DESTINY of those whom He has chosen. This second link is also anchored in the realm of eternity, having been formulated in the plan and purpose of God before the world began. In God's great plan, those individuals whom He chose, or elected, from among fallen mankind, are infallibly destined to a particular goal -- they are ultimately to be perfectly "conformed to the image of His Son."