Print this pageConcepts of Eternal Salvation
Elder J. W. Patterson
Whom He Did Foreknow - By One
Who did God consult with or use as a means to foreknow His elect? The text says he - not we, "whom he did foreknow." The pronoun he is singular and refers to one person. The same holds true for the pronoun he in Ephesians 1:4: "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:"
Did man play any active role in God foreknowing His elect? Consider the following scripture: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee: and before thou camest out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5).
God knew Jeremiah before he was conceived, and before he was born. Likewise, God (by Himself) foreknew each of the thousands of millions of His elect before the foundation of the world. The idea that the elect help God to become better acquainted with them or anything else is foreign to the scriptures. God asks Job, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?" (Job 38:4).
The elect are thus according to the foreknowledge of one ... "one God, the Father." (I Corinthians 8:6) "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied." (I Peter 1:2).
The phrases "he did foreknow;" "I knew thee;" "he hath chosen;" and "foreknowledge of God the Father," prove that the foreknowledge of God's elect was by one. The concept of eternal salvation by one holds true for foreknowledge. Does the same concept hold true for predestination?
Whom He Did Predestinate By One
The following scriptures are those containing the word predestinate. It is very important to use the Bible to define the meaning of predestination.
"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto himself, accord ing to the good pleasure of his will" (Ephesians 1:5).
"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" (Ephesians 1:11).
"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 may brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called:..." (Romans 8:29-30).
One should readily see that the scriptures teach that God predestinates people and not events - predestinated us, we ... being predestinated, whom he did predestinate. These people have been predestinated unto the adoption, an inheritance and a conformation.
Although predestination is immediate, some believe that the obtaining of the adoption, inheritance and conformation is a process. They believe that God is using the gospel to assist sinners to be adopted into God's family, to become "heirs and joint heirs with Christ," and to be finally and ultimately conformed to Jesus Christ. There is one huge problem. The scriptures are silent concerning such a process.
What individuals did God use to help Him predestinate His elect to be conformed to the image of His Son? "Having predestinated us" refers to God the Father; "Being predestinated according to the purpose of him" refers to God the Father, and "he also did predestinate" refers to God the Father. The scriptures leave the predestination of God's elect in the hands of One. The concept by one holds true for predestination.
God Himself wrote the names of His chosen in the Lamb's Book of Life by Himself. God foreknew and loved His elect by one and He predestinated them by one. Thus far the concept by one salvation holds true for foreknowledge and predestination. What about calling?
Whom He Called-By One
Whom He called refers to the new birth or regeneration. Do money, men and missions ever assist God in regenerating His elect? If so, then God's elect are born again by many and not by one. Consider the following verses: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;" (Titus 3:5).
"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began," (II Timothy 1:9).
Now consider the phrases "Not by works of righteousness which we have done" and "not according to our works." Since preaching the gospel is a work of righteousness, these phrases make a strong statement that the work of the ministry is not involved as a means to help regenerate or call God's elect from a state of death in sin to a life in Christ.
The same phrases "Not by works of righteousness which we have done" and "not according to our works" also show that the plurality of man and man's work are not involved in the new birth. In other words, if it is not that which WE have done, then it must be that which HE has done; if it is not according to OUR works, then it must be according to HIS work.
The phrases "he saved us" and "who hath saved us and called us" describe the one that does the saving and calling as singular which is conveyed by the pronouns he and who. "Whom he called" (Romans 8:30), also describes the work of one (he), not the work of many (we).
To clinch the nail, the following texts that teach the new birth also describe the work of one: "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine." (Isaiah 43:1).
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is,
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." (John 5:25).
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I ive unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10:27-28).
Again, these scriptures teach the new birth is by one; "1 have called," "the voice of the Son of God," 'my voice," and "I give." Each of these phrases conveys singularity or a calling by one. In essence the Spirit declares the work of the gospel laborer is null and void when the new birth is the subject matter.
God foreknew and loves His elect by Himself; He predestinated them (to an adoption, inheritance and conformation) by Himself; and He calls/regenerates them by Himself. Thus far, the things that work together for the eternal salvation to God's elect are by one. What about justification?
Continued next month, when we shall learn about justification.