Predestined to be conformed to the son's image. Romans chapter 8:29, " For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers, for whom he foreknew. " All the early Christians consistently teach that God knows all things in advance. God knows who will ultimately be saved, for he knows beforehand who will believe, and who will faithfully bear fruit. Therefore, our destiny is already predetermined according to God's foreknowledge.
However, this in no way conflicts with our free will. For we are ultimately the ones who choose to believe and who choose to obey. The fact that God knows in advance our decisions does not force us to make those decisions. The pre-Augustinian Christians believed in predestination, but it was predestination based on God's foreknowledge. Origen writes, " Let us pay attention to the order of these statements. " Notice that the foreknowledge comes before the predestining.
For the apostle says, " whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. " So God first observed the long series of human events. He perceived that the will of certain men was inclined to godliness. He also saw their efforts to achieve the purpose to which they were so inclined. Finally, he saw how they would wholly give themselves up to a virtuous life. He foreknew those persons, for he knows the present, and he foreknows the future.
And those whom he thus foreknew, he foreordained to be conformed to the image of His Son. Origen concludes, we must not imagine that the foreknowledge of God is the cause of future events. Rather, these events naturally follow each person's own choices. For this reason, he foreknew them, for he knows all things before they happen.
Because the doctrine of God's foreknowledge and of predestination based on His foreknowledge is such an important doctrine, let us look at an ample selection of representative quotations on this subject from other early Christians. As the reader can see, they all taught the same thing. I have presented these representative quotes in chronological order. Justin Martyr, some might suppose that we say that everything happens by fatal necessity because it has been foretold, for it is known beforehand.
However, we can explain this. We have learned from the prophets, and we hold it to be true that punishments, chastisements, and good rewards are rendered according to the merit of each man's actions. Romans 2:5-11. " If that were not so, but if all things happen by fate, then nothing at all is in our own power. For if it is fated that one man will be good and another evil, then neither is the first one praiseworthy, nor the second one to be blamed.
" Again, unless humans have the power of avoiding evil and choosing good by free choice, they are not accountable for their actions. Tatian, Jesus has the power to foresee future events. Yet, these events are not fated. Rather, they take place by the choice of free agents. Clement of Alexandria, those persons were already chosen whom God predestined, for he knew before the foundation of the world that they would be righteous Mark Felix.
Since God can foresee our character, He also determines the destinies for each of us according to the qualities of each individual and what He deserves. Origen: In the preaching of the Church, there is included the doctrine concerning a just judgment of God. When this teaching is believed to be true, it incites those who hear it to live virtuously and to shun sin by all means, for they clearly acknowledge that things worthy of praise and blame are within our own power.
Ambrosiaster, those whom God foreknew would believe in Him, He also chose to receive the promises. Theodoret, " He did not arbitrarily predestine anyone. Rather, he predestined them according to his foreknowledge of them. " It would be possible to fill an entire volume with similar quotations. In the beginning, it was a basic teaching of Christianity that humans have free will. At the same time, it was equally fundamental that God foreknows everything that will happen in the future.
Peter writes, " To the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the dispersion, chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. " The early Christians fully understood that knowing something is going to happen is not the same thing as causing it to happen. Augustine's reversal of Paul's Order. One of the pivotal points in Christian history came in the early 5th century when Augustine reversed the order of Paul's two declarations.
He effectively changed whom he foreknew, he also predestined, into whom he predestined, he also foreknew. Going against all the Christians who had lived before him, Augustine declared that God's predestination is not based on His foreknowledge. Rather, according to Augustine, God foreknows everything, because He has arbitrarily predestined everything. His predestining our salvation or condemnation has nothing to do with our own faith or godly works.
We only have faith or good works because God arbitrarily predestined us to have them. The result of Augustine's teaching was that Western Christianity was pulled into the theological Dark Ages of the Gnostics and the pagans, both of whom believed in predestination or fate. What has God predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son? Too many Christians read this verse in Romans without noticing what God has predestined.
Paul says that the ones whom God has foreknown, he has predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. In other words, God has predestined the way He wishes to bless those who believe. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul declares, " He will transform our lowly body to be conformed to the body of His glory. " Although part of that transformation happens in this life, the full transformation will be in the resurrection, so that Jesus might be the firstborn among many brothers.
When Paul speaks of Jesus being the firstborn in this setting, he is talking about Jesus being the firstborn from the dead, as well as his being the first one to ascend to heaven. Paul is not speaking about Jesus being the firstborn of God. Theodoret explains, " It is only as man that Jesus is called the firstborn in this passage. As to his manhood, Jesus calls believers his brothers. " However, as to His divinity, He is the only begotten, for in His nature as God, He does not have any brothers.
" So in His utter goodness and generosity, God has predestined that those who follow Christ will be blessed by becoming brothers to Christ and will join Him in being resurrected from the dead to eternal life. Romans chapter 8:30. " Moreover, whom He predestined, He also called, and whom He called, He also justified. And whom He justified, He also glorified. " Theodoret comments, " From the beginning, those whose righteous disposition God had foreknown, He predestined. And predestining them, He also called them.
But let no one say that His foreknowledge is the cause of these things. For His foreknowledge did not make these persons what they are. So again, Paul is listing the many blessings that God planned in eternity to shower on the faithful. He calls us to enter into salvation and to be part of His kingdom. He freely justifies us by giving us a righteous standing at our initial salvation apart from works.
Furthermore, if we have walked faithfully with Him after we have been saved, He will justify or declare us as righteous at the end of our lives. This final justification is also a gift, for God could rightfully condemn every one of us as sinful and undeserving. However, through grace, we will be justified, declared righteous, if we have loved Him and walked with Him in faith, albeit imperfectly. Finally, He will glorify us at the time of our resurrection.