Title: The Golden Chain of Salvation, Part 2
There are probably not two verses that have shaped my theology as much as the two verses we will be looking at today. From the first year of my walk with Christ until this very moment, these two verses have held my pride in check, kept my spirit humble, and caused my mind to wonder of the mysteries of the methods of Our Lord and his plan of salvation. My hope and prayer is that I will be able to do these powerful verses some degree of justice in my presentation and exegesis this morning. Please join with me as we pray, asking that God humble us before his Word.
I honestly believe I could preach for ten weeks on these verses. There is so much richness, doctrine and, frankly, so much that is not normally mentioned by most who preach the word for fear of offending people within the church.
Today what I would like to do is present eight concepts and questions to you that one logically arrives at after reading these verses:
I. God knew us before we knew Him.
This seems like a fairly straight-forward, non-controversial statement, and it is, if we only read half of verse 29. If we read the full verse we see that those God knew he predestined to the image of Jesus.
And logically we can all agree that not everyone was predestined to the image of Jesus. As you read the Charles Haddon Spurgeon quote from your bulletin this morning, if it was God’s intention to save everyone, how miserably he’s been disappointed.
(Let me take a minute to explain God’s sovereignty and our free will so there is no confusion. We do have free will, but it is limited by our nature. We cannot choose to fly, or to turn into an elephant. Why? Because our natures limit our ability to do these things. Also, some of you may very well be thinking, “Doesn’t scripture tell us that God does not desire that any of us should parish, but that all should have eternal life?”
Scripture absolutely says these things. It is God’s desire that none of us should parish. But we must make a distinction between what God desires and what God wills.
Example: Jim Fox, do you believe that God is all powerful? (Yes.)
Does God want you to sin? (No.)
Therefore, are you more powerful than God? (No.)
Okay, so we can see that God can desire for something to be so, but because of the freedom he’s granted us, and the fact that we are inclined to sin, God is going to be very disappointed with our decisions.
So the logical question comes up: Did God only “know” those he predestined? If so, what is the meaning of the word “know”?
Greek: proginosko {prog-in-oce’-ko} Literally translates as “to know beforehand those unto salvation”
This is a special kind of “know.” One that goes beyond mere knowledge and is rooted in a plan for one’s future by a sovereign God.
The referential verse for this concept can be found in Ephesians 1:5 when Paul writes:
“having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”
So, for those that would one day be called Christians, God knew those people and actively brought them into his kingdom.
II. Christ was to be the first of many
“The firstborn among many brethren”
Not unlike the chosen nature of the Israelites in the Old Testament, there is a sense of family being discussed here. Christ’s sacrifice opened the door for anyone of any decent or heritage to find peace with God by confessing and becoming like Christ.
Consider Hebrews 1:6
But when he again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all of the angels of God worship Him.”
God sees Christ as the firstborn among this new brotherhood of believers. This fits perfectly thematically with what Paul has been discussing thus far in Chapter 8 concerning the adoption into the royal priesthood through Jesus Christ.
III. We are actively becoming like Christ
Is this not what we pray over and over and over again here at Heritage? “Lord let us today learn how to walk more closely with you, that we may be more like you?” As Paul puts it, God’s plan is that we be “conformed to the image of His Son.”
Literally, we are to look like Christ.
This is the image of discipleship. Christ gathered the twelve unto him and said, “Be like me. Imitate me.”
Paul then repeats this in I Cor. 11:1 “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”
The theological term “sanctification” is a big fancy word that essentially means being more like the God we serve. And how can we do that? By following the example that God gave us in His son Jesus, who was without sin.
Consider also what Paul writes in II Cor. 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Now don’t mishear me. I am not saying, go home, look in the mirror and behold God!
But I am saying that if you look in the mirror today and take account of what you see, and then you look in the mirror five years from now, the reflection you see five years from now should be more Christlike than the one you see today.
We are actively, through our trials, tribulations, experiences, joys, frustrations become more like Christ. Now we start to see why Paul prefaced this passage by saying all of these things work together for good to those who love God?
Last week I said, “What good is there in the death of an infant?” And answered, the glory of God! The glory is that if, by that horrible trial I see God more clearly, I know God more intimately, the closer I can imitate him! And before you cry, “Pastor that is just selfish!” Remember, the greatest thing God can give us is more of himself, the worst thing he can do is withdraw from us.
Next week we will dig even deeper into this passage. We will challenge our faith even further. And, if you stick with me, and with this text, I promise you, you will see God’s sovereignty a way you have never seen it.
Let us pray.