THE DETERMINED OBJECTIVE OF SALVATION "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son . . ." -- Tomorrow:
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us." (Romans 8:28-34, NKJV)
Devotion 15 of 33
When we speak of predestination, we are speaking of something that is sure, and cannot fail of fulfillment. That is the whole purpose of this passage, to anchor our faith in the certitude of God's "eternal purpose." What God predestinates, or determines, comes to pass. Jesus was not only the one "foreordained before the foundation of the world" (1 Pet 1:20), He actually "laid down" His life, "a ransom for many," in the precise and timely fulfillment of that predetermination.
The vocabulary of the Holy Spirit, or words "taught by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 2:13, NASB), includes the following words.
1. "Predestinate" (Rom 8:29-30)
2. "Predestinated" (Eph 1:5,11).
3. "Foreordained" (1 Pet 1:20).
4. "Foreknow" (Rom 8:29).
5. "Foreknew" (Rom 11:2).
6. "Foreknowledge" (Acts 2:23; 1 Pet 1:2).
7. "Determined before" (Acts 4:28).
8. "He hath determined . . . the times" (Acts 17:26).
9. "Chosen" (Eph 1:4; 2 Thess 2:13; 1 Pet 2:9).
10. "Elect" (Matt 24:24; Rom 8:33; Col 3:12; Tit 1:1; 1 Pet 1:2).
11. "Elected" (1 Pet 5:13).
12. "Elect's" (Matt 24:22; Mk 13:20; 2 Tim 2:10).
13. "Election" (Rom 9:11; 11:5,7,28; 1 Thess 1:4; 2 Pet 1:10).
No honest person can pretend as those these words are not in the Scriptures. Nor, indeed, can they be explained away by saying they are "Calvinistic" or reflect scribal errors in the copying of Scripture. These words are used in association with what God Himself has done. Furthermore, there teaching, or doctrine, is integral to their use in Scripture.
The fact of predestination, therefore, cannot be effectively negated or questioned. God has extended Himself to make this aspect of His character known. Those who make a studied practice of either ignoring God's predestination, or disputing its existence, will eventually have to explain to God why they involved themselves in such vanity.
PREDESTINATED CONFORMITY
The predestination of God is not a lifeless doctrine. Nor, indeed, does it center around the individual believer. The Lord's determination has to do with the culmination of His work. This is the revealed destiny of everyone who lives by faith, or is "in Christ Jesus." "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son." Other versions read, "the likeness of His Son" (NIV), "be made like His Son" (BBE), and "become like His Son" (NLT).
The meaning of this passage is this: God has predetermined that everyone He adopts as sons (8:19) will be fashioned to bear the "image of Christ." That is not a commandment, it is a predetermination. It is not a possibility, but it is a predestined purpose. It is not a goal for which WE are to strive, but a work GOD will do.
Wherever there is a person or a group of persons who claim identity with Christ, who are not moving in the direction of conformity to the image of Christ, we are beholding a blasphemous contradiction of the Person and purpose of God Almighty. He has revealed that salvation involves God Himself shining into our hearts "with the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus" (2 Cor 4:6). It is further revealed that the Holy Spirit is changing the real children of God from one increasing stage of glory to another, bringing the predestinated conformation to pass (2 Cor 3:18). Therefore, to imagine that there is such a thing as a saved person who is not being conformed to the image of Christ is to contradict what God has revealed He has determined, and the Spirit is bringing to pass.
THE "IMAGE" OF HIS SON
Why does the Spirit say "image of His Son?" Why not simply say "conformed to His Son?" Remember, the passage before us is elaborating on the manner in which we are being brought to glory. We are coming through the veil of sufferings, being "saved by hope" (Rom 8:21-25). What we will ultimately be is determining the pathway through which we are being led. We are "heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ" (8:17). That has to do with our future, and our present affiliation with God, through Christ and by the Spirit, is preparing us for that future. In this glorious work, the Son of God is set before us through the Gospel. That presentation is, in a very real sense, "the image of His Son."
The idea is that God, through the Gospel, has set before us the Image to which we are being conformed. Of particular emphasis is the fact that suffering is one of the means through which this conformity is being accomplished. As the Spirit said through Peter, "But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps" (1 Pet 2:21).
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant me grace to avoid living a life that conflicts with Your revealed purpose for those who are being saved.