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24. Gracious Predestination


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  • 4 months later...

Q24. (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-6) How does predestination function with God's grace? What is gracious about predestination? Why is his grace "glorious"? Predestination works alongside grace in that God decided long ago before Adam and Eve sinned who would be adopted into His family. He knew that Adam and Eve would sin and disobey Him. And he had a plan in place to save mankind if they turned to Him. He knew the state of man's heart from the beginning. He knew that only Jesus could pay the ultimate price and save us. In His love and mercy He planned it all along with the Son and the Holy Spirit. So that the ones He knew would come and be saved from the second death. He also knew that not everyone would be drawn to Him.

His grace is glorious because it comes from His very nature. He is love personified and He is merciful and gracious. He did not have to come up with a plan to save man after the fall. He could have just started over again but He chose to do it because He loved us; not because of anything we did. We don't deserve it yet He chose us and drew us in. All becsuse He does not want any to perish.

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Q24. (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-6)

How does predestination function with God’s grace?

What is gracious about predestination?

Why is his grace “glorious”?

From the way I understand things at the present time, God knows the actions we will display, He knows our responses to any and everything, He knows the choices we will make and yet in it all He loves us and He has prepared a way out for us , by sending the Messiah and right in Genesis we already read that a plan was formed to crush satan who had deceived Eve and then caused both Adam and Eve to doubt God. It was man's choice to choose to believe God or doubt Him.  In spite of man's devastated choice, God , in His grace and mercy still predestined a glorious future for man, for those who He knew  would choose to make the right choice and believe and follow Him.

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To understand it, I took this verse apart. The key clause is "predestined to be adopted through Jesus Christ." Everything else is explanatory or expounding.

Personalizing the verse, He predestined (me) to be adopted as His daughter/son through Jesus Christ

  • in love
  • in accordance with his pleasure and will
  • to the praise of his glorious grace which he has freely given in the One He loves.

So, to answer the question, predestination functions with grace, love and will. His grace in predestining us to salvation is praiseworthy. It's gracious because, as we have been taught, it's undeserved and unmerited, though this isn't in the verse. 

I don't quite understand why he put the adjective "glorious" before grace.

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Q24. (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-6) 
How does predestination function with God's grace? What is gracious about predestination? Why is His grace "glorious"? 
He predestined us to be holy and without blame before Him in love. This will only be completed when we are with Him in heaven, and when we also shall be like Jesus (1 John 3:2). God loves us even though we have rebelled against Him, yet God sent His only Son to die in our place, to rescue us from sin and death (Rom 5:8). While we were still sinners Christ laid down His life for the guilty (1 Pet 3:18). Predestination is a gracious act of God in which we were chosen to be adopted as His children. We deserved only His wrath but instead we received the unmerited favour of God - His gracious grace. Predestination means that our salvation is secure, since God chose us and by His grace we will persevere to the end. This can only be that we are predestined through His glorious GRACE. 
 

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We once again must look back to the beginning.  God was bored.  He had a universe, He had heavenly hosts,  He had worlds to play with.  Everything was RIGHT with His worlds. God needed a challenge. 

Think about it: He had the Word, He was the Word, but there was no one to read, listen and act on the Word.  God needed something with intellect, free will, wants and needs, with a hunger for some "thing"; something which would offset the correctness of everything in front of Him at that moment.  The result was Man.  Man, whom God would create with the ability to think for himself.  A challenge to God’s way and purpose. Someone to act on the Word.

Since God IS Love, he instantaneously made a plan for His creation.  He knew what the future would look like, and He needed beings to operate in his system.  He needed people inside this creation tagged from every generation, having the skills to take leadership roles, servitude roles, the role of teachers, healers, prophets, encouragers and those with great generosity .  With Love, he [pre] selected the individuals and assigned roles to them. He knit us together, then held us up, assigning a time and a place for our best fit into His creation (be aware that, in God's plan, our time is NOW !).

He was also aware that at some point, a piece of Him (the Son) would need to go live amongst them (us).  The Son would, through God’s glorious grace, course correct the creation, offering an alternate way for man to gain salvation.  Salvation without the Torah sacrifices and cumbersome rules and regs that Pharisees, Saduccees and folks from other generations added to the core Ten Commandments.  Salvation via grace and through faith. 

What a Glorious plan, and we are a part of it!  Thanks be to God for his foresight and planning. 

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God's grace is that He 'does good' for/to us even though we don't deserve it  ... " even before He made the world God LOVED US & CHOOSE US in Christ to be holy & without fault in His eyes" (Eph 1:4, NLT)

This is why predestination is gracious ... before Creation - before we had done anything - (and knowing what we would do!) God LOVED & CHOOSE us!

God's grace is glorious because all things about God are glorious ... imbued with His character

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The fact that God has predestined us to be one of His chosen children is a great privilege, and it is brought about by His wonderful grace. All we deserve is God’s wrath but God in His graciousness has done all the work by sending Jesus to die on the cross in our place, and He has clothed us in God’s righteousness. We do not deserve or cannot earn our forgiveness from God because we are all sinner and fall short of God’s glory Romans 3v23. But by His grace , foreknowledge and predestination we can be saved. 

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Q24. (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-6) How does predestination function with God’s grace? What is gracious about predestination? Why is His grace glorious?

Predestination is an example of God’s grace.

It is unmerited and undeserved, (grace) for me or you, (us) to be predestined for adoption as sons, (daughters) through Jesus Christ to himself.

Because His grace, His never ending supply of love and giving of Himself to us who are forever undeserving, never able to obtain salvation on our own, is reflected back on to God as glory, honor and praise, forever and ever!

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Q24. (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-6) How does predestination function with God's grace?

I think predestination is all about God taking a decision well in advance and grace is unmerited, undeserved favour.  

So I think God showed us love well in advance despite the sin we would commit by sending his only son to die for us.

What is gracious about predestination?

God’s predestination to love and save us from the penalty of sin is gracious because we do not merit it.

Why is his grace "glorious"?

God’s grace is glorious because it is beautiful and wonderful reflecting his love, mercy and all his nature and attributes, just to save us.
 

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Predestination functions with God's grace because we have been adopted as His sons through the work of Christ on the cross.

Predestination is glorious because we have been adopted as His sons in Christ.

God's grace is glorious because it has been given to us freely, we have not earned it.  

  

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I believe predestination functions well with grace because we do not choose both of them. God chooses what we are to become and His grace, which is the unmerited favor takes us there. I am one person who clearly understands that when God has decided what I have to become, He paves ways for you and when you acknowledge that it is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of the Lord, you surely flourish and excel.

Predestination is glorious because our God wants the best for all of us. It is only when we move away from His grace that that which God has planned for us does not get fulfilled. God has made us to be heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ and therefore it means that He has the best interest for all of us.

God grace is glorious because it does not impose itself on us. We have a choice of believing that His grace is sufficient for us and solely depend on Him for everything. When we go through trials and tribulations and God says "Be still and know that I am God", you need to be still because if you juggle around and want to put the pieces of the puzzle on your own, you will surely hit the rock bottom. Trust in His unfailing love and know that His grace is indeed sufficient. 

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Q24. (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-6) How does predestination function with God’s grace? What is gracious about predestination? Why is his grace “glorious”?

1. God knowing who would serve him in truth and that we would need him to lead and guide us. He predestined what we would need to obey, be an example to others as well as helping and encouraging others to the best of our ability.

2. God helping, leading, and guiding us.

3. We did nothing to deserve or earn it. His love for us is better than any love.

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How does predestination function with God’s grace?

In love, not in good works but out of his own love. This self initiating love towards people who were away from him is described as God's grace. The predestination comes in because this love and salvation are given through the Lord Jesus Christ. To associate with the Lord Jesus Christ requires us to believe; to have faith in him is demonstrated b our response to his Gospel.

What is gracious about predestination?

It is God's free will choice to act so

Why is his grace “glorious”?

Wen we respond to the free  will gift (grace) with our faith in deeds, we glorify God

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

It is because of God’s grace to mankind that He predetermined (predestined) the certain outcome for those who place their faith in His plan of redemption. Humanity does not deserve and cannot earn a single blessing named in Ephesians 1:3-14 :

  • every spiritual blessing in heavenly places

  • chosen by God to be made holy and blameless before Him

  • adoption by the Father through Christ

  • redemption and forgiveness of our trespasses

  • an eternal inheritance

  • seal of the Holy Spirit to guarantee our inheritance until we acquire possession of it

    These are promises of grace, not worth or works.

In love He predestined us...to the praise of His glorious grace with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. [Ephesians 1:6] The Greek word meaning indicates something divine and splendid that is worthy of glory, honor, and praise. Such grace as this can be called nothing less than glorious!

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  • 3 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Q24. (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-6) How does predestination function with God’s grace? What is gracious about predestination? Why is his grace “glorious”?

God's grace is glorious because He loves us SO MUCH.  Incredible ALL He has done for us.  While we were sinners!!!!  Christ died for us. Predestination functioning with God's grace: He calls. He is generous. He saves. He does it all. Wow.  Predestination is so gracious in that we give the decision to follow Jesus, God does the rest.  Salvation accomplished; sanctification started. And what glorious grace in Ephesians 1:6, "to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves."

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