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Written for: Prison Epistles
Date Written: 9/15/2009
Divine
Foreknowledge
Ryan Watters
God’s Bible School and College
Divine
Foreknowledge
Since the
days of John Calvin, and before him, Augustine, a
doctrine has been propagated and handed down throughout
the history of Christianity. This doctrine has as its
crux the absolute sovereignty of God in all respects,
including the eternal destinies of every living soul.
This doctrine went nearly unchecked until Jacobus
Arminius introduced an alternate viewpoint. Arminius’
theology differed from Calvin’s in many respects, not
the least of which was divine foreknowledge.
The Greek word for foreknowledge is proginw,skw
(proginosko).
It comes from the two Greek words “pro”,
meaning “previous” and “ginosko”,
meaning
“knowledge.” So it literally means the knowledge
beforehand, or “knowledge in advance.” The whole
concept of foreknowledge deals with just how much God
knows regarding future events, and the biggest point of
contention on this issue is how much he controls them.
An Arminian understanding of foreknowledge can be
stated as follows: “Divine foreknowledge is God’s
innate (Psa. 147:5), comprehensive, cognitive awareness
of all future events, both potential and actual (1 Sam.
23:11-12).”
But how do
we arrive at this definition? Brown gives an excellent
line of reasoning to support this view. He begins by
pointing out that “God is omniscient” according to Psa.
147:5 (as well as Isa. 4:9-10, 13-14; and 1 Joh. 3:20).
By this we mean that God “has complete knowledge of all
things, past, present, and future.” As Brown states it,
“God’s knowledge is total.” He continues, “He knows
with a fullness of perfection that includes every
possible item of knowledge.”
Because God
knows literally everything
that is to
be known, He also foreknows what could
potentially
happen in
the future, as well as what will
happen. For
example, if a man is faced with two options, A and B,
God knows that the man will pick B. However, He also
knows what would have happened if the man had picked A.
The best Scriptural basis for this is found in 1 Sam.
23:11-12, where David asks the Lord if the men of
Keilah will deliver him into the hands of Saul if he
stays in the city of Keilah (option A). The Lord
replies, “They will surrender you” (1 Sam. 23:12).
David then leaves the city (option B) and thus escapes
the hands of Saul. As Brown states it, “God knows the
difference between the potential future and the actual
future.”
This concept of foreknowing potential events is
extremely important in Arminian theology because it
clearly infers that just because God foreknows
something will happen does not “predestine” or
foreordain it to happen. This is antithetical to the
Calvinists’ viewpoint. In Calvin’s theology, God’s
sovereignty means that His foreknowledge of all events
mandates His foreordination of all events. To put it
another way, God foreknows what’s going to happen in
the future because in His sovereignty He decreed that
it would
happen.
Calvinist theologian Roland McCune states, “God knows
all … things because He has decreed them.” Brown
summarizes McCune’s argument as, “Divine knowledge is
based upon His will. God knows all because He has
planned all.”
Ariminians quickly respond that just because God knows
that something will happen does not necessitate that He
caused it (1 Sam. 23:11-12). Knowledge does not imply
causation. As Whedon states, “Foreknowledge is an
attribute belong[ing] to the nature of God,
pre-determination is an act
produced by
the free will of God.” Foreknowledge is an attribute,
not an act.
For example, if I were to go back in time to 1865 right
outside of Ford Theater, I would know that President
Lincoln was just about to be assassinated by John
Wilkes Booth. However, my knowledge of the event did
not in any way sanction it, or cause it to happen. In
the same way, Divine foreknowledge does not necessitate
causation.
But what
does the Word of God say concerning foreknowledge?
Let’s look at a few of the key New Testament passages
relating to foreknowledge.
Acts
2:23 “this
Man,
delivered over by the predetermined plan and
foreknowledge
of God, you
nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and
put Him
to death”
(NASB). Forster and Marston here insert an excellent
point, “God made his plans in the light of what he knew
would happen. God’s plan to deliver up his Son to them
was made in the knowledge that they would crucify him.”
Picirilli also adds of prophecy, “Like foreknowledge,
prophecy need be nothing but a revelation of what will
be, not the cause of an event. Nor does God’s ability
to prophesy a wicked act carry with it any
responsibility for that act.”
1
Peter 1:2 “Elect
according to the foreknowledge
of God the
Father…” (KJV). The meaning here is similar to that of
Acts 2:23 in that foreknowledge does not imply
causation. God knew who the “elect” would be because of
his “foreknowledge” of who would choose to accept His
free gift of grace. However, His knowledge of their
choice in no way caused them to become elect. The
person had to freely choose to come to Him.
Acts
26:5 “since they
have known
about me
for a long time…”(NASB). This is considered a
“non-theological use of proginw,skw.”
The main idea behind “known” here is that the people
knew of Paul, and were aware of his reputation or
character based on past experiences and knowledge.
Forster and Marston support this by saying, “Here
foreknowledge implies knowledge about the manner of
life he lived from his earliest days.” They also point
out that not every use of proginw,skw
implies a
personal relationship, as Paul was in Tarsus during
most of his upbringing, far from the those mentioned in
this verse.
Romans 8:29 “For those
whom He foreknew, He also predestined
to
become conformed
to the image of His Son…” (NASB). Vs. 28 tells us that
those He foreknew are “those who love God.” So Paul is
saying here that God foreknew all who would love Him,
and His will was that they would be conformed to the
image of His Son. Again, simple knowledge of who will
be saved (who will “love God”) does not necessitate
causation. Watson adds an interesting point here when
he states, “Contingency in moral actions is, therefore,
their freedom,
and is opposed, not to certainty
[that
things will
happen],
but to necessity
[that
things must
happen].”
God never forces anyone to love Him, but He foreknows
if they will or not.
Romans
11:2 “God has
not rejected His people whom He foreknew…” (NASB).
While this verse is admittedly open to debate, probably
the best solution for explaining this verse is that
Paul is referring here to the moment on Mt. Sinai where
God entered into a marriage relationship with Israel
(Amos 3:2). So then, “foreknew” in this context would
refer to the intimate marriage relationship God had
with Israel in the past on their “wedding day” at
Sinai, and not to any type of causation. Brown adds
that “foreknow” here would mean, “to have entered into
a relationship with previously.”
1
Peter 1:20 “For He was
foreknown before the foundation of the world…” (NASB).
This verse has a strong corollary with Acts 2:23, and
thus the interpretation is much the same. God foreknew
from the foundation of the world that Christ would come
and die on Earth one day. But, this does not mean that
the Father caused the actual events to occur. He simply
saw what would happen.
2
Peter 3:17 “You
therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your
guard so that you are not carried away by the error of
unprincipled men and fall… (NASB). Forster and Marston
confidently state that, “The meaning of “known” here is
clearly that of … the knowledge of events. … Peter is
telling his readers to beware, for they know in advance
that people will try to give Paul’s writings strange
and devious meanings.” Brown also backs up this
conclusion.
In conclusion, the primary thing to remember when
dealing with foreknowledge is that it does not
necessitate causation. To assume so would not only be a
logical fallacy, but also potentially harmful to any
sound theological system.
Reference
Brown,
Allan P. (2009). Foreknowledge.
Class notes.
Brown
II, Allan P. (2009). Divine
foreknowledge. Class
notes.
Forster,
Roger T. and V. Paul Marston. God’s
strategy in human history. Bethany
House Publishers. Minneapolis, MN.
Piricilli, Robert I. (2000). Foreknowledge, freedom,
and the future. Journal
of the Evangelical Theological
Society