Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
30And whom He predestined, them He also called;
and whom He called, them He also justified;
and whom He justified, them He also glorified.
This is another simply amazing verse in this amazing passage of scripture, the pinnacle of the Bible, the pinnacle of it all. Just looking at it, my mind swims with all the observations I’d love to write. I feel a little ike John did at the end of his gospel, “Jesus did many other things as well. If everyone one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written!” (21:25). Indeed, if you try to read commentaries, you’ll start to think there’s no end of what has been written about this very verse!
I suppose anything I say is just
adding to that cacophony of feeble humans scratching on the infinite wisdom of
God! However, having studied through it, I do want to record a few thoughts
that particularly strike me. Perhaps one of my great-grandchildren, who shares
at least a few genes with me, will also find these thoughts helpful?
First of all and for whatever it’s worth, notice the order. I have arranged the verse above in stanzas, so to speak, to at least try to portray the order of the words in Greek. As is always the case, anytime one finds order in the Bible, you can rest quite assured it was deliberate. We may not always (yet) be able to figure out the point of the order, but I believe we should note it. In this case, notice first of all there are three lines. From cover to cover in the Bible, there is no question that three is God’s number. Obviously, the point of this passage is that our God is totally in control, that it is all about Him and what He does. Not surprising if Paul decided to insert this triad of lines to emphasize that very point.
For anyone digging deeper, also notice in Greek the first line starts with a de, the second a kai, and the third another de. Grammatically, the third should have been another kai. Why use a de? The two words basically mean the same thing, so they can be used somewhat interchangeably, but each does have its usual proper grammatical usage. Why depart from that? My suggestion would be that was very deliberate and done to call attention to the order. Ancient people loved what some have called “bookends,” words used at the beginning and end of some discourse, specifically to call attention to whatever was their point and to communicate that what they said or wrote was intended as a single unit of thought. Anyone lazily listening to Paul’s words would have expected to hear a kai to begin that third line. To hear instead a de would have been a jolt, so to speak, to “listen up!” and probably calling their attention to the very deliberate order. The fact the verse started and ended with a (seemingly misplaced) de would alert listeners that what he just said was a single important point.
And what is that single important
point? The same reason there are three lines. God is totally in charge!
Again, here we are in a passage where the actual context is suffering. Suffering
has been the context starting at least at v.17 and it will continue to the end
of the chapter. In the midst of our suffering, what is the single most
important truth we must embrace? Our God is totally in control! And why
is that so important? Is it not because it’s when we’re suffering that we most
need the assurance that God is in control and that He loves us? In suffering
are not we all haunted by our unworthiness? “God has given up on me and I
deserve it. Why should He care? He knows my evil thoughts and those things I’ve
done I shouldn’t have. Now He’s punishing me,” are the kind of dark thoughts
that invade our minds at those times when we most need instead the assurance of
God’s loving control!
Romans 8 would blast through our darkness, throw open the blinds, and fill our mind instead with these wonderful truths: “All things for good;” “He has a purpose in this – He’s making me more like Jesus;” “He foreknew me, He predestined me, He called me, He justified me, and He has already promised to glorify me!”
You’d think someone would jump up and ask, “Well, if God be for us, who can be against us?” Oh, yeah. That’s the very next verse, isn’t it? Do you see, that is the point? These verses are not just nice Christian cliches to hang on your wall. They are the very truths that will sustain you and me through the hard times of this life! We are at the pinnacle of the Bible and what do we learn? Our God is bigger than our suffering! How many times a day do I need that assurance? Well, there are 1,440 minutes in a day. That’s about right. Then again there are 86,400 seconds. Yeah, that’s a little closer. I might just make it with 86,400 reminders every day that the Lord is totally in charge and He loves me! I’ll bet you feel the same?
Something I need to say here – all you have to do is pick up any commentary and you’ll find this very verse buried in controversy. What does it say? “And whom He predestined, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified.” In the verse before we learned that He “foreknew” us. The theologians completely freak out over these thoughts. There are those who cannot accept that our salvation is secure in Jesus, so they need to write for pages explaining away these words. There are those who object to this idea saying things like that, if God predestined some of us to be saved, then He is predestining others to hell. Did anyone else notice the passage doesn’t say that? It.does.not.say.that. Our feeble, childish minds may decide that is a logical inference, but it.does.not.say.that.
I refuse to build my faith on what I think are logical inferences from what God said. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. By the Word of God. By listening to what He says. By letting Him say what He says and simply believing it. I’m in the middle of a passage where the Lord is speaking to me about my salvation, my relationship with Him. He wants me to know I’m here because He brought me here. As I sit here thinking about it, I have absolutely no problem with that truth. I know it’s true, somehow. Yes, I had to have faith, but then again, I know if it wasn’t for Him, I would still be dead in my trespasses and sins. It was Him who made me alive. I’m thrilled to know that He actually foreknew me, predestined me, called me, justified me, and already has and will glorify me.
So what does that mean for unbelievers? He isn’t talking to or about unbelievers. If you want to know about them, go find passages where He’s talking to them. Seems to me when He’s talking to them I remember words like, “Whosoever will may come.”
I won’t belabor the point, but this is exactly why I study the Bible and why I study the way I do. My first goal in study is to determine exactly what God said – and what He didn’t say – then to the best of my ability to just let the truth of what He said stand on its own. I personally don’t find anything controversial about this passage. I think what it says is quite clear. It is only “controversial” if someone simply doesn’t like what it says. And if someone doesn’t like what it says, they need to take that up with Someone a whole lot more important than me!
What it does say is monumentally important as it speaks to the very thoughts we must think especially when we believers find ourselves suffering. That is the context and that is the point. The Lord would have us absolutely assured He is in control and He loves us. Always has. Always will. It’s too bad all that ink gets wasted arguing about things the passage doesn’t say, instead of shouting the wonderful truths of what it does!
My last thought to inject is to remind us all that we are dealing here with the Word of God. The infinite One. His thoughts are not our thoughts nor His ways our ways. “As the heavens are higher than the earth …” It is a fact of math that human logic fails at infinity. Infinity + infinity does not equal 2 x infinity. It’s still just infinity. That’s illogical, we might say. Yep. That’s because human logic doesn’t work at infinity. That’s why us humans need to be humble enough to just let God speak, then believe what He says. I suspect if a lot of the “theologians” were to take their objections to God, His response would be, “Who is this that darkens counsel without knowledge?” And their right response would be to clap their hand over their mouth and repent in dust and ashes.
Instead of all that, let’s you and me just rejoice in the wonderful assurance our kind, gracious God speaks to us here, and may it leave us only praising Him more, even as we face the hardships of this life! I am His.
