Predestination
Jerry Wilhite, author I ask all who read this to only do so when they are able to honestly say they are doing so with an open mind. If it offends in any way, put it down and wait and come back to it when you can with an open mind. The problem is there are only two types of thoughts - those forced on us by Satan, and those God wants us to accept. It took me 20 years of reading and understanding (or I thought I understood) as the world understands before I realized I was falling into a trap of Satan. I was trapped, but God set me free. 2 Corinthians 10 3. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4. (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; Strong's Ref. # 3053 Romanized logismos Pronounced log-is-mos' from GSN3049; computation, i.e. (figuratively) reasoning (conscience, conceit): KJV--imagination, thought. Romans 1 21. Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. In this study I will show, based on scripture, that predestination deals mostly with God the Father foreknowing Jesus, that God foreknew Jesus and anointed Jesus as the light, the Son for us. Jesus was always part of God, but He came down and became man to make the ultimate sacrifice to pay the price no one else could pay. This was to be a beginning for all who would accept the Lord as saviour. Plus, He came to full fill the law, not to remove it. First understand the law was for 3 reasons. The law pointed out sin in mankind. The law pointed out that mankind was lost due to sin. The law showed that by the law mankind had little or no hope of salvation. Due to Adam's sin mankind was doomed to a life without God. God told Adam if he ate the fruit he would die, but we know Adam did not die in the way we understand death. He lived past eating the fruit, so since we know God does not lie, then how did Adam die? Adam died in the one way that mattered most. Adam died spiritually; he lost the spiritual connection with God. Genesis 2 17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Then God spent the next 4,000 years seeding the word into the earth until one could, by faith, agree with God and be used to bring Jesus into the earth as man. Luke 1 35. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37. For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. Remember faith comes by hearing, and for Mary to be used by God to bring Jesus into the earth she had to have the faith to do so. Romans 10 17. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. God knew that by the law He could show mankind about sin, but also how the law could not save them on their own. So by seeding the word, one was found to bring Jesus into the earth. Remember God knew Jesus from before the beginning of time. God foreknew Jesus. In other words Jesus was predestined to be the salvation of mankind and the way to God. John 1 1. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. If any of you are wondering why it took so long for God to bring all of this about, remember He gave us free will. Since we have free will we have the ability to choose to listen to God or not. If you read the Old Testament you will see how God had trouble finding even one who would listen throughout the entire time of the Old Testament. God sought out men/women to use to seed His word into the earth through out the old testament period. There are two important things about the idea that He sought one. First was that it was hard to find one much less to find more. The main reason is God works one on one no matter what anyone says, and it is very apparent throughout both the old and the new testaments. John 1 14. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. Below we read about predestination: Romans 8 29. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36. As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Strong's Ref. # 4309 Romanized proorizo Pronounced pro-or-id'-zo from GSN4253 and GSN3724; to limit in advance, i.e. (figuratively) predetermine: KJV--determine before, ordain, predestinate. 29. |3754| Because |3739| whom (Jesus, not others) |4267| He foreknew |2532| also |4309| He predestinated |4832| conformed |3588| to the |1504| image |3588| of the |5207| Son |0846| of Him, (Jesus was conformed into the image of the Son of God) |1519| for |1511| to be |0846| him |4416| firstborn |1722| among |4183| many |0080| brothers. Jesus was to be the first, and the example. By His Blood we could be brothers. John 1 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. Romans 8 30. |3739| whom |1161| But |4309| He predestinated, |5128| these |2532| also |2563| He called, |2532| and |3739| whom |2563| He called, |5128| these |2532| also |1344| He made right. |3739| whom |1161| But |1344| He made right, |5128| these |2532| also |1392| He glorified. There are two points of predestination: God predestined Jesus as the Light. God looked forward and saw all who would be foreknown by the blood of Jesus. Remember God does not operate in time. Time is for the natural realm of sin. Time is used to Mark the beginning and end of something that is not eternal. God is eternal, no beginning and no end. One of my favorite ways of looking at God seeing all is imagining a parade. If you are at street level in the parade you can only see to the end of the street where the parade comes from to the end of the street where the parade will go. If you go up to the top of say a 20 story building and looked down you could see the start, the middle, and even the end of the parade all at once. Do you understand God is light? He did not become light, He has always been and always will be light. In Genesis 1:14-19 or Day four God created the light of the heavens. The sun, moon and stars, so what was the light in Genesis 1:3? Genesis 1 14. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18. And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. Genesis 1 1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. John 1 4. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. Before anyone gets the wrong idea and thinks I am saying this is when God created Jesus, it is not. This is just when Jesus was anointed to be the salvation of mankind. Jesus was anointed as the light of mankind, He is the Christ, and the Son of God. Christ is a Greek word meaning anoint(ed)(ing), and Jesus was anointed to be the light or our salvation. Anoint is to have something in, on and through you. A sponge dripping with water is anointed with water, It has water, in it, on it, and all through it. To be of Christ is to have the Spirit of God in us, on us, and all the way through us. When we are saved we have God in us, the Spirit is in us, but it is not on us, or all the way through us. Church is to have the revealed knowledge of who Jesus is as the Christ and the Son of God. When God the Father reveals to you who Jesus is as both then you are a part of the church. Until then you are only saved. Matthew 16 15. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. First of all in verse 18 the word for Peter in Greek is Petros in English means "piece of the rock" and the word rock in verse 18 is Petras in English means Bedrock. So upon the bedrock Jesus is building His church, not the church of the world. Not church as most define church. The individual who hears and I do mean hears not just reading God's word, but actually hears the voice of God. So when an individual hears the voice of God and God reveals to them who Jesus is as the Son of God and Christ, they are then a part of the church. Below we read that in Christ, not in the church, or for the saved, but in Christ is the power and wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1 24. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Luke 4 18. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, Christ is the spirit of God in, on and through us, and since God is a Spirit, then we are talking about God in us, on us, and all the way through us. Most who believe we are the temple really should have no trouble understanding and believing this. Acts 10 34. Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: Since God is no respecter of persons, then either we are all predestined to eternity or none based on those who believe God predestined us. Nothing ended in the first century church, the Holy Spirit, God, Jesus, miracles, etc are the same for today as they were in the first century church. Hebrews 13 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. There are those who want to justify their beliefs so they do not have to do anything, or so they can justify their life style or they are just lazy, but the truth is that all need to seek God and all of His righteousness and not just His word, But to seek God Himself and then listen and be obedient to him not man. No matter how great you think someone is or how much they know, they are still of the flesh and there is no way you can really know the truth until you seek God and find out from Him. I only write what I first read, then seek His understanding on, and then it is edited, reviewed and then posted. By this time even if everyone came to me and said I was wrong I would not change based on mankind, but only based on what God would say. Jesus told us He would ask the Father to send, in His name, the Holy Spirit to teach us all things . John 14 26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Then if that is not enough in I John we learn we are to be taught by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit only, not by man. 1 John 2 27. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. Then we learn not only are we to listen for and to the voice of God, but we are to test who we hear from to be sure it is God we are hearing from and not Satan. 1 John 4 1. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. I share all of this so you can know how you can verify all I say as true or not, instead of spending time emailing me or reading anything else. Spend 30 minutes at the very least a day in a very quiet place free from all distractions and listen, and do this daily no matter how long it takes until you hear from God. Then when you hear and verify it is God spend even more time daily and ask Him about the truth. Now if you discover I or anyone else is wrong, turn the person over to God and pray for them. 1 Peter 5 7. Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. The word care also means concern, worries, problems, relationships, health issues, debt, lack, etc, and the above can only be done by faith. It is impossible to please God without faith, so the only way to really please God is give Him all of your problems. Hebrews 11 6. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
2 Timothy 2
20. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
What was the last thing in verse 20 dishonor and what happens based on verse 21 if anyone purge themselves of dishonor they are then a vessel of honor. In so many words we make ourselves into vessels of honor or dishonor by the words of our mouth that start as thoughts in our mind.
What is sad is some use the above to prove their point of predestination, that some of us are predestined for honor and others for dishonor. What is a shame as in most cases like this if they read on they would discover that it was not God that predestined some to honor and some to dishonor. But we ourselves do it to ourselves and can blame no one but ourselves.
How it reads in the Literal:
21.
|1437| If,
|3767| therefore,
|5100| any
|1571| cleanses
|1438| himself
|0575| from
|5130| these,
|2071| he will
|4632| be a container
|1519| to
|5092| honor,
|0037| having been sanctified,
|2532| and
|2173| useful
|3588| to the
|1203| master,
|1519| to
|3956| every
|2041| work
|0018| good
|2090| having been prepared.
2-27-04 H.O.M.E.