Introduction

Predestination is a biblical word. Like election, it is inspired Scripture, and non-Calvinists should not say, "I don't believe in that predestination stuff." The question is not whether God predestines, but who is predestined to what. The challenge is to draw out of the Scriptures what Paul is teaching, rather than pushing a system into them.

The Calvinist Definition of Predestination

In Calvinist theology, predestination is God's eternal decree determining which individuals will be saved and ensuring that they will believe. John Calvin defined it this way:

The Westminster Confession of Faith states that God chose the elect "without any foresight of faith or good works... as conditions, or causes moving him thereunto":

In this view, the answer to "who is predestined to what?" is that particular individuals are predestined to believe and be saved.

Predestined to Believe, or Predestined in Christ?

The Greek word translated "predestine" (proorizō) means to decide or mark out beforehand. Another important question is: what did God decide beforehand? There are two basic answers.

1. Individual predestination: God decided beforehand which individuals would put their faith in Christ.
2. Predestination in Christ: God decided beforehand what would happen to those who put their faith in Christ.

We believe Scripture teaches the second. When Paul tells believers what they are predestined to, he names what God has prepared for those in Christ, not who will come to be in Christ:

• For adoption: "In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 1:4–5).
• For an inheritance: "In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will" (Ephesians 1:11).

In none of these is anyone predestined to believe. And in the same passage, Paul tells the Ephesians how they came to be in Christ: "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance" (Ephesians 1:13–14).

Predestination is God's plan for those in Christ, not God planning who will be in Christ.

This is often called corporate election: God chose a people in Christ and determined their destiny, and individuals share in that destiny by being united to Christ through faith.

Adoption: A Destiny Still Ahead

Notice that some of what believers are predestined for has not happened yet. Paul says that even we "who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" (Romans 8:23). In our modern sense of the word, a believer is already adopted. But in Paul's usage, the full adoption is still ahead, at the resurrection. Predestination looks forward to where God is taking His people in Christ, and that destiny is certain because God has decreed it. We look at what adoption meant in Paul's world, and why it matters, in Adoption.

The Ark and the Door

Consider Noah's ark. God determined beforehand where the ark was going and that everyone in it would be brought safely through the flood. The ark's destination was fixed; what God called people to do was get in. In the same way, God has determined the destination of everyone in Christ: holiness, adoption, inheritance, and glory.

Jesus uses a similar picture of Himself: "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved" (John 10:9). Christ's atonement created the way of salvation: the door, the gate, the path. We are not predestined to walk through the door. But those who do are predestined to be made holy and blameless, and to receive the redemption of their bodies.

Jesus makes the same point in the parable of the wedding feast. Everyone is invited, and the guest who is removed is not removed for being bad or for not being chosen beforehand; rather, he is removed for having no wedding garment. He did not put on Christ. Those who come clothed in the righteousness of Christ are the chosen. We look at the parable in detail in Matthew 22:1 - 14.

Romans 8:29–30: Those He Foreknew

Romans 8:29 begins, "those whom he foreknew he also predestined." Calvinists read "foreknew" as God's prior choice to set His love on particular individuals. Many Arminians read it as God foreseeing who would believe and predestining them on that basis. Both readings assume Paul is describing which individuals will be saved, and both struggle with verse 30, where every step, including "glorified," is already in the past.

We believe Paul is speaking of the faithful of Israel who came before Christ. He uses the same word of them three chapters later: "God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew" (Romans 11:2). God set their destiny to be conformed to the image of His Son, "in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers" ( Romans 8:29). Christ came after Abraham, Moses, and David, yet He rose first, ahead of His own ancestors. They have already passed through death into glory. For Paul's readers this is a promise, not a sorting: the God who brought the saints of old all the way home will not fail those who love Him now (8:28). We look at the word more closely in the "foreknew" word study and work through the passage in Romans 8:28 - 30.

Why It Matters

The difference comes down to a simple question: is God responsible for whether you put your faith in Christ, or are you responsible? If predestination means God decided beforehand who would believe, then the calls to repent and believe throughout Scripture are addressed to people whose response was already settled. But if predestination is God's plan for those in Christ, it fits seamlessly with every call to repentance and every "if" in Scripture. God was responsible for creating the path to salvation; we are responsible for walking it.

So, to return to the question we began with: who is predestined to what? The answer is simple:

God has predestined that those who are in Christ by faith will be made holy and blameless in Christ, and adopted as His sons.