13. Predestination (phase 1)

.... To introduce Predestination Phase 1, let’s review God’s heart and mind toward us, especially in terms of His motivation: "God our Savior . . . desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4) for "The Lord is . . . not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9).

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.... God’s heart toward us full of His good will, kindness, love, and a desire for reconciliation. And Ephesians 1:11 conjoins with the principle that God predestines in order to work all things according to the counsel of His will.

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.... In other words, if God wills something, He predestines accordingly; and since He wills that we all come to repentance and be saved, He will work through predestination to see the good pleasure of His will accomplished in each of our lives. His own immutability calls for such a work in each and every one of us, and the understanding we reach must fully vindicate His character and desire in this regard. Jesus is the good shepherd who cares for His sheep (John 10:16). And even if not all persons will be saved in the end, in His heart He genuinely desires to reach out to them:

.... "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!"

(Luke 13:34)

.... Both Calvinism and Arminianism have avoided exploring this area, fearing it would lead to a doctrine of universal salvation. While such a conclusion would obviously be unscriptural, there is no need to back away from the point entirely. Perhaps we need only understand some things about it. The dilemma can be resolved if we understand three separate phases of predestination, to whom each phase applies, what they are like, and what each phase is meant to accomplish — as will be shown in this study.

.... Here, then, is the Scriptural premise for Predestination Phase 1:

.... "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us . . ."

(Acts 17:26-27)

.... The necessary points can be seen from this reading, but let us also return to the original Greek to render these points in their most favorable light:

.... "He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has destined their pre-appointed occasions, and the limits of their conditions, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us . . ."

(Acts 17:26-27)

.... This is the earliest of the three ‘phases’ of predestination, and the oddest of the three. It includes at least three characteristics that distinguish it from the other two phases:

1) Predestination Phase 1 applied to all men — ‘each one of us’ — whereas the other two phases pertain only to specific persons whom God has already called.

2) This phase of predestination does not pertain to the people themselves. In this most basic phase, only their outward circumstances and the occasions of their lives are being predestined.

3) The circumstances in this phase of predestination are designed to give all men a hope that they might seek the Lord and find Him – but they do not guarantee this result. That is another matter. (‘Hope’ that is seen is not hope: for why does one hope for what he plainly sees? -Rom 8:24).

.... In a certain sense, God considers all of us to be His offspring (Acts 17:28). With a paternal care, Predestination Phase 1 is designed to nudge us toward considering God – something we never would have considered if left to ourselves – because of the situations God will bring to pass in our lives, which will make us stop to think about it all. Pursuant to this, God accomplishes several things in the lives of each of us. These will be more fully described in the following sections.