Introduction of Thesis
Romans 8:28 is a precious text for many people because of
the assurance it gives. Here is a rather
literal translation:
For we know that
to those loving God
all things he works into good
to those being called according to purpose.
Many people find comfort in the realization that God works
all things into good. However, what I
find more important is that the two identity clauses in italics, “those loving God”
and “those being called” are in apposition.
The result is that the second one renames or explains the first. This is where we see Paul’s understanding of
what one might call “predestination language” as it applies to the Christ era:
those who are loving God are the ones being called to serve the purposes of
God. This observation may conflict with
the pop-Christian understanding of predestination in the Bible. My point, which I will develop below, is that
one has to see how the Old Testament “predestination process” culminates in Christ, the Called/Chosen One (Luke 9:35), who fulfills God’s promises to Abraham to be a blessing to all
people (e.g. Gen 12:1-3). However, the
Christ event also creates a new expanded entity of “sons of God” (Jew and
Gentile, e.g. Rom 8:14; Gal 3:26), who continue in God’s call to be a blessing
to all people. This outreach is no
longer through the ancient theocracy of Israel, but through the Kingdom of
God/Body of Christ.
Background: A Brief Theological Overview of “Predestination”
In the beginning, God created humanity male and female in
His image; that is, they were created to represent God.* They were created to walk and talk in close
relationship with God. However, with
Adam and Eve’s archetypal disobedience in the garden, we find that a new age
began, an age in which people are cut off from the tree of life and from a
close walk with God. They become, as
Paul would later say, under the reign of sin and death (Rom 5:12-17).
Still, as in God’s initial creation, we know God’s desire is for all people to
come back to eternal life (e.g. 1Tim 2:3-4), which is found in a restored
relationship with God. So, by God’s
foreknowledge and fore-ordination, God put into process a plan for the
redemption of humanity; that is, redemption and reconciliation to God are the
predestined desired goals. To this end,
God specially called Abraham who responded with the model of faith: he obeyed; he
entrusted himself to God and God called that “righteousness” (Gen 15:6; Rom
4:3; Gal 3:6). That is to say, trusting
in God establishes the right relationship that God desires. Abraham was not called to personal salvation,
although being pronounced righteous results in restored life with God; but,
more than just being blessed, he and his descendants were charged with being a
blessing to all families, to all people (e.g. Gen 12:1-3). Through various people within Abraham’s
lineage (see Paul’s examples of special selection in Rom 9:6-13) up to the
founding of a the nation of Israel as a theocracy, these people were called to
the same purpose that Abraham had; that is, of being a blessing to all nations. They were to “be a kingdom of priests, and a
holy nation" (Exod 19:3-6; a calling passed on to those in Christ, 1Pet
2:9.) Nations around them were to see
that God was with them (e.g. Deut 28:10) and their light was to shine before
the nations (Isa 60:1-3).
Obviously, not everyone birthed from those chosen lineages embraced their
calling as Abraham did. OT history is
littered with negative examples. For example,
even though God delivered this specially appointed people from slavery in
Egypt, and they entered in to a unique covenant with God, immediately there
were many people in the Wilderness events who were so disobedient and
unfaithful that God threatened before Mose to give up on them (e.g. Exod
32:9-10). The OT sometimes refer to the
other faithful or “true” Israelites as the “faithful remnant” (e.g. 1Kgs 19:18;
Isa 10:20-22). Jesus made this same
distinction between Israel and the “true Israel” in his parable of the wedding banquet (Matt
22:1-14): many who were invited by the king did not come; the invitation then
went out to anyone the servants could find, both good and bad; and closes with
the summary, “For many are invited, but few are chosen” (v. 14). Again, Jesus taught this when he told his
Jewish audience that they were not true children of Abraham (John
8:39-47). So, too, Paul states, “For a
person is not a Jew who is one outwardly… but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly“
(Rom. 2:28-29). Not everybody responds
to the invitation of God’s presence, grace, and purposes.
Paul’s Use of Predestination Language
Paul’s use of predestination vocabulary is often-misread. A sample text is Ephesians 1:3-14, in which
modern believers often wrongfully identify themselves with those who were
chosen or predestined. When looked at
closely, one can see that the first-person plural pronouns “we” and “us” which
apply to those who were chosen and predestined to be adopted as holy and
blameless, refer to Jews -- here, Jewish Christians. When Paul shifts his pronoun reference to “you
too” (v. 13), he is referring to Gentiles who have come to faith in Christ! [Paul is about to address the new entity (a “new
man,” a “holy temple”) created by the unity between Jewish and gentile
Christians being in Christ together (see 2:11-22).] That is, when Paul uses this vocabulary here,
and in Romans, he is talking about God’s plan for the initial corporate calling
of Israelites/Jews to be a blessing and to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham. He is not talking about a process of individuals
being called to “be saved.” For Paul,
the foreknown, foreordained, predestined plan of God culminated in Christ through whom all people (nations/gentiles) may be blessed and in whom the promises of
Abraham are fulfilled as people put their faith in Jesus (Rom 4:9-17). Paul clearly identifies the Gospel of Christ
as God’s promise as found in the prophets and holy scriptures, the promise to
Abraham and his descendants (Rom 1:1-2; 4:13-14). The calling to continue making God known
through Christ to all people now belongs to the Church.
Application Summary
God’s foreordained plan culminated in the individual Jesus, the Christ. Those who now respond in faith to Jesus are
called to be holy and blameless, children of God, members of God’s Kingdom,
members of the Body of Christ. They have
the supreme "predestined" calling of living in Christ who is in the image of God. They, like the past, ancient theocracy of
Israel, now serve God’s redemptive purposes to reveal God and God’s grace to the
rest of humanity. The ones loving God
are called for God’s purposes.
Thank you, Jesus, that in loving you, you call me into a purposeful life of
serving others in your Name that they might come to know you. Help me to be faithful to this calling every
day. Amen.
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*See my posts “Created in the Image of God: Forgotten Aspects,” February 1,
2024; and “In the Image of God: We Serve,” July 12, 2026.
