An All Knowing God

The bible gives us humans insight into the secrets of God. From my own personal studies in the bible, the only conclusion that I can come to is that God is in fact Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent. He Knows everything, he can do anything, and he is everywhere.

He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. -- Psalm 147:4,5

Known to God are all his works from the beginning of the world. -- Acts 15:18

The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. -- Psalm 33:13

If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. -- Psalm 139:8

Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. -- Jeremiah 23:23,24

I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. -- Job 42:2

Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? -- Jeremiah 32:17,27

For with God nothing shall be impossible. -- Luke 1:37

And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. -- Revelation 19:6

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. -- Heb 4:13

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny ? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. -- Matthew 10:29-31

God is limitless, yet because of our inadequacies, our incapacity, and our finiteness, He has limited Himself toward our understanding. We cannot conceive even the slightest of his greatness and power, so how could He expect us to come close to Him, when He is the completion of all perfection. Our knowledge of Him is mere wisps of haze, which keeps us from understanding the complexities of His existence with any resemblance of true comprehension.

Please understand that I have not said that God is limited by His act of limiting Himself for our understanding; what I want to state very clearly is that His limitation is only man directed. He is and will always be, by virtue of His absolute virtue—limitless, absolutely. If He were otherwise, He could not be God; as God must always be omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (always present everywhere), not one attribute without the other and no two without the third. In His omnipotence He has absolute power, constrained only by His absolute wisdom, holiness, and perfect nature.

What does this mean then to the question hand?

Well, scripture seems to indicate both predestination and free-will of mankind. And since God knows all things, can do anything and is everywhere, there initially seems to be a paradox which in turn causes some confusion. I want to stress however that no matter how confused we become, it is important to recognize that there are no contradiction in scripture. Therefore, the answer must lie somewhere before us.

This debate of Divine Election or predestination vs Free will has raged for centuries. I do however feel that after our discussion here, we will have a much better understanding of what view holds more water in light of scripture.

To begin our look at Predestination (Divine Election), we should take a moment and look at one of the main arguments in support of that belief.

What about Romans 9?

Many theologians who hold to the predestination view utilize Romans 9:6-24 as an argument of proof for this position.

Rom 9:6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Rom 9:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Rom 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Rom 9:9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.
Rom 9:10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?
Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

At first read you can certainly see where the idea of predestination comes from. It would be apparent from the above passages that God does preordain some for salvation and some for death...... or does he?

It is always interesting to note that the arguments for predestination usually begin at verse 6 of Romans 9. The problem I see is that the verse previous to these, actually provide the context for the entire passage. We have to immerse ourselves in the context of the passage, before we can every understand completely what it was that Paul was saying to the Roman church.

Rom 9:1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
Rom 9:2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
Rom 9:3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

So far we can see that Paul has sorrow in his heart for those who are promised to be chosen of God, and yet choose not to believe in Christ the messiah, and the promises of God. Israel is blind to the truth and Paul is sorrowful in thinking of them.

The issue Paul is bringing up is 'where did God go wrong with the choosing of Israel as HIS people'.

This thought is furthered developed in the next verses.

Rom 9:6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. (or Failed) For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Rom 9:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.

In verse 6, the point is brought forward that "But not as though the word of God has failed." Failed what. What has God's word failed to do?

Again... who are we talking about? 'They' (see verse 6).

So we are really talking about the Nation of Israel (jews) as a whole. Paul sets up this passage to deal with the concept of Israels National election of being blessed by God --- God's people.

With this subject in mind, the following verses read differently from that of the strict predestination viewpoint.

Rom 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

Here we see Paul is saying that your birthright doesn't save you.... only the promise in Christ, Jew or Gentile, can.

He goes on.

Rom 9:9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.
Rom 9:10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

What is exactly meant by verse 11. This can be a difficult passage, because it appears that one was chosen and one was not.... but wait. It's important to recognize that rabbis taught that Israel was chosen because of the righteousness of the patriarchs. Much of the new testament writings refute this, and attempt to correct this false teaching as we know that only through Christ, Jew or Gentile, can we actually find favour in God and be spared from the wrath we deserve.

Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

The scripture quoted in verse 12 was from Genesis 25:23 and would have been around 2000 B.C.

Gen 25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

The scripture quoted in verse 13 was from Malachi 1:2-3 and was said in around 400 B.C.

Mal 1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
Mal 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,
Mal 1:3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

Why is this important? Because we see that Paul utilized other passages of scripture that are addressed to ISRAEL the nation... and not a single person, or persons. Again we are dealing with the National Election of Israel being God's chosen people.

Lets read the Romans passages again that we are in discussion over.

Rom 9:9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.
Rom 9:10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

Can you see how important the context is here?

According to one reading, God is deciding to send a boy to Hell while still being a fetus.

However, according to the understanding of the context being nations, we see that God decides to favour one nation over another.

This is a HUGE difference. And the ramifications of misinterpretation here can cause many conflicts in scripture.

This leads me to a very important point: As with any scripture we have to be careful not to choose interpretations based upon our sentiments, or presuppositions, but rather we should be choosing an interpretation based upon the CONTEXT of the passage.

Let us continue.

Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.

Verse 15 was spoken to Moses when Moses asked God to show himself.

(I will use the CEV translation of this Exodus passage because it presents the conversation clearly)

Exo 33:17 So the LORD told him, "I will do what you have asked, because I am your friend and I am pleased with you."
Exo 33:18 Then Moses said, "I pray that you will let me see you in all of your glory."
Exo 33:19 The LORD answered: All right. I am the LORD, and I show mercy and kindness to anyone I choose. I will let you see my glory and hear my holy name,
Exo 33:20 but I won't let you see my face, because anyone who sees my face will die.

You see God chose to bless Moses. But it was not necessarily because Moses was pleasing in God's eyes. Moses was a righteous man.... he was for the most part a 'good and faithful' servant. However, God let Moses know that he was about to bless him... not because of Moses righteousness alone, but because Moses was righteous and that GOD CHOSE to do so. This same precedence we can claim today. If we follow God and do all God asks of us, he often times blesses us. It is wrong for us to assume that we deserve all blessings, because God deals out blessings AS HE CHOOSES. We still make the free will choice to follow God or not.

Now back to the Romans verses.

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.

What is the 'it'?

According to the deterministic, predestination view we would have thought the 'it' to mean salvation. However, now we know from the actual context of the passage that the word 'it' actually refers to God's electing grace.

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.

Who is the him? Well according to the passages examples of hims were Moses and Jacob. (vs 15, 13)

Rom 9:17 For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

The deterministic, predestinational view would say. "Some people like Pharaoah never stood a chance to be saved by God. God created him for destruction to prove or point." They may say, "Perhaps the person might have responded to God, had not God hardened their heart and therefore destined them for hell anyway".

I have a different viewpoint.

Pharoah was never a believer. Pharoah hardened his own heart 8 times before God did. Finally God did.. but what did that mean. The word for harden is 'chazaq' which means to strengthen or fortify. God's presence to Pharoah served to only strengthen Pharoah's presistance in rejecting God.

If God could be akin to sunlight, we know that sunlight reacts with different things uniquely according to their make up. To those who are like butter, sunlight melts our hearts. To those who are mud and clay... sunlight hardens them.

God never decided to force Pharoah into hell. God allowed Pharoah to succumb to his free will choice to reject God.

Remember here that the context of our Romans passage is still on the National Election of Israel. Paul is still discussing his kinsmen and their favour in God's eyes, and what that favour is based upon, and what it is not.

Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Paul's still talking about national election.

Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?
Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

Note he is still talking about National Election.

Let's look at Jeremiah.

Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
Jer 18:7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
Jer 18:8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

Now that clarifies Paul's words.. I love when the bible reaffirms the bible... it truly is a blessed book.

Let's continue...

Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Here we see Paul talking of the 'us'.. that is the new Spiritual Israel... the new covenant. He has not abandoned the old, but salvation only comes through the new.

Now we see from verse 24 that Paul's switched the topic to this new 'Spiritual Israel'.. those in Christ, and he remains on that topic for the rest of Romans 9.

Rom 9:25 As he saith also in Hosea, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
Rom 9:26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
Rom 9:27 Isaiah also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
Rom 9:28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
Rom 9:29 And as Isaiah said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodom, and been made like unto Gomorrah.
Rom 9:30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
Rom 9:31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
Rom 9:32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
Rom 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumblingstone and rock of offense: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

In conclusion to our Romans 9 questing, we can see that the utilization of the Romans 9 passages to support predestination of individual salvation is in error.

We can see throughout scripture (including this passage) that human free will is the determining factor in someone coming to salvation, scripture also tells us that God must 'draw' us to him as was posted earlier.

God is ready for all to repent and come to him. Look at Christ's own words.

Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

It was Israel's FREE choice in falling away, that led to their punishment. It will one day be their free choice in accepting Christ that brings them back again into the glory that God predestined the nation to become.

Does an Individual have a Choice?

To be quite point blank about this, If the view of Deterministic Predestination is true, then we must recognize that God mocks the vast majority of mankind when he declares, "Come unto me". To those that must rely on God to 'call' them to come, God mocks their destiny. He [God] then sends them to the Lake of Fire for not coming, even though He could have caused them to come.

The scriptures document the many times that God cries out to people to repent in the scriptures. Several times you can sense the anguish in His pleadings as seen in the following examples:

Eze 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
Eze 18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Eze 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

2Co 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

And yet then in these verses we have to ask, Is God merely mocking those that He knows will not come, because he has not 'called' them? I cannot believe that God damns people to the lake of fire because He did not regenerate them and give them faith in the first place.

God most certainly is sovereign and can certainly do what He pleases. Scripture is full of evidences of this fact. It is also completely true that we cannot complain of this fact. However, we must in all of this recognize that God does indeed love the entire world as it states in John 3:16 and that He would "have all men to be saved" as is apparent from Paul's letters to Timothy.

Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love, but yet the Deterministic view of Predestination shows a God that damns the multitudes HE COULD, but chooses NOT TO save. In contrast to this view I see the biblical God cry out to the people to repent on numerous and almost countless occasions.

Luk 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

The word "freewill" appears 17 times in the King James Old Testament. The deterministic, predestination view denies 'free will'. Proponents would say that only those whom God causes to repent and believe the gospel will do so. Only after he has changed the heart of the sinner can God supposedly, by 'irresistible grace' give him faith to believe.

In stark contrast the bible clearly says, "whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Rev 22:17)

So which is it?

"Calvinism says we must be regenerated before God can cause us to believe. The Bible says we are regenerated by believing the gospel: "being born again (‘regenerated')...by the word of God...which by the gospel is preached..." (1 Pt 1:23-25). John writes, "that believing ye might have life [i.e., be regenerated] through his name" (Jn 20:31). The Bible teaches a new birth through believing the gospel. Calvinism teaches that "regeneration" comes by an act of God before the sinner even believes the gospel. That is clearly not biblical.

This is not "hyper-Calvinism" but the Calvinism of "moderates" such as John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, John Piper, D. James Kennedy, et al. They say that God loves all men-but has a "different love" toward those for whom Christ didn't die and does not want in heaven and thus will not regenerate. That is hardly love..." ¹

Does God really want all mankind to be saved as I read in the scriptures, or just a select elect? Did Christ die for all as also indicated in the Word, or just for a select group?

The bible would suggest to me simply that all have sinned. All have a choice to make in either accepting or rejecting the Gospel. And all will have to take responsibility for their actions.

At no time does this remove the fact that God has preordained history past, present and future. God being omniscience knows our every action. Having already watched the 'movie of history' and being outside time, God can(has) therefore react(ed) and act(ed) accordingly. He also knows how people will react to his calling and he provides for the completion of His will through the use of those that are willing.

Is this not what the Psalmest was telling us?

Psa 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

Psa 53:2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

God can easily manipulate events in our lives to lead us down the paths that he wishes for us. If we wish to lead a mouse down one path or another, all it takes is a piece of cheese. God foreknowing all things thereby encourages our decisions. He presents Himself to us at various points in our lives and our choice is either to believe, or reject. The bible says that none are with excuse for God reveals himself in nature itself.

Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

From sinner to saved, we make a choice based upon the conditions at hand. God presents Himself as a solution to our state, and we either choose it and become saved, or we reject it and remain damned. God tugs at our heart strings and in some the result is positive, and in others, it remains rebellious.

As Christians, our desire should be to mold our wills to that of the Father's. We are commanded to take up our cross and follow Him. We are to sacrifice all that is us, and live entirely for the purpose of He that created us. It is for this very fact that our resolve should remain to witness, to preach, to teach and to live in accordance with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our purpose is that of the Father.

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Conclusions

This topic is a hard one for us to grasp. We know that bad things happen in the world, but we also know that good things sometimes come out of those bad things. It is therefore difficult for us to ascertain or understand how God is working, and/or what His motives are. It is most important to recognize that we are ultimately not to be man centred. We are indeed called to be God centred. We must therefore recognize that sacrifices may indeed be made for the salvation of many. If I may borrow a line from the StarTrek movies, "The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few - or the one." In this way, God could in fact utilize those that He knows will not Choose the gospel, to reach those that He Knows that will, through a perhaps hardship, or sacrifice of these lost souls (lost by their own choice). For instance; an unsaved mother dying of cancer, but the family becoming saved because of the ordeal.

Ultimately this discussions comes comes down to only one question:

Who am I, to question God?

Before us stands a gate with the following words over the arch.

When we utilize our 'freewill' choice and enter through the gate and turn around we see the following words written over the gate...

-- J.R. Hall

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References:
1 - Dave Hunt, 'The Berean Call', February 2007.

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