Those Whom He Foreknew and Predestined
[Romans 8:29]
Romans 8:29 says: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Although we have already meditated on this passage, the Lord has given me a desire to reflect on it again today. In Romans 8:29, the word “God” does not appear in the original Greek text. However, in verse 28 the word “God” (Θεὸν) does appear, and by context the subject continues into verse 29. So when it says “those whom he foreknew” (προέγνω, “he foreknew”) and “he also predestined” (προώρισεν, “he predestined”), the “he” refers back to “God” in verse 28. Based on this, under the theme “Those Whom He Foreknew and Predestined,” let us meditate on Romans 8:29 and receive the grace given through it.
In Romans 8:29, the word “fore” appears twice. This does not refer to the “beginning” in Genesis 1:1, but to the “beginning” in John 1:1 and 1 John 1:1.
In Genesis 1:1, the “beginning” refers to the start of all creation (Chinese translations even render it as “the beginning”). But in John 1:1 and 1 John 1:1, “the beginning” refers to eternity before creation existed. Thus Romans 8:29 is telling us that in the eternal realm before creation, “he foreknew … and predestined.” We can only know this truth by faith. Hebrews 11:3 says: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Just as we understand by faith that the worlds were created by God’s word, so also only by faith can we know that God, before creation in eternity, “foreknew … and predestined” (Rom. 8:29). John 6:69 says: “We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God” [Modern Translation: “We believe and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God”]. When Simon Peter confessed this, we see that the disciples knew Jesus to be the Holy One of God by faith. In Acts 16:14 we read that “the Lord opened Lydia’s heart to respond to Paul’s message” (Modern Translation). It was the Lord who enabled her to hear and believe the gospel. Likewise, it is by faith that we come to know the Lord.
Returning to Romans 8:29: “those God foreknew.” The word “know” here does not mean mere intellectual knowledge. It signifies an intimate knowledge, like the love between husband and wife.
Therefore, “those God foreknew” means those whom God loved in eternity before creation. Amos 3:2 says: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth …” The meaning is that while God shows general love to all nations—shining the sun on the evil and the good, and sending rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt. 5:45)—he loved Israel with a special saving love. Likewise, in Matthew 7:23, Jesus says to many who prophesied, cast out demons, and performed miracles in his name: “I never knew you” (Modern Translation). He declared this because they were “workers of lawlessness” (v. 23). In other words: “I never loved you.” But by God’s sovereign grace, we who believe in Jesus and are saved are those whom he loved from eternity past (Rom. 8:29). Even before we were born, we were already loved by God and destined to be his children.
Romans 8:29 also says, “he predestined.” This means that God chose us in eternity before creation.
Ephesians 1:3–5 says: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.” The purpose of God’s election and predestination before the foundation of the world was to make us his sons and daughters. We can only understand this truth by faith. He loved us and chose us so that we might “be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29). The hymn “All My Desire, the Object of My Prayer” (New Hymnal #452) expresses this longing: “All my desire, the object of my prayer, is to be like Jesus. To be clothed in his image I care nothing for the treasures of this world. O I long to be like Jesus, my Savior who redeemed me. Come into my heart now, O Lord, and seal me with your image.” But what is the “image of his Son” that we are to be conformed to? Is it Jesus’ image on earth, or his image in heaven? Romans 8:29 refers to the heavenly image—his glory. Ultimately, when we enter heaven, we too will share in Christ’s glorious image. In heaven we will reign forever and ever (Rev. 22:5). This idea of transformation into his glorious image also appears in Philippians 3:21 “[Christ] will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control.” Yet, while we live on earth, the image of Christ we are to follow is his suffering. Romans 8:17–18 says: “… we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Commentator Elder Moon Young-deok explains that the biblical verse for Hymn 452 is not Romans 8:29 but 1 Corinthians 11:1: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” Indeed, older hymnals (published December 20, 1989 by the Korean Hymnal Committee) cite 1 Corinthians 11:1 as the scriptural basis.
Finally, Romans 8:29 concludes: “that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” If Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers, then there must be many younger siblings who also share “flesh and blood” (Heb. 2:14, Korean Modern Bible).
Thus God caused the only begotten Son, Jesus—who is fully God—to take on flesh and blood like us, being born of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit (the Incarnation). And God did not spare his beloved Son, but gave him up for us all on the cross (Rom. 8:32), forgiving and redeeming us, and adopting us as his children. In this way, Jesus became our elder brother. We must believe this truth with conviction. And as his younger siblings, we must live in faith worthy of being brothers and sisters of Christ. Therefore, let us give glory to Jesus, our Firstborn Brother!