The salvation of God (3)
[Romans 8:29-30]
Romans 8:29-30 describes the five stages of God's salvation: (1) God foreknew, (2) God predestined, (3) God called, (4) God justified, (5) God glorified.
The first stage is ‘God foreknew’ (Rom. 8:29).
The word 'God foreknew’ here (v. 29) does not mean that God foreknew that a person would believe in Jesus, but does mean that God loved him beforehand (Mt. 7:15ff.; Amos 3:2; Heb. 12:7). God loved us before the foundation of the world. Look at John 17:24 – “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” God the Father, Jesus the Son, and God the Holy Spirit love each other. The Holy Trinity God loves us with the love that the Triune God loves for each other.
The second stage is ‘God predestined’ (Rom. 8:29, 30).
Why did God predestine us? For what purpose did God choose us in Christ before the foundation of the world? (Eph. 1:4) It is to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). The Son here refers to the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. And the image of the Son is not the weak image of the incarnate Jesus who came to this lower world, but the image of the Lord, the Son of God, seated at the right hand of God. The risen Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God, who intercedes for us (v. 34). God predestined us to become conformed to the image of His Son (v. 29) who took all the punishment for us on the cross, died on the cross, rose from the grave three days later, ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God (Heb. 1:3, 8:1, 10:12, 12: 2) to redeem us. When, then, do we become conformed to the image of the Son of God? When the last trumpet is sounded (1 Cor. 15:52), that is, when the Lord Himself descends from heaven with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God (1 Thess. 4:16), the dead in Christ will be raised first (v. 16) imperishable (1 Cor. 15:52), and those who are alive and remain until then (1 Thess. 4:17) will all be changed (1 Cor. 15:51) and will fully be conformed to the image of the Son of God. And we will all be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, so that we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17). We will be glorified (consummation of salvation, eternal life) and enter the kingdom of heaven, which is the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1), the holy city, New Jerusalem (v. 2), and participate in the wedding of the Lamb (19:9) and will live forever as we enjoy eternal blessings.
Look at Jacob, the man God foreknew (loved) and predestined (chosen). Look at Romans 9:11-13: “Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad--in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls--she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” Here” the twins” refers to Esau and Jacob, when Rebekah, Isaac's wife, became pregnant by Isaac (v. 10). Isaac married Rebekah at the age of 40 and had no children for 20 years. So he asked God for 20 years (Gen. 25:21) and finally, when he was 60 years old, he received twins (v. 24), Esau (v. 25) and Jacob (v. 26), as an answer to his prayer. God loved Jacob when he and his brother Esau were not even born and did nothing good or evil (Rom. 9:11). He loved Jacob with a special love, a saving love, and did not love Esau with special saving love (“hated”) (v. 13). This verse in Romans 9:13 is a quotation by the Apostle Paul from Malachi 1:2 – “’I have loved you,’ says the LORD But you say, ‘How have You loved us?’ ‘Was not Esau Jacob's brother?’ declares the LORD ‘Yet I have loved Jacob.’” God foreknew (loved) Jacob and predestined (chose) him, even before he was born, before he did any good or evil. It is to show that the standard of choice is not in (Jacob's) works, but in His (God's) will (Rom. 9:11). In other words, God’s purpose in election may stand only through God who calls (v. 11). The word 'may stand' here means 'to continue, to maintain, to remain as it is'. The (saving) will of God and what God wants (purpose) is not to obtain salvation through human effort, merit, or good deeds, but only that God loves, predestined (chooses), calls, justifies, and glorifies and thus saves. This is the will of God, and that this will of God continues to stand. God's salvation is certain because God saves in this way. Therefore, we have no choice but to not only believe in the sure salvation of this God of salvation, but also have the assurance of salvation.
God's will of salvation must stand! The God of love is the God of salvation. The God who loved us before the foundation of the world, predestined (chosen) us (before the foundation of the world) so that we might be conformed to the image of Jesus, the Son of God, who is seated at the right hand of God (Rom. 8:29). In this way, God also called us whom He predestined, justified us (justification) whom he called, and also glorified us whom he justified (v. 30). So, we pray the Lord’s prayer that since the Father God’s saving will has already been done in heaven, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Mt. 6:10). In other words, the Father God’s saving will has already been fulfilled in heaven, and has not yet been fulfilled on this earth. It will be fulfilled on this earth when our Lord Himself descends from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God (1 Thess. 4:16). Then we will be glorified. We will be glorified (eternal life). With the assurance of this salvation, we will faithfully carry out the work that the Lord has entrusted to each of us. And when the Lord calls us to heaven, we will be embraced by the Lord and enjoy eternal life in heaven.