Closer To Heaven
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Comments of the Week Feb 10-18 “I think it might be useful to mention that most employers do not give any details about the decision to terminate an employee. They are not required to do so and as someone who has terminated employees, I can tell you that an employer does not wish to incur […] Source: https://atoday.org/comments-of-the-week-feb10-18/
Daily Lesson for Wednesday 19th of February 2025
The Greek term translated “predestination” here and elsewhere in Scripture (prohorizo) does not itself teach that God causally determines history. Rather, the Greek term simply means “to decide beforehand.”
Image © Rolf Jansson from GoodSalt.com
Of course, one can decide something beforehand unilaterally, or one can decide something beforehand in a way that takes into account the free decisions of others. Scripture teaches that God does the latter.
Here and elsewhere (for example, Romans 8:29-30), the term translated “predestined” refers to what God plans for the future after taking into account what God foreknows about the free decisions of creatures. Thus, God can providentially guide history to His desired good ends for all, even while respecting the kind of creaturely freedom that is required for a genuine love relationship.
Ephesians 1:11 proclaims that God “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (NKJV). Does this mean that God determines everything to happen just as He desires? Read in isolation, Ephesians 1:9-11 might seem to affirm this view. However, this interpretation would contradict the many texts we saw earlier that show that people sometimes reject “the will of God” (Luke 7:30, NKJV; compare with Luke 13:34, Psalms 81:11-14). If the Bible does not contradict itself, how can these passages be understood in a way that is consistent with one another?
This passage makes perfect sense if one simply recognizes a distinction between what we might call God’s “ideal will” and God’s “remedial will.” God’s “ideal will” is what God actually prefers to occur and which would occur if everyone always did exactly what God desires. God’s “remedial will,” on the other hand, is God’s will that has already taken into account every other factor, including the free decisions of creatures, which sometimes depart from what God prefers. Ephesians 1:11 appears to be referring to God’s “remedial will.”
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So powerful is God’s foreknowledge of the future that, even knowing all the choices, including the bad choices, that people will make, He can still work “all things together for good” (Romans 8:28, CEB). What comfort can you draw from this truth? |
(1)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-08-gods-ideal-and-remedial-wills/
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AYP is a young adult network that hosts local chapters, an annual convention, and opportunities for community service and mission trips. The goal of the group is to help young adults grow in faith, build connections, and give back through service providing resources to help them grow personally, professionally, and spiritually. Check out the video […] Source: https://atoday.org/adventinnovate-adventist-young-professionals/
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