Section 4
Elucidation of Biblical Verses Which Support the Doctrine of Absolute Predestination
So far, we have analyzed the various issues concerning predestination. Next, we shall look again at those biblical verses which seem to suggest that the outcome of every undertaking is determined by God's absolute predestination and elucidate their meaning.
Let us begin with the following verse: For those whom He foreknew He also predestined. those whom He predestined He also called; and those whom He called He also justified; and those whom He justified He also glorified. -Rom. 8:29-30
God, being omniscient, foreknows who has the qualifications necessary to become a central figure in the providence of restoration. God predestines those whom He foreknows; then He calls upon him to fulfill the purpose of the providence. Calling the person is God's responsibility, but that alone does not entitle the person to be justified before God and given glory. Only when the person completes his responsibility after being called by God is he justified and then glorified. God's predestination concerning an individual's glorification is thus contingent upon the completion of his portion of responsibility. Because the biblical verse does not mention the human portion of responsibility, people may misinterpret it to mean that all affairs are determined solely by God's absolute predestination.
It is written,
"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So it depends not upon man's will or exertion, but upon God's mercy. -Rom. 9:15-16
As was explained above, only God foreknows and chooses who is most suitable to fulfill the purpose of the providence of restoration. It is God's right to choose a person and have mercy or compassion on him; this depends not at all upon human will or human effort. This verse was written to emphasize the power and grace of God.
Paul also wrote,
Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for beauty and another for menial use? -Rom. 9:21
It has been explained that God gave human beings a portion of responsibility as the condition based on which He could love them more than any other being in creation. God's intention in giving this condition was to make them worthy to be the lords of creation by having them take after His creative nature. Yet human beings themselves violated this condition and fell. They have become like refuse, fit to be discarded. In such a state, fallen people have no cause to complain, no matter how God may treat them. This is what this verse teaches us.
It is written that God loved Jacob and hated Esau even when they were still inside their mother's womb and had not done anything good or evil. God favored one and disfavored the other and told Rebecca that "the elder will serve the younger."(Rom. 9:10-13) What was the reason for this favoritism? God favored one over the other in order to set up a certain course in the providence of restoration. Although further details will be discussed below,(cf. Foundation 3.2) God gave Isaac twin sons, Esau and Jacob, with the intention of having them stand in the positions of Cain and Abel. They were to make the conditions of indemnity necessary for accomplishing His Will to recover the birthright of the elder brother, which was lost when Cain killed Abel in Adam's family. God intended to realize this Will by having Jacob (in the position of Abel) win over his elder brother Esau (in the position of Cain). Since Esau was in the position of Cain, he was "hated" by God. Since Jacob was in the position of Abel, he could receive God's love.
Nevertheless, whether God would in the end favor or disfavor them depended on whether or not they completed their given portions of responsibility. In fact, because Esau obediently submitted to Jacob, he was able to rise above his previous condition of being hated by God and receive the blessing of God's love equal to Jacob's. Conversely, even though Jacob was initially in the position to receive God's favor, he would have ceased to receive it had he failed in his responsibility.
People such as John Calvin have propounded the doctrine of absolute and complete predestination, which is widely believed even in our present day. They have held to such a doctrine because they wrongly believed that the accomplishment of God's Will depends solely on the power and work of God. They were ignorant of the true relationship between God's portion of responsibility and the human portion of responsibility in the fulfillment of the purpose of the providence of restoration.