Divine Principle - 6) Predestination - Section 1

[대태양/김현수]

Chapter 6. Predestination

Theological controversy over predestination has caused great confusion in the religious lives of many people. Let us begin by examining the source of this controversy.

In the Bible, we find many passages which are often interpreted to mean that everything in an individual’s life – prosperity and decline, happiness and misery, salvation and damnation, as well the rise and fall of nations – comes to pass exactly as predestined by God.

For example, St. Paul wrote: Those whom He predestined He also called; and those whom He called He also justified; and those whom He justified He also glorified (Rom. 8:30). “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). 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 is also written that, even while they were still in their mother’s womb, God loved Jacob and hated Esau and announced their destiny, saying, “the elder will serve the younger” (Rom. 9:11-13).

Thus, there are ample biblical grounds to justify the doctrine of God’s absolute and complete predestination. Yet we can also find sufficient evidence in the Bible to refute the doctrine of absolute predestination.

For example, God warned the first human ancestors not to eat of the fruit in order to prevent their Fall (Gen. 2:17). We can deduce from this that the human Fall was not the outcome of God’s predestination, but rather the result of man’s disobedience to God’s commandment. Again we read, “the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him to his heart” (Gen. 6:6).

If the human Fall were predestined by God, there would be no reason for Him to grieve over fallen human beings, who were acting in accordance with His predestination. Moreover, it is written in the Gospel of John that whoever believes in Christ shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16), implying that no one is predestined to damnation.

The doctrine that the outcome of human undertakings is determined not by God’s predestination, but instead by human effort, is supported by the well-known biblical verse, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7). If every human undertaking were to turn out as God had predestined, why did Jesus emphasize the need for human effort?

The Bible instructs us to pray for our sick brothers (James 5:14-15), suggesting that illness and health do not depend solely on God’s predestination. If everything were determined by inevitable fate, as predestined by God, our tearful supplications would be to no avail.

We would expect that since God is absolute, when He has predestined something, it is fixed absolutely and cannot be altered by human effort.

Therefore, if we accept the traditional doctrine that all things are absolutely predestined by God, then we have to conclude that no human endeavor, including prayer, evangelism or charity, can add anything more to God’s providence of restoration. Any extra effort beyond the natural course of events would be completely useless.

Since there are ample grounds in the Bible to justify either of these two contrasting doctrines, controversy over the issue of predestination has been inevitable. How can the Principle solve this problem? We will consider the question of predestination by analyzing it under several topics.

Section 1. The Predestination of God’s Will

Before discussing the predestination of God’s Will, let us first examine what is being willed.

Let us remember: God could not accomplish His purpose of creation due to the human Fall. Accordingly, God’s Will in carrying out His providence for fallen humanity is still to accomplish the purpose of creation. In this sense, God’s Will is that restoration be accomplished.

Next, we should know that God predetermines His Will before He works toward its fulfillment. God determined when He created human beings that they accomplish the purpose of creation. When God could not fulfill His Will due to the Fall, He determined to fulfill His Will once more through the providence of restoration and since then has worked to accomplish it.

God must predestine His Will and bring about its realization in the ways of goodness, and not in the ways of evil. God is the Author of goodness. Hence, His purpose of creation is good; likewise, the purpose of the providence of restoration and His Will to accomplish its purpose are good. For this reason, God does not intend anything that obstructs or opposes the fulfillment of the purpose of creation. In particular, He could not have predestined the human Fall or sins which make fallen human beings liable to judgment. Nor could He predestine such events as the destruction of the cosmos. If such evils were the inevitable result of God’s predestination, then God could not be the Author of goodness. Moreover, if God Himself had predestined such evil outcomes, He would not have expressed regret over them as He did.

For example, over the depravity of fallen human beings, (Gen. 6:6) or over King Saul when he lapsed into faithlessness (I Sam. 15:11). Such verses illustrate that evil is not the result of God’s predestination, but rather the result of human beings failing to fulfill their responsibility and instead joining hands with Satan.

To what extent does God predestine His Will – the ultimate accomplishment of the purpose of creation? 

God is the absolute Being, unique, eternal and unchanging; therefore, the purpose of His creation must also be absolute, unique, eternal and unchanging. Likewise, His Will for the providence of restoration, the goal of which is the accomplishment of the purpose of creation, must also be absolute, unique and unchanging. It follows that God’s predestination of His Will – that the purpose of creation one day be fulfilled – must also be absolute, as it is written, “I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it” (Isa. 46:11). 

Since God predestines His Will absolutely, if the person who has been chosen to accomplish His Will fails, God must continue to carry on His providence until its fulfillment, even though it may require Him to choose another person to shoulder the mission.

For example, God willed that His purpose of creation be fulfilled through Adam. Although this did not come to pass, God’s predestination of this providential Will has remained absolute. Hence, God sent Jesus as the second Adam and attempted to fulfill the Will through him. When Jesus also could not bring about the complete fulfillment of the Will due to the disbelief of the Jewish people, (cf. Messiah 1.2) he promised he would return and fulfill it without fail (Matt. 16:27).

Likewise, God’s Will was to establish the family foundation for the Messiah through the dispensation based on Cain and Abel. When Cain killed Abel and this Will was not fulfilled, God made another attempt to fulfill it through Noah’s family. When Noah’s family also failed to fulfill the Will, God chose Abraham as yet another replacement and worked through him.

We also see this with respect to the missions of individuals: God tried to remedy the failure to fulfill His Will through Abel by choosing Seth as his replacement (Gen. 4:25). God tried to fulfill His Will left unaccomplished by Moses by choosing Joshua in his stead (Josh. 1:5). When God’s Will for Judas Iscariot was nullified by his betrayal of Jesus, God made a second attempt to fulfill this Will by electing Matthias in his place (Acts 1:24-26).