Predestination: A Conversation About God’s Eternal Work -

Predestination: A Conversation About God's Eternal Work

God Started All This Long Before We Show Up

Let's slow down and talk honestly.

Imagine for a moment — before the first sunrise, before the first heartbeat, before galaxies began to spin — God already knew.

And not in a detached, impersonal way. He didn't just know the facts of the universe or the mechanics of time. He knew us.

He saw every joy, every heartbreak, every decision, every stumble. That's what Scripture means when it says Jesus was "foreordained before the foundation of the world." In other words, the plan for salvation was not a last-minute rescue. It was written before light even existed.

So when someone says, "If human response matters, then God's glory is at risk," the Bible seems to whisper back, "Go back further. Before anyone ever responded, God had already decided. Before there was a you to believe, there was a God who planned."

The spotlight has always been on Him. It never moved. He began this story before the first chapter was even written.

Why Strict Calvinism Often Feels Like Swimming Upstream

Now, I love that God's sovereignty is absolute. Scripture makes that clear. But sometimes, certain systems of thought (like strict Calvinism) work so hard to "protect" God's sovereignty that they unintentionally paint Him as afraid of someone else sharing the stage.

But God's never been insecure. He doesn't need defending from the free response of a creature He Himself created.

When you read the Bible without forcing it into a rigid grid, you find something refreshing — Scripture itself doesn't seem bothered by the tension between God's choice and our response. It simply tells us both are true.

Facing the Honest Questions

1. "Doesn't Romans 9 say election isn't based on what we do?"

Absolutely. Paul says it clearly: before Jacob or Esau were even born, God had already made His choice. But don't confuse foreknowledge with prediction. God wasn't waiting around to see who would make the right move. His knowledge isn't observational — it's relational.

From eternity, God knew everything — not just what we would do, but who we would become through His grace. Romans 9 and foreknowledge stand hand in hand; both say the same thing: salvation starts in God, not in us.

2. "But if we're dead in sin, how can we respond?"

Good question. We can't. A dead person doesn't reach out for help. That's why grace is so breathtaking. God acts first — He wakes us up. He knocks on the heart, stirs conviction, and opens the mind. So our response is real, but it's a response made possible by grace. Faith is not us helping God — it's us waking up to what He's already doing.

3. "If human response matters, doesn't that limit God's sovereignty?"

Not at all. Sovereignty doesn't mean God micromanages every breath; it means nothing happens outside His authority or plan. God is powerful enough to allow freedom within His will. He doesn't lose glory when we respond in faith — He's glorified through it.

The architect who designs both the structure and the space for human movement isn't losing control — He's demonstrating mastery.

God's Eternal Work, Our Present Experience

There's a beautiful pattern in how Scripture tells the story of salvation:

Before time: God knew, chose, wrote, and called.
In time: God revealed, invited, stirred, and awakened.

Every movement in human history is interwoven with divine grace. Our belief doesn't interrupt God's plan — it completes it within time. Faith isn't a rival act; it's the fruit of God's eternal decision.

The Call That Still Requires a Response

This is where many people get tangled — if God has chosen, why bother responding? But the same Bible that tells us God chose before time also says:

"Repent."
"Believe."
"Call upon the Lord."
"Follow Me."

These are not empty commands. They're invitations to step into the reality God already prepared. God doesn't whisper into the void — He calls to real people, awakening genuine responses of love and trust.

And even that response — that act of believing — is grace at work. It's as if God hands us the ability to reach out, and when we finally do, He smiles and says, "That's exactly what I made you for."

So What Do We Do With Faith?

Faith puzzles a lot of people. Is it God's gift, or our act? The Bible refuses to choose one. It's both.

Faith is a gift, because we could never produce it on our own.
Faith is also a response, because God invites us to believe and we truly do.

When Jesus says, "Believe in God; believe also in Me," He isn't playing a game. He's calling human hearts into real participation — a response made possible through the living breath of grace.

Grace from Start to Finish

So, here's where the whole thread leads us:

God planned our salvation before we ever existed.
God works in our hearts so that we can respond.
Our believing is genuine, but entirely carried by grace.

From eternity to eternity — it's all God's work. And inside time — our real response is part of His masterpiece.

A Final Word

Predestination isn't supposed to leave us tense, confused, or divided. It's meant to leave us amazed.

Because this truth whispers that long before we cried out to God, He already called our names. Before we ever turned toward Him, He was already moving toward us. Grace didn't begin the day we believed — it began before creation itself.

And that same grace will carry us all the way home.