#4. The FOREKNOWLEDGE of God

By Arthur Pink and others.

(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

“For those whom God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son.” Romans 8:29

To “foreknow,” in the language of Scripture, is far more than mere foresight. It is not a passive awareness of future events, as though God simply looked down the corridors of time to discover who would believe. No! God’s foreknowledge is sovereign, intimate, and effectual. It means that He set His love upon His chosen ones from all eternity. He foreknew because He foreordained. He foreordained because He delighted to do so according to His good pleasure.

When the Lord declared, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth” (Amos 3:2), He meant, “You only have I loved and chosen.” To be foreknown by God is to be the object of His everlasting affection—personally, purposefully, and eternally. It is not that He saw something in us worth loving, but that He loved us because He chose to do so. His love is not reactive; it is causative. It is not drawn forth by anything in us, but flows solely from the depths of His sovereign grace.

If God’s foreknowledge were dependent upon our future faith, then salvation would ultimately rest upon man. But Scripture allows no such thought. The Lord is not a spectator in redemption—He is the Author. His foreknowledge is not based on human decisions, but upon His eternal decree. He has chosen His people in Christ before the foundation of the world, and He is conforming them to the image of His Son, to the praise of His glorious grace. How this truth humbles the sinner, and exalts the Savior!

Why am I in Christ today? Not because I was more inclined, more teachable, or more spiritual—but because God, in His infinite mercy, set His heart upon me long before I ever sought Him. He called me by name, gave me faith, and keeps me by His power. My security lies not in my hold on Him, but in His omnipotent hold on me.

What deep peace this brings to the trembling soul! God’s foreknowing love is unchanging, and His purposes are unshakable. He will finish what He began. To be foreknown by the Almighty is to be . . .
  eternally loved,
  eternally kept,
  and eternally His.

Let us therefore bow in wonder and worship. Let us lay our pride in the dust. We are known—not merely as names on a page, but as beloved children, purposed in Christ before time began.

“O LORD, how glorious are Your eternal purposes and how unfathomable is Your electing love! That You would set Your affection on a sinner like me, overwhelms my soul. Keep me ever low in my own eyes, and high in praise of Your sovereign grace. May I rest in Your eternal will, walk humbly before You, and rejoice that I am Yours—forever loved, forever secure, forever conformed to Christ. In His precious name I pray, Amen.”