“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Wow, I can’t believe the Holy Spirit didn't have me write this one up yet. Well, there must be a reason the He hadn’t shown me until now because I certainly know the verse, as do most Christians.
Before Jeremiah was born God knew him. Another way this can be said is that God foreknew Jeremiah. This is easily reconciled with Romans 8:29 in which God identifies a particular people whom He foreknew (His Elect). Foreknew is a verb, something God DOES and is not the same as the noun “foreknowledge.” The only reason God foreknew a people is because He chose them before they were born, just as Jeremiah. Is this supported anywhere in Scripture? Yes! In Ephesians 1:4 Paul writes that we, every believer whom God foreknows, were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
The word “knew” in the passage above is translated from the Hebrew word yada which is ALSO a verb, something God does. Jeremiah was appointed to be a prophet unto the nations and he had no choice. God worked in him to will and to do according to His (God’s) good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). As far as being chosen, does anyone think that Jeremiah was any different than ANY of God’s Elect?
God chose a people for His Son and put them IN CHRIST before the foundation of the world. We were given to Jesus. And Jesus said in John 6:37 all those the Father has given to Him WILL come to Him. He will not lose a single one of them (John 6:39). THAT’S sovereignty! That is why Luke wrote in Acts 13:48 those appointed [by God] to eternal life, believed - and ONLY those God appointed. When Paul preached, God worked in them and gave them belief (John 6:29; Philippians 1:29), that is why they believed. Belief is the result of a regenerated spirit, not the cause.
Bottom Line - Just as God foreknew Jeremiah, He foreknew every man, woman, boy or girl that He glorified (Romans 8:29-30) and he appointed them ALL for a purpose. In Jeremiah’s case, it was as a prophet.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.