The Order of Salvation

Pre creation

• Elect / chosen according to foreknowledge

Foreknowledge is used to point to an even and individuals in the context of salvation because this salvation of course is for sinners and sinners are persons who by their faith trust in Christ, Luke 7:50, Romans 10:10. Foreknowledge sees the act of faith of the believer.

• I Peter 1: 1b who are chosen 2. according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood:
• Acts 2:23. this {Man,} delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put {Him} to death.

The predetermined plan: For a plan to be a plan is must have been prior to its implementation. Can a plan ever not be before its implementation? The answer to this is no. Something that just happens and is not the result of a plan is spontaneous. No one would arguer that creation was not planned, thus predetermined, for those who believes in God according to scripture. Jesus was delivered over on the basis of the plan and plans are predetermined. First it was a predetermined plan as a plan is and second it was according to foreknowledge. How do we understand this additional term? If God had absolutely planed that all real events in the creation of space and time then all things are absolutely determined and foreknowledge has not place in the equation of the statement. In other words such a word is not necessary because the use of “predetermined plan” says it all. So why would God also include foreknowledge? This can be looked at two different ways. First, we must accept that for whatever reason foreknowledge plays in the predetermined plan it is part of the plan but in what sense? If God determined that you go eat at a restaurant at 8:01 AM then you will do exactly that and therefore foreknowledge is counter to need because what is fixed is know and foreknowledge is not necessary. If redundancy is necessary then the same word would have been used twice or an equivalent word with the same meaning, not one so opposite, for foreknowledge is basically the opposite of a determined plan. However, if God, within the plan, gives “freedom” for you as a person within your realm of ability to make the choice to go to a restaurant at 8:01 AM then foreknowledge is necessary. The reason it is necessary is because it was not determined that you will but that you may if you decide to. Notice the difference: One plan determines that you will and the other determines that you may and both are determined but one is assisted by foreknowledge and the other is not because it is not necessary.

If you personally design a plan to create an object that travels in one direction and it can not travel in but only one direction then foreknowledge is not necessary. If however you had the capability to design a plan where the object had at least two options that you did not control but permitted and the object had the freedom to control either or then you because you are not God would not know which the object takes until the event takes place. However, this is not the case with God. God has absolute knowledge of all real and possible outcomes and there results. If we deny that God has omniscience we then in fact deny the God of the Scripture. For man foreknowledge cannot come in to play if the design allows free choice, which to us will appear random, but could be influenced, not certain, yet unknown if the process permits true free will. Eliminate free will and there is no reason for foreknowledge.

Remember that we are human and God is God and we don’t have absolute knowledge but God does. The difference in so called logical thinking must take into account this difference.

Again what purpose does the word foreknowledge serve in such a construction unless it has meaning? The purpose of Jesus having to die is to solve a sin problem therefore a plan to accomplish this is necessary if this problem is to be solved. If all parts of the plan are fixed from eternity and no action is left to choice then it is truly a predetermined plan free of any created being having any measure of free will. If all is absolutely determined for all of creation foreknowledge is not necessary and it cannot be a synonym because foreknowledge is diametrically apposed to a known fixed result.


Pre creation salvation terms
• Plan and Purpose (election and predestination are subject to his plan and purpose)

Pre salvation words
• Hearing Truth (good news) according to the dispensation one lived or is not living in. Calling
• Conviction (the word used by the Holy Spirit) reasoning with God
• Repentance
• Faith - believe - hope
• Confession

The moment of Salvation words
• Conversion
• Saved
• Born a gain / Born from above
• Regeneration
• Justification
• Sanctification
• New creature in Christ
• New man
• Baptized into Christ
• Adoption
• Sealed