Lesson 7
A BROAD VIEW OF GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION
King James Version (KJV)
1. Introduction
Rom. 8:29-30 presents God's plan of salvation as a majestic panorama that reaches from the eternity before the creation, when God prepared the plan, to the eternity that shall follow the end of time, when God shall complete the plan: For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
If we think of the eternity before the beginning of time as one side of a river and the eternity following the end of time as the other side, we might think of the words foreknew, predestined, etc., as sections of a bridge that spans the river. When Paul wrote these verses, he was absolutely sure that God's plan will be successfully fulfilled. Therefore, he describes it as if it were already completed, as if he were already standing on the other side of the bridge.
The key to being saved is becoming conformed to the image of God's Son. The first part of the lesson describes this image. The second explains how God has provided for us to be conformed to that image.
2. The Image of God's Son
If being conformed to the image of God's Son is an essential part of God's plan of salvation, then you need to know what the image of God's Son is, that is, what God's Son looks like.
a. WHAT HE DOES NOT LOOK LIKE
The image of God's Son has nothing to do with Christ's physical appearance. It has nothing to do with His height. It has nothing to do with the color of His hair. It has nothing to do with the size of His waist. If we want to be conformed to Christ's image, we don't have to have His height, hair color, waist size, or any other of His physical attributes.
b. WHAT HE DOES LOOK LIKE
The "image" of God's Son is a spiritual image. If we want to be conformed to His image, we need to know what Christ looked like spiritually.
1) Totally Submissive to God
When we look at Christ, we see a person who totally submitted Himself to God. On one occasion, Jesus said: "Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." (John 4:34). If faced with the choice of eating a meal when He was hungry and obeying His Father, Jesus chose to obey His Father.
Jesus' attitude of complete submission was never more profoundly displayed than on the night before He was crucified. He knew the eternal purpose of God. He understood the part He would play in fulfilling the purpose. He knew He must die on the cross. He understood how cruel that death would be. His Father's will was that He "drink the cup" of suffering and agony.
He was so overcome with the dread of being crucified that He prayed to His Father to change the eternal plan and allow Him to avoid the suffering: "Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: " (Luke 22:42). However, His desire to be obedient to His Father was uppermost in His thinking. In His very next breath, He said: "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
When we look at Christ, we see someone who was totally submissive to God's will.
2) Sinless
When we look at Christ, we also see one who never committed a sin. His sinlessness resulted from His complete submission to His Father.
From every encounter that Jesus had with the devil, He emerged the victor. He never yielded to the lust of the flesh. He never misused His tongue. He never coveted popularity. He simply performed the will of His Father and did so perfectly. By living a perfect life, He became a perfect sacrifice for sin and thus prevented God's plan from being forfeited: For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Heb. 4:15).
When we look at Christ, we see someone who never yielded to temptation and therefore never committed sin.
3) Glorified by God
When we look at Christ, we see someone who has been glorified by God. Although God glorified Christ on several special occasions during His life on earth, the beginning of His final glorification occurred on the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem. While He was with His apostles, He was taken up from them, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. About a week later on the day of Pentecost, Peter said that Christ had been Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted (Acts 2:33).
Paul tells of His present position in heaven in terms of His power and authority: Which he (God) wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (Eph. 1:20-23).
When we look at Christ, we see someone whom God has glorified.
3. Conformed to the Image of His Son
God is pleased with His Son (Matt. 3:17; 17:5). God wants everyone to look like His Son. God's plan of salvation can be summed up in one sentence. It is God's plan for conforming us to the image of His Son. Rom. 8:29-30 points out how the five great divine acts of foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification play a part in conforming us to the image of His Son.
a. FOREKNOWLEDGE
To foreknow something is to know about it before it happens. God has infinite ability to foreknow. He knows everybody who has been born or who ever shall be born, yet the expression "For whom he did foreknow" in Rom. 8:29 does not refer to everybody. It refers to a special group of people that God has known about from eternity. These are precisely the ones He has predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.
In what sense did God foreknow this group of people? Since God created us, He knows our every trait and disposition. Even before He created the world or the men who inhabit it, God could see that some would have just those traits and just that disposition that would permit them to be conformed to the image of His Son.
b. PREDESTINATION
To foreknow is to know in advance. To predestine is to determine in advance. Christ's death is an example of predestination. Christ's death was not an accident or a coincidence. God determined back in eternity that His Son would die. Christ's death was part of God's eternal plan (Acts 2:23). God is all-wise; therefore, He foreknows. God is all-powerful; therefore, He predestines. He can control events to ensure that His purposes are accomplished.
Is it possible for God to predestine certain ones to be conformed to the image of His Son while preserving each individual's moral choices? Indeed, God predestines those whom He has foreknown as a group defined by certain characteristics.
Suppose you write a letter to all of your friends inviting them to a meal at your home on a specific day and at a specific time. Your letter predestines some of your friends to have a meal with you. Those who are predestined are precisely those who chose to accept your invitation.
In a similar manner, according to Rom. 8:29, God foreknew a certain group of people. He did not select them by name but by attribute. Those whom He foreknew were the ones He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.
Why did God predetermine this group to be conformed to the image of His Son? It is because they possess the first great characteristic of Christ. They, like Christ, are willing to be completely submissive to God. God foreknew those who would be willing to set aside their own desires and totally subject their will to His. These are the ones He foreordained to be conformed to the image of His Son. Clearly, those who possess a willingness to submit themselves to God are the only ones who can be conformed to the image of a submissive Son.
c. CALLING
In Rom. 8:29, Paul tells us that God's intention from eternity was to conform certain ones to the image of His Son. Paul does this by using the words foreknow and predestine. In Rom. 8:30, Paul tells us of how God brings about this conformance: Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called:
Here, the word call means to invite. God's call is an invitation that appeals to those who are inclined to be conformed to the image of His Son. It is an invitation of foolishness to those who are not. Jesus offered just such an invitation in Matt. 11:28-30: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." If you feel the weight of sin upon your soul and desperately seek relief, then Christ's invitation will appeal to you. If sin means nothing to you, or if you do not believe that sin condemns eternally, or if you do not believe you are personally guilty of sin, then Christ's invitation will not appeal to you.
How does God call? Not in some mysterious manner. Paul explains in 2 Thes. 2:14: Whereunto he called you by our gospel. It is a simple method. God uses the message of the gospel (the teaching of Christ) to call people to Him so that He can mold them into the image of His Son.
All who hear the gospel have a choice. They can either obey it or reject it. If they obey it, they demonstrate by their obedience how eager they are to subordinate their wills to the will of God.
d. JUSTIFICATION
The fourth idea that Paul uses to explain God's plan of salvation is justification: and whom he called, them he also justified..
One of Christ's foremost characteristics was His sinlessness. If God intends to conform us to the image of His Son, He must have a way to make us sinless. He does this by justifying us. Justification is God's plan for making men righteous.
Faith is an essential part of the process of justification: Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (Rom. 5:1). Likewise, repentance and baptism are important parts of justification: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38). Also, For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Rom. 10:10).
Those who are truly willing to submit to the will of God will not quibble with Him over the conditions He wants them to meet in order to be justified. They will be eager to obey. That is the very disposition the Son of God possessed while He was on earth. God will justify those who show such a disposition.
e. GLORIFICATION
God will complete the process of conforming those whom He foreknew to the image of His Son by glorifying them.
When the last day comes and Christ returns from heaven, He will gather up those who are justified, and they will be glorified: Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (I Cor. 15:51-53).
Those who have been foreknown, predestined, called, and justified will receive glorious immortal bodies--bodies that will endure through the ages of eternity. In heaven there will be no pain, no tears, and no sorrow. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 22:5)
4. Conclusion
The image of Christ is the image of one who fully submits his will to the will of God, who is sinless, and who has been glorified.
God wants to conform every person to the image of His Son. God foreknew that some would be willing to be conformed to that image and He predestined and called them to do so. If the call is to appeal to you, then you need a humble spirit that wants to obey God--no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the pressures to do otherwise. God justifies those who obey Him. He will glorify them on the last day, and He will glorify them in heaven for eternity. Have you allowed God to conform you to the image of His Son?
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