Category Archives: THE SONSHIP MESSAGE #8- THE PREDESTINATION OF GOD

THE SONSHIP MESSAGE #8- THE PREDESTINATION OF GOD

Posted by Drgold

This is series #8 on THE SONSHIP MESSAGE that is hidden in the Holy Bible.

God’s Predestination of Sonship and the Promise of an Eternal Inheritance

Suppose you received a very important letter stating that you were chosen to receive a tremendously great inheritance in the near future? Recently, 20 Tennessee factory coworkers who purchased 1 ticket together, won over $20 million each in a mega Powerball sweepstake in America. Would you not be extremely ecstatic and begin to think how you would spend the money; perhaps go on an extended vacation, do home improvement, pay off medical and other bills, help family members, retire from work, give to others, etc?

Well, this is somewhat written but hidden in the Holy Bible in the New Testament, to those God had already chosen to give a very great inheritance to, before the world began. The New Testament is the legal document that contains the last will and testament of Jesus Christ, made effective by his shed blood and his death on the cross!

The apostle Paul revealed ‘And for this cause (Jesus) is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance’ Heb9:15. Jesus said ‘This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you’ Lk22:20. These verses speak of an eternal inheritance purchased for us by the blood of Jesus Christ through His death.

God chose or predestinated to have more sons and daughters like Jesus Christ in order to give them everything He has. Paul wrote ‘The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints..’ Ep1:18. God already knows who will receive this inheritance, but since we don’t, we need to have faith in His Word to receive it. If we attain to Sonship to be like Jesus, the inheritance will come to us. Jesus said ‘He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son’ Re21:7.

Paul said ‘I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus’ Php3:14. Paul knew what this great inheritance is. But if you don’t know about it or what are the conditions to obtain it, it will never be yours. Everything we receive from God requires Faith from us.. salvation, healing, deliverance, inheritance, and Sonship!

This paper is about the Predestination of God as it pertains to SONSHIP- God’s desire to have more sons and daughters like Jesus Christ. The word Predestinate is found only four times in the Bible, stating that God chose certain believers in Christ before the world began, for His own pleasure and glory.

The SONSHIP message was first revealed to the apostle Paul who wrote 1) ‘According as (God) hath chosen us in (Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will’ Ep1:4,5; 2) ‘In (Christ) also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will’ Ep1:11.

3) ‘For whom (God) did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that (Jesus) might be the firstborn among many brethren’ Ro8:29; 4) ‘Moreover whom (God) did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called.. he also justified: and whom he justified.. he also glorified’ Ro8:30. In these four verses, Predestination is all about SONSHIP– about God’s already chosen sons and daughters like Jesus Christ before the world began, and also about their coming future great inheritance during the eternity of time of untold millions of endless millenniums.

Who was Jesus speaking to when He said ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’ Mt25:34? Was it to you or me, or someone else? It was to the Overcomers! Jesus said ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.. he that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son’ Re21:6,7; ‘..heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.

Paul wrote ‘And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God‘ Ro8:16-18.

What is Predestination? Who can Predestinate and why is Predestination important to us? As only God can create life, only God can predestinate something to happen before it happens. Predestination means God choosing someone or something to occur before it does. Predestination is like a movie with different acts already scripted out and will surely come to past. But God’s Predestination has to do with real life, with God being the Mastermind Director and we, the actors, with a known end. Despite us having a free will to choose our own destiny, God has Predestined certain events to already happen and will cause them to happen to bring forth His plan and purpose.

Predestination may be a mystery and puzzle to us, but they are sure acts of a Sovereign God, who created all things for His own pleasure and glory. Other words for predestinated are foreknow, foreordained, ordained, preselected, or chosen by God. In this context, there are many biblical characters who were predestined by God to accomplish His great plan, such as Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Samson, David, Jesus, Paul, and in a negative way, Pharaoh, Goliath, Jezebel, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod, and Judas.

Knowing whom God has predestinated or predestined will help us understand His plan and purpose for creation, and especially for us. Paul exclaimed ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!’ Ro11:33. God always does what He wants, when He wants, and no one can ever impede Him.

The Holy Bible declares ‘Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created’ Re4:11. We see here all creation exists for God’s own glory and pleasure. We will look into some examples of the Predestination of God in the Bible, how things transpired as they did or will become a reality one day! They may invoke many questions, but one day God will reveal everything. The apostle Paul said ‘Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God’ 1Co4:5.

Predestination is not about one’s salvation, who will be saved and who won’t, but who God has already chosen to be His sons and daughters like Jesus Christ. Ro10:13 states ‘For whosoever (anyone) shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved’. Predestination has to do with SONSHIP- those God’s chosen sons and daughters in Christ before the world began, to be holy and blameless like Jesus Christ Ep1:4,5.

Although we cannot be sure if we were chosen for SONSHIP, when we read the scriptures, understand and believe them, there is a high likelihood that we may be included in this SONSHIP company of believers. On the contrary, if we read the scriptures, but don’t understand them, care about them, or if they don’t mean anything to us or goes over our heads, we will never attain to SONSHIP, because everything we receive from God requires our faith in His Word.

Paul stated ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen’ and ‘without Faith it is impossible to please (God): for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him’ Heb11:1,6. Faith is the prerequisite for us to receive anything from God. Paul wrote ‘For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the SONS OF GOD’ Ro8:14. Paul said ‘But we all.. are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord’ 2Co3:18.

To obtain SONSHIP, we must be led by the Holy Spirit, and have Faith in God to change us! So when you read the verses on SONSHIP, and have the Faith to believe that they are speaking to you, you may be a candidate for SONSHIP. John the Beloved wrote ‘But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the ability, the choice, the freedom, or privilege) to become the SONS OF GOD, even to them that believe on his name’ Jn1:12.

Predestination- A Great Inheritance to Come

Not only does God know who will attain to SONSHIP, but that He also has a great Inheritance to give them. Paul wrote ‘In (Christ) also we have obtained an Inheritance, being Predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will’ Ep1:11. Paul prayed ‘the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his Inheritance in the saints’ Ep1:17,18.

Paul said ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children.. Heirs of God, and joint-Heirs with CHRIST; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us’ Ro8:16-18.

God’s Past Predestination and Mankind’s History

God is Omnificent- the magnificent Creator of all things. God is Omniscient- He knows everything, the end from the beginning. God is Omnipotent- the Almighty; God is Omnipresent- He is everywhere. God gave us the Holy Bible to reveal His plan and purpose for us, and it contains the script to our own destiny. Man is the main character in God’s plan. God jumpstarted His plan with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

God then predestined certain events to come to pass to set the course of history after the flood such as the scattering of the nations during the Tower of Babel days Ge11:8; the choosing of Abraham to be the father of a great nation Ge12:1-3; the great famine that sent Israel to dwell in Egypt for 400 hundred years Ge41:27, God gave Moses the 10 commandments during their Exodus from Egypt Ex20:1-17; the rise and fall of the nation of Israel; the sending of Jesus Christ to die for our sins Mt1:21; the giving of the Holy Spirit to believers for the spreading of the Gospel of Christ to the world Ac1:8,2:4, Mk16:15, and to teach, guide, lead, and to perfect us Jn14:26,16:13, Ro8:14, 2Co3:18.

Some Biblical Examples of God’s Predestination

The book of Romans chapter 9 gives two classic examples of God’s Predestination. Of two fraternal twins, before they were even born, Jacob, the younger one was chosen over Esau. Also God loved Jacob and hated Esau. Ro9:11-14 state ‘(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid’. God has His own free will, his likes and dislikes, and chooses whomever He wills!

In the same chapter, God chose the mighty Pharaoh of Egypt to oppose Moses, in order to show Himself great: ‘For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared through out all the earth’ Ro9:17. We know the rest of this story that Pharaoh and his great army all perished in the Red Sea, even as Moses and 2 million others crossed over to Canaan on dry land as the Red Sea parted on their behalf. Ro9:18 states ‘Therefore hath (God) mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth’ in this case the heart of Pharaoh. While this may not sound fair, God is God, and does what He wants when He wants!

The Bible states God is the potter and we are the clay Is64:8, Ro9:28, and therefore no one can tell God how to shape them! This is what Predestination is all about- God’s sovereign plan and purpose especially for His predestinated sons and daughters- SONSHIP.

Jesus Christ- Predestined To Die Before the World Began

Even before creation, God predestined Jesus to come to earth to die for our sins. Re13:8 states Jesus was the ‘lamb slain from the foundation of the world’, not just 2000 years ago. The prophet Isaiah, prophesied of a ‘suffering messiah’ over 700 years before Jesus came. He is despised and rejected, and borne our griefs and sorrows, and is smitten of God Is53:3,4. ‘He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed’ v5. ‘..the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all’ v6. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter.. v7. He was cut off out of the land of the living: for our transgression was he stricken v8. He did no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth v9. ‘yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when (God) shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, (God) shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand’ v10. Not only did Jesus die for our sins, but He rose from the dead and was glorified.

The apostle Peter said ‘(Jesus) being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it’ Ac2:23,24. God predestinated Jesus Christ before the world began to die for us to save us from our sins!

Paul- A Predestinated Son Like Jesus Christ

God chose the apostle Paul to reveal the SONSHIP message which is ‘the mystery of Christ’ Ep3:4. Paul wrote ‘Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my Gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began’ Ro16:25. Paul was a very unusual and eccentric, but a gifted person. Before he became Paul, Saul of Tarsus was a deceived religious zealot. He described himself as ‘an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee, blameless as touching the righteousness which is in the law’ Php3:5,6. But Saul was also a murderer, full of religious pride, jealous and persecutor of Christians! Saul was ‘breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of Jesus’ until he met the Master Jesus.

While going from Jerusalem to Damascus, a distance of 150 miles, Saul was slain in the Spirit, fell from his ass, heard the voice of Jesus, devils were cast out of him, he lost his sight and was humbled, all in one great instance Ac9:1-5. He was led away to Damascus to the house of Judas on a street called Straight v11. In a vision Jesus told Ananias that Saul was a ‘chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel’ v15. Ananias told Saul ‘the God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth’ Ac22:14. God had predestinated Paul to reveal Jesus Christ to the world, and to reveal the SONSHIP message to us.

The Predestination of God- SONSHIP

In summary, the four Bible verses involving the word Predestination all refer to SONSHIP– God’s desire for more sons and daughters like Jesus Christ. Paul declared ‘For it became (God), for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation (Jesus) perfect through sufferings’ Heb2:10. Predestination refers to ‘..the good pleasure of God’s will’ Ep1:5, the mystery of His will’ Ep1:9, ‘the mystery of Christ’ Ep3:4, Co3:4, ‘the eternal purpose which God purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord’ Ep3:11, ‘the high calling of God in Christ Jesus’ Php3:14, ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ Co1:27; ‘to conform to the image of His son’ Ro8:29, to be changed into the same image 2Co3:18, to be glorified Ro8:30, to be called the sons of God like Jesus 1Jn3:1,2, ‘that ye may be filled with all the fulness of God’ Ep3:19, and ‘unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ’ Ep4:13.

Predestination also speaks of the coming great inheritance to those God already chosen before the world began to receive it. Jesus said ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’. This paper on the Predestination of God is the eighth in a message series of God’s eternal plan before the foundation of the world for SONSHIP, according to the good pleasure of His will Ep1:5! Do you believe you were Predestinated by God to be His son or daughter like Jesus Christ and to receive a very great inheritance? Hopefully, yes!