Accepted and Favored in Christ

 

Growing Up Spiritually

 

The Gosepl of Peace by Pastor Ray Zimberlin

 

Our Inheritance in Christ

 

Calvinist Proof-Texts Answered: Is God’s Predestination Irresistible Fatalism?

 Calvinist Proof-Texts Answered 

“In whom 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.” (Ephesians 1:11)

Is God’s Predestination Irresistible Fatalism?

“But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.” (Luke 7:30)

“in him in whom likewise we have obtained an inheritance, having had the way marked out beforehand according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will.” (Eph.  1:11; Jubilee Bible 2000)

Commentary: Calvinists have attached a philosophical meaning to words such as “predestinated” and “will” that is more in line with pagan determinism than with consistent Biblical truth. However, God’s “will” is not an irresistible “decree of God” but simply His expressed desire (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). Moreover, the word “predestinated” simply means “to mark off boundaries beforehand.” In other words, God has already established His “counsels” (purposes and plans for the believer’s blessings and privileges) ahead of time. While His counsels are fixed, no individual’s future is fixed. One can accept or reject God’s counsel (Psalm 106:12-15; 107:8-12).

Do You Want God’s Best or Second Best?

 

Chosen and Predestined in Christ