Predestination and the Pre-existence of Christ...

Here's a paper I wrote for a Theology class recently. The topic asked for the student to choose 2 doctrines from a list and explain them according to the topic headings below. The criteria were fairly nebulous. I received an A+ for the paper, but I believe in my heart that that only occurred because the professor couldn't bring himself to deal with mind-numbing minutiae rendered in an arcane manner...

Predestination and the Pre-existence of Christ:

I.  Introduction:

This paper presents the doctrines of predestination and the pre-existence of Christ as separate yet intrinsically related. I will define both theologies and examine the relationship they share as a result of the omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence (the ‘threefold omni-state’)* of Christ, thereby demonstrating their inter-dependence and eternality.

II.  Part 1: Predestination:

a. Theological Definition:

As our course materials suggest, a crucial part of defining theology involves using the right tools; in this case, the correct Greek root-words. The word ‘predestined’ as used in Romans 8:29 (NASV) comes from the Greek root word ‘proorizo’ which translates as: “to pre-determine or decide beforehand”. The Greek word ‘proginosko’ (“to know before”) (A) is translated in the same verse as ‘foreknew’. This word defines the meaning of ‘predestination’, not ‘proorizo’. That is, “For whom he did foreknow

(‘proginosko’), he also did predestinate (‘proorizo’) to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren (8:29).“ The verse can be interpreted thusly: “For those God knew, knows and will know, the state of ‘being conformed to the likeness of His Son’ is a predetermination”. The state of predestination refers to those who are part of the eternality of salvation, that is, those whom God knew, knows and will know as saved. The predetermination of that

salvation is “the likeness of Christ”. Predetermination here means that the outcome of salvation is fixed: “the likeness of Christ”. Therefore, Romans 8:29 defines the theology of predestination to mean that those whom God saved, and continues to save, are, and will be, conformed to the likeness of His Son for eternity, and are viewed by God similarly in the past, present and future (cf. the threefold omni -state)*.

b. Biblical Foundation:

Romans 8: 29-30 is significant in its specific use of the Greek word meaning ‘foreknow’. 1 Pet 1:20 uses the same root-word for predestination to describe Christ’s position as foreknown, thus joining those foreknown of God (or, according to our definition, those who are eternally known of God by their resulting likeness to Christ), with the eternal Christ. ‘Proginosko’ also occurs in the

scriptures in Romans 11:2 (referring to the nation of Israel), 2 Pet 3:1 (reminding dispersed Christians of their foreknowledge concerning Paul’s written warnings about false teachers), and Acts 26:5 (Paul’s defense before Agrippa reminding those present of their foreknowledge of Paul’s Pharisaic background). This consistent use of the Greek word for ‘foreknowledge’ helps to further define the theological definition of predestination by demonstrating the eternal, ongoing aspect of that knowledge

leading towards an expected, eternal outcome, that of likeness to Christ.

c. Practical Application:

Dr Towns discusses the idea of presuppositions in “Prolegomena To Theology” G  and contends that they are “self-evident truths”. However, presuppositions can also be based in error. An erroneous presupposition common to the doctrine of predestination is that it is the same, or similar to predetermination. As demonstrated, this is not the case. The practical application of the theology of predestination is to provide an explanation of the eternality of the believer’s salvation, not to define it as a predetermined event for a chosen few. It also includes the idea that, much like Christ’s pre-existence, salvation is eternal. If we consider predestination in context of the Fall, God predetermined that the result of original sin was death. He predestined that we could have life in Christ. (B) Therefore predestination involves the eternal work of Christ facilitating its outcome in our lives, through surrender of our free will to Him, providing eternal surety of salvation for all who believe.

III. Part 2: The Pre-Existence of Christ:

d. Theological Definition:

The term ‘pre-existence’ is used in the context of Christ’s past eternality to explain His awareness, being and responsibility (cf. the ‘threefold omni-state’) * from the beginning of creation, encompassing His earthly manifestation and culminating with His present eternality. Our course materials show the Old Testament confirmation of this in the Christophanies, Messianic prophecies, names of Jehovah

ascribed to Christ, and the New Testament use of quotes from the Old Testament (C), all of which explain when His pre-existence occurred. In addition, Dr Towns presents 8 aspects to Christ’s claim to deity. His 7^th point affirms Christ’s claims to omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, thus providing the framework for how Christ pre-exists. When considered in conjunction with when Christ pre-existed, we are provided with a succinct theological definition of pre-existence: from before creation into the future, He was, is and will be.

e. Biblical Foundation:

The New Testament clearly establishes that Christ’s deity is inextricably intertwined with His pre-existence (John 1:1-18). Other notable passages include Col 1:16, Heb 13:8 and Rev 1:18. Passages abound in the Old Testament linking His pre-existent state to His earthly manifestation through Messianic prophecies: Gen. 3:15, 49:10; Job 19:25–29; Num 24:5–7; Josh 5:13-15; Ps 2:7–12; Isa 9:6–7; Isa 53; Dan 3:24–25 and 9:24–27. (D) The New Testament records Christ stating that He was fulfilling the Old Testament (Luke 24:27, 44; Jn 5:46). Examples of the disciples quoting Old

Testament scriptures to prove Christ was the Messiah include: Acts 3:18, 17:2-3 and I Cor 15:3-4. (E) One of the most compelling arguments for Christ’s pre-existence and deity concerns the question answered by Dr Towns in our course materials discussing the names of Christ. He mentions that many biblical scholars question: “when did Jesus become the Son of God?”. He answers by quoting Jn 3:16 in contrast with Gen 3:15, thus establishing that Christ was the Son of God from the beginning, validating His pre-existence. His pre-existence authorizes His ability, appropriateness and authority (cf. the ‘threefold omni-state’) * to be the propitiation for the sins of the world. (F)

f. Practical Application:

The Greek word “theologia” describes a theology as “an idea about God”, and careful consideration of the tools and requirements for theology must be made. Dr Towns makes the point that scripture is the foundational tool of theology in addition to its source. (G) This is critical in validating Christ’s pre-existence and its meaning for us. Christ’s atonement is based in the eternality of His existence; His ‘threefold omni-state’ * enables this for the past, present and future. If Christ had not pre-existed, His

death on the cross would have been valid only for those who believed on Him from that point forward. The application for all believers is the fact that because Christ is eternal, His work is also eternal, thereby providing all who have believed, are believing, and will believe, the guarantee that their salvation is also eternal, and thus predestined. 

IV.     Conclusion:
The doctrines of predestination and the pre-existence of Christ have been shown to have an eternal facet. Predestination describes God’s foreknowledge of man’s eternal life from the beginning of creation, through the present and into the future, as demonstrated by Romans 8:29-30 and other passages. Christ’s eternal pre-existence and deity were demonstrated by many Old and New Testament passages. These two doctrines are inextricably linked, and can be understood through the ‘threefold omni-state’ * concept which expresses the eternality of both theologies.

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

              * The “threefold omni-state” means omniscience, omnipotence & omnipresence, for                     the sake of brevity & clarity.

A  “Predetermine” “Predestine” “Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary Of Old And New Testament Words”. 3^rd ed. 1996. Print

B   Hudson Barton. “Anglo-Reformed; Anglicans In The Wilderness: Predestination vs Predetermination”. July 5^th 2013. Web.  March 4 2015. 

                       http://www.anglo-reformed.org/2013/07/predestination-vs-predetermination.html    

C    Towns, Elmer. “The Deity Of Christ”. Theology for Today. Belmont. Wadsworth Group, 2002. Web. Course Materials.

D    Wikipedia. n.d. Web. March 3^rd 2015.  

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-existence_of_Christ

E    Paul S. Taylor. Christian Answers. Films For Christ. n.d. Web. March 3^rd 2015.  

      http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/messianicprophecies.html

F   Towns, Elmer. “The Names Of Christ”. Theology for Today. Belmont. Wadsworth Group, 2002. Web. Course Materials.

G  Towns, Elmer. “Prolegomena To Theology”. Theology for Today. Belmont.

Wadsworth Group, 2002. Web. Course Materials.

A Biblical Worldview...

Here's another paper for a different theology class; just as wishy-washy a set of instructions, identical result...

                                                                  A Biblical Worldview:

A Biblical worldview is simply a Christian’s perspective, impetus and boundary for his or her spiritual and physical life. In the essay to follow, I will describe what Paul says in Romans 1-8 about the natural world, human identity and relationships, and culture in those same terms, spiritual and physical, and demonstrate how they affect a Biblical worldview.

Paul’s greeting (1:1) describes that spiritual and physical duality by introducing himself as both a bond-servant (spiritual slave) and apostle (his physical role). This duality is further expressed in 1:5, where grace (the spiritual commission) and apostleship (the physical commission) are introduced. His programmatic statement in 1:16-17 declares the Gospel as the over-arching theme for his book, as N.T. Wright confirms: “…the covenant faithfulness of God…” [A] and therefore the ratification for our Biblical worldview. We can address the following inescapable questions: “is there a God?”, “who are we?”, “what is our purpose?” in terms related to our commission to spread the Gospel with the perspective, impetus and boundaries of our Biblical worldview informing our spiritual and physical existences.

The Natural World:

Rom 1:18-32 describes God’s wrath concerning the deviations from His plan regarding the natural world. The passage describes His invisible attributes, eternal power and divine nature in the natural world, thus prompting both the inescapable question, “is there a God?” and revealing the answer of His existence through creation itself (1:18-20). Man is without excuse in the breaking of these natural laws and perversion of the natural order (1:20). The natural world, as determined by God, required not only adherence to the natural use of the physical body (and by implication stewardship of the earth), but also the adherence to the spiritual aspect of the natural world, manifested in gratitude to God (through right worship) and acknowledgement of His sovereignty and divinity through honoring and thankfulness (1:20-21). The remainder of the chapter describes the punitive reaction of the natural world towards mankind’s actions (the physical natural world) and thoughts (the spiritual natural world). Mankind’s wisdom became foolishness, and its speculations (actions) futile. The natural world-order of death as the punishment for sin, established by God at the fall (Gen 3), is described clearly in 1:32 as the result of mankind’s failure to obey the law of the natural world spiritually and physically. Verse 32 again delineates the spiritual and physical aspects of this, describing their practice and the “hearty approval” of those actions (spiritual acquiescence). The natural world is thus under the condemnation of the Law and our Biblical worldview is forced to acknowledge this condition.

Human Identity:

Mankind’s inescapable desire to know “who am I” in the ‘scheme of things’, is addressed in the definition of his identity. As a result of the spiritual and physical rejection of the natural world, man’s wisdom became foolishness, and his speculations (actions) futile (1:21), thus changing his identity from a worshipful, thankful creation to an idolatrous prideful creature, a parody of God’s image (Gen 1:27). Romans 2:1-3:20 provides a clearly defined picture of mankind’s identity, using the concept of Jews and Gentiles as defined by circumcision. We are shown that human identity is defined by our spiritual status as Jew or Gentile, and manifested physically by the action of circumcision, but that regardless of our physical identification as Jew or Gentile, circumcised or not, our ultimate spiritual identity is validated by our relationship with God. Human identity can be further defined in light of the over-arching Gospel-centric theme of Romans as important to God. He established the Law and its punishment for sin, and thereupon sacrificed His first-born for the many of His children; defining our human identity as blessed, beloved of God and freed from the Law (8:1), and thereby shaping our Biblical viewpoint, enabling us to encompass our identity as the reason for both the Gospel and our commission as believers.

Human Relationships:

Of course, the over-riding human relationship is that one he has with his Maker, expressed by Him paternally to us, and through honor and thankfulness by us. This is inherent throughout Romans, but is specifically addressed in 3:28-30 and 4:16. Our relationship to the Abrahamic race is alluded to in chapter 3:21-31.[B]

Our relationship to the Law is clearly defined in chapter 7:1-6, where Paul frames it in terms of another important relationship; that of husbands to wives. A unique dimension is expressed here in terms of the natural world concept of adultery (again, spiritual and physical). CA relationship to a husband (here, a metaphor for our sinful condition under the Law) is considered adulterous if the ‘husband’ is not dead; our relationship to our new husband (Christ), is sanctioned, and we are free from that Law. Mankind’s spiritual relationship (and, arguably, his physical relationship as noted in Gen 3:8) with God was destroyed through idolatry, and the physical relationship between men and women was perverted through unnatural sexual relationships (Romans 1:18-32). Our relationships with one another are described in terms of condemnation for judging others hypocritically (Rom 2:1-3), and what our relationship should be to sin is clarified in chapter 6:1-14: we should be dead to it! Our Biblical viewpoint is hereby further informed by the notion that the manifestation of our efforts to present the Gospel is through our relationships, both spiritual and physical, thus hinting at the answer to the inescapable question “what is our purpose?”, which shall be addressed more fully in the next paragraph.

Culture:

Culture, historically and currently, is enslaved by the Law (8:2,15), and by the relationship it has with the father of sin, Satan (Jn 8:44, Eph 2:2). Cultural norms of idolatry (spiritual), enmity with God’s children (physical, persecution), wide-spread acceptance of the lusts of the flesh and eyes (both spiritual) and pride of life (physical) all result in spiritual and physical turpitude. These are described in great detail in Romans 1, as they relate to the natural world. Romans 7:15-25 speaks to the impetus (inherent in the believer) to desire to do the right thing in our relationships, both immediate and to society/culture as a whole. This is contrasted with our lack of ability, in spite of our desire, to achieve it without God. Society evidences, both spiritually and physically, a culture of Lawlessness (3:10-18), an ethno-cultural division between Jews and Gentiles, and a slave-culture manifested in our societal servitude to money and human wisdom. These cultural concerns were rampant during Paul’s writing of Romans, and have been throughout history. The inescapable question “what is our purpose?” can be answered in the believer’s directive to embrace life by living according to the Spirit, free from the Law, as heirs of God, to please Him (8:12-30) and to actively strive to model Paul’s programmatic statement (1:16-17). This will have a positive kingdom-oriented impact on culture through the emancipation of creation (8:19-25)! We can therefore add to our Biblical worldview the idea that cultural change can be manifested through the combined faith of “the sons of God” (8:19).

Conclusion:

Paul’s programmatic statement in Romans 1:16-17, his presentation of the Gospel as the central theme of Romans, and his thoughts concerning the natural world, human identity and relationships, and culture all serve to enliven a Biblical worldview. I have demonstrated that the natural world, enslaved to sin and under the Law, is condemned, and that our human identity is the reason for God’s salvation and the ensuing commission to spread the Gospel to all mankind. I also posited that our relationships, with God and our fellow man, are the media through which we set about to perpetrate cultural change. Accordingly, the most important “inescapable” questions: “is there a God?”, “who am I?”, and “what is our purpose?” have been answered in light of our Biblical worldview which states that our perception, impetus and boundaries inform our spiritual and physical lives.

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[A] Wright, N.T.  Pauline Theology, Volume III. Minneapolis: Fortress 1995. Print.

[B] Wright, N.T. Pauline Theology, Volume III, ed. David M. Hay & E. Elizabeth Johnson, 1995, 33-49. Minneapolis: Fortress. Web n.d. http://ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Romans_Theology_Paul. February 28^th 2015
C Athanasius, Saint, Patriarch of Alexandria. On The Incarnation. Crestwood: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press 1977. 25-44. Print.