"All who were appointed for eternal life believed" is an intriguing statement. Many have used this passage to explain predestination of salvation; however, if we study its context carefully, we'd see that "all who were appointed for eternal life" is not referring to individuals, but a group of people. Paul wanted to emphasize that salvation has been given to both Jews and gentiles; the Jews, however, exercised their free will and chose to reject God, and thus salvation came upon the gentiles. Paul was saying that God's salvation didn't come upon the gentiles because the Jews rejected it, but the gentiles have always been predestined to receive salvation.
Since the creation of the world, salvation has never been exclusively for the Israelites. When God blessed Abraham, it was clear that He promised Abraham that His offspring will bless all nations and all people. According to Book of Galatians, the "offspring" doesn't just refer to the nation of Israel, but rather to Jesus Christ, and also to all new creations in Christ. It means that everyone in Christ belongs to Abraham as his offspring, thus the gentiles have always been in the plan of God's salvation.
Moreover, the Jews exercised their free will to refuse the way of the Lord. Gospel was given to the Jews, but the Jews as a group rejected the gospel, and therefore God made his grace available to the gentiles. God never predestined the Jews to not be saved, but it was the Jews who decided to harden their hearts and refused to repent, and thus they could not enjoy all the blessings that God prepared for them. God already knew that would happen, so in His eternal plan of salvation He had included the gentiles, which was truly precious. God also sent Paul to become the light for the gentiles so that salvation can reach the ends of the earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.