Part 10. Pneumatology: Predestination and the work of the Holy Spirit

Thoughts on predestination and the presence and work of the Holy Spirit on earth

‘For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son’

Romans 8:29

‘For He choose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus in accordance with His pleasure and will’

Ephesians 1:4-5

‘In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will’

Ephesians 1:11

Free will advocates say that it is in every human beings power to freely choose to follow Christ and thus we are fully responsible for our choice to do so or not. They downplay the diagnosis of Paul in Romans 3:10-18 that human beings are totally depraved and none of them truly seeks God. However since our free will is not truly free due to the manipulative and coercive power of sin and evil in this world, how can we choose to follow Christ and be able to do so consistently? In contrast those who advocate determinism, such as the advocates of an extreme Calvinist* interpretation of predestination, emphasize that we have no free will. We are not only constantly influenced by environmental, psychological and spiritual forces in this world, but we are also blinded and depraved, spiritually death and lost in sin. Consequently, no human being is able to freely choose to become a follower of Christ and persist in doing so. Since not all human beings become genuine persistent followers of Christ they deduct that God only selects a few for salvation and eternal life and hands the rest of humanity over to damnation. It portrays a God who like an absolute monarch in His sovereignty chooses to save only some for salvation. Its advocates struggle to bring this view in agreement with the concept of Gods focus being on the whole world (see for example: Gen. 12:3; John 3:16) and Christ’s atoning sacrifice which scripture explicitly states is for the sins of the whole world (1 Tim. 2:6; 1 John 2:2). In addition they cannot properly explain people’s culpability in rejecting the gospel. After all, how can someone be culpable if he or she is so depraved, blinded and in spiritual bondage that he/she is unable to choose right?

However, in my humble opinion both views are lacking from a Biblical point of view for they take insufficient notion of the wonderful enabling work of the Holy Spirit in this world. He has not just been poured out on believers but upon all flesh as part of the judgment of God in the last days (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:17-21). The focus of His convicting work is the whole world and not a select group of individuals (John 16:8-11). Yes, it is true that no human being in his or her state of depravity is truly able to become a genuine follower of Christ. It requires spiritual regeneration by the Holy Spirit and starts with an inner awareness of sin, righteousness and the judgment of God. It is the Holy Spirit of God who enables every human being in spite of their depravity to turn to Christ through His convicting power, particularly as the gospel is preached. Those who accept the Gospel and become followers of Christ therefore have done so not on the basis of human wisdom or outward demonstrations of Gods miraculous power, but because of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Those who reject the Gospel have hardened their hearts against the Holy Spirit and if they persist in doing so have sinned against the Holy Spirit and are condemned. The preaching of the gospel together with the work of the Holy Spirit in the whole world is therefore part of the judgment of God actively taking place. He does not force the whole world to make the right choice, He simply enables them to do so, for those who do not harden their hearts it means salvation and attaining the destination intended for them by God from eternity past. For those who persist in hardening their hearts it means that their sins will make them fall sort of the glory of God, the wonderful destination He prepared for them. For them there is nothing left but eternal damnation. The convicting work of the Holy Spirit means that there is no excuse left for those who choose darkness above light, it means they are fully culpable for they had been enabled to choose what is right but persisted in hardening their hearts. For those who persist in following their old selfish and self-centered way of life above that of being an obedient disciple of Christ is no hope left. Outward religious activity, respectability, status and esteem in the eyes of their fellow humans will in this respect make no difference at all for God sees all and knows what is in our hearts. Either you follow the lead of the Holy Spirit who wants you to continually regard Christ as your legitimate Lord to whom you ought to submit everything in your life in obedience; or you will still remain the lord of your life, living life as you prefer, making your own decisions as to what you see fit. Such people may still be very religious but in truth live without much consideration of what is the will of God, except the occasional concession in order to appease God or the religious community. Such a way of life is folly for God cannot be fooled. He knows who are truly His. So today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Repent and follow the Spirit’s lead to an obedient life following Christ as Lord.

* Although John Calvin spawned the doctrines of providence and predestination based on his understanding of divine sovereignty he was not as rigid as some of those who came after him and in the spirit of the enlightenment were inclined to project the concept of the world as a closed system of cause and effect upon spiritual mattters and hence were much more mechanical and deterministic in their views on predestination. Calvin’s doctrine of providence is straightforward. “All events whatsoever are governed by the secret counsel of God.” Therefore, “nothing happens but what [God] has knowingly and willingly decreed.” This excludes “fortune and chance.” (Institutes 1.16.2-3.8).  Calvin observed that although the Gospel is preached it is not accepted by all. From this he then concluded that: “all are called to repentance and faith,” but “the spirit of repentance and faith is not given to all (Institutes 3.22.10). Calvin did not allow for the possibility that a sovereign God could instead of saving people by decree have chosen to enable every human being to make a free choice to either harden their hearts to Him or to follow the Spirit’s lead. Instead Calvin concluded that people are either  “predestined to life or to death” (Institutes 3.21.5).