Inspired by his spirit and profitable for us, Romans 8, starting at verse 29. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Thus far the reading of God's inspired word. May the Lord add his blessing to it and to the preaching and hearing of it as well. Let us pray to that end. Our Father in heaven, we thank you that you work all things together for good, to them that love you and are called according to your purpose, We thank you that that purpose has been made known to us through the preaching of the gospel, through the power of almighty God, and that you have ordained from all eternity the means to the accomplished and appointed end of eternal inheritance. Help us as we consider these truths, that you would write your words and promises upon our hearts and our minds, that we may remember them always. For it's in Christ's name we pray, amen. Please be seated. We continue in our series Foundations of Faith, considering called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and glorified this evening. Last week, we looked at the two Adams from Romans 5, 12 through 19, our fallen nature from Adam and his evil record. When he sinned, we sinned. When Christ died, we died. We are united either to the first Adam or to the second, all by nature to the first, those by God's grace to the second. We saw our duty not to quibble with this wise arrangement of our master, the maker of heaven and earth. but rather to press into that second Adam to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. Now then, Romans 8, 29 and 30, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. The word at the beginning of this verse is for, that means a reason is going to be given to you. How do we know that all things work together for good? For, here's how we know. Whom he did foreknow. Now the word whom is a pronoun. It is accusative and masculine. The accusative means it's the object of foreknowledge. And masculine means it's persons, not things. It does not say what he did foreknow. That would be God foreknows specific facts. And based off of his foreknowledge of those facts, he predestinates some to everlasting life. That's the Arminian scheme. God foreknows that you'll believe, therefore he predestinates you to eternal life. No. whom he did foreknow. The objects are not things or events, it is persons. The persons he set his love upon beforehand." Now God's foreknowledge we looked at in 1st Peter if you'll recall. It says that we are foreknown by the Lord in chapter 1 of 1 Peter verses 1 and 2. Did you know also that Christ is foreknown of the Father? In fact, the crucifixion of Christ was because of God's determinate foreknowledge, Acts 2, 22 and 23. God foreknowing things isn't just him looking down the avenues of time and saying, oh, this is going to happen. I know it before it happens. No. God's foreknowledge produces things. God's foreknowledge appoints things. And so likewise here, whom he did set his love upon beforehand, whom he did care about and advance and appoint. These ones he also did predestinate. Now he here is the father because the next clause, to be conformed to the image of his son, who then did the predestinating? Well, the father did, the father and the son. He, the father, predestinated. Now this is the aorist tense. If you'll remember, the aorist is like a point in time past. Once and for all accomplishes the general idea of the aorist. So God foreknew, that's also aorist tense, and foreknowing, he also predestinated once for all. And he predestinated persons, just like he foreknew persons. At a point in time, not a continuous series of procedures, God predestinated. Not with regard to the present effect right now, but as an accomplished eternal act, God once for all predestinated. Please open to Ephesians 1. We've looked at this before, just to stir up your minds by way of remembrance. Ephesians 1 concerning God's predestination once and for all. Verse three of Ephesians one, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he has chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Here notice, God predestinated us unto sanctification or holiness. Verse five. having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Look down at verse 11. 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, that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. God predestinated us to holiness. God predestinated us to adoption. God predestinated us for the praise of his glory, to be accepted in his son and to believe and trust in Christ. All these are because God once for all predestinated those whom he foreknew. Please turn back if you would to Romans 8. Romans 8 verse 29, for whom he did foreknow. He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. Now this word image is very interesting. It refers to something made as a copy of another thing. In the ancient world, of course, their worship was largely based off of such things. They made images, and then they would offer divine honors, they would bow, they would kiss, burn incense, whatever, offer sacrifice to images. But God says he's going to conform us to the image of his son. That is, what sort of being is the Son of God? Well, that's the sort of being you will be. Is the Son of God holy? You will be conformed to that image. Is He wise? You will be conformed to that image. Is He righteous? You will be conformed to that image. God will form you after the image of His Son. Now, in the beginning, God said He would form man after His own image, all three persons of the Godhead. That is the natural status of man to be formed in the image of the entire Godhead. But here, notice, to be renewed in the image of God is to be remade in the image of the Son in particular, to be made conformable to his image. Though that original natural image is fallen, corrupted, marred, and effaced, we must now be morphed, that's the idea of conformed, metamorphosed, transformed, conformed to the image of God again, but this time the image of the Son. He who was God the Son who took flesh upon himself, he was made after the fashion of a servant and we are to be conformed to his image. Calvin comments, there is in Christ a living and conspicuous exemplar. which is exhibited to God's children for imitation. That's part of this image. Christ is the exemplar. We are to copy him. We are to form ourselves after him by imitation. Thomas Aquinas says that this conformity is not the reason for predestination, but it's terminus or effect. In other words, we don't get predestined by conforming ourselves. It's because we're predestined that we shall be conformed. That's the goal that God had in predestinating us. David Dixon concerning this image of God's son. He says, by an indissoluble chain, God hath joined in his decree of election and predestination a conformity to Christ in his likeness every way, that is, of his cross, of his holiness, of his happiness, to this very end, that the glory of Christ might more appear. We shall be like Him in His sufferings. We shall be like Him in His exaltation. We shall be like Him in the world to come. We shall be conformable in our bodies like unto His glorious body. We shall be conformed in our souls to see Him as He is and to be transformed just like our Lord Jesus Christ. In every way, in cross, in holiness, in happiness, For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn Christ, the first formed, and we may like unto him. formed with this purpose, that being united to Christ, we should be joint heirs with God. We are predestined to adoption, to holiness, to good works. Well, what was Christ? He's the natural son, we're the adopted sons. He is the originally holy, we are derived in holiness from him. He did all that pleases the Father, so we're made conformable in good works. That he might be the firstborn among many brethren, Now, often a firstborn son possesses things. He gets a double portion of the estate. That's not the point here. We're made conformable. He is the firstborn, not so that he may possess, but so that he may impress his image upon us, stamp his image upon us so that we may be made like that firstborn son. He is among many brethren. And we shall inherit with Christ. He is the pattern after which we are recreated in God's predestinating decree. Verse 30. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he also glorified. Now this word moreover helps us to see the continuation and the further development of the thought as Freiburg says of this word. Okay, I've told you some things here. Let me develop this thought a little further. The spirit of God is telling us. Moreover, whom he did predestinate. Again, the relative pronoun whom refers to persons. Masculine plural pronoun. not conditions, not events, not actions, not things, all of which are neuter, that is, the gender is neuter in the New Testament for those things, but it is masculine, which is used of persons. Those persons that God predestinated, them, toutous in Greek, those very ones, giving special emphasis on those previously mentioned, those persons that God predestinated them and those same persons, he also called. He again, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father for new people, he predestinated them to be conformed to the image of his son. And more than just that, The very same ones he predestinated, the Father also called. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ predestinated us to conformity to Christ. And in that eternal purpose, again, this is the heiress, he called them once for all. The golden chain consisting of things in what we call the prophetic preterite tense. When the prophets speak, they often speak in the past tense. And when they speak in the past tense, sometimes they're describing things that have not yet occurred. Have we been glorified yet? No, but the preterite tense is used. Have all the saints who are predestinated been called yet? No, but God uses the past tense. Why? Well, it's as good as done. Once He purposed it, once He foreknew those people, once He predestinated them to be conformed to the image of His Son, you can mark it down, they are called, they are justified, they are glorified. He also called these predestinated ones, these four known ones. John Murray comments. He says all five elements are coextensive. The sustained use of also and the repetition of the terms for ordained called justified and the three relative clauses in verse 30 signalize that these indicate the same persons. And so it is. He picks up the same verbs. He repeats them. He uses pronouns that say these ones that I just told you about. These ones are also called who are foreknown and predestinated. And whom he called again whom persons not things. God called people. Those men that God called once for all as good as done, them, again resuming with the same people I'm talking to you about in this successive chain, them he also justified. As he foreknew, as he predestinated, as he called, so he justified. It's all his act. It's all him doing it to the same exact people in every single instance. and whom he justified, them, same word, those very ones that he called, that he justified, that he foreknew, that he predestinated, those very same persons, he also glorified once and for all. the God who predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his son, the God who foreknew us, who called us, who justified us, also glorified us. It's as good as done." Heinrich Bollinger comments, thus indeed he speaks in the past tense, because of the certainty of the future glory of eternal life and the resurrection. which indeed, in view of what would otherwise be the severest pains of afflictions, he by this mode of speech mitigates and lightens such pains. You see, God calls us to be conformed to the image of his son by what? Sufferings, difficulties, trials, famine, distress, tribulation, persecution, nakedness, peril, sword, verse 35 of this chapter. These very things God makes us conquerors through them. Why? He foreknew us, predestinated us, he called us, he justified, he glorified. And so the weight of the suffering, what is it? Well, it's not worthy to be compared. It's not worthy even to put on the same scales with the glories that shall be revealed in us. The preterite or past tense is used to show the certainty of the future glory and therefore to mitigate, to lighten, to soften the pains of our sufferings and afflictions. I note then this doctrine. As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, So he hath, by the eternal and most free purpose of his will, for ordained all the means thereunto. Wherefore they who are elected being fallen in Adam are redeemed by Christ, are affectionately called unto faith in Christ by his spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. That's from our confession, chapter three, paragraph six. God's purpose determines and terminates upon distinct persons whom he did foreknow. And those same ones, those same whom he did foreknow are carried all along this golden chain of salvation from eternity past in predestination to eternity future in glorification. Them, as used in this passage, them he also this, them he also that, shows us that it's the same persons all the way through. each link of the chain bound to the one that proceeds. So he repeats, as you note, and as we have noted, for knowledge, predestination, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, whom he called, them he also justified, whom he justified, them he also glorified. The verbs are repeated so that you know it's the same people that God does this to. God's purpose terminates upon distinct persons, and those same persons are carried all the way to glory. The certainty of this also noted by the past tense. All is as good as done. Said, then done, we say. God speaks and it is done. He purposes and it shall come to pass. This stands as a rebuke to those who had severed the links in God's chain of salvation. The divine purpose, the divine wisdom, the divine power, the divine word making known these things to us says this, this chain reaches to the same persons from eternity to eternity, from before the foundation of the world to the eternal glories in the kingdom of God. And then here comes the devil and says, uh-uh. You know, there are people who can be predestinated. They can be called by the Lord. They might even be justified, and then they lose their justification. Oops! Guess they're not going to glory, are they? See what they're doing? God's got a chain with all the links tied together, and they say, no, no, no, let's sever this chain. Let's just cut this piece out. This stands as a rebuke. Them whom he predestinated, he called. The same ones who are called, he justified. The same ones who are justified, well, most of them made it almost there. A bunch of them, they fell away at some point. They lost their justification. You know, that's what happens, right? No, that's not what happens. God predestinates all the way to glory. all the means to that appointed end. And as God has appointed the elect to glory, so he will accomplish every step until glorification. Fallen in Adam, redeemed by Christ, affectionately called by the Spirit of God, working in due season, God justifies, adopts, he sanctifies, he glorifies every last one. Beloved of God, would you be made conformable to the image of Christ? Here's the rub in it. What are the means by which God's going to conform you to the image of his son? Calvin comments. He then shows by the very order of election that the afflictions of the faithful are nothing else than the manner by which they are conformed to the image of Christ. There is therefore no reason for us to be grieved, or to think it hard and grievous that we are afflicted, unless we disapprove of the Lord's election, by which we have been foreordained to life, unless we are willing to bear the image of the Son of God, by which we are prepared for celestial glory. So we must be ready when God says it's time to chisel. It's time to knock off that part that is not made conformable to the image of my son. When we say, Lord, deliver me away from that, what are we saying? I don't like your choosing me. I don't like you conforming me to the image of your son. I would prefer to go to hell. I would prefer to depart from the living God. That's a foolish thing to say, isn't it? I would prefer to be destroyed. No. The sufferings of this life are the very thing by which we conquer. The afflictions that God lays on his people are not because he hates us. It's because he loves us. And he is designed to bring us at last to his heavenly kingdom. And as Bollinger says, he wants to lighten our afflictions that we may see. Do you actually believe this? Because if you do, you'd see this and say, God's conforming me to the image of his son. And if you don't believe it, you say, can I get out of this pretty quickly? I'm kind of tired of this. This is troublesome. This is annoying. I need to be done with this. That is to say that we disapprove of the Lord's election. Let us embrace with all of our heart the purpose of God for us. Let us believe in the God who calls and predestinates and foreknows and glorifies. And let us trust that our load is lightened by the promise of future glory. And thus far the exposition of Romans chapter eight, verses 29 and 30.