The Predestination of the Almighty: Divine Sovereignty in the Biblical Context

In the history of theology, few concepts provoke as much introspection and debate as the doctrine of predestination as outlined in the Christian Bible. The notion that an all-knowing (omniscient), all-present (omnipresent), and all-powerful (omnipotent) God predestines all that comes to pass challenges human understanding of free will, moral responsibility, and the nature of divine providence. Here, we delve into how this divine attribute aligns with the biblical portrayal of God versus human limitations.

The Divine Perspective

Omniscience: According to the Bible, God’s knowledge is infinite; He knows all things past, present, and future (Psalm 139:1-4; Isaiah 46:9-10). This omniscience implies that God not only knows what will happen but also why. From God’s eternal perspective, all events are known in a way that transcends human linear time. This allows for a form of predestination where every event, from the fall of a sparrow to the rise and fall of kingdoms, is part of a divine plan.

Omnipotence: God’s omnipotence means He has the power to do all things that align with His nature (Job 42:2; Jeremiah 32:17). The power to predestine is not just about foreknowledge but also about the capability to bring about those foreknown events. This doesn’t negate human action but rather encompasses it within a larger divine framework where God’s will ultimately prevails.

Omnipresence: Being everywhere at once, God’s presence is not bound by space or time. This attribute ensures that no part of creation is outside of His influence or knowledge, allowing for a seamless integration of all events into His plan (Psalm 139:7-10).

Human Limitations

Temporal Existence: Humans experience life sequentially, with past, present, and future. This temporal limitation means we can only see a fraction of the divine tapestry at any given moment, making predestination a hard concept to grasp. We are bound by the cause-and-effect nature of our reality, where our choices seem to dictate outcomes. However, from God’s non-linear perspective, all moments could be equally present, suggesting that human choice and divine predestination are not mutually exclusive but are part of a complex interplay.

Limited Knowledge: Human knowledge is finite. We cannot know all variables or outcomes, which leads to a sense of uncertainty about the future. This contrasts sharply with God’s complete and eternal knowledge where every outcome is already known to Him.

Perception of Free Will: The human experience of free will is central to our understanding of morality and responsibility. Yet, from a theological standpoint, this free will operates within the bounds of divine sovereignty. The Bible suggests that while humans make choices, these choices are part of God’s overarching plan (Proverbs 16:9; Acts 17:26).

Biblical Examples of Predestination

• Election of Israel: The Old Testament speaks of God choosing Israel for a purpose, demonstrating predestination in national terms (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).
• Predestination in Salvation: In the New Testament, Paul discusses predestination in terms of salvation, where individuals are chosen “in Christ before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4-5).
• The Life of Jesus: Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are presented as predestined events for the salvation of mankind (Acts 2:23).
• Predestination in everyday life: James 4:13-15 speaks to the mundane things of life and how they are contingent on being in God’s will.

Reconciling Predestination with Human Choice

The tension between divine predestination and human free will is a mystery that has led to numerous theological debates. Some viewpoints include:

• Compatibilism: Suggests that free will is compatible with divine determinism, where human choices are freely made but within the scope of God’s sovereign plan.
• Mystery: Acknowledging that some aspects of how God’s sovereignty interacts with human freedom are beyond full human comprehension.

An Analogy

In Edwin A. Abbott’s “Flatland,” the narrative explores the concept of dimensionality in a way that offers a profound analogy for understanding how God might view creation from His perspective versus how humans perceive reality.

Flatland Analogy:

Flatland: Imagine a world where beings exist only in two dimensions, length and width, but no height. These Flatlanders can only perceive what is directly in their plane. A square, for example, can move north, south, east, or west but has no concept of “up” or “down.”

A Sphere’s Visit: Now, consider a three-dimensional being, like a sphere, visiting Flatland. To Flatlanders, the sphere would appear as a circle, growing from a point to its maximum diameter and then shrinking back to a point as it moves through their plane. They wouldn’t comprehend the sphere’s true nature, only experiencing slices of it at any given moment.

Human View (Flatlanders):

• Linear Time: Humans, like Flatlanders, experience life in a linear fashion – a sequence of moments from birth to death. We see events unfolding one after the other, with past, present, and future distinct from each other.
• Limited Perception: Our perception is bound by our three-dimensional world, and our understanding of time is sequential, making it hard to grasp how something could be predetermined yet still involve free will.

God’s View (The Sphere):

• Eternal Now: From God’s perspective, likened to that of the sphere in Flatland, all moments in time could be perceived simultaneously. He sees the entire span of history in one glance – not as a sequence but as an eternal now. This would mean that past, present, and future are all equally accessible to Him.
• Omniscience: Just as the sphere knows all parts of itself and how it appears in Flatland, God, being omniscient, has complete knowledge of all events, choices, and outcomes. He doesn’t just know what will happen; He knows why, how, and the intricate web of causality that leads there.
• Predestination: In this analogy, predestination could be seen as God’s plan or design for the “Flatland” of our universe. Just as the sphere’s path through Flatland was always known to the sphere, God’s plan encompasses all human actions, which, from His eternal perspective, are part of an already written narrative.

Theological Implications:

• Free Will vs. Divine Sovereignty: While Flatlanders might feel they have free will within their two-dimensional world, from the sphere’s viewpoint, their paths were always part of a larger, three-dimensional reality. Similarly, human free will operates within God’s sovereign plan, where our choices, though real and significant, are part of a divine tapestry.
• Mystery: Just as Flatlanders can’t fully comprehend the sphere, humans can’t fully grasp God’s dimension. We experience life through a glass darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12), making the interplay of divine predestination and human choice a profound mystery.

This analogy from “Flatland” helps illustrate how God might see all of creation from a timeless, omniscient viewpoint, where predestination and human free will are not contradictory but part of a divine perspective that transcends our own dimensional and temporal limitations.

Conclusion

The biblical portrayal of God as all-knowing, all-present, and all-powerful allows for a doctrine of predestination where all things are part of His divine plan. However, this does not diminish human responsibility or the significance of our choices but rather frames them within the vast, eternal canvas of God’s purpose. Understanding this requires moving beyond human limitations and embracing the mystery of divine sovereignty, where human freedom and divine will are woven together in ways that are just beyond our full grasp.