Those IN Christ: Elected & Predestined to Glory

Chosen in Christ: Understanding Election and Predestination

Few subjects in Christian theology have generated more disagreement than election and predestination. Unfortunately, much of that disagreement begins before we ever examine the passages themselves. We inherit definitions, theological systems, and assumptions about what these words must mean, and then we carry those definitions into the text.

But there is a more basic question that should come first:

What exactly did God choose, and what exactly did God predestine?

Those are not necessarily the same question.

Election concerns God’s choice. Predestination concerns what God determined beforehand. They are certainly related, but we should not assume that they are interchangeable terms or that one automatically answers every question raised by the other.

When Paul’s statements are examined in their contexts, a pattern begins to emerge. God established His saving purpose in Christ before the foundation of the world. He chose a people in Christ to be holy and blameless. He predetermined their adoption into His family. He predetermined their conformity to the image of His Son. He calls through the Gospel, justifies those who believe, and has established glorification as the final destiny of His children.

The question, then, is whether election means that God chose particular unbelievers before creation so that they would become believers, or whether God chose beforehand what would become of the people who are in Christ.

That distinction deserves careful consideration.

Begin With What Election Actually Means

Paul uses several related Greek words when speaking about election.

Eklegomai (ἐκλέγομαι) means to choose or select. Eklogē (ἐκλογή) refers to a choice or selection. Eklektos (ἐκλεκτός) describes someone or something chosen or selected.

There is nothing in those words themselves that tells us why something was chosen, for what purpose it was chosen, or how someone comes to participate in what God has chosen.

Those questions must be answered from context.

This is extremely important because the word elect has accumulated centuries of theological meaning. It is very easy to hear “God chose” and mentally expand it into:

God chose which particular unbelievers He would cause to become believers.

But that conclusion does not come from the definition of eklegomai.

Eklegomai tells us that a choice was made.

We still have to allow Scripture to tell us the object, location, purpose, and result of that choice.

The Most Important Words May Be “In Christ”

Ephesians 1 is one of the most important election passages in the New Testament:

“For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence” (Ephesians 1:4).

Notice carefully what Paul actually says.

He does not say:

He chose us before the foundation of the world to become believers.

Neither does he say:

He chose us before the foundation of the world to be placed into Christ.

Paul says:

“He chose us in Him … to be holy and blameless.”

There are therefore at least two things stated explicitly in the verse:

The location or sphere of the choice is “in Him.”

The stated purpose is “to be holy and blameless.”

This does not mean that every question about election is answered by Ephesians 1:4. But it does mean that we should be very cautious about replacing Paul’s stated purpose with a different one.

God Chose a People in His Son

Before the foundation of the world, God determined that His chosen people would be found in Christ.

That does not require us to imagine particular human beings already existing as believers before they were born. The choice existed before they did.

Christ is the center of the choice.

God established beforehand that those who belong to His Son would constitute His chosen people and would share the destiny He appointed for them.

The distinction is subtle, but extremely important:

God did not need to choose particular unbelievers to become “in Christ.”

God chose the people who are “in Christ” for what they would become in Him.

Individuals genuinely participate in that election. This is not an election without people. Every believer is personally among God’s elect.

The question is how they are elect.

Are they in Christ because they were individually elected beforehand?

Or are they elect because they are now in the One in whom God established His election?

Ephesians repeatedly emphasizes the latter location:

in Christ

in Him

through Jesus Christ

That language should be allowed to carry its proper weight.

Election and Predestination Should Not Be Collapsed Into One Idea

The Greek word most important to Paul’s language of predestination is proorizō (προορίζω), which means to determine or decide beforehand.

But even that definition does not tell us what was determined beforehand.

That must come from the sentence.

This gives us an important distinction:

Election asks: What did God choose?

Predestination asks: What did God determine beforehand?

Once we make that distinction, Paul’s predestination passages become considerably clearer because Paul repeatedly tells us the destination.

Predestined for Adoption

Immediately after saying that God chose us in Christ, Paul writes:

“He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will” (Ephesians 1:5).

Once again, notice what follows the language of predestination.

Predestined for adoption.

Paul does not say here:

Predestined to believe.

He says:

Predestined for adoption through Jesus Christ.

This becomes even more significant when we compare Ephesians with Romans 8, where adoption has both a present reality and a future consummation.

Believers have received the Spirit of adoption:

“For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15).

Yet those same believers are still waiting for something Paul also calls adoption:

“We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23).

Adoption therefore reaches toward the completion of salvation—including the redemption of the body.

Predestined to Become Like Christ

Romans 8 gives us another explicit statement concerning predestination:

“For those He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29).

Again, Paul tells us what the predestination is directed toward:

“to be conformed to the image of His Son.”

The Greek adjective symmorphos (σύμμορφος) carries the idea of sharing or corresponding in form.

Paul uses closely related language in Philippians when describing what Christ will do to believers at His return:

“He will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body” (Philippians 3:21).

Romans 8 therefore does not leave the predetermined destiny undefined.

God’s children are destined to become like the Son.

Predestined for Glory

There is another predestination passage that receives considerably less attention in these discussions.

Paul writes:

“Rather, we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, a wisdom that was hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began” (1 Corinthians 2:7).

The same verb, proorizō, stands behind the idea translated here as God’s determination beforehand.

And once again we encounter glory.

Predetermined before the ages → for our glory.

This is important because it helps establish a larger Pauline pattern.

Ephesians: Predestined → Adoption.

Romans: Predestined → Conformity to Christ.

Corinthians: Predestined → Glory.

These are not competing destinations. They are interconnected aspects of the same saving purpose.

Adoption, Conformity, and Glory Converge

When these passages are allowed to interpret one another, Paul’s thought becomes remarkably coherent.

Those who are in Christ are God’s children. God’s children are His heirs. Their adoption reaches its consummation in the redemption of their bodies. Their bodies will be transformed into conformity with Christ’s glorious body. And those conformed to Christ ultimately share His glory.

This gives us a much fuller understanding of predestination:

Adoption → Conformity to Christ → Resurrection → Glorification.

Predestination is therefore not merely an abstract decree hidden somewhere in eternity. It tells us that God established beforehand where His saving work in Christ is going.

Predestination Is Not Simply Another Word for Election

This distinction matters because election and predestination are often treated as though they mean essentially the same thing.

They do not.

Election concerns God’s choosing. Predestination concerns what God determined beforehand.

They belong together because God chose a people in Christ and predetermined the destiny of that people.

But we should not take a theological definition of election and insert it into every occurrence of predestination.

Romans 8:29 does not say:

Those God predestined to believe.

It says:

Those He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.

That distinction should remain intact.

Calling Fits Between God’s Purpose and the Destination

Romans 8 continues:

“And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified” (Romans 8:30).

Calling is therefore part of the movement toward the predetermined destination.

But elsewhere Paul gives us an important piece of information concerning how God calls:

“To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:14).

That verse supplies both a means and a destination:

Called through the Gospel → to obtain the glory of Christ.

Now compare that with Romans:

Predestined to conformity with Christ → Called → Justified → Glorified.

The pattern is consistent.

God’s Choice of the Gospel Must Not Be Overlooked

First Corinthians adds another dimension to election that is often overlooked.

Paul tells us that the message of the cross appears foolish to the world. Human wisdom would never have designed salvation this way.

Yet God deliberately chose what the world considers foolish and weak:

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27).

This reminds us of something very important about election language:

God can choose means as well as people.

God chose to save through what the world regarded as foolish—the proclamation of Christ crucified.

Paul says:

“God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21).

Notice the relationship. God chose the means. The Gospel is proclaimed. Those who believe are saved.

Therefore, whenever Scripture speaks about God’s choosing, we should not automatically assume that the object of the choice is which particular individuals will be made to believe. Context must identify what God has chosen.

Election Excludes Boasting

One purpose of Paul’s election language is unmistakable: human beings have absolutely no basis for boasting before God.

Salvation did not originate with us. We did not design the plan. We did not provide the Savior. We did not provide the sacrifice. We did not create the Gospel. We did not establish the promise. We did not determine the destiny.

God did.

That is why grace and faith do not have to be enemies.

Receiving what God freely provides does not mean that the recipient created or merited the gift.

Paul explicitly contrasts faith and works:

“Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith” (Romans 3:27).

Faith excludes boasting precisely because faith receives what God has provided rather than earning it.

Israel Shows That Election Does Not Automatically Mean Individual Salvation

Israel provides one of the clearest reasons we must be careful about equating election with the unconditional salvation of particular individuals.

Israel was unquestionably God’s chosen people.

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6).

Yet Paul spends Romans 9–11 grieving over Israelites who do not believe.

That alone demonstrates that being part of an elect people and personally possessing salvation cannot simply be assumed to mean the same thing.

Israel was elected for God’s covenant purpose, yet individual Israelites could respond in unbelief.

Paul therefore has to explain how God’s promises have not failed even though many within elect Israel have rejected the Messiah.

An Election Within an Election?

Paul’s answer in Romans 9–11 requires careful handling.

He distinguishes physical descent from participation in the promise:

“For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (Romans 9:6).

Later he speaks about a:

“remnant chosen by grace” (Romans 11:5).

But Paul’s solution should not automatically be turned into the proposition that God secretly selected certain Israelites to believe while withholding any genuine possibility of salvation from the rest.

Paul repeatedly discusses belief and unbelief. Those who pursued righteousness by works stumbled over Christ. Gentiles attained righteousness by faith. Unbelieving branches were broken off. Believing Gentiles were grafted in. And Paul explicitly says that unbelieving Israelites can be grafted in again if they do not continue in unbelief.

Election therefore cannot be studied responsibly while ignoring Paul’s repeated emphasis upon faith and unbelief.

God’s Purpose Does Not Depend Upon Human Merit

None of this makes election dependent upon human worthiness.

Paul emphatically rejects that idea.

God’s saving purpose originates in God. His grace is not payment for human goodness. His choice of Christ, His Gospel, His covenant people, and their predetermined inheritance did not originate in human merit.

This is why Paul can insist that God’s purpose according to election does not depend upon works.

But rejecting salvation by works does not require us to conclude that God determines which individuals will believe by making any other response impossible.

Those are separate questions.

Pharaoh and the Sovereignty of God

Pharaoh is often brought into this discussion because Paul uses him in Romans 9.

There is no question that God hardened Pharaoh. But the Exodus account also says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart.

Both statements must be allowed to stand.

God was sovereign over Pharaoh and accomplished His purpose through Pharaoh’s rebellion. Yet Scripture still treats Pharaoh as morally responsible for what he did.

That gives us an important biblical picture of sovereignty.

God does not have to be the determining cause of Pharaoh’s wicked desires in order to sovereignly accomplish His purpose through Pharaoh’s actions.

God is perfectly capable of taking the genuine decisions of responsible creatures and incorporating them into the accomplishment of His purpose.

That is not a reduction of sovereignty. It is an extraordinary demonstration of it.

God Shows No Partiality

Any interpretation of election must also be consistent with what Scripture tells us about God’s character.

Paul explicitly says:

“For God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:11).

Therefore, whatever election means, it cannot ultimately make God morally arbitrary.

God is loving. God is merciful. God is gracious. God is wise. God is just.

And God’s election must be understood consistently with those revealed attributes rather than interpreted in a manner that forces those attributes to be redefined afterward.

God’s Purpose Is Bigger Than the Question “Who Gets Saved?”

Election is often reduced to a single question:

Which individuals did God decide to save?

But Paul’s vision is considerably larger.

God’s purpose is centered in Christ.

Paul says God’s plan is:

“to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10).

Christ is not merely the mechanism by which individually selected people escape judgment.

Christ is the center of God’s entire redemptive purpose.

God is creating a people in His Son. He is adopting them into His family. He is making them holy. He is giving them an inheritance. He is conforming them to the image of Christ. He will redeem their bodies. And He will ultimately glorify them with Christ.

Election Identifies the People; Predestination Establishes Their Destiny

This is where I believe the distinction between election and predestination becomes especially helpful.

Election identifies God’s chosen people in Christ.

Predestination establishes beforehand what God has determined for that people.

Those who are in Christ have not entered an uncertain arrangement in which God is waiting to see what their ultimate destiny might become.

God determined that destination before the foundation of the world.

Those in Christ will be holy and blameless. They will be adopted as God’s children. They will be heirs of His promises. They will be conformed to the image of His Son. They will be raised incorruptible. They will be glorified with Christ.

That is the destiny God predetermined.

So How Does Someone Become Part of the Elect?

If God’s elect people are those who are in Christ, then another question naturally follows:

How does someone come to be in Christ?

Paul does not leave us without an answer.

In Ephesians itself he writes:

“And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13).

Notice the progression:

Heard the Gospel → Believed → In Him → Sealed with the Spirit.

That deserves to be read alongside Ephesians 1:4.

God established His election in Christ before the foundation of the world. People encounter the Gospel in history. Those who believe are united with Christ and therefore participate in everything God determined beforehand for those who are in His Son.

This preserves both sides of Paul’s teaching:

God’s purpose was established before we existed.

Our participation in that purpose occurs through union with Christ by faith.

Election Does Not Begin With Us

None of this means that humanity invented God’s plan or that God simply reacted to human choices.

Quite the opposite.

Before humanity existed, God established the plan. God chose Christ. God chose that His people would be found in Christ. God chose the Gospel as the means by which Christ would be proclaimed. God determined that those in Christ would become holy and blameless. God predetermined their adoption. God predetermined their conformity to His Son. God predetermined their ultimate glory.

God provides the Savior. God provides the sacrifice. God provides the Gospel. God provides the promise. God provides the inheritance. And God establishes the destination.

There is no room for human boasting in any of this.

From Election to Glory

When election and predestination are approached this way, the passages begin fitting together without requiring us to make either word say more than Paul actually says.

Election tells us that God chose. Christ tells us where that election is located. The Gospel tells us how the saving work of Christ is proclaimed. Faith describes the response through which people come to participate in Christ. Adoption describes their new relationship to God. Predestination tells us that their destination was determined beforehand. Resurrection tells us what will happen to their mortal bodies. Glorification tells us where God’s saving purpose ultimately leads.

The entire movement can therefore be summarized:

God’s eternal purpose in Christ

↓

A people chosen in Christ

↓

The Gospel proclaimed

↓

Faith in Christ

↓

Adoption and inheritance

↓

Conformity to the Son

↓

Resurrection and bodily redemption

↓

Glorification with Christ

The Question Election Actually Answers

Perhaps the greatest mistake we can make is forcing election to answer a question Paul was not answering.

If we begin with:

Which unbelievers did God secretly choose to cause to believe?

we may have already built our conclusion into the question.

Paul gives us a different starting point.

God chose us in Christ.

Then Paul tells us what God chose concerning those people:

to be holy and blameless.

He tells us what God predetermined:

adoption through Christ.

conformity to the image of Christ.

glory with Christ.

That does not eliminate every difficult question surrounding election. Romans 9–11, foreknowledge, calling, perseverance, apostasy, faith, and God’s sovereignty all deserve their own careful examination.

But it does establish where I believe we should begin.

Election is not first about identifying which unbelievers God decided would become believers. It is about God’s eternal choice of a people in Christ and the purpose He established for them.

Predestination is not primarily an explanation of why one person believes while another does not. It describes the destiny God determined beforehand for His people in Christ.

And that destiny reaches far beyond the moment of conversion.

God’s chosen people will be holy. They will be adopted. They will inherit. They will be conformed to Christ. Their bodies will be redeemed. And ultimately they will be glorified with the Son.

God chose His people in Christ, and He predetermined what those who are in Christ will finally become.