Romans 8 · a question people ask
"For whom he foreknew, he also predestined" (8:29). What does it mean?
This question is only about 8:29-30. First, what the chapter says: "For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." (8:29). "Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified." (8:30). The chapter says no more of the foreknowing than these verses do. Christians read them in more than one way, each reading resting on verses of Romans, and this question picks none. All agree on what the chapter says: "Whom he called, those he also justified" (8:30), and "It is God who justifies" (8:33). Whom the Father draws is asked in Favor's chapter on John 6, and what the appointing of Acts 13:48 means in Favor's chapter on Acts 13; each is only about its own verses, and neither is asked again here. These notes apply neither reading to anyone today.
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
God's choosing comes before believing
Those who read it this way read 8:29-30 as a chain in which every link is God's act: "Whom he predestined, those he also called" (8:30). They set beside it the chapter's words, "Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?" (8:33). On this reading, God's choosing comes before believing.
Romans 8:29-30 · Romans 8:33
God foreknew those who would believe
Those who read it this way note that "foreknew" stands before "predestined" (8:29), and read God's foreknowing as his knowing beforehand those who would believe. They set beside it the letter's later words: "Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed" (10:11), and "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved" (10:13). On this reading, God foreknew those who would believe.
Romans 8:29 · Romans 10:11 · Romans 10:13
The verses
“For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified.”
“Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies.”