Pastor David B. Curtis
Pastor David B. Curtis
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Good morning, Bereans. We are continuing our study of 1 Peter this morning and will be looking at verse 20 of chapter 1. In our last study, we looked at 1:17-19 and focused on the doctrine of redemption. The New Testament terms for redemption always have in mind a price paid. In redemption, someone is released or deliverance is accomplished at the cost of a ransom payment.
Verses 18-21 are one long sentence celebrating the precious gift of salvation by which they have been redeemed. So, we are still dealing with the subject of redemption.
He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 1 Peter 1:20 ESV
God's purpose in providing a ransom for sinners was not an afterthought or a makeshift remedy. The God-man, Yeshua, who paid the price, was "foreknown before the foundation of the world."
"He was foreknown"—He (Christ–the Lamb without blemish or spot) was foreknown before the foundation of the world. The words translated "foreknown" and "foreknowledge" are from the Greek verb "proginosko" and the noun "prognosis." The verb proginosko is used five times in the New Testament while the noun prognosis is found twice. These words are compound words—"pro" meaning before and "ginosko" or "gnosis" both meaning knowledge (knowing something beforehand). However, the Bible uses these words in a way that goes beyond God's just simply knowing the future. The Bible is clear that God knows every future event exhaustively and ordains those events according to His good pleasure. But these words have a deeper meaning. This can be seen by breaking these words down and seeing how they have been used. The Greek words, "ginosko" and "gnosis," both find their linguistic counterpart in the Hebrew word "yada." This Hebrew term is used in the sense of knowing with experience or intimacy. For example, it is used of sexual relations in marriage:
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." Genesis 4:1 ESV
It is used of knowing the one true God. God is speaking to Israel and He says,
"You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Amos 3:2 ESV
Does that mean that God had no knowledge of Canaanites or Egyptians or Assyrians? NO! It meant that He had a special love relationship with Israel. Israel was His chosen nation.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5 ESV
This text is not saying that God foresaw that Jeremiah would be a prophet but that God loved Jeremiah and so he chose him to be a prophet before he was born.
The term "foreknew" must have a limited meaning because if it simply means "to know ahead of time," then in the context of Romans 8, everyone will be glorified because all whom God foreknew, He glorified. The chain is unbroken.
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Romans 8:29-30 ESV
Is everybody going to be glorified? No. Universalism is an attack on the Gospel. This text tells us that all who are foreknown are glorified which tells us that not everyone is foreknown. To foreknow is to love. The Bible says we must believe in Christ in order to be saved. Universalism says all will be saved whether they believe or not.
To foreknow a person is to love him and enter into an intimate relationship with him and choose him. Foreknowledge or knowledge is a Hebraic term having to do with intimacy.
for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalms 1:6 ESV
Didn't God know the way of the wicked also? Yes, He did, but here "knows" has the idea of "loves." This is a Hebrew parallelism depicting how God loves the righteous, but the wicked will perish.
And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' Matthew 7:23 ESV
God knows everything; He is omniscient! Here it is saying, "I never loved you."
God's redemptive work is described by this very term earlier in our text.
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Yeshua the Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 1 Peter 1:2 ESV
What is "according to the foreknowledge of God"? "According" is from the Greek preposition kata which takes us back to "those who are elect exiles…according to the foreknowledge of God." This ties election to foreknowledge. They are elect according to God's foreknowledge. God foreknew or foreloved the sinner and thus predestined them to salvation.
He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 1 Peter 1:20 ESV
"Before the foundation of the world"—the expression "the foundation of the world" is found ten times in the Bible. All ten occurrences are in the New Testament, and all ten occurrences are translations of the same expression used in the Greek text.
In four places, the English text reads "BEFORE the foundation of the world" as our text does. And in six places it reads "FROM the foundation of the world." The Greek expression translated "from the foundation of the world" reads "APO KATABOLES KOSMOU," and the Greek expression translated "before the foundation of the world" reads "PRO KATABOLES KOSMOU."
When Scripture refers to something that has been true "from the foundation of the world," it means "for all of human history." But when Scripture refers to something that happened "before the foundation of the world," the event under discussion occurred before anything was ever creates, in other words, in eternity past. Very few passages reach backward in their scope further than the foundation of the world and the beginning of the ages of time.
Before Yahweh began creating, only He existed, experiencing the absolute joy and pleasure and love of the Trinity, completely fulfilled in all things and in every way, and needing nothing.
So, "before the foundation of the world," refers to eternity past—before Yahweh created anything. If you were asked what Yahweh was doing before he created the world, what would you say? If you don't know, then you are going to learn something today.
Some might argue that we can't know what God was doing before creation. Yes, we can—if the Bible tells us. How we know and what we know about God comes not through investigation but only through revelation. And that knowledge is only found in the pages of Scripture. In the New Testament, we find the phrase "before the foundation of the world" four times.
In the far reaches of eternity past, Yahweh always existed. The Eternal God of the Bible has always existed and always will.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalms 90:2 ESV
As El Olam, Yahweh is known as the Everlasting God. The Hebrew name Olam means "forever, perpetual, old, ancient." It implies that there is an infinite future and past. The principles of the laws of nature, the beginning of time, and the first existence of this world—are all the result of Yahweh the Creator who possesses never-ending wisdom and power. He was before all time and all worlds.
Yahweh existed from all eternity in the three persons of the divine Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then at a point in time, before he created the world, Yahweh created other gods, lesser gods and angels to be part of his family, His divine council. Christ, who is Yahweh incarnate, is said to have created everything including other gods.
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16 ESV
The phrase "all things" occurs six times in Colossians 1:15-20. It literally means "the all" or "the totality" (referring to The Creation). Yeshua designed all creation "visible" (earthly kingdoms and empires) and "invisible" (the divine principalities and powers). The words "thrones," "powers," "rulers" and "authorities" probably refer to spirit beings and not to human government. In part, this refers to the hierarchy of spiritual beings.
But who are these rulers and powers in the heavens? I believe these are divine beings who were once part of Yahweh's divine counsel. The idea of a divine council may sound strange to you because most Christians today simply view God as ruling and Satan as opposing Him. Yahweh is seen as the only good deity, and Satan is seen as the only bad deity. But in the Hebrew Bible, we see a divine council, a ruling body consisting of Yahweh as the supreme monarch and various supernatural attendants.
All ancient Mediterranean cultures had some conception of a divine council. But the Hebrew Bible describes a divine council under the authority of Yahweh, the God of Israel. While the divine council of Israel and its neighbors share significant features, the divine council of Israelite religion was distinct in many important ways. Yahweh is a unique God, but He is not alone.
The idea of a pantheon of gods in a heavenly council is witnessed to by various literary genres of the Hebrew Bible. It is mentioned in historical, narrative, and poetic passages, prophetic visions, Temple liturgy, and apocalyptic visions. It also transcends the historical time-line from the earliest primeval history to the final eschatological frontier. The concept and imagery of the divine council is woven throughout the pages of the Hebrew Bible.
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: Psalms 82:1 ESV
"Council" is from the Hebrew edah and means "a stated assemblage (specifically a concourse, or generally a family." The term "divine council" is used by Hebrew Bible scholars to refer to the "heavenly host" (the pantheon of divine beings who administer the affairs of the cosmos). It is the consensus among ANE scholars that every society from the time of the ancient Sumerians to the time of the Babylonians and the Greeks believed in a pantheon of gods.
Here "God" and "gods/rulers" are both the Hebrew word elohim. This is speaking of the divine counsel, or the "watchers" as Daniel calls them. We don't know at what point in time Yahweh created these other gods, but we see that they were there when Yahweh created the world.
"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Job 38:4-7 ESV
Here "morning stars" and "sons of God" are names of divine beings, the members of the divine council. Some folks see "sons of God" as humans, but how were they humans at creation? Before the creation of the earth and man, Yahweh and other (lesser created) divine beings made up the divine council.
This is attested to in Job 38 which indicates that at some time before Yahweh created the world, he had created divine beings. This is one pre-creation activity of Yahweh. But the Bible tells us of other pre-creation activities of God.
The four phrases, "before the foundation of the world," tell us what Yahweh was doing before he created the world. They tell us things that happened before Genesis 1:1.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 ESV
Let's look at the one in our text first.
He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 1 Peter 1:20 ESV
The word "foundation" comes from the Greek word katabole (a compound of "down" and "throw"). The verb is used of throwing seed in the ground or of tossing stones down for a foundation. It is used in connection with the starting point of a building. It has the idea of an action that occurred before the foundation or creation of the world.
What does this tell us that God was doing before He created the world? He was loving the pre-incarnate Christ. "He (Christ) was loved before the foundation of the world.
Some mistranslated this word (proginōskō) as "chosen" or "foreordained." They claim that God determined all that would happen in the ministry of Yeshua.
He was chosen before the foundation of the world but was revealed at the end of the times for you 1 Peter 1:20 HCSB
Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 1 Peter 1:20 KJV
These are bad translations of proginōskō. Foreordained would be the Greek word proorizō. They further contend that Peter means that God planned and determined all that would happen in the ministry of Yeshua in His eternal counsel before time began. This is true, but it's not what our verse teaches. We see it in Acts 2.
this Yeshua, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. Acts 2:23 ESV
Plan indicates "will or design." "Definite plan" is from the Greek word horizo, which means "decreed, determined, appointed." It comes from a word that means to mark out with a boundary. God set it down in order, marked it out, and declared that His will was for Yeshua to die on the Passover by crucifixion. This happened before the world was created.
for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Yeshua, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. Acts 4:27-28 ESV
The cross was planned by God—as was the betrayal by Judas, the complicity of the high priest, and the role played by the Roman government. These things did not happen by chance. They were part of a grand design. God both FOREKNEW and also PREDETERMINED this plan.
When did God make those plans? Paul told Timothy that it was God
who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Yeshua before the ages began, 2 Timothy 1:9 ESV
The NKJV renders this verse as "which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began" while the NIV states that "This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time." Is it not clear that the death of Messiah was all mapped out by God before there ever was a world? It was all part of God's predetermined will.
God did not just know in advance what was going to happen in human history–He planned it all before time began. That is what is meant by God's declaration concerning His own nature in Isaiah 46.
remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,' Isaiah 46:9-10 ESV
God knows the end from the beginning. That end will always be in accordance with His perfect will because He also determined the means by which that end would be achieved.
Yeshua gives us insight into the relationship of the Trinity in His high priestly prayer recorded in John's gospel.
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. John 17:24 ESV
Here is our phrase, "before the foundation of the world." What does it refer to here? The Father's love for Christ. This is saying the same exact thing as 1 Peter 1:20. So, two of the four uses of "before the foundation of the world" refer to the love within the Trinity. Before creation, the Trinity was loving each other.
This also tells us that the Son of God is not a created being. He possessed glory with the Father, was loved by the Father, and dwelt with the Father before the world was created.
Let's look at the third use of "before the foundation of the world" to see what else Yahweh was doing in eternity past.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love Ephesians 1:4 ESV
Paul clearly says, "He chose Us"—this is not a corporate election, such as some would have you believe. Paul does not say that God chose Israel as a corporate entity here. This is what some who have issues with the word "election" would have us think. They say that election is only referring to Israel. But Paul here, talking to first-century saints, uses first-person personal pronouns ("we" & "us") when referring to the objects of God's election.
There is clearly a corporate dimension to God's election. It was God's intention to create for Himself a people perfectly conformed to the likeness of His Son. However, it is inappropriate to suggest that election in Christ is primarily corporate rather than personal and individual.
Paul tells us that He chose us "In Him"—this isn't saying that God chose us because we were in Christ. "In Him" is instrumental, signifying "through Christ's agency." "In Christ," together with its variants "in Him" and "in Whom," refer to Christ as the agent by which God acts.
What did Yahweh do here in eternity past? He "chose us." This is an amazing passage because of its emphasis on God's choosing those who would become believers before the world was even created. Before God had brought anything into being, at least three things were already true: (1) God saw mankind as lost and in need of a Savior, (2) the eternal Savior was present, and (3) the details of the work of redemption were planned out.
Notice what Paul says to Titus:
…in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began. Titus 1:2 ESV
Here again, we are shown that the promise which the Christian inherits goes back in origin before all human history into the eternity of the past. This is the "promise in Christ" of which Gentiles as well as Jewish believers equally partake.
This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Yeshua through the gospel. Ephesians 3:6 ESV
Who was there before the ages of time to receive a promise? This promise of eternal life was made by God and received by the divine counsel before the world began.
The phrase, "the ages of time," rendered "before the world began" in the KJV, is found twice in the New Testament, once in Timothy and once in Titus. The "ages of time" seem to be the successive phases and periods of God's dealings with His creatures. The beginning of these ages coincides with the beginning of creation.
The Bible makes clear that God established the plan of redemption – including the forgiveness of sin – before He ever created the Earth, before He created man, and before there was ever a sin that needed to be forgiven. Forgiveness preceded sinfulness.
In His eternal plan, Yahweh determined that God the Son would come to earth as a man, die on a cross for the sin of the elect, be resurrected after three days and nights in a borrowed tomb, and ascend back into Heaven to stand at the Father's right hand and return to His rightful throne as Lord of all things in heaven and earth. All of this was established before the creation.
This is supralapsarianism, that is, the doctrine that God decreed both election and reprobation prior to creation and then caused the fall of man as a means of carrying out his divine purposes. Infralapsarianism is the doctrine that contends that God foresaw and permitted the fall of man and that after the fall, he then decreed election as a means of saving some of the human race.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love Ephesians 1:4 ESV
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. John 17:24 ESV
In Ephesians "the chosen" are the people who are called "the given" in John 17.
"Whom you have given me"—So who are "the given"? Whom has the Father given to Yeshua? This question is important because all of "the given" get eternal life. The ability to believe on Yeshua requires divine enablement. Only those whom "the Father" enables to believe "come to" Yeshua in faith. These are "all" the people whom "the Father gives" to the Son as gifts. Yeshua viewed the ultimate cause of faith as God's electing grace, not man's choice.
The Father's gift to the Son is a gift of a people who will be redeemed and sanctified to be conformed to the image of Yeshua the Christ.
The fourth use of "before the foundation of the world" is found in Revelation 13.
and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. Revelation 13:8 ESV
The ESV has "before the foundation of the world," but the KJV has "from the foundation of the world."
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13:8 KJV
We have already seen that believers were "chosen" before the foundation of the world. And we have seen that Yeshua's death was planned before the ages began. I think it is safe to say, therefore, that names were written in the book of life "before the foundation of the world" and the Lamb was slain "before the foundation of the world."
Looking at the four uses of "before the foundation of the world," we see that in eternity past the Trinity was loving each other and loving the elect. Believer, Yahweh has loved you from eternity past. Before the world was ever created, Yahweh loved you and laid out the plan for your salvation.
knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 1 Peter 1:18-20 ESV
"But was made manifest"—is an aorist passive participle which means "God has caused Him to be clearly revealed." This speaks of His incarnation. This was the historical event. The verb here, phaneroō, means basically to make plain, to make clear, to manifest, to reveal. It refers to Philippians 2 where it says
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:6-7 ESV
This refers to Yeshua's incarnation at Bethlehem. He existed as deity from all eternity but was clearly revealed in human form in Bethlehem according to prophecy.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Micah 5:2 ESV
It tells us that Christ was made manifest "In the last times." The last times or the last days began with Yeshua's ministry as He inaugurated the Kingdom and they ended in A.D. 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed. They were the last days of Old Covenant Judaism.
People, if we understand this, we will understand that we are NOT living in the last days or end times. And if we understand this, it could save us a bunch of anxiety as we listen to the constant drone of the prophecy preachers who continue to cry, "The end is near!" We don't need to look for or worry about the mark of the beast. The "last days" ended in A.D. 70. The things talked about in the book of Revelation all occurred in the first century. The great tribulation is over, and we are living in Yahweh's consummated kingdom.
"For the sake of you"—what was for the sake of you? "Like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you." The incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection, and the events of the Passover Lamb that we looked at a few weeks ago were all "for the sake of you who through him are believers in God."
As I said as we began this morning, Verses 18-21 are one long sentence celebrating the precious gift of salvation by which they have been redeemed.
Believers, Yahweh's activity prior to his creation of the world involved creating a heavenly family, the divine counsel and loving each other in the Trinity and loving the elect and planning their salvation. Believer, you were loved by Yahweh before the world was created. From eternity past, Yahweh loved you and sent his Son to die for you. Talk about everlasting love.
God's plan of salvation, being eternal, is unchanging. Nothing can frustrate, amend, or impede that plan. From before the foundation of the world, God laid out His design to love us, redeem us, shower us with grace, and make us holy.
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