Romans 8:29-30 (part I)

“For whom God foreknew he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his son…and whom he foreordained, these he also called; and whom he called, these he also justified; and whom he justified, these he also glorified.”

This is a really wonderful verse of scripture because it gives us a glimpse into the plan of God. It tells us about the mechanism which God put into action whereby he saved us. It goes like this: he foreknew us, he foreordained our salvation, he called us, he justified us and because we are justified in his sight he will glorify us.
This is all great, and especially if we are Christians, because the Apostle Paul was writing to Christians; but what exactly do all these words mean and how can we understand what is being said. By the way it's really important to want to understand what he is saying here, to persevere until we find out and to assume that he's got something to say to US!
The second of the five points of Calvinism we covered on Sunday, dealt with unconditional election and we said that 'election' was another word for chosen. We also said that God foreordains all things to come to pass which do come to pass, and that the specific part of fore-ordination which deals with our salvation, is called predestination. So, we, if we are Christians, were foreordained to do and say and think and be involved in many things and situations, but our being saved is described by: God predestinating us to salvation. Hope that all makes sense and you can remember what I'm talking about.

Continued in part 2...