"God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew." — Romans 11:2
Foreknowledge is a big concept. In simple terms, it means God knew beforehand—He knew in advance. We can add to this the fact that “knowing” in the Bible, when people are involved, is more than just knowing facts. It’s about relationship. “To know” someone in the Bible is sometimes even used as a euphemism for the intimate relationship between a husband and a wife.
To know someone is more than just knowing about them; it’s about having a relationship with them. So, foreknowledge means that God has a full view of His relationship with His people in advance. Think of it like this…
Imagine that the moment you met your future spouse for the first time, you weren’t just meeting a stranger who caught your eye. Instead, imagine that you could also see your entire life together in advance. Imagine holding all your future memories now. Imagine not just seeing that cute girl or great guy you don’t yet know but seeing every stage of life together. You see them in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and in pain—everything. Can you imagine that? That is foreknowledge.
Now, let me ask you: Would you still have said, “I do”?
God made a covenant with His people whom He foreknew, holding the entire relationship He would have with them in advance, and He still said, “I do. I take you to be My people.”
Foreknowledge is a powerful argument for God’s faithfulness to His people because God finishes what He starts.
As you read through the account of the Exodus, where God leads Israel from Egypt into the promised land, there are multiple moments where God tells Moses, “I’m going to wipe these people out for their stubbornness, and I’ll start over with you.” It has all the marks of a test. Will Moses say, “Sure, God, wipe them out, spare me, and make me great instead”? But each time, Moses responds with something like this:
Numbers 14:15, “If You kill this people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of Your fame will declare, ‘Since the LORD wasn’t able to bring this people into the land He swore to give them, He has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’”
In other words, Moses is saying, "God, people will think You couldn’t finish what You started. You didn’t count the cost. They’ll think You didn’t know how hard it would be to work with Israel… and so You had to cut Your losses."
There is a place where Jesus talks about counting the cost. He asks, "Which of you, when building a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost?" God has counted the cost of committing Himself to His people. It would cost Him the life of His Son. And He still said, “I do.”
God hasn’t given up on His people Israel, and that is good news for us. It means if God won’t give up on people like them, He won’t give up on people like us. Different groups of people, yes, but He is the same God.
Just as God foreknew His people Israel, He has foreknown each person who has put their faith in Jesus today, and He won’t give up on you either.
Romans 8:29-30 tells us, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would 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.”
God has counted the cost. He doesn’t start projects He can’t finish. Has He started a work in you? He’s counted the cost. He knows what it will take—and He won’t give up on you!
Foreknowledge is a big concept. In simple terms, it means God knew beforehand—He knew in advance. We can add to this the fact that “knowing” in the Bible, when people are involved, is more than just knowing facts. It’s about relationship. “To know” someone in the Bible is sometimes even used as a euphemism for the intimate relationship between a husband and a wife.
To know someone is more than just knowing about them; it’s about having a relationship with them. So, foreknowledge means that God has a full view of His relationship with His people in advance. Think of it like this…
Imagine that the moment you met your future spouse for the first time, you weren’t just meeting a stranger who caught your eye. Instead, imagine that you could also see your entire life together in advance. Imagine holding all your future memories now. Imagine not just seeing that cute girl or great guy you don’t yet know but seeing every stage of life together. You see them in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and in pain—everything. Can you imagine that? That is foreknowledge.
Now, let me ask you: Would you still have said, “I do”?
God made a covenant with His people whom He foreknew, holding the entire relationship He would have with them in advance, and He still said, “I do. I take you to be My people.”
Foreknowledge is a powerful argument for God’s faithfulness to His people because God finishes what He starts.
As you read through the account of the Exodus, where God leads Israel from Egypt into the promised land, there are multiple moments where God tells Moses, “I’m going to wipe these people out for their stubbornness, and I’ll start over with you.” It has all the marks of a test. Will Moses say, “Sure, God, wipe them out, spare me, and make me great instead”? But each time, Moses responds with something like this:
Numbers 14:15, “If You kill this people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of Your fame will declare, ‘Since the LORD wasn’t able to bring this people into the land He swore to give them, He has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’”
In other words, Moses is saying, "God, people will think You couldn’t finish what You started. You didn’t count the cost. They’ll think You didn’t know how hard it would be to work with Israel… and so You had to cut Your losses."
There is a place where Jesus talks about counting the cost. He asks, "Which of you, when building a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost?" God has counted the cost of committing Himself to His people. It would cost Him the life of His Son. And He still said, “I do.”
God hasn’t given up on His people Israel, and that is good news for us. It means if God won’t give up on people like them, He won’t give up on people like us. Different groups of people, yes, but He is the same God.
Just as God foreknew His people Israel, He has foreknown each person who has put their faith in Jesus today, and He won’t give up on you either.
Romans 8:29-30 tells us, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would 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.”
God has counted the cost. He doesn’t start projects He can’t finish. Has He started a work in you? He’s counted the cost. He knows what it will take—and He won’t give up on you!
by Jared Major
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