Romans 8:29-30

For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

What is the purpose according to which those foreknown by God are called? Paul lays that out in v29-30. For one thing, God has purposed before the world’s foundation to conform His people to the image of Christ, to glorify them alongside His Son. God is making us to be morally like Christ. And this is sanctification. So God’s purpose in calling us is to make us holy, to set us apart and glorify us as heirs. And no event of our lives can interfere with that purpose. In a strange way the suffering of our lives is connected to that glory. Look at Jesus' life and how every event of His life, every event of His humiliation is a part of His exaltation now. That’s so helpful, because there are going to be experiences in our lives that we don’t understand. But, the Father says, “Even if you don’t understand, I do; and I am causing these things to serve the interests of your glory and your good.”

Now notice the word "foreknowledge." Paul does not say that God foresaw something about those people; it’s not that God foresaw some having faith, and therefore predestined them. That doesn’t make any sense. It’s not what God foreknew about those He predestined. It’s whom He foreknew. Paul is saying that God foreknew them, not something about them. God knew them in an intimate way, just as we know our wives. He fore-loved them. Just as the Old Testament speaks of God knowing His people, it doesn’t mean He knows what they look like or what they are going to do. It means that He is involved in a special love relationship with them, which sets them apart from every other person in the world. We’re talking about a personal relationship of love. God set His saving love on you before you existed.

Amos 3:2 God says to the people of Israel, “You only have I known among all the families of the earth.” He knew about all the families but only chose Israel. There are many, many more examples of this throughout both Old and New Testaments. All things will work together for your good if you are called, and therefore love God, because, or for, as v29 says, God has known you, and chosen you, and loved you, before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Peter 1:20; Revelation 13:8; 17:8). I make these points to encourage you. Consider that just as behavioral conformity to Jesus is a life-long battle with wrong deeds, and emotional conformity to Jesus is a life-long battle with wrong feelings, so intellectual conformity to Jesus is a life-long battle with wrong thinking. We should not be surprised to see stumbling or struggling with the harder teachings of Scripture. Behavioral, emotional, and intellectual conformity to Christ do not come all at once, but in God’s timing.

Take “foreknew” from v29 and add, predestined, called, justified, and glorified. Paul is saying that before the foundation of the world God loved you, and because He loved you, He predestined you. He chose you. He set a purpose for your life, and that purpose is invincible. Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” And because He chose you, He then calls you to His purpose, and He counts you righteous in Christ, He justifies you. And finally, He glorifies you. Notice that sanctification is left out. Does that mean that sanctification is unimportant? No. Paul has been talking about sanctification throughout this chapter; it comes by suffering. The Spirit works in you to conform you to the image of Christ, so that you can be glorified. As we are glorified, and as we share in the glory of our older brother—how amazing to refer to Jesus that way—His glory will not be diminished by our sharing in it. It will be manifested, because He is the reason that we are participating in that glory. So is our participation in that glory dependent on our choice? If so, then Christ’s glory is diminished. But if not, then we can truly praise Him for saving us completely and forever. We had no part in it. Paul says glorified as if it is done. It’s so certain that you’re going to share this glory with God that Paul speaks of it in the past tense.