Is God’s Foreknowledge only an attribute or is it also an action?
Thomas Aquinas, Millard J. Erickson, Louis Berkhof, and Wayne Grudem all acknowledge Foreknowledge as a noun is an aspect of the broader aspect of God’s omniscience. God’s foreknowing is an action verb and the first cause of all things.
πρόγνωσις (noun)
prognōsis foreknowledge
Lexical meaning:
BDAG: foreknowledge; predetermination,
Louw-Nida: to know beforehand, to know already, to have foreknowledge
Uses in scripture:
Acts 2:23 (KJV): 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
1 Peter 1:2 (KJV): 2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
Application:
When used as a noun, God’s foreknowledge is the source of all things, not merely the awareness of all things.
προγινώσκω (verb)
proginōskō know beforehand; foreknow
Lexical meaning:
BDAG: have foreknowledge (of); choose beforehand
Louw-Nida: to know beforehand, to know already, to have foreknowledge
Uses in scripture:
Romans 8:29 (KJV): 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Romans 11:2 (KJV): 2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
1 Peter 1:20 (KJV): 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
Application:
As with the noun, foreknowledge, God’s foreknowing is a causative action that results in his predestination of the Elect, the preservation of those whom he has elected, and even the sending of his Son.
Conclusion:
God’s foreknowledge and foreknowing is both an aspect of his omniscience and the first cause of all things.
No responses yet