Calvin Wrongly Believed that the Accomplishment of God’s Will depends solely on the Power and Work of God

Cheon Seong Gyeong 579

One day we will go to the spirit world.
There is no doubt about that. People vis-
iting Korea land at Gimpo Airport, but
that does not mean they have traveled in
Korea. From Gimpo Airport, where do
we go? Do we go to South Jeolla Prov-
ince or South Gyeongsang Province or
Pyeong-an Province? From Pyeong-an
Province, where do we go? To a coun-
ty. From there, where next? A township.
What is next? A village. From there, we
must go to a neighborhood. This is not
easy. If people cannot determine their
dwelling place, what is the value of suc-
cess in social life? That is a problem.
If God orders me to come, even
tomorrow night, no matter how great
I may be today, I have no choice but to
go. However loudly I might protest, I
would have to go. I will go while pro-
testing loudly, but only after speaking
the right words. I must present the way
that the nation and the world must go.
It will be my death if I fail to do so. (177-
41, 1988.5.15)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1231

Until now, who has completed the
payment of indemnity for the portion of
responsibility? Can you pay that indem-
nity with money? Can you pay it by sell-
ing your house and your country? Then
what should you do? There is nothing
you can do. You can only be absolutely
obedient. You must be absolutely obe-
dient until you are in your twenties.
Adam and Eve insisted on their own
way. They had a sexual encounter, thus
falling before they reached the age of
twenty. Until you reach your twenties,
you must be absolutely obedient. Before
you reach twenty, you must obey. There-
fore children are absolutely obedient.
They are, even if you do not teach them
to be like that. They know that if they
do not become one with their parents,
they will go to ruin. You will go to ruin
if you do not become one with God. (133-
136, 1984.7.10)

Exposition of the Divine Principle
3 Color Edition-The Red part

THE PREDESTINATION OF HUMAN BEINGS

 Adam and Eve were to become the good ancestors of humanity, conditional upon fulfilling their responsibility to obey God’s commandment not to eat of the fruit. Accordingly, God did not absolutely predestine that Adam and Eve would become our good ancestors. The same holds for all fallen people.  Even though God predestines someone for a particular mission, God’s ninety-five percent responsibility and the person’s five percent responsibility must be accomplished together before the person can complete his given mission and fulfill God’s Will. If the person does not complete his responsibility, he cannot become the person God has purposed him to be.

 Let us next examine God’s predestination of central figures in the providence of restoration. Yet, as was the case with God’s creation, His providence of salvation—a work of recreation—cannot be completed in an instant. It begins from one point and gradually expands to cover the whole. Therefore, in the providence of salvation, God first predestines one person to be the central figure and then calls him to a mission. What qualifications should the person possess to merit such a calling? First, the central figure must be born into the chosen people. Next, even among the chosen people, he must come from an ancestral line with many good accomplishments. Among the descendants of this outstanding lineage, he must be endowed with the requisite character. Among those with the requisite character, he must develop the necessary qualities during his early life. Finally, among those who have acquired these qualities, God selects first the individual who lives in a time and place most fitting to His need.

ELUCIDATION OF BIBLICAL VERSES WHICH SUPPORT THE DOCTRINE OF ABSOLUTE PREDESTINATION

For those whom He foreknew He also predestined . . . those whom He predestined He also called; and those whom He called He also justified; and those whom He justified He also glorified. —Rom. 8:29-30

Then He calls upon them to fulfill the purpose of the providence. Calling a person is God’s responsibility, but that alone does not entitle the person to be justified before God and given glory. Only when the person completes his responsibility after being called by God is he justified and then glorified. God’s predestination concerning an individual’s glorification is thus contingent upon the completion of his portion of responsibility. Because the biblical verse does not mention the human portion of responsibility, people may misinterpret it to mean that all affairs are determined solely by God’s absolute predestination.

 People such as John Calvin have propounded the doctrine of absolute and complete predestination, which is widely believed even in our present day. They have held to such a doctrine because they wrongly believed that the accomplishment of God’s Will depends solely on the power and work of God. They were ignorant of the true relationship between God’s portion of responsibility and the human portion of responsibility in the fulfillment of the purpose of the providence of restoration.

View slides 17 to 36 below for an illustrated presentation of the above content:

2007p1-CHAPT-6-Predestination_revised-4-28-2014

Leave a Reply