Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

a special relation to Himself. Sometimes they include the idea of a call to a certain
privilege, or of the call to salvation; but it is a mistake to think, as some do, that this
exhausts their meaning. It is perfectly evident that they generally refer to a prior and
eternal election, Rom. 9:11; 11:5; Eph. 1:4; II Thess. 2:13.
3. THE GREEK WORDS proorizein AND proorismos. These words always refer to absolute
predestination. In distinction from the other words, they really require a complement.
The question naturally arises, Foreordained unto what? The words always refer to the
foreordination of man to a certain end, and from the Bible it is evident that the end may
be either good or bad, Acts 4:28; Eph. 1:5. However, the end to which they refer is not
necessarily the final end, but is even more frequently some end in time, which is in turn
a means to the final end, Acts 4:28; Rom. 8:29; I Cor. 2:7; Eph. 1:5,11.
4. THE GREEK WORDS protithenai AND prothesis. In these words attention is directed to
the fact that God sets before Him a definite plan to which He steadfastly adheres. They
clearly refer to God’s purpose of predestinating men unto salvation in Rom. 8:29; 9:11;
Eph. 1:9,11; II Tim. 1:9.
C. THE AUTHOR AND OBJECTS OF PREDESTINATION
1. THE AUTHOR. The decree of predestination is undoubtedly in all its parts the
concurrent act of the three persons in the Trinity, who are one in their counsel and will.
But in the economy of salvation, as it is revealed in Scripture, the sovereign act of
predestination is more particularly attributed to the Father, John 17:6,9; Rom. 8:29; Eph.
1:4; I Pet. 1:2.
2. THE OBJECTS OF PREDESTINATION. In distinction from the decree of God in general,
predestination has reference to God’s rational creatures only. Most frequently it refers to
fallen men. Yet it is also employed in a wider sense, and we use it in the more inclusive
sense here, in order to embrace all the objects of predestination. It includes all God’s
rational creatures, that is:
a. All men, both good and evil. These are included not merely as groups, but as
individuals, Acts 4:28; Rom. 8:29,30; 9:11-13; Eph. 1:5,11.
b. The angels, both good and evil. The Bible speaks not only of holy angels, Mark 8:38;
Luke 9:26, and of wicked angels, which kept not their first estate, II Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; but
also makes explicit mention of elect angels, I Tim. 5:21, thereby implying that there were
also non-elect angels. The question naturally arises, How are we to conceive of the
predestination of angels? According to some it simply means that God determined in
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