Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

general that the angels which remained holy would be confirmed in a state of bliss,
while the others would be lost. But this is not at all in harmony with the Scriptural idea
of predestination. It rather means that God decreed, for reasons sufficient unto Himself,
to give some angels, in addition to the grace with which they were endowed by creation
and which included ample power to remain holy, a special grace of perseverance; and to
withhold this from others. There are points of difference between the predestination of
men and that of the angels: (1) While the predestination of men may be conceived of as
infralapsarian, the predestination of the angels can only be understood as
supralapsarian. God did not choose a certain number out of the fallen mass of angels.
(2) The angels were not elected or predestined in Christ as Mediator, but in Him as
Head, that is, to stand in a ministerial relation to Him.
c. Christ as Mediator. Christ was the object of predestination in the sense that (1) a
special love of the Father, distinct from His usual love to the Son, rested upon Him from
all eternity, I Pet. 1:20; 2:4; (2) in His quality as Mediator he was the object of God’s good
pleasure, I Pet. 2:4; (3) as Mediator He was adorned with the special image of God, to
which believers were to be conformed, Rom. 8:29; and (4) the Kingdom with all its glory
and the means leading to its possession were ordained for Him, that He might pass
these on to believers, Luke 22:29.
D. THE PARTS OF PREDESTINATION
Predestination includes two parts, namely, election and reprobation, the
predetermination of both the good and the wicked to their final end, and to certain
proximate ends which are instrumental in the realization of their final destiny. 1.
ELECTION.
a. The Biblical Idea of Election. The Bible speaks of election in more than one sense.
There is (1) the election of Israel as a people for special privileges and for special service,
Deut. 4:37; 7:6-8; 10:15; Hos. 13:5. (2) The election of individuals to some office, or to the
performance of some special service, as Moses, Ex. 3, the priests, Deut. 18:5; the kings, I
Sam. 10:24; Ps. 78:70, the prophets, Jer. 1:5, and the apostles, John 6:70; Acts 9:15. (3) The
election of individuals to be children of God and heirs of eternal glory, Matt. 22:14; Rom.
11:5; I Cor. 1:27,28; Eph. 1:4; I Thess. 1:4; I Pet. 1:2; II Pet. 1:10. The last is the election that
comes into consideration here as a part of predestination. It may be defined as that
eternal act of God whereby He, in His sovereign good pleasure, and on account of no foreseen
merit in them, chooses a certain number of men to be the recipients of special grace and of eternal
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