February 15, 2025 - Acts 2:23 - God's Foreknowledge

Acts 2:23

"Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:"

Acts 2:23 is part of Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, where he boldly proclaims the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to a mixed crowd of Jews and Gentile proselytes who were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. The Lord Jesus had laid down His life 50 days prior at the Passover. He had shown Himself to His disciples for 40 days after His resurrection, and 10 days after His ascension (Acts 1:3) He poured out His Spirit on those gathered as proof that the Lord they had crucified was now seated in glory as the reigning King and Savior (Acts 2:33-36).

The gift of tongues (languages) was evidence to the Jews from various nations who had gathered for the Feast and heard the disciples speaking in the languages of their respective countries (Acts 2:8). What religious zealots call "speaking in tongues" today is nothing but a false and poor counterfeit of what took place on the day of Pentecost, by which Satan has deceived many to the destruction of their souls (2 Thessalonians 2:9). The speaking in languages on the day of Pentecost following the pouring out of the Spirit, confirmed that Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had taken and by wicked hands crucified and slain, was indeed both Lord and Christ.

It is noteworthy that Peter was not led by the Spirit to focus on the gift of tongues, which was a one-time gift given to select witnesses of Christ in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies (Isaiah 44:3, Joel 2:28-29). Rather, he was directed to preach about the Christ whom they had crucified and slain. They willingly delivered Him out of rebellion and disdain, acting as representatives of those for whom He was laying down His life (the elect of God). Yet, in doing their will, they were ultimately fulfilling the will of God. The priests among them, accustomed to offering up animal sacrifices according to the Law, now had the Lamb of God placed in their hands and offered Him up to be slain according to the Law and the good pleasure of God the Father. Yet, they were ignorant of who He was and whose He was—the Beloved Son of God.

This verse highlights the sovereignty of God in all human acts (Isaiah 45:7) even in the most heinous act of crucifying the Lord Jesus. They could do nothing more or less than what God the Father had foreordained:

"For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done" (Acts 4:27-28).

Peter asserts that the Lord Jesus was handed over to be crucified according to God’s predetermined purpose and foreknowledge, yet he lays the blame for His crucifixion on them because of their wicked hearts. Here we see that if the LORD Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we must confess that those who nailed Him to the cross were our representatives and that it was because of our sins that He suffered and died. This verse underscores the mystery of God's providence, showing that while human actions played a role in Christ’s suffering, they ultimately fulfilled God’s redemptive purpose. To this end, Peter calls his hearers to repentance and faith in the very Lord Jesus, who died and rose again for those whom the Father had given Him. Peter declares that Christ's death was according to the "determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." God is all-knowing. His omniscience encompasses His unlimited knowledge of the past, present, and future:

"Great is our Lord... his understanding is infinite" (Psalm 147:5);"The Lord is a God of knowledge... by him actions are weighed" (1 Samuel 2:3).

Foreknowledge pertains to God's knowledge and will, by which He decreed all things. It is defined as:

"Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world" (Acts 15:18).

The Greek word for foreknow is proginosko, from which we derive the English word "prognosis." It means "to know beforehand" or "to decide beforehand." Though it appears sparingly in Scripture, it carries profound significance.

• God's foreknowledge concerns the prophets:

  "But those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets..." (Acts 3:18)." Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done" (Isaiah 46:10).

• God's foreknowledge concerns the elect:

  "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee" (Jeremiah 1:5)."For whom he did foreknow..." (Romans 8:29). "God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew" (Romans 11:2).

• God's foreknowledge concerns Christ:

  "Him, being delivered by the... foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23)."For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done" (Acts 4:28).

  
  

God foreknew the who, how, and when of those He purposed to justify by the death of His Son:

"Jesus... was delivered for (because of) our offenses... raised again for (because of) our justification" (Romans 4:24-25).

The cross was the occasion; the resurrection was the proof.

The salvation of sinners was fully and freely accomplished according to God's eternal purpose at the cross. It was there that He purposed to save—and did save—each one He freely chose in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-4). "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father “ (Galatians 4:4-6). This was prophesied from the time of the fall (Genesis 3:15), God knowing all things beforehand, having predetermined all things according to His Sovereign Will.

What a glorious God He is in the salvation of His elect! What a glorious Redeemer Christ is! By His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, He has once and forever saved His people and is now seated at the right hand of the Majesty on High, where He ever lives to intercede on behalf of those for whom He paid the debt (Hebrews 8:1). Praise His Holy Name!