Predestination by origin versus predestination by foreknowledge

John 6:37-39: All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

Jesus told us that there are two groups of people that come to Him. The first group are those whom the Father has given to Him, whilst the second group are those who choose to come to Jesus. These two groups of people are therefore very different because those whom that Father has given to Jesus were predestinated by their origin, whilst those who come to Jesus of their own free choice were predestinated by foreknowledge.

Now what exactly does it mean for one to be predestinated by their origin and the other to be predestinated by foreknowledge? To answer this question we will look at what Jesus said about Himself in John 16:28: I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. Jesus was predestinated by His origin because He was the Father’s Son. He did not choose to be the Son. So predestination by origin is purely God’s choice because a son or daughter cannot choose to be born (John 15:16: Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.).

Whereas those who choose to serve God can be subsequently lost, God’s sons and daughters cannot be lost. Jesus makes this very clear for us in John 10:27- 29: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. Thus our election has nothing to do with us making a choice, nor has it anything to do with our works (Romans 9:11), our behavior, or how we feel, but has everything to do with the reality that we came from the loins of God and will go back to God to spend Eternity with Him. We can rest in that wonderful assurance.

Those who were predestinated by foreknowledge however, are people whom God knew would make a choice to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and who serve Him with the utmost sincerity, dedication, and zeal, but they are not sons and daughters of God and do not have the rebirth (John 3:3). These people miss the Rapture and go into the Tribulation, but they will receive eternal life at the Great White Throne of Judgment.

Predestination by origin and predestination by foreknowledge is what separates the Bride from the church. The Bride is chosen by God and is made up of His own sons and daughters, whereas the church is made up of people who choose to serve God, but they do not come from the loins of God. To put it plainly, they are a people who may do a tremendous work for the Father, but they are not of the Father.