Discover how God’s choices and purposes extend beyond human autonomy as Rabbi Schneider passionately discusses predestination. Through a comprehensive analysis of scriptural texts, Rabbi emphasizes the intentionality of God’s plans for each believer, demonstrating how our identity in Christ is securely rooted in divine choice and purpose. Uncover the truths behind the general and specific calls, and embrace your role in God’s redemptive plan, fortified by the strength of His love and grace.
Welcome to Discovering the Jewish Jesus. I’m your host, Dustin Roberts, and today we’re looking at one of the most profound mysteries in all of Scripture, God’s sovereignty. Have you ever wondered about your purpose or why you were drawn to faith but others weren’t? Today’s message, it speaks directly to your heart about identity and belonging to God’s family. Rabbi Schneider is going to show us how the Father chose us and how that precedes our choosing of Him. So let’s dive in. Rabbi is going to share some biblical examples from Jacob and Esau to modern day applications as well. It’ll give you a better understanding of how God’s sovereign choices shape our destiny and our purpose. Rabbi.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, we read in scripture that when we get to heaven, we’re gonna sing the song of Moses and the song of the lamb. In the book of Exodus chapter 15, after Israel had been delivered from the Egyptians, when God parted the sea, they sang a song of deliverance after they’d been rescued. Here’s what they sang. i will sing unto the lord for he had triumphed gloriously the horse and rider thrown into the sea i will sing unto the lord for he hath triumphed gloriously the horse and rider thrown into the sea the lord is god and i will praise him my father’s god and i will exalt him Well, I’m first a preacher, then a singer. Welcome today to today’s episode. We’re in a great series right now. We’re looking in the book of Ephesians and we’re gleaning deep revelation from the book of Ephesians. This is now the second episode in this series. We’re going verse by verse. So I’m going to pick up, beloved one, right where I left off last time on the book of Ephesians, one of my absolute favorite books in the entire Word of God. We were looking last time at the reality in verse number four of chapter one, that God the Father chose us in his Son. He chose you and I in Jesus before the foundation of the world. God didn’t choose you after you came to Jesus. He chose you before you came to Jesus. You came to Jesus because you were already chosen. This is what Jesus said. No man comes to me unless the Father draws him. All the Father gives me in John chapter six, Jesus said, will come to me and I’ll lose nothing. Jesus in John 17, he prayed, Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou has given me. You came to Jesus because the Father chose you before you were born. So verse number four said that we were chosen in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. The next verse brings up a word which a lot of God’s people have a hard time accepting. But he said also in verse number five, we were predestined. So Paul continues, he says, he predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the kind intention of his will. So a lot of people don’t like to think about predestined. They don’t like to think that anything’s predestined. Many certainly don’t like to accept the fact that their life has been predestined in any way. People want their own autonomy. That’s one of the biggest problem. That’s the biggest sin of humanity. We want our own autonomy. We don’t want anybody telling us what to do. That’s actually what happened with the great fall when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree. Why did they eat from it? At the end of the day, beloved one, they ate from it because they wanted autonomy. The devil said to them, hey, if you eat from that tree, You’ll know the difference between good and evil, and you’ll be like God. He just doesn’t want you to be like him. That’s why he doesn’t want you to eat from it. So that’s really what hung them. They wanted their own autonomy. They wanted to be like God. They don’t want to be subject to God. They want to be like God. So they ate from the tree. So when people hear that we’ve been predestined, when we start using this word predestined, because of the independent spirit of mankind that doesn’t want anybody ruling over them, most people that I’ve run into, they reject the biblical definition of predestined. So we’re going to see what does God mean when he says that we’ve been predestined? You can’t deny that he said it. Let’s listen again. Verse number five. He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself. Now, I don’t know what version of the Bible you’re using, but if you’re using any legitimate translation, it’s going to use this exact word predestined. I use personally the New American Standard 1995 version, but you’ll see the same word is translated predestined in any version that’s not trying to, you know, soft code everything. So let’s take a look at another place in Scripture where the same word predestined is used. And then we’re going to get into the controversy, how many Christians like to understand it, but their propensity to understand it oftentimes is different than what God’s actually saying. Because God says what he means. and he means what he says. So we’re gonna go now to the book of Romans, chapter eight, where Paul uses very similar language, saying the same thing. So I’m gonna go now, Romans eight, picking up in verse number 28 of Romans eight. Paul writes, and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, now get this, to those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of a son. So let’s think about this again. Those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. And so what a lot of God’s people have done is they said, yeah, we were predestined, but we were predestined because God foreknew, they think, that we would choose Jesus. And because God knows everything and He knows that we were gonna choose Him, He predestined us before the foundation of the world because his foreknowledge knew that we would choose him. So they make God’s choosing us dependent on us first choosing him. So many Christians, they understand predestination to be the result of God’s foreknowledge, they say, that God saw in advance that we would choose him. But Jesus said, you did not choose me. I chose you. Let me say it again. Yeshua said, point blank, you did not choose me. I chose you. So we’re gonna look at this word a little bit deeper, this word foreknowledge, and find out what it means. Does it really mean that God predestined us because He foreknew that we were gonna choose Him? You’re gonna find out that is absolutely not what it means. We’re getting here because we’re looking from the book of Ephesians as to what our identity is and how we come up with our identity. And when we understand that God chose us and predestined us, we’ll know who we are. We’ll know whose we are and we’ll know where we get our identity from and what our calling is in this world. So let’s go back to Romans 8 for a moment. Verse 29, for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the needs of his son so that he, Jesus, would be the firstborn among many brethren. Picking up in verse 30, and these whom he predestined, there’s that word again, and these whom he predestined, get it now, he also called. So who does God call to himself? He calls those that he’s predestined. There’s two types of calling in scripture. On the one hand, there’s a general call. The general call goes out to the entire world. We preach the gospel to all creation. We preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. That’s the general call. The call goes out to all. Jesus said, all that are weary and heavy laden, come to me and I will give you rest. And anybody that comes, he will save. That’s the general call. But then there’s a specific, beloved ones, effectual call where God sends His Holy Spirit and His Word personally into somebody’s life so that person is irresistibly drawn to the truth. For those whom He predestined, He also called. And these whom He called, He also justified. And these whom He justified, He also glorified.” So there’s a specific call. This is why Jesus, when he was preaching in John 10, he said, you believe not because you’re not my sheep. He said, my sheep will hear my voice. My father has given them to me. In John 6, Jesus said, unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in yourself. But people that were listening couldn’t hear it. And Jesus’ response to that was this, don’t grumble among yourselves in John 6. No one can come to me unless it’s been granted from the Father. All the Father gives me shall come to me, Jesus said. And he that comes to me, I will in no wise be cast out. Jesus knew what was going on. He knew that those that came to him, came to him because the Father had chose them. Look at John chapter six and study that. John 17, the high priestly prayer. Jesus said, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou has given me. We’re talking about being chosen and predestined. Now, some people, again, they see that word, those whom he foreknew, that we just looked at in Romans chapter, right? And they say, yeah, but God only chose you and predestined you because he knew that you would choose him. But if we continue in Paul’s writing, we’re going to see that’s exactly the opposite of what he’s teaching here.
SPEAKER 01 :
You’re listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus and Rabbi will be right back. If you’re looking to better equip yourself in your study, pursuit and growth in Jesus the Messiah, be sure to go online and explore our treasury of Messianic content. You’ll find Messianic teaching tools and videos, information about God’s seven annual feasts, the Hebrew names, titles of God, and so much more. This content is ready and available for you today online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Just as this program has been a blessing to you, you can multiply the blessing with others. It’s simple when you become a monthly partner. Give a financial gift of any amount today or set up your monthly automated gift by calling this number 800-777-7835. That’s 800-777-7835. or you can visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com when you give your equipping others for Jesus’ return. And now, here is Rabbi Schneider.
SPEAKER 02 :
So Paul continues here, once again, verse 30, those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified, and these whom he justified, he also glorified. What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Now, let’s continue, and we’re going to get a lot more insight as we move into Romans chapter 9. And remember, in the beginning, there were no chapter divisions here. It was one manuscript, but I’m just in the interest of people’s time, and because I’m primarily concentrating on the book of Ephesians today, I don’t want to go through the whole book of Romans. You can get my series in the book of Romans, and I cover every line in detail. But I’m going to pick up now in Romans chapter 9, verse number 9 here. For this is the word of promise, at this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, but there was Rebecca, okay, Isaac’s wife, Rebecca. And not only this, but there was Rebecca also when she had conceived twins by one man, our father, Isaac. For though the twins were not yet born, and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose, according to his choice, would stand, not because of works, beloved one, but because of him who calls, it was said to her, the elder will serve the younger, just as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. So Paul’s being very specific here, that before the twins were born, there was no good works, there was no bad works, that God made a decision about who his favor was gonna be on. It was based totally in his own will. It was independent of anything good he saw in either Jacob or Esau. It wasn’t based on what they would do in the future. It was totally independent. Paul said it was based on God that his choice Now, this does not seem right with some of us. Some of us are like, what’s going on here? Are you saying that God’s favor is not in everybody the same way? That doesn’t seem fair. Paul knows we’re going to feel like this. That’s how you can trust that the interpretation that I’m giving you is the right interpretation, it’s the truth, because the reaction that people have to what I’m saying is exactly the reaction that Paul anticipates that people will have when they hear what I’m saying right now. So Paul says, what should we say then, verse 14? What should we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be. In other words, Paul knows that when he brings out this revelation that God chose one and not the other, that he did it before they were born, that it had nothing to do with what they did or didn’t do, either Jacob or Esau, but God just did it. He just decided to do it. Our interpretation of that, well, that doesn’t seem fair. That doesn’t seem right. This is why Paul says, what should we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be. Paul continues, for he says to Moshe, to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. In other words, God’s prerogative, he can do whatever he wants to do. Paul continues, so then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose, I raised you up to demonstrate my power in you and that my name might proclaim throughout the whole earth. Paul continues, so then he has mercy on whom he desires and he hardens whom he desires. Did you get this here? Paul is giving the example of raising Pharaoh up just so that God could destroy him and the Egyptians by his miracles because God wanted to be glorified. God needed an adversary to glorify himself. Look what Paul says next. You will say to me then, why does he still find fault for who resist his will? See, this doesn’t seem fair to us. We’re saying, well, how can God find fault then with Pharaoh? But understand that God was not hardening an innocent man’s heart. Pharaoh’s heart was already hardened. All of humanity is in rebellion against God. Ephesians chapter 2 tells us, you and I, that God saved, that you and I were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy because of his great love, he saved us. When God destroyed Pharaoh to glorify himself, God wasn’t destroying an innocent man. He was destroying a man who was already polluted. And the same thing is true of all humanity. God isn’t under obligation to save anybody because we’ve all rebelled against him. We’re all by nature, Ephesians 2 tells us, children of wrath, indulging in the lust of the mind and of the flesh. We’re independent beings that want to live autonomously, living in the natural world for ourselves. We’re by nature children of wrath. But God, Paul said, because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive together with Christ. And so I want you to understand that God can do what he wants. He’s not obligated to save anybody. The whole world’s rebelled against him. So Paul continues here once again, after he talks about how God raised up Pharaoh to glorify himself. Notice what Paul, let’s look at it again here. so then he has mercy on whom he desires and he hardens whom he desires you will say to me why does he still find fault i mean if god exalts one just to wipe him out like in the case of pharaoh how can god find fault with them paul says we’ll ask the question for who resists god’s will why is it pharaoh’s fault Notice the response that Paul gives. This should set us in our place, beloved. Either we’re going to let the Word of God define truth, or we’re going to exalt our own mind to define truth. But notice Paul’s defense of the Lord is very clear. Paul says, on the contrary, who are you, O man, that answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, why do you make me like this, will it? Or does not the potter have the right over the clay to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power known endure with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? In other words, God has not destroyed sinners from the earth yet. because he’s waiting to save those vessels of mercy that he chose before the foundation of the world. And not until they’re all saved will his final judgment come. So Paul wraps it up, and he did so to make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom he called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. Beloved, we want to know who we are, right? As human beings, we’re looking for identity. Paul told us who we are. We were chosen by the Father. You were chosen, specifically and specially chosen, and not because there was something different about you, not because you were a better person, not because the Lord, beloved one, saw that you would choose Him. No, He chose you in your mother’s womb. You were by nature a child of wrath, even as the rest, but God, being rich in mercy, Because of the great love, my friend, with which He loves you, He chose you and then He revealed Himself to you and brought you to Himself and is now in the process of sanctifying you and washing you. You’re born again. His life is now in you. He’s giving you the same love for Him that Jesus has for Him. He’s changing your nature. We’re going from glory to glory. We’re new creations. That’s who we are. So when you wake up in the morning, begin your day reading the Word of God, because that’s why you’re on the planet, to be separate unto Him. The Bible says we are chosen in love to be holy before Him. To be holy means to be set apart and unique. You’re going to take a few hits in the world for being a witness for Jesus, for being separated unto Him. But isn’t that awesome? We get to suffer with Him. And those that suffer with Him, beloved ones, will reign with Him. To the degree that you suffer with Him, you will also reign with Him. God loves you, beloved. Take that to heart and step into your identity and your calling in Him. Thank you for tuning in today. Beloved, I’ve been praying that Father God would continue to subject me and that I would cooperate with His subjection and come under the blade of His Word. The Word is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword. And it’s ministered to us in the power of the Holy Spirit through Messiah Jesus. In order for this process to take place, I have to be willing to come under His authority. And when we come under His authority, it affects our disciplining of our thoughts, our attitude, our words, everything in life, including how we use our finances. I want to encourage you. Surrender your finances to God, to Hashem, because we can’t enter into the fullness of His presence without being surrendered to Him in every area of our lives. If the Lord is blessing you and feeding you through this ministry, and you feel Him urging you to make a donation to Him through it, beloved, just be obedient.
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen. And to take that step of faith right now, just go online and give at discoveringthejewishjesus.com or you can also support this ministry by calling us. Our number is 800-777-7835. And you can send your financial donation in the mail as well. Discovering the Jewish Jesus, P.O. Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan 49228. And now I want to share with you about how you can find more content from Rabbi. He’s got a lot of inspiring messages and they’re all available on Roku TV, completely free. This platform, it’s a great way to experience Rabbi’s dynamic teaching style in full HD from the comforts of your own living room or bedroom or wherever you have a Roku TV. To learn more, visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com or simply turn on your Roku and search for the Discovering the Jewish Jesus app and download it right there. These resources, they’re available because of listeners like you who give generous support. So please give a gift today by calling us at 800-777-7835. or give online by going to discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And we wouldn’t be on radio, podcast, or Roku TV without people like you who are willing to donate and help keep our program there. You’re hearing this now because someone else was obedient to the Lord and wanted it to bless someone. So thank you for considering partnering and donating with this ministry. And now here’s Rabbi Schneider to wrap up our time today with God’s sacred and special blessing. I hope you’re inspired and encouraged today.
SPEAKER 02 :
Blessings trump curses. And in the book of Numbers chapter 6, we find the Aaronic blessing that God commanded Moses’ brother Aaron, the high priest, to speak over the children of Israel. There’s power in blessing, beloved ones. So take part in receiving Father’s blessing upon your life today.
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is shalom
SPEAKER 02 :
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance. And the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 01 :
This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus, and I’m your host, Dustin Roberts. Be sure to join us again next time when Rabbi Schneider shows us humanity’s biggest need. That’s coming up Wednesday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
