But if you want to take it seriously, then please note that Foreknowledge is the fist link. Calvinist's cannot seem to separate God's foreknowledge from His Control.
God's foreknowledge allows Him to know who is going to repent and be saved. He therefore acts accordingly with His divine providence.
Calvinist teaching says that God Predestines who will be saved. They don't have a choice in the matter.
One of the issues here is what people mean by "control" because it can, to some, have negative connotations. If a person has been dominated be a controlling person then when someone says "God is in control" that's understood badly. It's similar to saying to someone who's had a lousy father that "God is our Father". They relate the words to their experience, but this is not how we are to understand Scripture.
One author writes, How is "control" defined? Several words come to mind: authority; subjection; sovereignty; power; dominance; restraint. [link] When we speak of God being in control we are not saying "controlling" or "micromanaging" as some people suggest. He doesn't need to be.
That statement degrades the concept of God's omniscience and/or omnipotence bringing Him down to the level of man. It says that either God didn't know what would happen in His creation until He created it, or He could only create it in one particular way. That is not MY God.
That's the pivot point isn't it? "Choice". Yes, the Bible teaches that God has predestined who will be saved, it's a major theme of the Bible. It also teaches why. And actually there is a choice. We are commanded to repent and believe but because we are sinners with a heart of stone we always choose to rebel instead. So God as a gift gives us a new heart, a heart of flesh, and then we choose to believe. People don't like that though because they want to be "in control". This image I came across today is relevant.
FireBrand (02-02-2021)
FireBrand (02-02-2021)