What is the golden chain of salvation?

There are five links in the golden chain of divine purpose. The first is foreknowledge, which is rooted in the very omniscience of God — rooted therefore in eternity. Next comes predestination: an act of the divine Mind, which destined those whom He foreknew to a certain glorious place long before they existed in time. From other scriptures we know that this predestination took place before the foundation of the world.

But predestination was followed by the effectual call which reached us in the Gospel. Here we come down to time, to the moments in our varied histories when we believed. The next step practically coincided in point of time with this; for we were justified, and not only called, when we believed. Lastly "whom He justified them He also glorified." Here our golden chain, having dipped down from eternity into time, loses itself again in eternity.

"Whom He did predestinate" in eternity, "them He also called" in time; and whom He called, "them He also justified"; and whom He justified, "them He also glorified" in eternity. Predestinated in the past, glorified in the future, and in the meantime both called and justified. Here there is no uncertainty. The infallible salvation of all believers is divinely secured, and no power of man or Satan can break any one of those four links. So absolutely certain is the divine result of God's eternal counsel respecting each one that it is spoken of as already accomplished — "them He also glorified." Our imperfect state and weakness are not taken into account at all in this divine assertion of eternal security. "God for us" brushes aside every difficulty and is the weakest believer's triumphant answer to every unbelieving doubt (Eph. 1:3-11; 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Peter 1:2-5).

Therefore it is, that in this beautiful and precious climax, sanctification and the life in us are omitted. The Spirit had instructed our souls on these points at the beginning of the chapter. The Spirit is life, the body dead, if Christ be in us; and now He presents the counsels, the purposes, the acts, the operation of God Himself, which bless and secure us, but are not the life in us. The inward reality has been developed in the previous part; here, the certainty, the security, in virtue of what God is and of His counsels. He has foreknown His children, He has predestinated them to a certain glory, a certain marvellous blessing, namely, to be conformed to the image of His Son. He has called them, He has justified them, He has glorified them. God has done all this. It is perfect and stable, as He is who willed it, and who has done it. No link in the chain is wanting of all that was needful in order to bind their souls to glory according to the counsels of God.

The divine links of pure gold connected with this are the number of divine grace—five! Allied immediately with God’s purpose are His foreknowledge and predestination. Yet they are quite distinct things in themselves, as we read, “whom he did (1) foreknow, He also did (2) predestinate.” These are the two first precious links of the five in the unbreakable chain which is firmly fastened to eternal purpose. In Second Timothy days like these we are well reminded that God “hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace,” for the next two links in the chain come down to us in our lost and sinful position and condition: “Whom He did predestinate, them He also (3) called: and whom He called, them He also (4) justified.” Grace came not to call the righteous, but sinners. Christ died for our sins, and was raised again for our justification! Therefore being called and justified in time by divine grace, the last link of that chain cannot but reach right up to where the One who died for us is now honoured, and so we read, “Whom He justified, them He also (5) glorified.” From eternity to eternity all is complete.

There is not—there could not be—a single flaw or break in this golden chain of beauteous grace, for it is altogether of God, whose thoughts in regard to Christ and His brethren are indeed wonderful. He purposed! He foreknew! He predestinated! He called! He justified! Nor could He leave over the completion. He glorified! For He who is the Object and purpose is the FIRSTBORN from among the dead, the Head of the assembly even now; and soon among His many brethren He shall shine in rightful and gracious pre-eminence—the fulfilment of God’s glorious purpose in Him, also of God’s predestination in regard to us. Purpose had the glory of the Son of God in view. Predestination had His brethren in view. When all are like Him in glory as predestinated, the glory of God’s Son will be manifested among the sons of God as purposed. The one is therefore the complement of the other. God’s purpose as to His Son made predestination necessary as to us, and the predestinated were foreknown by Him. They were sinners by nature and by practice, it was therefore equally necessary that they should be called and justified before they could be glorified along with and like God’s beloved Son. Rich and everlasting praise to our God and Father shall result; yet, even now, faith beholds what God’s grace has designed.

Notice that we begin with fore-knowledge. None surely can deny this to Him. He could not create, plainly, not knowing the future of what He was creating. If He foreknew, then He could not possibly be without a will with regard to the future of that which He had created. Fore-ordination follows, therefore, foreknowledge. He will have things to be according to His own mind. From this, our calling follows, which is here, of course, not the general call of the gospel, not a call that can be refused at all, but on the other hand, the creative call, as God says by the prophet: "I call them, they stand up together"; and, as we see here, those who are called are justified. No one drops out. Justification follows the call. Identified as it is, and as we have seen, with the life which follows this, if one is called in this way to spiritual life, justification can never be apart front this. We are justified from the first moment, with the first breath that we draw of true life from God. Then notice that "glorified" seems to be put in the past, just as much as "justified." It is the style of the prophets, — everything contemplated from God's side, and, therefore, although in fact to be accomplished, yet seen as if it were already so. If God calls that which is not as if it were, its existence is by that absolutely pledged. This then is the purpose, and already He has said that, "All things work together for good," let us remember, according to that purpose. If we have anything else before our eyes, it is no wonder that we question very much how things are working for good to us. If we fail to keep in mind that which is present to God, we fail to understand what He is doing; for the fulfilment of His purpose, not one thing necessary can possibly be absent.

Thus predestinated of God, the Christian is also called of God (verse 30), — called with an effectual calling, — spoken to by a voice which quickens the dead. The believer is called in a double sense. As a quickened sinner he is called from darkness to light, from death into life. Again, regarding him as the foreknown vessel of God's pleasure, he is called forth from the secret of the Divine purpose into the manifested light of His glory as revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. The called believer answers to the call. Listening to the word of God he obeys that call. For a contrary reason, the natural man, though addressed in the Gospel of God's grace, does not respond to the call. But our business now is with the proper workmanship of God. The calling of the Gospel is to believe in Jesus. The quickened soul hears and obeys. But the effect of faith is justification, as we have seen. Now justification is an act, not of him who is justified, but of him who justifies. The called believer, then, is justified of God: "whom He called He justified." And does the record of the work of God cease with this completed preparation of the vessel of His grace? Nay, inasmuch as the subject in hand is the display of the Divine glory which pertains to God as the fulfiller of His own purpose, the end must be stated as well as the beginning, and so it is added: "whom He justified, them He also glorified."

The purpose itself is put clearly before us. Christ is of necessity in the forefront of it, and thus its justification, and the full assurance that it will be carried out. "We know that to those who love God all things work together for good, to those who are the called according to purpose." The present is linked with the future in a most absolute way. From God's foreknowledge of us in the past eternity to the accomplished glory of the future, there is a perfectly linked chain of blessing, no link of which can ever be sundered. God's purpose is that Christ His Son, should be a First-born among many brethren. How blessed to see the grace which is necessarily manifested when Christ is thus in the forefront! It is not here, therefore, the "Only-Begotten," of whom the apostle speaks. The Son is that; but He is here in human guise, a "Firstborn," which implies others, and that is clearly expressed. He is found thus with those whom He is not ashamed to call His brethren. God's purpose, therefore, includes, of necessity, these. If it failed as to the brethren, it would fail as to the Son of His love. They are bound up together in His thoughts.

We have, therefore, strong words here, words that are often somewhat too strong for the faith of His people. "Whom He foreknew, He also fore-ordained to be conformed to the image of His Son." If Christ is, on the one hand, the image of God Himself, (and He alone can be that in the reality of all that is implied,) yet we are to be conformed to His image. That is God's purpose as to us. He could not surely be without a purpose, and having the purpose, He could not be without the power of carrying this through. What comfort would there be for us in the midst of such a world as this, if it were not so? if God had not a purpose, or if He had one which could be set aside by man's self-will? How blessed, when we know Himself, when we realize that His will is but the expression of His perfect nature, how blessed then to see His will in all its sovereignty! We may be sure, too, that He will respect all the powers with which He has endued His creatures. He will do violence to nothing, but while this is surely so, He will carry out in the most absolute way every part of His purpose. This is definitely asserted here. "Whom He foreordained, these He also called; whom He called, He justified; whom He justified, He glorified." It is remarkable here that there is one thing left out which we should expect perhaps to have a foremost place. After justification, we are accustomed to say, comes sanctification, but where is sanctification here? We are indeed to be conformed to the image of His Son, and that, one may say, implies it fully; but in the chain of blessing which we are looking at now, sanctification seems, surely purposely, to be omitted; for it is just here that, alas, we perplex ourselves with all sorts of questions. We make of a condition, a doubt; and the legality natural to us will seek to intrude at any possible point; but between justification and glory here, there is absolutely no room left for it to come in.

We do not know what we should pray for as we ought; "but we do know that to those that love God all things work together for good, to those that are called according to purpose. Because those whom he foreknew he also predestined [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he should be the firstborn among many brethren. But whom he predestined, those he also called; and whom he called, those he also justified; but whom he justified, those he also glorified." (Ver. 28-30.) The chain is thus complete from His own purpose in eternity to their glorification for eternity. It is the activity, extent, and scope of the grace of God for its objects apart from all circumstances, and, as we shall see later, in spite of them, let them be what they may, because they are but creature causes or effects, whilst God is for us and supreme above all, not a mere causa causata, but the one causa causans.

12 Now in all this, that happy soul is the object of the thoughts and of the counsels of God. It is not of our own will that this has happened; neither the Gentile nor the Jew sought Jesus according to the Spirit. It is of grace. It is the counsels of the God of love. He makes all things work together for good - for the very best - to those who love Him, whom He has called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son - what grace! - that He might be the firstborn amongst many brethren. Those whom He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He also glorified.

Romans 8:30 gives us the links from our being marked out for this wondrous place, until its full accomplishment. Already we have had God's purpose as the starting point, then our being foreknown, now we learn, "Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified and whom He justified, them He also glorified." To us, it is a long way from our being predestinated to be conformed to the image of God's Son, till its accomplishment; but God's presentation of it to us speaks of what is yet future as already accomplished.