Our church is studying Titus on Sunday mornings, and our family happens to be working through Titus right now in our regular Bible time together, too. We’ve be making our way through the New Testament over the last few years, slowly reading through a portion of Scripture and looking for patterns and major themes and discussing anything that stands out. During a recent family Bible time, something in the opening few verses piqued my curiosity, which I’d never deeply considered before. As with most fruitful study, it began by asking a question and then led into digging deeper in Logos.
Here’s how Paul opens his letter to Titus:
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3 and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.
Titus 1:1–3
Table of Contents
- A Question
- Pastoral Parallels
- Those Given by the Father to the Son
- The Covenant of Redemption
- Searching with Logos
- Conclusion
A Question
The core idea that caught my attention is that God promised eternal life before the beginning of time.
On the surface that may not seem significant. The Bible often talks about God’s eternal plan of salvation (e.g., Mat 25:34; Rom 8:28–30; 1 Cor 2:7; Eph 1:4; 2 Thess 2:13 [variant]; 2 Tim 1:9; Rev 13:8; 17:8). But the wording here in Titus 1:2 is unique, and it prompted a question for me about the one(s) to whom this promise was made. If the recipients of eternal life—God’s elect (1:1), we who would believe through the preaching of the gospel “at his appointed season”—didn’t yet exist “before the beginning of time,” to whom did God make this promise?
Promises generally have five components: (a) the promisor (i.e., the one who makes the promise), (b) the promisee (i.e., the one to whom the promise is made), (c) the content of the promise itself (i.e., what the promisor commits to the promisee to do), (d) the beneficiary (i.e., the one who benefits from the promise), and (e) the condition (i.e., what, if anything, must happen before the promisor is obligated to fulfill the promise).
In most promises the promisee and the beneficiary are the same. I promised my son [promisee] that I would take him [beneficiary] to Florida to catch lizards (which he hasn’t forgotten about!). But that’s not always the case. I can promise my wife [promisee] that I’ll help our daughter [beneficiary] with her math homework.
While a cursory reading might lead us to think that the promisees and the beneficiaries are the same, it seems more likely that they are separate groups. Why? Because believers are the beneficiaries of the promise of eternal life but didn’t yet exist when the promise was made “before the beginning of time.” Now, God’s relationship to time is different from ours, and it’s possible that in some way he could have made the promise to us. But a more natural interpretation may exist. If it does, we should prefer it.
Since Paul doesn’t give us any hints in the immediate context, we need to look elsewhere for clues, starting as close to Titus as we can.
Pastoral Parallels
2 Timothy 1:9–10
My mind first went to 2 Timothy 1:9–10:
He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:9–10
While this passage doesn’t specifically mention the eternal promise, it does parallel Titus 1:2–3 in two key ways: (1) it roots our salvation in eternity and uses the exact same Greek phrase, πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων (“before the beginning of time”), which occurs only in these two passages in the New Testament; and (2) it contrasts the eternal and temporal aspects of our salvation: when salvation was purposed and promised and when it was revealed and brought to light.1
| Passage | Eternal | Temporal |
|---|---|---|
| Titus 1:2–3 | “before the beginning of time” | “now at his appointed season” |
| 2 Tim 1:9–10 | “before the beginning of time” | “it has now been revealed” |
While this is an important pastoral parallel, it doesn’t shed much light on the question about the promisee of the eternal promise of eternal life. So we need to keep looking for clues.
2 Timothy 1:1
A second noteworthy parallel occurs in Paul’s opening to 2 Timothy, where he refers again to the promise of life:
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 Timothy 1:1
What’s significant in this case is how he roots the promise in Christ. While it doesn’t explicitly state to whom the promise was made or when it was made, it does give us a clue as to Christ’s centrality in the promise.
While it’s possible that Paul has in mind the promise of eternal life in the history of redemption to those who believe (cf. Jam 1:12; 1 John 2:25), it wouldn’t be surprising if Paul has the same timeframe in mind as Titus 1:2, especially since just eight verses later (in 2 Tim 1:9) he’s considering the grace that was given to us in Christ “before the beginning of time.”
So putting both pastoral parallels together makes a strong case for seeing one eternal purpose and promise before the beginning of time now fulfilled in time through the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Next, my mind went to the theme of those given by the Father to the Son.
Those Given by the Father to the Son
John’s Gospel mentions four times a group given by the Father to the Son—twice in chapter 6 (vv. 37 and 39) and twice in chapter 17 (vv. 2 and 24). This expression also occurs once in Hebrews (in 2:13).
All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
John 6:37
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.
John 6:39
For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
John 17:2
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
John 17:24
In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. 12 He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” 13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.” 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Hebrews 2:10–18
Those given by the Father to the Son will (a) come to Jesus and not be driven away (John 6:37), (b) receive eternal life (John 17:2), (c) not be lost but be raised up at the last day (John 6:39), and (d) will be with Jesus and see his glory (John 17:24). Jesus became a man precisely to rescue his human children, given to him by the Father, from the power of Satan and death (Heb 2:14–15).
In these passages we have two meaningful connections to Titus 1:2: (1) this giving of a people by the Father to Jesus points to a pre-temporal gift, since it was the reason for the incarnation and death of Jesus (John 6:39; Heb 2:14–15, 17), which were planned before creation (cf. 1 Pet 1:20); and (2) the goal of this gift was eternal life with the Triune God (John 17:24), which was also the content of the eternal promise in Titus.
This suggests, then, that the eternal promise of eternal life in Titus 1:2 may have been a promise made by the Father to the Son to give eternal life to the ones the Father had given to him and sent him to come to earth to rescue.
Titus 2:14 calls the ones he died to save “a people that are his very own.” These are ones Matthew 1:21 says he came to save from their sins.
The Covenant of Redemption
Theologians have discussed this pre-temporal agreement between the Father and the Son in terms of the covenant of redemption (or in Latin the pactum salutis), the “eternal covenant” (Heb 13:20), or the “counsel of peace” (Zech 6:13).
Wayne Grudem defines it as “the agreement between the members of the Trinity in which each agreed to fulfill his respective role to accomplish the salvation of human beings.” Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 1,504.
Donald McKim defines it as the “theological description of the agreement between God the Father and God the Son to provide for the salvation of sinful humanity by Christ’s death on the cross.” Donald K. McKim, The Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, 2nd ed., rev. and exp. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014), 72.
Searching with Logos
I wondered if other interpreters made this same connection in Titus 1:2, so I decided to survey several commentaries. To my surprise, they all completely glossed over the identity of the promisee. They didn’t even ask the question of the one to whom God made his promise, let alone attempt to provide an answer.
Since I have more than 100 commentaries on Titus, surveying them one at a time wasn’t feasible. Instead, I decided to run some searches in Logos to see if anyone makes this connection between Titus 1:2 and the covenant of redemption.
“Covenant of Redemption” in Discussions of Titus 1:2
First, I searched my commentaries for references to the covenant of redemption within discussions of Titus 1:2 with this query:
("covenant of redemption" OR "pactum salutis" OR "eternal covenant" OR "counsel of peace" OR "covenant of peace") WITHIN {Milestone <Titus 1>}
This returned eight commentators who in their comments on Titus 1:2 made the same connection I did.
David Dickson (1583–1663)
Scottish theologian David Dickson (1583–1663) made this observation:
That the original of this truth is most ancient, inasmuch as God has promised eternal life, not only in the beginning of the world, preaching it to our first parents in paradise, but also covenanting with his Son (designed to be our mediator) about it before the world was made, in the covenant of redemption.
Lee Gatiss, Bradley G. Green, and Timothy George, eds., 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon: New Testament, vol. XII, Reformation Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019), 270.
A. C. Hervey (1808–94)
(3) The age of this promise. “Before eternal times.” (a) This is not merely before the times of the world, or (b) before the world began, (c) but really in the eternity past; because the reference is not to the covenants of Adam or Abraham, but to the covenant of redemption in Christ before the foundation of the world (2 Tim. 1:9–11). The apostle does not merely say that the promise of eternal life was the result of a Divine purpose fixed from eternity, but that it was made from eternity to believers, because it was made to Christ, whose members they are. It is impossible to understand the meaning of these words without reference to the federal transaction between the Father and the Son (Zech. 6:13). This was the very “promise of life in Christ Jesus” of which the apostle speaks to Timothy (2 Tim. 1:1).
H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., “Titus,” in The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909), 6.
William Graham (1810–83)
Similarly, Irish presbyterian commentator William Graham (1810–83) comments,
Doddridge is right in referring the promise here, not to the covenants of Adam or Abraham, but to the covenant of redemption in Christ before the world began, (2 Tim. 1:9–11.) This ancient love of God is very dear to the saints, for it shews them the foundation on which they are to rest, and the strength of that Divine affection which continued so long, surmounted so many difficulties, and finally secured the everlasting welfare of its objects.
William Graham, A Practical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to Titus (London: J. Nisbet & Co., 1860), 14.
William Hendriksen (1900–82)
William Hendriksen (1900–82) develops this connection at length:
Just as God’s grace was given to us in Christ Jesus “before times everlasting” (2 Tim. 1:9), so also everlasting life was promised “before times everlasting.” Before the ages began to roll along in their never-ending course, that is, “before the world began” (A.V.), hence “from eternity,” the grace was given and the life was promised. When God decides to call into being a people for his own possession, the fulfilment of this decree is so certain that the grace which they will receive can be spoken of as having been already given, just as the life is described as having been already promised. Besides, strictly speaking, the text does not say, “God promised to them,” but simply, “God promised.” Nevertheless, the context (see verse 1) definitely implies that it is for the benefit of the elect out of Jews and Gentiles that this promise is made. That in the covenant of redemption from eternity such a promise (of the Father to the Son in the interest of all the elect) was actually made is clearly implied in the fact that believers are viewed as “given” to Christ by the Father, in order that they may inherit life everlasting in its most glorious manifestation (John 17:6, 9, 24; cf. also Ps. 89:3, based on 2 Sam. 7:12–14; cf. Heb. 1:5). Note especially John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, in order that they may gaze on my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24).
William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles, vol. 4, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 341.
John MacArthur (1939– )
The plan of redemption for sinners did not come after men fell but before man was even created. The Father showed His perfect love to the Son (cf. John 17:23–24, 26) by promising Him a redeemed humanity who would serve and glorify Him forever.
John F. MacArthur Jr., Titus, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1996), 11.
Richard D. Phillips (c. 1960– ) and Daniel M. Doriani (1953– )
Richard D. Phillips (c. 1960– ) and Daniel M. Doriani (1953– ) comment,
When we turn back to Titus 1:2, we find a curious note that Paul adds about God’s saving promises. We have the hope of eternal life, which God promised “before the ages began.” So far, we have considered the promises that God makes to us in the Bible. But to whom in eternity past did God promise our salvation? There can be only one answer: that God the Father promised our salvation to Jesus Christ, his eternal Son. This pre-creation promise points out that before God even made the heavens and the earth, the persons of the Trinity possessed a plan that involved the salvation of those who would belong to Jesus through faith.
This assertion raises the question: does the Bible present clear evidence that there existed a plan between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that ensures the salvation of those who believe God’s Word? One positive answer is found here in Titus 1:2, with God’s pre-creation promise on which we ground our hope. . . . Hebrews 13:20 concurs, stating that believers are blessed “by the blood of the eternal covenant.”
These statements indicate that in eternity past, the divine Father and Son mutually agreed that Jesus would willingly die for the forgiveness of his people. Theologians refer to this agreement as the covenant of redemption.
Daniel M. Doriani and Richard D. Phillips, 2 Timothy & Titus, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2020), 139–140.
David Platt (1979– ), Daniel L. Akin (1957– ), and Tony Merida (c. 1970– )
David Platt (1979– ), Daniel L. Akin (1957– ), and Tony Merida (c. 1970– )
Some theologians see in verse 2 an allusion to what is called “the covenant of redemption” whereby the Father showed His love for His Son by promising Him a redeemed people who would love, serve, and glorify Him forever (cf. John 6:37, 40; 17:23–24, 26). However, to complete the picture we must add that the Son showed His love for the Father by becoming the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world (1 Pet 1:19–20) and that the entire plan of redemption was an eternal promise made to sinful humanity as a demonstration of God’s love for us. Our salvation is no afterthought with God. He planned it down to the last detail a long time ago. Our security and confidence in the Lord rest not only in His witness; they also rest on His word.
David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2013), Titus 1:2.
Denny Burk (c. 1976– )
Finally, Denny Burk (c. 1976– ) gives a brief passing mention:
The “promise” in Titus 1:2 is probably referring to the same purpose of grace that Paul spoke of in 2 Timothy 1:9. “Before the ages began,” God promised through his Son Jesus to purchase a people for himself and to give them eternal life. Thus this would seem to be a reference to the pre-creation intratrinitarian counsels of God, perhaps even to the so-called covenant of redemption.
Denny Burk, “Titus,” in Ephesians–Philemon, ed. Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar, vol. XI, ESV Expository Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 501.
“Covenant of Redemption” Near Mentions of Titus 1:2
I was surprised to find only eight references in my commentaries, so I broadened my search to my entire library with this query:
("covenant of redemption" OR "pactum salutis" OR "eternal covenant" OR "counsel of peace" OR "covenant of peace") WITHIN 50 WORDS <Titus 1>
This turned up many more who made this connection in various theological works.
Thomas Brooks (1608–80)
Puritan Thomas Brooks (1608–80) made the connection this way:
The covenant of redemption betwixt God and Christ secures the covenant of grace betwixt God and believers; for what God promises to us, he did, before the foundation of the world, promise to Jesus Christ, Titus 1:2; and therefore, if God the Father should not make good his promises to his saints, he would not make good his promises to his dearest Son, which for any to imagine would be high blasphemy. God will be sure to keep touch with Jesus Christ; and therefore we may rest fully assured that he will not fail to keep touch with us.
Thomas Brooks, The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks, ed. Alexander Balloch Grosart, vol. 5 (Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1867), 351.
John Owen (1616–83)
John Owen (1616–83) observed,
This counsel of peace was originally between Jehovah and the Branch, (Zech. 6:13,) or the Father and the Son—as he was to be incarnate. For therein was he “fore-ordained before the foundation of the world;” (1 Pet 1:20;) viz., to be a Saviour and a deliverer, by whom all the counsels of God were to be accomplished; and this by his own will, and concurrence in counsel with the Father. And such a foundation was laid of the salvation of the church in these counsels of God—as transacted between the Father and the Son—that it is said, that “eternal life was promised before the world began:” Tit. 1:2.
John Owen, The Works of John Owen, ed. William H. Goold, vol. 1 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1862), 56.
Thomas Manton (1620–77)
Thomas Manton (1620–77) put it succinctly,
The promise of God, which cannot fail: Tit. 1:2, ‘The hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie hath promised before the world began.’ He promised it to Christ in the covenant of redemption, and he hath promised it to us in the covenant of grace; that before time, this in time.
Thomas Manton, The Complete Works of Thomas Manton, vol. 12 (London: James Nisbet & Co., 1873), 210.
And elsewhere,
The covenant of grace is founded upon the covenant of redemption, which was made between God and Christ; so that God is not only engaged to us, but engaged to Christ; so some expound that text, Titus 1:2, ‘In hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie, promised before the world began;’ and 2 Tim. 1:9, ‘According to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.’
Thomas Manton, The Complete Works of Thomas Manton, vol. 14 (London: James Nisbet & Co., 1973), 301.
John Flavel (1627–91)
John Flavel (1627–91) put it pointedly,
In the covenant of redemption he made with God concerning us before this world had a being; for such covenants and promises did really pass betwixt him and the Father before all time, or else I know not how to understand that scripture, Tit. 1:2. “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” To whom could that promise be made but unto Christ, which bears date before the creation? What else can this mean but the covenant of redemption made betwixt the Father and the Son?
John Flavel, The Whole Works of the Reverend John Flavel, vol. 4 (London: W. Baynes and Son, 1820), 114.
Stephen Charnock (1628–80)
Stephen Charnock (1628–80), too, articulates this connection:
This covenant of redemption is the ground of our hope and faith: Titus 1:2, ‘In hope of eternal life, which was promised before the world began.’ The hope believers have of eternal life springs up originally from that promise made by the Father to the Son before the foundation of the world; for the promises of the covenant of grace were included in this covenant of redemption; and to be made good when Christ made the conditions on his part in that covenant good. In this agreement, then, God was in Christ reconciling the world.
Stephen Charnock, The Complete Works of Stephen Charnock, vol. 3 (Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1864–1866), 376–7.
Robert Dabney (1820–98)
Robert Dabney (1820–98) aptly makes the distinction between the promisee and the beneficiaries:
The Scriptural proof of such an immanent, eternal transaction between the Father and Son, is the following: First. Inferentially, Eternal life was not only purposed to be bestowed, but, “promised, before the world began”—Tit. 1:2. To whom? for man did not yet exist? To Christ, for believers.
R. L. Dabney, Syllabus and Notes of the Course of Systematic and Polemic Theology, 2nd ed. (St. Louis: Presbyterian Publishing Company, 1878), 432.
Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871–1952)
Dispensational theologian Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871–1952) acknowledges the reasonability and inevitability of such a connection:
The Covenant of Redemption (Titus 1:2; Heb. 13:20) into which, it is usually thought by theologians, the Persons of the Godhead entered before all time and in which each assumed that part in the great plan of redemption which is their present portion as disclosed in the Word of God. In this covenant the Father gives the Son, the Son offers Himself without spot to the Father as an efficacious sacrifice, and the Spirit administers and empowers unto the execution of this covenant in all its parts. This covenant rests upon but slight revelation. It is rather sustained largely by the fact that it seems both reasonable and inevitable.
Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1993), 42.
“Promise” and “Christ” in Discussions of Titus 1:2
Finally, I went back to my commentaries and looked for others who made the connection between Christ and the promise (without mentioning the covenant of redemption) by running this search:
(promise WITHIN 10 WORDS (Jesus, Christ, Son)) WITHIN {Milestone <Titus 1:1–3>}
This search returned a few other commentators who explicitly identify the promisee as Christ.
John Wesley (1703–91)
In hope of eternal life—The grand motive and encouragement of every apostle and every servant of God; which God promised before the world began—To Christ our head.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, 4th American ed. (New York: J. Soule and T. Mason, 1818), 577.
John Nelson Darby (1800–82)
“Promised before the world began” is a remarkable and important expression. . . . Our portion in life existed before the foundation of the world, not only in the counsels of God, not only in the Person of the Son, but in the promises made to the Son as our portion in Him. It was the subject of those communications from the Father to the Son, of which we were the objects, the Son being their depositary.
J. N. Darby, Synopsis of the Books of the Bible: Colossians to Revelation. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 241.
Hezekiah Harvey (1821–93)
Promised before eternal times—as “chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4), God gave the elect, in solemn promise, to Christ as his redeemed people and as co-inheritors with him of eternal life. (John 6:39; 10:29; 17:2, 6, 8, 11.) This promise, made to Christ in eternity is assured by the unchanging faithfulness of God; and resting on it as an absolute certainty, the apostle prosecuted his apostolic work, and to that promise directed the faith and hope of men.
Hezekiah Harvey, Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, First and Second Timothy and Titus; and the Epistle to Philemon, ed. Alvah Hovey, American Commentary on the New Testament (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1890), 127–128.
George Whitefield Clark (1831–1911)
The promise is that which the Father made to the Son, the future Redeemer, in eternity; and repeated and enunciated through prophets in time (Rom. 16:25; 1 Cor. 2:7).
George Whitefield Clark, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I. and II. Thessalonians, I. and II. Timothy, Titus, and Philemon: Commentary, Clark’s Peoples Commentary (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1903), 463–464.
Joseph Exell (1849–1910)
God, he tells us, who cannot lie, made a certain promise before the world began. Not, observe, formed a purpose merely. We know well, indeed, from many a scripture, that He formed a purpose. But the apostle says that He did more,—that He made a promise—and to this belongs the special character under which he presents the adorable God here, “God that cannot lie.” But to whom was the promise made? It could only be to the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator: Second Timothy–Titus, Philemon, vol. 2 (Edinburgh: Fleming H. Revell Company, n.d.), 16.
Tim Chester (c. 1970– )
Tim Chester (c. 1970– ) says succinctly,
Paul says eternal life was “promised before the beginning of time” (v 2). To whom did God make this promise? Who was around to hear a promise made before time began? . . . God the Father made a promise to his Son. He promised him a bride. He promised him you.
Tim Chester, Titus for You, ed. Carl Laferton, God’s Word for You (The Good Book Company, 2014), 22–3.
Conclusion
This insight about God’s eternal promise to the Son to give him a people and to give them eternal life through the incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Son wasn’t new with me. It’s been observed by many theologians and commentators for hundreds of years.
What started as a simple curiosity turned into a fruitful study and a new dimension of delight in the eternal certainty of our salvation. As you work through Scripture, make sure you pause to ask questions and take the time to explore your curiosities, even if you find many others don’t. There’s often a rich insight waiting to be mined to strengthen your faith and encourage your heart if you’ll look for it and make use of tools like Logos to uncover it.
- See also, 1 Peter 1:20, where Peter says of Christ, “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” [↩]
