In Scripture, God's foreknowledge—expressed by the term foreknown (proginōskō in Greek)—never refers to foresight or advance awareness of human decisions or actions, but always to His eternal, covenantal love and sovereign purpose set upon persons. Romans 8:29 says, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate..." The key word is whom—not what. Paul does not say God predestined those whose faith, obedience, or potential He foresaw; rather, He foreknew persons, and on that basis—His sovereign love—He predestined them. In redemptive contexts, God's “knowing” always includes the idea of love, relationship, and divine purpose—not just awareness of facts.(e.g., Genesis 18:19, Amos 3:2). “You only have I known of all the families of the earth,” God says of Israel—not because He lacked information about other nations, but because He had set His covenantal love upon them.
This understanding becomes even clearer when we consider 1 Peter 1:20, where Christ is said to be “foreknown before the foundation of the world.” No one imagines that this means the Father looked into the future to see what choices Christ would make and then decided to send Him based on that foresight. Rather, it speaks of the Father’s eternal purpose and loving ordination of the Son to redeem sinners. The same meaning applies to believers: to be foreknown is to be foreloved and foreordained for grace—not to be foreseen as meriting grace. When Arminians claim that God’s election is based on foreseen faith, they misunderstand the nature of divine foreknowledge and inadvertently condition God's love on human action, thus making His grace a response rather than an initiative.
This view undermines the biblical presentation of God’s freedom, love, and sovereignty. It shifts the cause of salvation from God’s mercy to man’s decision, reversing the order of Romans 9:16—"So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." True biblical foreknowledge affirms that God's love is not reactive but initiating, not earned but free, not based on conditions in us but flowing from His own glorious purpose and will.
“We love him, because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
Biblical Usage of Proginōskō
The Greek verb proginōskō appears five times in the New Testament. Let’s look at them briefly to determine what it actually refers to:
1. Romans 8:29 – “For whom he did foreknow…”
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son…”
Here, it clearly refers to persons, not events or actions.
It is the whom (οὓς), not a “what.”
The idea is not that God foreknew something they would do (e.g., believe), but that He knew them in a loving, covenantal sense—like the way He "knew" Israel (cf. Amos 3:2).
2. Romans 11:2 – “God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.”
Again, this refers to a people, Israel , and draws from Old Testament language of God's unique, electing love.
As with Romans 8:29, it is relational, not observational.
3. 1 Peter 1:1–2 – “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God…”
“…elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…”
Once again, this describes persons chosen in accordance with God’s foreknowledge—not foreseen faith or future obedience.
It parallels Romans 8:29 and is about God’s initiative, not man’s.
4. 1 Peter 1:20 – “[Christ] who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world…”
This is about Christ, who was foreknown (Greek: proegnōsmenou – a form of proginōskō) before creation.
This shows clearly that foreknowledge does not mean learning about future actions. God did not merely foresee Christ would choose to come—He appointed Him as Redeemer.
5. Acts 26:5 – Refers to people who “have known me from the beginning…”
This is Paul speaking about human foreknowledge (not God's), and it does mean “knowing beforehand” from experience.
But this is about people’s knowledge, not God’s. So it doesn’t contradict the theological point.
So we can rightly conclude that
- Proginōskō is never used of God’s knowledge of events, facts, or decisions.
- It is always used in reference to people, and always in a redemptive or covenantal context.
- It implies foreloving or setting affection upon, not mere data awareness.
This understanding becomes even clearer when we consider 1 Peter 1:20, where Christ is said to be “foreknown before the foundation of the world.” No one imagines that this means the Father looked into the future to see what choices Christ would make and then decided to send Him based on that foresight. Rather, it speaks of the Father’s eternal purpose and loving ordination of the Son to redeem sinners. The same meaning applies to believers: to be foreknown is to be foreloved and foreordained for grace—not to be foreseen as meriting grace. When Arminians claim that God’s election is based on foreseen faith, they misunderstand the nature of divine foreknowledge and inadvertently condition God's love on human action, thus making His grace a response rather than an initiative.
This view undermines the biblical presentation of God’s freedom, love, and sovereignty. It shifts the cause of salvation from God’s mercy to man’s decision, reversing the order of Romans 9:16—"So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." True biblical foreknowledge affirms that God's love is not reactive but initiating, not earned but free, not based on conditions in us but flowing from His own glorious purpose and will.
“We love him, because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
Biblical Usage of Proginōskō
The Greek verb proginōskō appears five times in the New Testament. Let’s look at them briefly to determine what it actually refers to:
1. Romans 8:29 – “For whom he did foreknow…”
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son…”
Here, it clearly refers to persons, not events or actions.
It is the whom (οὓς), not a “what.”
The idea is not that God foreknew something they would do (e.g., believe), but that He knew them in a loving, covenantal sense—like the way He "knew" Israel (cf. Amos 3:2).
2. Romans 11:2 – “God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.”
Again, this refers to a people, Israel , and draws from Old Testament language of God's unique, electing love.
As with Romans 8:29, it is relational, not observational.
3. 1 Peter 1:1–2 – “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God…”
“…elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…”
Once again, this describes persons chosen in accordance with God’s foreknowledge—not foreseen faith or future obedience.
It parallels Romans 8:29 and is about God’s initiative, not man’s.
4. 1 Peter 1:20 – “[Christ] who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world…”
This is about Christ, who was foreknown (Greek: proegnōsmenou – a form of proginōskō) before creation.
This shows clearly that foreknowledge does not mean learning about future actions. God did not merely foresee Christ would choose to come—He appointed Him as Redeemer.
5. Acts 26:5 – Refers to people who “have known me from the beginning…”
This is Paul speaking about human foreknowledge (not God's), and it does mean “knowing beforehand” from experience.
But this is about people’s knowledge, not God’s. So it doesn’t contradict the theological point.
So we can rightly conclude that
- Proginōskō is never used of God’s knowledge of events, facts, or decisions.
- It is always used in reference to people, and always in a redemptive or covenantal context.
- It implies foreloving or setting affection upon, not mere data awareness.
