Meaning What?

"Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8:30 NIV).

Predestined--determined in advance--before we were born.

Called--summoned, in the spirit, by Holy Spirit, to promote the Gospel.

Justified--acquitted us all wrong doing when we repented and came into true knowledge of who He is.

Glorified--put us in position to walk in His favor.

Paul explained what God has done in the Spirit before we were ever born so we can walk with heads held high and never be ashamed of who we are in Christ Jesus. However, we must understand God's plan--He had a purpose for each one us--plans to prosper us and not to harm us, as He waited for us to reach a place in life where we came to ourselves and acknowledged Him for who He is and now, we can walk in His plans.

If we recall Jeremiah being told that his purpose had been designed by God before he was conceived, we would have to know that since God is not a respecter of persons, His plans for us were also designed before we were.

Once we reach that stage or place or phase of life in which we have reached the end of ourselves--our own plans and acknowledge God is--everything we need, and we see how our lives were not pleasing to Him, we repent (turning away from all sin) and He declares us "guiltless" totally exonerated and acquitted of wrongdoing so we can move into His plans without shame.

Knowing how much He loves us, creates a desire in us to want to please Him, and when we do all things to please Him, we reap the benefits of walking in His favor--accomplishing things that would have otherwise been out of reach for us, without Him in our lives.

What does this all mean for the average person? Whatever God has determined in advance for them to do, they should walk in it, never being deterred by naysayers or scoffers, knowing that God's plans and purposes will be fulfilled in our lives.

What does this mean for you? Only you can determine when you will walk in God's favor by your obedience to His plans and purposes for your life. How will you know? You will know His plans and purposes for your life when you deliberately seek, achieve and maintain a right relationship with Him.

God's calling, justification, and glorification in our lives does not mean that we are superior to others; it means we become servants to others in order to do God's Will and to bring all into the knowledge of who He is and into a right relationship with Him. Don't get it twisted! We are not better than others; God simply uses us in different ways to accomplish His plans!