Chosen Before the Foundation of the World: Election Older Than Creation

The foundation of the world, ‘katabole’ , refers specifically to the act of creation to the moment when God created the cosmos. Therefore, to say that we were chosen before the foundation of the world is to affirm that our election is anterior to the very physical universe. This places election in a dimension that precedes all the material and temporal reality that we know. It is a vertiginous thought that leads us to contemplate the vastness of God’s eternal purpose. For Calvin, this temporal anteriority of election has profound implications for understanding human freedom and responsibility. Some critics argue that if God has already determined everything before time, then man is not free. Calvin responds to this in a sophisticated way. God’s foreknowledge does not eliminate human freedom. It is compatible with it. God does not determine the actions of men in a mechanical way but eternally knows how men in their freedom will perform the actions that God already knows. The expression also reveals that election is not a reaction of God to historical events. It is not as if God observing time pass decided at the opportune moment whom he would save. On the contrary, election is an eternal decree, part of God’s immutable council that unfolds in history according to his perfect plan. Calvin insists that this understanding should generate humility in believers.