A. God the Father
The first area of evidence concerns eternal security for reasons, which are dependent upon God the Father. In relationship to God the Father, eternal security is based upon four reasons.
1. The Sovereign Purpose of God
Romans 8:28–30 spells out one of these sovereign purposes of God, when Paul said those who have been justified will be glorified. He does not say only some who have truly been saved are going to persevere to the end and then make it; he does not say that only some who are justified will eventually be glorified. What is stated is that those who have been justified are also guaranteed to be glorified by God the Father.
Another verse concerning the dependence of eternal security upon the sovereign purpose of God the Father is in 1 Corinthians 1:8: He shall also confirm you unto the end. This is a promise for all believers; that all will be confirmed in the end.
Furthermore, Ephesians 1:4, and 11–12 states that believers have been chosen to bring glory to God. If God knew one would lose his salvation, He would not have chosen him to begin with. The very fact of God’s choice of an individual shows and guarantees eternal security.
Ephesians 2:7 develops the sovereign purpose of God even further: that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Those who have obtained the mercy of salvation from God in this life will receive even greater displays of God’s mercy in the ages to come, in the next life. This promise is a guarantee of eternal salvation.
Furthermore, Philippians 2:12–13 states that God is working in believers to accomplish His will. Not only is the gaining of salvation a work of God, but the retention of salvation is a work of God. The reason salvation cannot be lost is because the keeping of salvation is not dependent upon the believer, it is dependent upon God the Father and His sovereign purpose.
Another verse concerning His sovereign purpose is Hebrews 2:10, which speaks of His purpose in bringing many sons unto glory.
2. The Father’s Power to Keep
The second reason which is dependent upon God the Father is based upon the fact of the Father’s power to keep. The fact that He has the power to keep means that He will keep. John 10:25–29 points out that God will give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish. The ones who have been saved have eternal life. And if the word eternal means anything, it means just that: it is eternal. If someone could lose his salvation, he did not have eternal life, he had only temporary life. John then emphasizes this fact even further with the next phrase. Not only does he state positively that God gives them eternal life, but then he also states negatively: they shall never perish.
Romans 4:21 states: and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Since God has promised to keep the believer, He will do it.
Romans 8:28–30 states that those whom He foreordained or predestinated, called, and justified will also be glorified. This passage makes it very clear that all those who have believed have been called and justified; therefore, these will also be glorified.
Romans 14:4 states: Who are you that judges the servant of another? to his own lord he stands or falls. Yea, he shall be made to stand; for the Lord has power to make him stand.
Because God is able to make him stand, stand he will.
Colossians 3:3 speaks about our life’s being hidden in God; it is so “hidden” that God’s power is going to keep us saved.
2 Timothy 1:12 teaches that He is able to keep that which has been committed. Believers have committed themselves to Him and now He is able to keep them; He has that power.
According to 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, the power of God is manifest in that He will preserve, preserve unto perfect sanctification of the body, the soul and the spirit. For He who called, God the Father, will be the One to do it. This verse also emphasizes that eternal security is guaranteed because of God’s power to keep.
Hebrews 7:25 points out that believers have been saved to the uttermost; God’s power has saved completely. If salvation could be lost, then it was not a complete salvation, and God’s power has a limit.
One more example of God’s power to keep is in Jude 24, which teaches with all confidence that God is able to keep the believer from stumbling and present him faultless before the throne.
So besides the sovereign purpose of God, a second reason dependent upon God the Father is the Father’s power to keep.
3. God’s Infinite Love
A third reason that eternal security is dependent upon God the Father is because of God’s infinite love. Romans 5:7–10 states that, if God sent His Son to die for us when we were His enemies, He would certainly keep us now that we are His friends. The love of God was proved by the sending of His Son to die for our sins while we were His enemies. If God was willing to provide salvation when we were His enemies, the love of God will make sure that He is going to keep us now that we are His friends.
Furthermore, Ephesians 1:4 states that we have been chosen in love. By His love, He has chosen us in order to keep us.
4. The Promise of God
The fourth reason dependent upon God the Father for eternal security is based upon the promise of God. God made a specific promise of eternal security, and the promises of God can never be rendered null and void. John 3:16 states that the believer will not perish. If a believer could lose his salvation and end up in Hell, then obviously a believer can perish. But according to this passage, once a person has accepted Yeshua as his Savior, as his Messiah, he simply will not perish.
Then John 5:24 teaches that the believer has already passed from death into life. The promise is that we already have eternal life, because we have passed from spiritual death to spiritual life, and spiritual life is eternal life. The Scriptures always emphasize that believers have eternal life at the present time. If it could be lost, it was not eternal, but only temporary.
In Hebrews 6:16–19, the writer based his argument upon the promise of God and the oath of God. As if the promise of God were not enough, God added His oath to the promise. The content of the promise and the oath is that believers are going to be kept safe.
These are the reasons for eternal security, which are dependent upon God the Father.
Excerpt from Dr Arnold Fruchtenbaum:
MBS102 ETERNAL SECURITY: Pg 8-10
