““Before the foundation of the world' ... These words do not occur in Scripture as a threat ... They are not placed in a context in which they make us dizzy in the face of an unapproachable 'eternity', ... but they are intended to show us the source of our eternal salvation ... 'Before' indicates that this divine act of salvation, preached to us by the gospel, is free from what we know in the world to be arbitrary and precarious ... this salvation did not originate in our flesh and blood ... it is by no means of human merit or creation ... the salvation ... has its eternal foundation in the love of God.””
