---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If God absolutely and pretemporally…"
description: "\"“If God absolutely and pretemporally decrees that particular persons shall be saved and others damned, apart from any cooperation of human freedom, the..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/thomas-c-oden-31137_arminanism_if-god-absolutely-and-pretemporally-decr_492811.jpg"
---

#  If God absolutely and pretemporally decrees that…

![“If God absolutely and pretemporally decrees that particular persons shall be saved and others damned, apart from any cooperation of human freedom, then God cannot in any sense intend that all shall be saved, as 1 Timothy 4:10 declares. The promise of glory is conditional on grace being received by…” quote by Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/thomas-c-oden-31137_arminanism_if-god-absolutely-and-pretemporally-decr_492811.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/thomas-c-oden-31137_arminanism_if-god-absolutely-and-pretemporally-decr_492811.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/thomas-c-oden-31137_arminanism_if-god-absolutely-and-pretemporally-decr_492811.jpg)

> ““If God absolutely and pretemporally decrees that particular persons shall be saved and others damned, apart from any cooperation of human freedom, then God cannot in any sense intend that all shall be saved, as 1 Timothy 4:10 declares. The promise of glory is conditional on grace being received by faith active in love.””

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Divine election that excludes human cooperation cannot align with the biblical claim that all may be saved, suggesting grace must be received through faith and love.

**In simple terms:** God’s saving plan requires human response.

Key Takeaway

Recognize faith and love as active parts of salvation.

Themes

theology salvation free will

Mood

thoughtful serious

Type

theological philosophical

When to use this quote

- church teaching
- personal belief
- ethical discussions

Key Concepts

predestination grace faith love

Questions to Reflect On

- How does human freedom affect divine promises?
- Can grace be truly unconditional?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Calvinism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calvinism/) [Election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Human freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-freedom/) [Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus/) [Salvation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salvation/)

## Related quotes

> [“Grace works ahead of us to draw us toward faith, to begin its work in us. Even the first fragile intuition of conviction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/grace-works-ahead-of-us-to-draw-us-toward-faith-to-begin-its-work-in/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [All persons shall have full and free liberty of religious opinion; nor shall any be compelled to frequent or maintain any religious institution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/all-persons-shall-have-full-and-free-liberty-of-religious-opinion-nor/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [Sin creates the illusion of freedom. In the end it fools us into seeking freedom from God rather than finding freedom in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-mcmanus/sin-creates-the-illusion-of-freedom-in-the-end-it-fools-us-into/)

[Erwin McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-mcmanus/)

> [“Power is given only to those you allow to have power over you. No man was born with a master. The only master of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/power-is-given-only-to-those-you-allow-to-have-power-over-you-no-man/)

[Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/)

> [All of us who are human beings are in the image of God. But to be in his likeness belongs only to those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diadochos-of-photiki/all-of-us-who-are-human-beings-are-in-the-image-of-god-but-to-be-in/)

[Diadochos of Photiki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diadochos-of-photiki/)

> [I believe in the freedom of God's sons and daughters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buckley/i-believe-in-the-freedom-of-god-s-sons-and-daughters/)

[Pat Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buckley/)

> [Man is certainly free, but he is responsible for this freedom before God as before men. This responsibility is inevitably moral. In order of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/man-is-certainly-free-but-he-is-responsible-for-this-freedom-before/)

[Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/)

> [Freedom is a need of the soul, and nothing else. It is in striving toward God that the soul strives continually after a condition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/freedom-is-a-need-of-the-soul-and-nothing-else-it-is-in-striving/)

[Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/)

> [My crime is that I will not go with the multitude to do evil. My singularity is that when I say that freedom is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/my-crime-is-that-i-will-not-go-with-the-multitude-to-do-evil-my/)

[William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/)

> [“Freedom is within. Only God can give it to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-tareyton/freedom-is-within-only-god-can-give-it-to-you/)

[Criss Tareyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-tareyton/)

> [“Beware of any work for God that causes or allows you to avoid concentrating on Him. A great number of Christian workers worship their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/beware-of-any-work-for-god-that-causes-or-allows-you-to-avoid/)

[Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/)

> [“I am here, Brethren in Christ, to lead you, every man, woman and little child of the Faith, to freedom. God in His mercy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-dunnett/i-am-here-brethren-in-christ-to-lead-you-every-man-woman-and-little/)

[Dorothy Dunnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-dunnett/)

> [“Grace doesn’t free us to live for us. The purpose of God’s grace is not to make your little kingdom of one work better.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/grace-doesn-t-free-us-to-live-for-us-the-purpose-of-god-s-grace-is/)

[Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/)

> [Where true inner freedom is, there is God. And where God is, there we want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/where-true-inner-freedom-is-there-is-god-and-where-god-is-there-we/)

[Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/)

> [“not let sin control the way you live;\* do not give in to sinful desires. 13Do not let any part of your body become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-rikkers/not-let-sin-control-the-way-you-live-do-not-give-in-to-sinful-desires/)

[Doris Rikkers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-rikkers/)

## More by Thomas C. Oden

> [“God’s holiness without God’s love would be unbearable. God’s love without God’s holiness would be unjust. God’s wisdom found a way to bring them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/god-s-holiness-without-god-s-love-would-be-unbearable-god-s-love/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“The faithful have no dread of using the traditional language of the church. Terms like incarnation and resurrection need to be explained, not avoided.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/the-faithful-have-no-dread-of-using-the-traditional-language-of-the/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“Into your hands, 0 Lord, we commit ourselves this day. Give to each one of us a watchful, a humble, and a diligent spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/into-your-hands-0-lord-we-commit-ourselves-this-day-give-to-each-one/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“God's holiness is not an unloving holiness, and God's love is not an unholy love. It is only by keeping these two primary moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/god-s-holiness-is-not-an-unloving-holiness-and-god-s-love-is-not-an/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“The Spirit of God draws or leads the sinner from one phase to another, gradually, in proportion as one is found having a disposition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/the-spirit-of-god-draws-or-leads-the-sinner-from-one-phase-to-another/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“Grace works ahead of us to draw us toward faith, to begin its work in us. Even the first fragile intuition of conviction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/grace-works-ahead-of-us-to-draw-us-toward-faith-to-begin-its-work-in/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“Faith itself is an act of human willing enabled and disciplined by grace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/faith-itself-is-an-act-of-human-willing-enabled-and-disciplined-by/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“The theater in which God has chosen to meet rational creatures quietly is the inward realm of conscience, moral reasoning, prayer, and study, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/the-theater-in-which-god-has-chosen-to-meet-rational-creatures/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“Lord, inspire us to read your Scriptures and meditate upon them day and night. We beg you to give us real understanding of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/lord-inspire-us-to-read-your-scriptures-and-meditate-upon-them-day/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“BECAUSE OF PIETY’S PENCHANT for taking itself too seriously, theology does well to nurture a modest, unguarded sense of comedy. Some droll sensibility is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/because-of-piety-s-penchant-for-taking-itself-too-seriously-theology/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“Experiential sanctification is an ongoing process of daily rededication, reconsecration, mortification, and vivification of the whole person to God. It calls for believers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/experiential-sanctification-is-an-ongoing-process-of-daily/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“The church that weds itself to modernity is already a widow within postmodernity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/the-church-that-weds-itself-to-modernity-is-already-a-widow-within/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“Eternal God, the refuge of all your children, in our weakness you are our strength, in our darkness our light, in our sorrow our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/eternal-god-the-refuge-of-all-your-children-in-our-weakness-you-are/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“early modern Christianity is often portrayed as an essentially European religion. This is regrettable because classic Christianity has its pre-European roots in cultures that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/early-modern-christianity-is-often-portrayed-as-an-essentially/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

> [“Faith is not a meritorious cause of election, but it is constantly attested as the sole condition of salvation. Faith merely receives the merit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/faith-is-not-a-meritorious-cause-of-election-but-it-is-constantly/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

[Explore all 16 Thomas C. Oden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

## More Arminanism quotes

> [“Grace works ahead of us to draw us toward faith, to begin its work in us. Even the first fragile intuition of conviction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/grace-works-ahead-of-us-to-draw-us-toward-faith-to-begin-its-work-in/)

[Thomas C. Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/)

Browse all 2 Arminanism quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“If God absolutely and pretemporally decrees that particular persons shall be saved and others damned, apart from any cooperation of human freedom, then God cannot in any sense intend that all shall be saved, as 1 Timothy 4:10 declares. The promise of glory is conditional on grace being received by faith active in love.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas C. Oden"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/if-god-absolutely-and-pretemporally-decrees-that-particular-persons/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Arminanism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/if-god-absolutely-and-pretemporally-decrees-that-particular-persons/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/thomas-c-oden-31137_arminanism_if-god-absolutely-and-pretemporally-decr_492811.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/thomas-c-oden-31137_arminanism_if-god-absolutely-and-pretemporally-decr_492811.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/thomas-c-oden-31137_arminanism_if-god-absolutely-and-pretemporally-decr_492811.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If God absolutely and pretemporally decrees that particular persons shall be saved and others damned, apart…” — Thomas C. Oden",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Thomas C. Oden",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-oden/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“If God absolutely and pretemporally decrees...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/if-god-absolutely-and-pretemporally-decrees-that-particular-persons/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-oden/if-god-absolutely-and-pretemporally-decrees-that-particular-persons/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
