𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕝𝕖𝕕𝕘𝕖, 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 & 𝕊𝕒𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝 ℂ𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕩𝕚𝕠𝕟

Long before the vicarious and sacrificial crucifixion of Our Lord, God had stated in the OT

Now, He was simply putting what He had said into action. God is not a dictator for He does not

I) Act upon whim — The scripture tells us that God cannot lie;

He is therefore bound by what he has spoken. This is known as the “Immutability Of God” and again this is not a theory made up by  anyone but found in the scripture itself. For it states

The NT also affirms when it states — “Every good gift and every  perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” [James 1:17; KJV]

II) Restrict And/or Deny Freedom - The  scripture records up to the very last  moments of life, Our Lord stressed on the perfectly voluntary nature of His death.

He repeated in fullest terms the voluntary subordination of Son to Father, which is based upon equality of nature. Thus the Bible says -

“No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This  commandment  have I received of my Father” [John 10:18;KJV]

Actually, God had to create this world with all its imperfections, even though it was clear to Him what the tremendous cost on Him would be.

A) God is Love as the scripture points out (ref 1 John 4:8). He desires love and this fact prevented Him from creating automatons but beings with a free will

B) However, that meant the created being was free to choose or reject the Lord God Almighty. However, He was prepared to sacrifice to the fullest possible measure, to save a fallen humankind. The scripture does not deny this in any way.

“Him,being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God …” [Acts 2:23; KJV]

The mere fact that we know the outcome when viewing a recorded match does not in any way affect the free will of the players

1. God has full cognitive awareness of future free choices
2. Consider the verse - “You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” [Amos 3:2; KJV] — God obviously had cognitive knowledge of every nation on earth; what He means is that He chose and loved Israel uniquely. The word “know” in Hebrew means to set one’s affection on, to enter a covenant relationship with. Our Lord uses the same sense in reverse at the final judgement (ref Matt 7:23). It is not a claim of ignorance but of relational rejection.

God’s foreknowledge, properly understood, is an act of His covenantal will reaching into eternity past, not simply His vantage point for observing a future He otherwise stands outside of and reacts to.

In summation, God's Foreknowledge is in actuality Forelove.

However nobody forced the Lord to go the distance to crucifixion. His response to Peter (ref Mt 26.53) reveals this. Simply put, He did it

1. To fulfill God's promise of a reconciliation given to Adam and Eve (ref Genesis 3:15)
2. To achieve a restored union between God and humankind and
3. Because He loves us.

This rather enigmatic quote from the book of the prophet Isaiah was answered in the NT — “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” [Hebrews 12:2; KJV]