To be predestinated as a believer is to be predetermined for a position as a full son and joint heir with Christ, not to be predestined to heaven or hell.
According to Les Feldick, God predestinates every believer to be conformed to the image of His Son and to be placed as a joint heir with Christ. This happens immediately at salvation and is described in Ephesians 1 as being predestinated unto the adoption of children. The believer's inheritance is according to God's purpose and the good pleasure of His will.
Ephesians 1:5 — This is the central verse that uses the word predestinated to describe believers being placed as children through Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:11 — This verse connects predestination with obtaining an inheritance according to God's purpose and will.
Romans 8:29 — This verse shows that predestination is about being conformed to the image of Christ, not about choosing heaven or hell.
Romans 8:17 — This verse confirms that believers who are children of God are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.
Ephesians 1:4-5 says, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.” This plainly connects being chosen in Christ to a predestined position of sonship before God through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:11 adds, “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” Romans 8:29 states, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:17 goes on to say that believers are “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.”
Les Feldick teaches that predestination is not about a destination of heaven or hell; it is about a position God has reserved for every believer. In Romans 8, that position is being conformed to the image of God's Son. In Ephesians 1, it is being predestinated unto the adoption of children. He explains this using the Roman and Greek practice of adoption, where a trained child was placed as a full partner with the father. The moment a person believes, God immediately places that believer as a full son and joint heir with Christ, without years of striving or waiting. Les also emphasizes that this is all according to God's purpose and the counsel of His will, and that God, before anything was ever created, knew the believer and where he would be in the Body of Christ.
No. Les Feldick teaches that the predestination Paul speaks of is not a destination of heaven or hell. In Romans 8, it is a position God has reserved for every individual believer—being conformed or made like the Son. In Ephesians 1, it is being predestinated unto the adoption of children. He connects this to God's foreknowledge, noting that before anything was ever created, God knew the believer and where he would be in the Body of Christ.
Les explains that adoption in Paul's day referred to the Roman and Greek practice in which a child born to a husband and wife was placed under tutors, educated, and trained for a position with his father. When ready, the son went through the rites of adoption and was placed as a full partner with the father. Les applies this to believers: the moment we are saved, God places us as full heirs with Jesus Christ. It does not mean being taken from another family; it means being placed as a full son who shares the inheritance.
Les teaches that this predestined position is received immediately at salvation. As soon as a person believes, God declares him a full son of the Father and a joint heir with Christ. There is no need to work for twenty years or strive to attain it. Because believers are already children of God, they are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. Les uses the example of joint heirship between a husband and wife: what belongs to one belongs to the other, so all that is Christ's will one day be ours.
Predestination is a position, not a destination
Les explains that the predestination of Romans 8 concerns the believer's position of being conformed to the Son, and he connects it to Ephesians 1:5, where believers are predestinated unto adoption as children.
Full son now, joint heir with Christ
At the moment of salvation, Les says God declares the believer a full son of the Father and a joint heir with Christ, so everything that belongs to Christ will one day be ours.
Adoption as instant full partnership
Les explains Roman/Greek adoption as the placement of a trained son into a full partnership with the father, and applies it to salvation: the moment we believe, God places us as full heirs with Jesus Christ.
Inheritance and God's purpose
Les points to Ephesians 1:11 to show that believers have obtained an inheritance and are predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will.
Foreknowledge, not final destination
Les teaches that God, before anything was ever created, knew the believer and where he would be in the Body of Christ, and that God already sees the believer as glorified with Christ.
Born into family, placed as heir
Les distinguishes being born into God's family from the additional act of God placing the believer as a full heir, and he insists believers are joint heirs, not just distant heirs.
Purpose behind predestination
Les draws attention to Ephesians 1:11 and 2 Timothy 1:9 to show that predestination is according to God's purpose and the counsel of His will.
Already children, already joint heirs
Les emphasizes the Spirit's present-tense witness that believers are already children of God, so they are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
Ephesians 1:4: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Shows that being chosen in Christ before creation is tied to holiness and being set apart before God.
Ephesians 1:5: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
The key verse on being predestinated as a believer to the position of adoption as God's child.
Ephesians 1:11: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Connects predestination with receiving an inheritance according to God's purpose and will.
Romans 8:16: The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Establishes that believers are already children of God in the present tense.
Romans 8:17: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Shows that being God's children makes believers joint heirs with Christ.
Romans 8:29: For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Describes predestination as being conformed to Christ's image rather than a destination of heaven or hell.
2 Timothy 1:9: Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
Shows that salvation and calling are according to God's purpose and grace given in Christ before the world began.
No. According to Les Feldick, the predestination Paul describes is not about choosing who goes to heaven or hell. It is about a position God has reserved for believers—being conformed to the image of His Son and placed as a joint heir with Christ.
It means that God has predetermined that believers would be placed as full sons, not merely children born into the family, and as joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Les explains this using the Roman and Greek practice of adoption, where a son was trained and then placed as a full partner with the father.
When a person believes, God immediately places that believer as a full son and joint heir with Christ. Romans 8:17 says children of God are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, and Les uses the husband-wife example to show that what belongs to Christ will belong to us.
Watch the Teaching: Romans 8:24-29 — Does God Choose You or Do You Choose Him?