His People He foreknew !

[brightfame52]

Rom 11:1-2

I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying,

Now who are this people God foreknew ? Its all His People He foreknew in Christ, those Chosen in Him before the world began, whether jews or gentiles. Jesus their redeemer was foreknew for them specifically as their redeemer 1 Pet 1:18-20

18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

The word foreordained proginōskō is the same word for foreknew in Rom 11:2

These people God chose in union with Christ before the foundation of the world Eph 1:4

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:

The prep in denotes "inclusion within"

So His People He foreknew are those who He chose in Him who was the foreknew, foreordained one, their redeemer who would be in time manifested for them.

Those Whom God foreknew, His People, had a Eternal Union with Christ, by His own doing !

 

[brightfame52]

His People He foreknew were appointed heirs in Him and with Him; and we were loved as personally considered in Him. He was the comprehending Head in whom were embraced all the members.

Christ as the Head of Election, was appointed Head heir of all things Heb 1:2

2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

By Eternal Union with Christ, the foreknown ones were Co Heirs with Christ having been Chosen in Him Rom 8:17

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs[Union] with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Remember these[joint-heirs with Christ] are the same ones Paul says a few verses later Rom 8:28-29

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

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.

So His People He foreknew Rom 11:2 were Joint Heirs with Christ Rom 8:17 and this before the foundation, For Christ made the Worlds, and He was their Head then Col 1:17-18

17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Prov 8:22

22 The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

 

[GWH]

Rom 11:1-2

I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying,

Now who are this people God foreknew ? Its all His People He foreknew in Christ, those Chosen in Him before the world began, whether jews or gentiles. Jesus their redeemer was foreknew for them specifically as their redeemer 1 Pet 1:18-20

18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

The word foreordained proginōskō is the same word for foreknew in Rom 11:2

These people God chose in union with Christ before the foundation of the world Eph 1:4

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:

The prep in denotes "inclusion within"

So His People He foreknew are those who He chose in Him who was the foreknew, foreordained one, their redeemer who would be in time manifested for them.

Those Whom God foreknew, His People, had a Eternal Union with Christ, by His own doing !

Yes, my understanding of Ephesians jibes with yours:

The doctrine of election can be harmonized with the doctrine of an all-loving God by understanding the meaning of “in Christ” in Ephesians 1:3-14.

1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

In the EPH passage we can see that what the all-loving God predestined was NOT that some souls would be damned, but rather the plan of salvation to elect potentially all humanity, whom He loves and atoned for (1TM 2:3-5), if they exercise their God-given grace of volition to accept His offer of grace IN Christ (2Thes. 2:10).

 

[studier]

In the EPH passage we can see that what the all-loving God predestined was NOT that some souls would be damned, but rather the plan of salvation to elect potentially all humanity, whom He loves and atoned for (1TM 2:3-5), if they exercise their God-given grace of volition to accept His offer of grace IN Christ (2Thes. 2:10).

In effect, since some would choose to believe and some would not choose to believe, was He not predestining to be damned the souls who would choose not to believe? Or is "predestining" not the word to use since predestining has a precise application?

On another note, identifying the "us", "we", "you" in Scripture can always be a task and an interesting exercise.

As an example, in your statements, who is "we"?

How would this exercise clarify these Eph verses?

 

[brightfame52]

Yes, my understanding of Ephesians jibes with yours:

The doctrine of election can be harmonized with the doctrine of an all-loving God by understanding the meaning of “in Christ” in Ephesians 1:3-14.

1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

In the EPH passage we can see that what the all-loving God predestined was NOT that some souls would be damned, but rather the plan of salvation to elect potentially all humanity, whom He loves and atoned for (1TM 2:3-5), if they exercise their God-given grace of volition to accept His offer of grace IN Christ (2Thes. 2:10).

This is false witnessing

 

[studier]

@GWH what translation are you using?

The 1Tim2:4 version of Eph1:3-10 - is this what Paul is saying?

1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us-humanity in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us-humanity in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us-humanity to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us-humanity in the One he loves. In him we-humanity have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us-humanity with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us-humanity the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

 

[GWH]

In effect, since some would choose to believe and some would not choose to believe, was He not predestining to be damned the souls who would choose not to believe? Or is "predestining" not the word to use since predestining has a precise application?

On another note, identifying the "us", "we", "you" in Scripture can always be a task and an interesting exercise.

As an example, in your statements, who is "we"?

How would this exercise clarify these Eph verses?

God preplanned that those who rejected salvation would reap the logical and just consequence of such foolishness,
and because He graces all sinners with MFW to repent, their choice not to do so is self-condemning.

You are astute to note the importance of identifying those pronouns.
In my statement "we" includes those who can discern MFW implied where IF is stated.

 

[GWH]

This is false witnessing

Our understanding of Ephesians is false?!

 

[GWH]

@GWH what translation are you using?

The 1Tim2:4 version of Eph1:3-10 - is this what Paul is saying?

1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us-humanity in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us-humanity in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us-humanity to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us-humanity in the One he loves. In him we-humanity have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us-humanity with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us-humanity the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

The NIV. Yes! Good sewing Scripture together with spiritual thread (aka connecting dots).

 

[studier]

God preplanned that those who rejected salvation would reap the logical and just consequence of such foolishness,
and because He graces all sinners with MFW to repent, their choice not to do so is self-condemning.

So, are the self-condemning predestined for damnation or is predestined not appropriate to use in this sense?

You are astute to note the importance of identifying those pronouns.
In my statement "we" includes those who can discern MFW implied where IF is stated.

It's basic exegetical work and in many if not most instances very difficult to do.

I was wondering if the "we" includes the host of this thread and some others "we" know.

 

[studier]

The NIV. Yes! Good sewing Scripture together with spiritual thread (aka connecting dots).

Must be an older version of the NIV. I ran into this with Rufus recently. I have the 2011 version on my system and the "...one head, even..." phrase in v.10 is not in it. It was an interesting insertion, especially for these threads as it fits the corporate election point of view with Christ - the Chosen - as the new [federal] head of the new race into which men who choose to believe are entered into and thereby become one of the chosen by spiritual birth into Him and become one with Him in Him.

Do you think the elaborating of those pronouns work in every instance in those verses? Do you see a switch going into v.11?

 

[GWH]

So, are the self-condemning predestined for damnation or is predestined not appropriate to use in this sense?

It's basic exegetical work and in many if not most instances very difficult to do.

I was wondering if the "we" includes the host of this thread and some others "we" know.

The correct statement IMO is: "God pre-destined/-determined/-planned that those who rejected salvation would reap the logical and just consequence of such foolishness, which is a just hell.

"We" could refer to the OP host, if it is possible for God to know who will exercise MFW wisely by cooperating with His plan/accepting Christ.

 

[GWH]

Must be an older version of the NIV. I ran into this with Rufus recently. I have the 2011 version on my system and the "...one head, even..." phrase in v.10 is not in it. It was an interesting insertion, especially for these threads as it fits the corporate election point of view with Christ - the Chosen - as the new [federal] head of the new race into which men who choose to believe are entered into and thereby become one of the chosen by spiritual birth into Him and become one with Him in Him.

Do you think the elaborating of those pronouns work in every instance in those verses? Do you see a switch going into v.11?

Mine is the 1982 version given to me at my ordination service in that year.

Not sure that I would call it a complete switch, but I do see a transition of "we" in v.11-14 so that by v.15 "your" refers only to believers or humanity who made (past tense, whereas future tense was previously implied) the wise choice to satisfy IF by repenting and being IN Christ.

 

[studier]

The correct statement IMO is: "God pre-destined/-determined/-planned that those who rejected salvation would reap the logical and just consequence of such foolishness, which is a just hell.

"We" could refer to the OP host, if it is possible for God to know who will exercise MFW wisely by cooperating with His plan/accepting Christ.

Your "IMO" seems to correlate to my use of "in effect" earlier. IOW, predestination is used positively in the Text within God's Salvation Plan. And men already stand condemned to "a just hell", so by rejecting Him they never really entered into the predestined benefits for His Children. So, in a strict sense they weren't really predestined.

To be clear re: the "we" referring to some here, my [rhetorical] wondering had only to do with your saying, "In the EPH passage we can see that...". IOW, who is "we" who can see what the Eph passage says and means?

 

[tablet123]

Rom 11:1-2

I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying,

Now who are this people God foreknew ? Its all His People He foreknew in Christ, those Chosen in Him before the world began, whether jews or gentiles. Jesus their redeemer was foreknew for them specifically as their redeemer 1 Pet 1:18-20

18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

The word foreordained proginōskō is the same word for foreknew in Rom 11:2

These people God chose in union with Christ before the foundation of the world Eph 1:4

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:

The prep in denotes "inclusion within"

So His People He foreknew are those who He chose in Him who was the foreknew, foreordained one, their redeemer who would be in time manifested for them.

Those Whom God foreknew, His People, had a Eternal Union with Christ, by His own doing !

Rom 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
Rom 11:2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
Rom 11:3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
Rom 11:4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
Rom 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

Paul is speaking of the Hebrew people in this case.

Which is why Paul said he is an Israelite.

And why he mentions that they were obedient like the Jews who did not bow the knee to Baal.

Paul is saying God did not throw away the nation of Israel.

Act 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
Act 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Jer 31:35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
Jer 31:36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
Jer 31:37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

Jer 46:27 But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.
Jer 46:28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

The nation of Israel will not depart from being a nation and God always restores Israel.

The kingdom will be restored to Israel with no other operating government.

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Which is why the Bible says all Israel shall be saved when salvation is no longer available to the Gentiles.

Paul is talking about God not giving up on the nation of Israel and for the Gentiles to fear for the Jews who were disobedient were cut off and if they did not continue in goodness they would be cut off.

And for the Gentiles not to be arrogant against Israel for they will all be saved and one day salvation will not be available to Gentiles..

Why would Paul say God would not cast away the saints that He foreknew in the beginning because of course He would not.

But Paul is letting the Gentiles know that God did not cast away the nation of Israel and He has a purpose to save the nation of Israel.

Paul is speaking of the Hebrews that God foreknew and He did not cast them away.

Eze 39:21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
Eze 39:22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
Eze 39:23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
Eze 39:24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.

Eze 39:25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
Eze 39:26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.
Eze 39:27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
Eze 39:28 Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
Eze 39:29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

This is a future event in which Israel as a nation will always be in the truth and never stray again.

The New Age Christ, antichrist, will negotiate peace in the Middle East resulting in a peace treaty and it will pave the way for all Hebrews to go to Israel for the Gentile nations will cause it to happen.

God will bring Israel to the truth and the Gentiles will rebel against the truth for the people that follow the antichrist.

 

[Mem]

Mine is the 1982 version given to me at my ordination service in that year.

Not sure that I would call it a complete switch, but I do see a transition of "we" in v.11-14 so that by v.15 "your" refers only to believers or humanity who made (past tense, whereas future tense was previously implied) the wise choice to satisfy IF by repenting and being IN Christ.

Your "IMO" seems to correlate to my use of "in effect" earlier. IOW, predestination is used positively in the Text within God's Salvation Plan. And men already stand condemned to "a just hell", so by rejecting Him they never really entered into the predestined benefits for His Children. So, in a strict sense they weren't really predestined.

To be clear re: the "we" referring to some here, my [rhetorical] wondering had only to do with your saying, "In the EPH passage we can see that...". IOW, who is "we" who can see what the Eph passage says and means?

I was on break on particular clear bright and brisk day, a day that seemed perfect and, typically on such days, I marvel at the wonder of God and will 'look up' seeking the indication of His presence (yes, I know He is with me always but I also know that He isn't always 'silent' as much as He is 'quiet') and a noticed a special peculiarity of cloud formations distinctly spelling "IFs" so, of course, I've kept this in my spirit ever since.

And I think an IF applies here. "We" are we, 'IF.'

 

[studier]

The 1Tim2:4 version of Eph1:3-10 - is this what Paul is saying?

God's Salvation Plan in Christ for humanity: (?)

1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us-humanity in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us-humanity in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us-humanity to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us-humanity in the One he loves. In him we-humanity have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us-humanity with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us-humanity the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

Those who entered by hoping/believing into God's Salvation Plan in Christ for humanity: (?)

In him we-hopers in Christ were also/indeed (intensive use of kai) chosen/appointed/obtained an inheritance, having been/when we-hopers in Christ were predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we-hopers in Christ, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you-believers also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your-believers salvation. Having believed, you-believers were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our-hopers/believers inheritance until the redemption of those-believers/hopers who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

A few observations:

• Paul may very well be speaking of God's willful, purposeful Salvation Plan for all of humanity and then isolating via the intensive use of "kai" (and, even, namely, indeed) those including himself who first hoped in Christ and then those believed in Christ.
• Re: those who hoped/believed in Christ:
  • In Eph1:11 the NIV's translation of "chosen" is not the usual word that we see being translated as "chosen" or "elected". I've supplied the alternative and main translations for the word used.
  • The verbs "chosen" and "predestined" are the same tenses with "predestined" being a participle modifying the verb "appointed/obtained an inheritance/chosen". It is thus likely that these two words are speaking of the same time.
    • Because of the range of meaning for the verb "chosen" together with the uniform tense of the verb and participle and several ways to translate the participle to find it's intended nuance in meaning; there are several ways to view the meaning of this verse.

 

[studier]

"We" are we, 'IF.'

A small word many seem to frequently bypass.

I was doing a detailed study of the NC commands years ago and the more I encountered the "IF" clauses the more I began to include many of them in that study. IOW, 'if we do this, then ___' is not much different than 'do this, then ____'. In many cases it just seemed stylistic or maybe just to give us something to think about and make sure we knew our thoughts and volition were involved in both forms.

 

[GWH]

Your "IMO" seems to correlate to my use of "in effect" earlier. IOW, predestination is used positively in the Text within God's Salvation Plan. And men already stand condemned to "a just hell", so by rejecting Him they never really entered into the predestined benefits for His Children. So, in a strict sense they weren't really predestined.

To be clear re: the "we" referring to some here, my [rhetorical] wondering had only to do with your saying, "In the EPH passage we can see that...". IOW, who is "we" who can see what the Eph passage says and means?

Yes, I guess IMO does correlate with "in effect/IE" and also with IOW, all of which imply our humility or admission of fallibility.

I would prefer to say that all who reject/ignore God stand condemned to a just hell, but their destiny was not predetermined,
because children raised IAW God's Plan A for parenting may not reject godly instruction until they reach the stage of accountability
per Scripture saying children are not condemned because of the sins of their parents (cf. Pro. 22:6, Psa. 8:2, Ezek. 18:19-20 & 30).

 

[Mem]

A small word many seem to frequently bypass.

I was doing a detailed study of the NC commands years ago and the more I encountered the "IF" clauses the more I began to include many of them in that study. IOW, 'if we do this, then ___' is not much different than 'do this, then ____'. In many cases it just seemed stylistic or maybe just to give us something to think about and make sure we knew our thoughts and volition were involved in both forms.

It seems that "IF" recognizes the possibility that, although the command is an imperative, the is an underlying factor which 'might' work to prevent it.
Which brings to mind my omitted mention of another peculiar cloud formation that accompanied that which I shared earlier, the form of a winged serpent.