Is God’s Foreknowledge only an attribute or is it also an action?

Is God’s Foreknowledge only an attribute or is it also an action?

Thomas Aquinas, Millard J. Erickson, Louis Berkhof, and Wayne Grudem all acknowledge Foreknowledge as a noun is an aspect of the broader aspect of God’s omniscience. God’s foreknowing is an action verb and the first cause of all things.

πρόγνωσις (noun) prognōsis foreknowledge

Lexical meaning: BDAG: foreknowledge; predetermination, Louw-Nida: to know beforehand, to know already, to have foreknowledge

Uses in scripture: Acts 2:23 (KJV): 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

1 Peter 1:2 (KJV): 2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Application: When used as a noun, God’s foreknowledge is the source of all things, not merely the awareness of all things.

προγινώσκω (verb) proginōskō know beforehand; foreknow

Lexical meaning: BDAG: have foreknowledge (of); choose beforehand Louw-Nida: to know beforehand, to know already, to have foreknowledge

Uses in scripture: Romans 8:29 (KJV): 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.

Romans 11:2 (KJV): 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,

1 Peter 1:20 (KJV): 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

Application: As with the noun, foreknowledge, God’s foreknowing is a causative action that results in his predestination of the Elect, the preservation of those whom he has elected, and even the sending of his Son.

Conclusion: God’s foreknowledge and foreknowing is both an aspect of his omniscience and the first cause of all things.