Systematic Theology: Lesson 11 - The Decree of God
THE DECREE OF GOD
Theology Proper - Lesson 11
The Bible has presented us with the
God who is perfect in every way, without beginning or end, infinite in nature, incomparable
in every way. We have been humbled as we have learned that God is not just a
bigger and better version of us. He is who He is; and we are merely His
creations, weak and finite, dependent and needy. Everything we have comes from
His hand. Whatever we are, it is because He knit us together in our mother’s
womb (Psa 139:13); and even there He knew us and had plans for us (cf. Jer
1:5).
1. Gen 45:8 – “Now,
therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made
me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the
land of Egypt.”
Joseph’s brothers had indeed sold him into slavery in Egypt. They
rightly understood their guilt in the matter. Joseph, however, saw past their
actions to the One who had used such a matter for good. God had so worked
through the evil actions of Joseph’s brothers that it was the same as God
working it. Notice how Joseph says that God had sent him to Egypt. Also, it was
Pharaoh who chose to make Joseph second-in-command of Egypt, yet at the same
time it was God making him a father to Pharaoh and lord over all his household
and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Which is it? Did Joseph’s brothers and
Pharaoh do the actions? Or did God?
2. Gen 50:20 – “As for
you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to
bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”
After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers fear that Joseph will now punish
them for their actions. But Joseph holds fast to this understanding of God’s
sovereignty over their actions. They meant what they did as evil against
Joseph, but God meant it for good in order to accomplish His good pleasure in
preserving the fledgling nation of Israel in Egypt as well as preserving many
nations through the famine (that He Himself sent!). Notice that God’s
sovereignty does not dismiss human responsibility or culpability. Nor does it
make God guilty of sin. The instrument might mean it for evil, however God
means it for good.
3. Exodus 4:21 – “The
LORD said to Moses, ‘When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before
Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his
heart so that he will not let the people go.’”
The Lord Himself tells Moses that his ministry before Pharaoh will be (at
first) unsuccessful. Pharaoh will not listen to Moses and let the people go.
However, “the Bible takes us beyond secondary causes to the great first cause,
the Creator God, who rules all things in heaven and earth.”[2] At times,
the text will tell us Pharaoh hardened his heart. However, like this text, we
find that the ultimate cause of Pharaoh hardening his heart is Yahweh.[3]
4. 1 Samuel 2:6-8 – “The
LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The LORD
makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts. He raises the poor from the
dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, and
inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and He
set the world on them.”
Hannah’s prayer recognizes the free sovereignty of God. He gives life
and takes it away. He determines wealth. He determines social status. He
supplies the needy. He does all these things, because everything belongs to
Him.
5. Job 14:5 – “Since
his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; And his
limits You have set so that he cannot pass.”
Job recognizes that God determines how long a person’s life is, down to
the day. No matter how a person tries, he can never exceed (or diminish) the
limit of days set by the Almighty.
6. Psalm 33:11 – "The
counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart from
generation to generation."
God’s decree is eternal and unchangeable. He reveals His plans to man
at different times (from generation to generation), but His counsel has always
been.
7. Psalm 119:89-91 – “Forever,
O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness continues
throughout all generations; You established the earth and it stands. They stand
this day according to Your ordinances, For all things are Your
servants.”
God’s decree is eternal, and it is revealed by His actions in each generation.
By His Word, He established the earth and sustains it. The heavens and earth
are His servants, doing all His holy will.
8. Proverbs 16:4 – “The
LORD has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the
day of evil.”
Solomon recognizes that if God made everything, He made it for a
purpose. Therefore, even the wicked have a purpose. God made them to be
instruments of discipline and sanctification for His holy ones and to show
forth His justice on the day of judgment. “God asserts here, in simple terms,
that His plan is so all-encompassing that even the rebellion of man will in the
end be made to serve His purposes.”[4]
9. Proverbs 16:33 – “The
lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD.”
God’s sovereignty extends even to the ‘flipping of a coin.’ God decides
every outcome, yet, generally, upholds what we have termed ‘the law of
probability.’[5]
10. Isaiah 45:7 – “The
One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating
calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.”
Notice how God does not back off from accepting the responsibility for
calamity. “All the events of history and their strange convolutions are
ultimately traceable to Jehovah.”[6]
11.
Isaiah 46:10 – "Declaring the end from the
beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose
will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’"
God asserts that He already decreed the end. How else could He then make
it known (declare it) to people. His apparent ‘foresight’ to men is not Him
looking into the future and learning what will happen. It is determining it, so
that His purpose will be established. He has a goal, a good pleasure, which He
is accomplishing.
12.
Isaiah 46:11 – "Calling a bird of prey from the
east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken;
truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do
it."
Before Cyrus[7] ever lived,
God planned to bring him to accomplish His purpose in Babylon and Israel. Note
that if God plans something, He will surely do it. Though Cyrus acted according
to his own will, God was working in and through Cyrus to do exactly what He
desired.
13.
Isaiah 49:8 – "Thus says the Lord, 'In a favorable
time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And
I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people, To restore the land,
to make them inherit the desolate heritages.'"
Speaking to the Messiah, the servant, God says He acts in a favorable
time. This favorable time is according to His own wisdom and free choice. At
the right time, He would raise the Messiah up as the New Covenant for the
people that will bring about the restoration of the land of Israel.
14.
Isaiah 53:10 – "But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt
offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good
pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand."
Again, concerning the Messiah, the servant, the Lord decreed that He
would be crushed and put to grief. His death would be a guilt offering for His
offspring (all who believe in Him). Yet, God decreed that the Messiah would not
stay dead but prolong His days and prosper Him.
15.
Jeremiah 4:28 – "For this the earth shall mourn
And the heavens above be dark, Because I have spoken, I have purposed,
And I will not change My mind, nor will I turn from it."
God had determined judgment on Judah and would not turn back from it.
16. Jeremiah 23:18 – "But
who has stood in the council of the Lord, That he should see and hear
His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened?"
Jeremiah asserts that, in contrast to the false prophets, he had stood
in the Lord’s counsel.[8] Jeremiah
and the prophets received the Word of God directly from His mouth. God revealed
His plans to His prophets.
17. Acts 2:23 – "This
Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of
God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to
death."
See how God determined and brought about the crucifixion in a way that
still makes the perpetrators guilty of the worst act of evil, yet accomplishes
the greatest good ever. God doesn’t back away from this language. HE brought
about the cross. HE was guiding all events toward it. HE had predetermined and
foreknown this event eternally and unchangeably.
18.
Acts 4:27-28 – "For truly in this city there
were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both
Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to
do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur."
The church saw the crucifixion as the fulfillment of Psalm 2 (quoted in
the previous verses) wherein the nations rage against God and His Messiah. But
they recognized that this was all according to God’s purpose and predestination
and was brought about by His hand.
19.
Acts 17:26 – "and He made from one man every
nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined
their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation."
Paul preaches that God determines the appointed times of individual
people and nations AND where they live. A country cannot extend its borders
apart from God’s decree.
20.
Romans 8:28 – "And we know that God causes
all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who
are called according to His purpose."
This is the classic statement of God’s sovereignty that causes all
things (good and evil alike) to work together for good to those who love Him.
AND those who love Him are those who were first called according to His
purpose.
21.
Romans 8:29-30 – "For those whom He foreknew,
He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that
He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined,
He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and
these whom He justified, He also glorified."
Notice all of the sovereignty words: foreknew, predestined, called.
Notice that Paul views justification and glorification as sovereign acts of
God. See also that God’s sovereignty in salvation is always spoken of toward a
specific group of people, whom He foreknew, predestined, and called.
22.
Romans 9:11 – "for though the twins were not yet
born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according
to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who
calls."
In a chapter that focuses on God’s sovereignty over the hearts of men,
Paul focuses here on God’s calling and choosing of Jacob from the womb. He
emphasizes that it was God’s free choice to choose Jacob instead of Esau by
showing that it was not in response to any good or bad thing either one would
do. God’s choice of Jacob was not that He looked forward and saw that Jacob
would believe.
23.
Romans 9:23 – "And He did so to make known the
riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand
for glory."
Still focused upon God’s sovereignty, Paul asserts that God’s purpose
in saving some is to display the riches of His glory upon those upon whom He
has mercy. 9:18 asserted that God’s mercy is His free choice. Now, we see that
He shows mercy to some whom He chose and prepared beforehand to bring glory to
Himself.
24.
1 Corinthians 2:7 – "but we speak God’s wisdom
in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to
our glory."
The good news of the gospel was all predestined eternally, not just for
God’s glory but also (in a lesser way) for ours.
25.
Ephesians 1:5 – "He predestined us to
adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention
of His will."
God predestined some to adoption through Jesus to Himself, simply
because He willed it. It was His kind intention that made Him do it.
26.
Ephesians 1:9 – "He made known to us the mystery
of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in
Him."
Again, because of His kind intention, He revealed the mystery of His
will in His Word.
27.
Ephesians 1:11 – "also we have obtained an
inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all
things after the counsel of His will."
Our inheritance in Jesus was given to us by God’s predestination. He
predestinated us to have this inheritance because of His own purpose. He simply
willed it. He followed the free counsel of His own will.
28.
Ephesians 2:10 – "For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand
so that we would walk in them."
We are new creations in Jesus Christ, having been made new by God in
order to carry out the good works for which God purposed us.
29. Ephesians 3:11 – "This
was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in
Christ Jesus our Lord."
Paul’s preaching to the Gentiles about the salvation of Jew and Gentile
in Jesus Christ and the creation of the church (the new man and the
administration and the mystery) was to show God’s wisdom to spiritual
observers. All of this was done according to His eternal purpose which He
carried out in Christ Jesus.
30. 2 Thess 2:13 – “But
we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord,
because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through
sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”
Paul assures the Thessalonians of their election by God and His
continued work in them. God chooses people to be saved, sanctified, filled with
the Spirit, faithful, and walking in the truth.
31.
2 Timothy 1:9 – "who has saved us and called
us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His
own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all
eternity."
God saves His elect and calls them with a holy calling. He does not do
so because of anything they do, but simply because of His own eternal purpose
and grace. Notice that the grace He lavishes on us is eternal and unchangeable.
32.
Hebrews 6:17 – "In the same way God, desiring
even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His
purpose, interposed with an oath."
God’s purpose is unchangeable. This is emphasized by the covenants He
made in the Old Testament.
33.
1 Peter 1:2 – "according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus
Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the
fullest measure."
God saves His elect according to His foreknowing of them.
34.
1 Peter 1:20 – "For He was foreknown
before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for
the sake of you."
Jesus’ incarnation and atonement was decreed before the foundation of
the world, and it was revealed in time for our sake.
CONCLUSIONS FROM THE ABOVE SCRIPTURES
These texts, and many others,
demonstrate to us:[9]
1.
God’s decree is eternal (Psa 33:11; 119:89-91; Isa
46:10; 1 Cor 2:7; 2 Tim 1:9).
2.
God’s decree is unchangeable (Psa 33:11; 119:89-91; Jer
4:28; Heb 6:17).
3.
God’s decree is free and unconditional. It is not
determined by outside influences (Isa 46:10: Rom 9:11).
4.
God’s decree has an end, goal, purpose (Gen 45:8;
50:20; Prov 16:4; Rom 8:28; 9:11, 23; Eph 2:10; 3:11; 2 Tim 1:9).
5.
The end of God’s decree is good (Isa 46:10; 53:10;
Rom 8:28; Eph 1:5, 9).
6.
God acts according to His eternal decree (Psa 33:11;
119:89-91; Eph 1:11).
7.
God accomplishes His decree in His time (Isa 49:8).
8.
God works His will through people, so that their
evil actions move forward the plans of His eternal decree (Gen 45:8; 50:20;
Exod 4:21; Isa 46:11; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28).
9.
God’s decree determines everything in the Creation (1 Sam
2:6-8; Eph 1:11).
a.
The length of a person’s life (Job 14:5)
b.
Seemingly random things (Prov 16:33)
c.
Social Status (1 Sam 2:6-8)
d.
Wealth (1 Sam 2:6-8)
e.
Wicked deeds (Gen 45:8; 50:20; Exod 4:21; Prov 16:4; Isa
53:10; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28)
f.
Calamities (Isa 45:7; Isa 46:11)
g.
Raising up kings (1 Sam 2:6-8; Isa 46:11)
h.
Setting borders (Acts 17:26)
i.
The Messiah (Isa 49:8; 53:10; Acts 2:23; Eph 3:11; 1 Pet
1:20)
j.
The restoration (Isa 49:8)
10. God’s decree has specified
those whom He will save (Rom 8:28-30; 9:11, 23; Eph 1:5, 11; 2:10; 2
Thess 2:13; 2 Tim 1:9; 2 Pet 1:2).
a.
Their justification (Rom 8:29-30; 2 Thess 2:13)
b.
Their sanctification (Rom 8:29-30; 2 Thess 2:13; 2 Pet 1:2)
c.
Their faith (2 Thess 2:13)
d.
Their good works (Eph 2:10; 2 Pet 1:2)
e.
Their trials (Rom 8:29-30)
f.
Their adoption (Eph 1:5, 11; Heb 6:17)
g.
Their glorification (Rom 8:29-30)
11. God has revealed
parts of His decree in the Bible (Jer 23:18; Eph 1:9).
12. Every aspect of God’s
decree will be accomplished (Isa 46:10-11).
13. God’s purpose in His will
is His own glory (Rom 9:23; 1 Cor 2:7).
DEFINING GOD’S DECREE
Now, consider whether these
definitions of God’s decree hit the mark:
The Westminster Shorter Catechism -
“His eternal purpose according to the counsel of His will, whereby, for His own
glory, He has foreordained whatever comes to pass.”
The Westminster Confession of Faith –
“God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will,
freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby
neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence offered to the will of the
creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but
rather established.”
Mook – “God’s eternal plan, whereby,
according to His decretive will and for His glory, He foreordained everything
that occurs.”[10]
Grudem – “The decrees of God are the
eternal plans of God whereby, before the creation of the world, he determined
to bring about everything that happens.”[11]
We sometimes refer to this as COMPATABALISTIC
DETERMINISM. In other words, we recognize that God’s sovereignty is
all-encompassing, yet people act according to their free will. How exactly
these two go together is a mystery to us, but it is not a mystery to God.
As we observed when we studied God’s
omnipotence, will is tied to nature. God’s will reflects His nature, thereby
all that He does is good. Men and women have a will that reflects their nature.
Since all people inherit a fallen nature from Adam, their nature reflects the
fall. People freely make their moral choices according to their thinking and
desires, however, those choices arise from a nature that is fundamentally
opposed to obeying God. So, people act freely in their sin and are not coerced
by God to act against their nature. Nevertheless, God has decreed their free
acts by decreeing that He will permit them to sin.
I am aware of how uncomfortable that
makes us feel. But we do well to hold onto the tension. If we let go of either
God’s sovereignty or man’s free will, we end up in a ditch. If we let go of
God’s sovereignty and over-emphasize man’s free will, we end up in the ditch of
Arminianism and Open Theism. If we let go of man’s free will, we end up in the
ditch of Hyper-Calvinism and Fatalistic Determinism.
Beloved, hold onto the mystery.
Embrace both God’s absolute sovereignty and man’s free will. Trust Him that He
is absolutely good and not culpable for man’s sins. Let this draw your thoughts
of Him higher and higher. Let it deepen your worship. See how BIG your God is!
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
The question is often brought up, how
can a good God allow such evil things to happen in the world? This is known as THE
PROBLEM OF EVIL. The short answer, of course, is that we all have sinned
and fall short of His glory (cf. Rom 3:23) and we deserve much worse than any
evil we encounter in this world (cf. Isa 66:24; Mark 9:48; Rev 20:14-15).
Of course, if God is as sovereign as
the Bible says He is, then couldn’t He have made a world in which Adam and Eve
never sinned and the curse never entered the world? Of course! But then there
would have been no cross. No atonement. No grace. No mercy. No covenant
faithfulness displayed. No adoption. No sanctification. God’s wrath and
jealousy would be unseen and unknown. Rather, “what if God, although
willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much
patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known
the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for
glory?” (Rom 9:22-23). If God had created the world and decreed there
would be no fall, there would be no glorious salvation. Rather, in His wisdom,
He decreed the Fall and all of the evil encountered in this world, so that we
would be saved from it. This glorifies Him! We bring Him glory! We add our
praises to those of the angels and of the redeemed saints from all ages.
For this reason, we can rejoice, even “though
our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” We
can take heart, even in the midst of the worst suffering we encounter, because “momentary,
light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all
comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things
which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor 4:16-18).
Believe in God. We don’t exhaustively understand
His purposes with all of the evil and suffering we encounter in this world. But
we know Him who is sovereign over it all. And He is good. Perfectly good. Trust
Him in the darkest of times. Let His light shine among all of those who are
suffering. Point them to Christ and glorify Him!
AS WE CONCLUDE OUR STUDY OF THEOLOGY PROPER, I pray that God has been adequately
set before your eyes as He who is perfect beyond our imaginations, yet is near
to each of us. Know His perfect love for you, O believer. Hear His song of joy
over you. Glorify Him forever and ever.
[1] It is proper to speak of a
singular ‘decree’ to speak of everything that God decrees. We may also use the
plural ‘decrees’ in the same way. They are interchangeable.
[2] Motyer, The Message of Exodus
, 90.
[3] Three times, God declares He
will harden Pharaoh’s heart (Exod 4:21; 7:3; 14:4); six times, God hardens
Pharaoh’s heart (Exod 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:8); seven times Pharaoh’s
heart “was hardened” with the implication of God being the subject that
accomplishes the hardening (Exod 7:13, 14, 22; 8:19; 9:7, 35; 14:5). Finally,
Pharaoh is said to harden his own heart three times (Exod 8:15, 32; 9:34).
Pharaoh’s hardening his heart is called sin (cf. Rom 10:16-17; 9:34). See all
of Paul’s discussion of this sovereignty/responsibility in Romans 9.
[4] Kitchen, Proverbs, 352.
[5] Kitchen, ibid, 370 notes
that “there may be rare occasions when the use of some form of lot is not
unwarranted. When might that be? There is a lazy, superstitious use of the lot
and other such means that is not recommended here. The use of the lot…ought
never to supersede the biblical commandments and the application of scriptural
principles…When, having followed biblical injunctions to their limit, you are
left with several options, all of which are acceptable to God, the lot may be
used to decide among them…But where there is biblical direction, the lot should
never replace obedience to it.”
[6] Buksbazen, The Prophet Isaiah,
362.
[7] “To his enemies, especially the Babylonians, Cyrus must
have appeared as an enormous ravenous bird who swooped down and carried off his
victims one by one. He was appointed by Jehovah to carry out His plan for
Israel’s redemption.” Buksbazen, Ibid, 362.
[8] “Here, it is the circle of those
who are privy to the deep purposes of Yahweh and are in his confidence.”
Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah, 497.
[9] This is a summary of ONLY the 34
verses listed in the first 8 pages. MANY more verses could be brought to bear.
But this is a good representative (and manageable) list that more than makes
our case.
[10] Mook, Unpublished
Class Notes, 299.
[11] Grudem, Systematic
Theology, 332.
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