A Short Excursus on the Word "Ordain"

Prior to tackling the third chapter of the Confession it would be profitable to spend a moment thinking about the meaning of "ordain," not in the sense of establishing a man in a church office (as we would speak of ordaining a deacon) but in the sense of permitting or allowing. Some people who have no difficulty affirming the existence of God stumble over the concept that God ordains all things. That sounds too deterministic to their ears. Yet if we think about the matter, we reach the inescapable conclusion that it must be so or God cannot be God. If we insist that God does not ordain all things, necessarily there are some things over which he has no control. How can God work all things according to the wisdom of his counsel--and cause things such as prophecy to be fulfilled, for example--if there are some things outside of his control? Dr. Sproul is fond of talking about the "one maverick molecule" that may throw a monkey wrench into God's eternal plans, wrecking them and bringing them to naught. How can we have any confidence in the ability of God to keep his promises if there are such uncontrolled variables flying about the universe?

In the end, the person who claims to believe in God yet denies that he ordains all things is actually an atheist.

Tomorrow: The sovereignty of God.