Of God's Eternal Decree, III:2

Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions, yet has He not decreed any thing because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.

Opposing views of predestination and election contend over the role of God 's foreknowledge. That God knows all things, including all future events, is not in dispute except among the open theists who do not concern us further at the moment. One perspective insists that God's choices are made on the basis of his foreknowledge--that is, he looks down the corridors of time and sees that a particular free agent will make a particular free choice and "ratifies" (if you will) that choice. God decrees because he has foreseen. The Confession will have none of this. It upholds the concept of God's perfect foreknowledge but insists that his foreknowledge is not the basis for his decrees. God determines all future events; his decrees are not determined by those future events.

Tomorrow: The destinies of men and angels.

Of God's Eternal Decree, III:1

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.

This is one of the most well-known paragraphs contained in the Confession and perhaps one of its most controversial for the reasons discussed in yesterday's entry.

In a nutshell, the Confession here teaches that God has charted the course of history to the smallest detail since before the world began. He did so according to his own holy purposes, guided by his own perfect wisdom, without necessity or constraint from outside forces, and all without the possibility of revision. All things happen according to God's design. He is in complete control. Nothing can thwart or subvert him.

The Confession, in a manner reminiscent of the Definition of Chalcedon, then sets the boundaries in anticipation of various objections:

1. God is not the author of sin. Time and again I see this charge laid to the Reformed doctrine of predestination. "If God causes all things, then he is the author of sin!" Yet the Bible teaches the absolute sovereignty of God (which is why the Confession teaches the absolute sovereignty of God) without laying the blame for sin at God's feet. God is holy. Sin is a violation of God's holy will and an affront to his holy character. Fallen man alone is responsible for his sin.

2. Violence is not offered to the will of the creature. God forces no one to do anything. The creature makes legitimate, free choices. He acts according to his nature and his desires.

3. The liberty of second causes is not taken away. A. A. Hodge remarked, "[T]he decrees of God are not the proximate causes of events; they only make a given event certainly future. It provides that free agents shall be free agents and free actions free actions; and that a given free agent shall exist, and that he shall freely perform a certain free action under certain conditions" (The Confession of Faith, pages 68-69).

4. The contingency of second causes is not taken away. They still depend upon their contexts. This statement also affirms that God typically works out his purposes mediately, that is, through means.

This doctrine ought to be a great comfort to the believer, for he can rest in the assurance that our good, holy, wise, loving, and perfect God works all things according to his will and can be trusted to the uttermost to keep his promises. God has the power and will to do so.

Tomorrow: The role of God's foreknowledge.

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.

The Confession on God: A Summary

God, as he has revealed himself to us in Scripture, is an incomparable being, perfect in all his ways, the ground of all existence. He is the complete master and sovereign over all creation, which he employs to his good and holy purposes. This one God subsists in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, whose eternal relationship forms the pattern for human relationships.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise him, all creatures here below.
Praise him above, ye heavenly hosts.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Tomorrow: The difference between a theist and an atheist.

Of God and of the Holy Trinity, II:3

In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit: the Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.

The Confession concludes this second chapter with a remarkably brief description of the doctrine of the Trinity but manages to say a great deal in a short space.

The oneness of God has already been established. Yet it is also unmistakable that the Scriptures speak of three discernable divine personalities: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person is fully God, not merely a part of him, co-equal and co-eternal. It is frequently charged that the doctrine is unbiblical, for nowhere in Scripture may we find the word "trinity." Aside from the obvious fallacy in that argument it is abundantly clear that the doctrine is entirely biblical. While not taught explicitly in either the Old or New Testament it is implicit in many scriptural statements that, expecially when taken in aggregate (the whole counsel of God), uphold this central teaching of Christianity.

Another common accusation is that the doctrine is contradictory. How can 1+1+1=1, is the way the objection is typically put. But this confuses categories. Trinitarian Christians maintain that God is one in essence and three in person. One in one category and three in another category. This may be mysterious but it is not contradictory. A true contradiction would occur if we were to insist that God is simultaneously one in essence and three in essence, or one in person and three in person.

The Confession speaks of God the Son as "eternally begotten of the Father," borrowing the language of John 1 among other passages. The Son had no beginning, contrary to the ideas of Arius. He always has been. In being he is equal with the Father. In role he voluntarily submits to the will of the Father (e.g., John 5:30).

The Holy Spirit proceeds (or is sent) eternally from both Father and Son. Here the Confession takes the Western view of the filioque controversy, which only makes sense given the Puritan heritage from Latin Christianity. As it happens, the Western view is also the biblical view.

Concerning the doctrine of the Trinity, the three principles that must always be kept in mind are strict monotheism, tri-personality, and the eternal co-equality of the persons. When any of these truths are denied, heresy results. A failure to uphold monotheism leads to polytheism; failure to maintain tri-personality leads to modalism; failure to keep eternal equality leads to subordinationism.

A good resource for Trinitiarian Christians seeking more understanding of this doctrine is The Forgotten Trinity by James White. The book is intentionally not apologetic in nature, although anyone who reads it and comes to a more complete understanding of the Bible's teaching on this subject will be better prepared to meet objections.

Tomorrow: The Confession on God summarized.

Of God and of the Holy Trinity, II:2

God has all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself; and is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which He has made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them. He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things and has most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatsoever Himself pleases. In His sight all things are open and manifest, His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to Him contingent, or uncertain. He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands. To Him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience He is pleased to require of them.

"Aseity" is one of those terms one frequently encounters in theology that never seem to crop up in normal conversation. From the Latin a se, meaning "from himself," it refers to God's independence and self-sufficiency. God alone is noncontingent being. He does not rely upon or need anything outside himself. Furthermore, only God has the power of being within himself, the power of self-existence. He is that Necessary Being upon which all else that exists depends. The Confession calls him "the alone fountain of all being," for everything else is contingent and derivative. They exist because God called them into being. See Acts 17:28 and John 1:3-4.

The Confession also describes God as "glorious." The Hebrew word used in Scripture and translated as "glory" (kabod) refers to weightiness, significance, and substantiveness. Metaphorically speaking, God is like the Rock of Gibralter--for a ship passing through the Straits, the Rock is solid, large, unavoidable (unless I deliberately close my eyes or avert my gaze...), unliftable, and utterly real. The glory of God proceeds from within himself. He is glorious because of his perfection.

God is the comprehensive master of all creation. Because he has made all things, he may command and dispose of them as he pleases. He knows his creation thoroughly and knows precisely how best to employ it. He makes no mistakes. There is nothing the creature can do which surprises God or catches him off guard. Everything that he requires of his creation is right and good. Some may stumble at this point, thinking in terms of puppetmasters and despots. I remind such of the first paragraph--this underscores the importance of a correct understanding of the character of the God the Scriptures reveal. The God who commands and disposes as he pleases is completely good and holy and kind and loving and just and righteous. Who can ever correctly attribute to him malicious motive or craven selfishness?

Because creation owes its very existence and continuance to God, he rightfully expects worship, service, and obedience. This is not divine egotism but justice. God may rightly expect what he deserves. And what he deserves is every good thing.

Tomorrow: The Trinity.

Of God and of the Holy Trinity, II:1

There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions; immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him; and withal, most just, and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.

The Confession, just as the Bible itself, does not set out to prove the existence of God, for the evidence of this is all around us although not all acknowledge it (Romans 1). Rather, the Bible is more concerned with who God is, what he is like, and how he has interacted with mankind. Perhaps the most important truth about God, apart from that he exists, is that he is one and there is no other (Isaiah 45:18 ff). The central theme of Old Testament faith is the Shema: "Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4, confirmed in the New Testament--see 1 Corinthians 8). The Bible, like God himself, is emphatic on this point.

After establishing that God is and that he is one, the Confession moves to a description of what God is like. This is a valuable paragraph that can profitably be committed to memory. Keeping in mind the character of God, especially his goodness, justice, holiness, and love, can be immensely helpful whenever studying other aspects of theology. Matters that pose difficulties, such as election and hell, can frequently be resolved by remembering the perfect character of God.

God is a higher order of being, "infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit." That God is a pure spirit distinguishes him form man (a spiritual-physical unity) and the animals (pure physicality); that he is infinite distinguishes him from angels, both holy and fallen, for they are finite. Related to this is the incomprehensibility of God. Although he may be known as he chooses to reveal himself and thereby is in many ways apprehensible, no creature may comprehend him in his entirety (Psalm 139:6; 1 Corinthians 2:10-12; Romans 11:33). God transcends his creation.

There is no one like God (Isaiah 46:8-10). While men and angels may reflect in part the characteristics of God, no other possesses his attributes to the same degree or extent or perfection. He is absolutely unique. He is God, and there is no other.

There are so many statements about God in this section of the Confession that it is easy to read right past them. But we should pause to consider what it means that God is "most free" and that he works all things according to his own holy counsel. This is a subject we will return to in subsequent chapters of the Confession such as chapter III, but it is worth pointing out that our natural human tendency is to desire our own freedom at the cost of God's freedom and this tendency runs smack into the biblical emphasis on the absolute freedom of God. God does what God wishes according to God's character, all to God's glory.

Wayne Grudem has said, "God is the final standard of good, and all that God is and does is worthy of approval" (page 197 of his Systematic Theology; compare this to Psalm 34:8, Luke 18:19, Genesis 1:31). He is light, and in him is no darkness at all. No one is better than God. He is the best. This characteristic is closely related to many of the others listed in this section of the Confession; they mesh together. Indeed, it is proper to say because of the simplicity of God that he is good in his wisdom, justice, holiness, power, etc.; he is wise in this goodness, justice, holiness, power, etc.; he is just in his goodness, wisdom, holiness, power, etc.; and so on. And all this immutably, immensely, and eternally.

And, in some senses most importantly to us humans, God is a just and merciful judge. The implied answer to Abraham's question in Genesis 18:25--shall not the Judge of all the earth do right--is "of course." No one is better positioned than God to render perfect judgments. He is everywhere and sees everything; nothing escapes his notice; he knows exactly the right thing to do in all circumstances. And he is merciful, abounding in grace toward his fallen creatures. We have much cause for gratitude in this truth, and how much we take it for granted. Yet we should also have much fear, for this perfect Judge will also not clear the guilty. In whom shall we find refuge?

Tomorrow: God's aseity.