THE DECREE OF GOD

Acts 20:26  Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I [am] pure from the blood of all [men].
27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.  The Apostle Paul
 

Since we have seen that God is the origin of all things the question arises; How is it that He is so? Did he just one day decided to make the universe because there was nothing else to do? Or was He, as some would say... "lonely" and decided that He wanted some company so He could fulfill His need for social interaction and so He created the angelic and human races!? Or did the universe decide to "create itself" (this is the no brainer of the Big Bang) but just had to get God's permission to do so? Such notions are not only absurd but far removed from the God of the Bible. When we look into the Bible we discover that God is the origin of all things by reason of His Divine Decree!

What is a decree? The definition may be stated very simply; A decree is an Authoritative Order which is settled and unchangeable. It has the force of a Law! The words "Authoritative Order" emphasize the main idea of a decree. A decree is an order given which stands on the foundation of a lawful authority. As such a decree exacts demands upon whatever the object of that decree may be. If, for example, the government should decree that murder is a crime then whoever is found guilty of such shall endure the consequences. Here are some Biblical examples of a decree;

Lu 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
As such, "all the world" was expected to comply with and obey Caesar's decree.

Ac 16:4  And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
These "decrees" were to be observed by the churches.

Ac 17:7  Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; (decrees) for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Col 2:14  Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances (decrees) that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

These verses all use the exact same Greek word for "decree" and "ordinances". Therefore a decree is something that has the force of law behind it. If I place an ad in the newspaper stating; I hereby decree that everybody in the country shall send me one dollar in the mail... that would probably become the source of a good laugh! Why? Because there is no authority behind it. Whoever heard of James Jay anyway? But if Uncle Sam decrees that all who achieve the age of 18 must register for the draft then you best comply. Point made? Good! Onward...

What is the Divine Decree? It is anything that God determines shall happen or come to pass and it infallibly shall come to pass by right of the Authority and Power of the Living God! Therefore, if God decrees that there shall be a universe then whatever universe He decrees has no choice. It shall exist! If He decrees a physical one with spiritual beings (angels) and human beings then that is how things will be. If He decrees a universe with sin, evil and death then guess what folks... here we iz! This is "Condition Alpha" re-stated in another way, within the confines of the Divine Decree. God therefore is the sole and absolute origin of ALL THINGS! Nothing escapes His Decree!

Another statement of the doctrine; The Divine Decree is that which God Himself, in conjunction with Nothing or No one else... has so determined what shall most surely and infallibly happen, or come to pass that it cannot be changed, added to or diminished!

The Westminster and 1689 confessions are almost identical. Since I am a Baptist I shall cite the 1689;
God has decreed in Himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things whatsoever come 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.

In layman's english this means that whatever happens in life happens because God said so and after He said so He was and is still Absolute Holiness and Purity! This is a crude interpretation but it speaks to the point. Nothing that happens is outside the decree of God. If this makes you nervous it gets even more interesting when we apply this same principle to the Providence of God. Therefore we may say that nothing escapes the Providence of God either. One reason this is so is because the Decree and Providence are directly related. We shall see this when we look at the Execution of the decree. You might say then that if, by the providence of God, Hitler decided to gas 6 million Jews and then did it... then God must be some kind of monster! Good! Spoken like a true humanist! Now go disconnect your carnal brain and submit to Scripture! The Bible nowhere teaches such a thing. It does teach the absolute sovereignty of God... but then it also teaches the absolute holiness of God too. Onward...

Actually, the whole idea of the Decree may be summarized in one little word... and one that everybody likes so much... Predestination! So, we may say that God predestined, or preordained or foreordained every and anything that comes to pass in life, history and on into eternity! Like I said... Nothing escapes God. Now, since all of you reading this have your minds working overtime with questions and objections, do you see the importance of the need of an absolute standard of truth? If the Bible is not the truth of God then who cares anyway. One man's opinion as to the origin of life and death is just as good as another's. How about Edgar Cayce? or LSD; or blind fate. Take them all if you like I'll stay with the Bible as the Word of the Living God and it teaches what I am saying here. Upward...

Predestination is a major doctrine which permeates the Bible from cover to cover. To miss this element of revelation is to miss a great portion of  truth which is meant for our profit. It takes us to the brink of a vast abyss because it brings us face to face with the very character and nature of God which is beyond the ability of the human mind to fully comprehend! As Paul says..

Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

We can only go as far as God wants us to. By the same token we dare not neglect such an important truth!  Without a doubt it is fraught with dangers and pitfalls on every side. That's because the closer you get to Fire the easier it is to get burnt! But this is no excuse for ignorance & neglect. Rather, we must carefully proceed with extreme caution.... The worst thing we can do when we are exposed to any element of the sovereign decree of God is to ignore it because it seems Hard. The 2nd worst thing is to jump to hasty conclusions because in so doing we abandon the sense of submission to the Word of God without which we are shut out to the truth! Furthermore, the Bible doctrine of predestination is the one doctrine that underscores the corruption & rebellion of the human heart! Men like God when He creates the stars, when He dispenses blessings, controls winds and oceans...  but when He climbs the pedestal and sits on His throne of sovereignty... ordering the entire life history of every person ever born.... including their final destinies... they gnash their teeth in rebellion. They don't want a God of such power & authority. But this is the God of the Bible and to reject Him is to go the way of death!

Ordinarily predestination is a term used with respect to the saved but it can and does equally apply to all things in general within the confines of God's decree. This is all equally tied up with the omniscience of God. It is said that God knows all things. How is it that He does so? Simply because He determined all things and God certainly knows what He has determined to come to pass. And so what He does not purpose and/or determine cannot come to pass. Conversely there is nothing outside of the knowledge of God because He determined all things so that it is impossible that anything can catch Him by surprise. Perhaps it's about time I cite a verse or two of Scripture in support of all this.  God decreed all things;

La 3:37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?
38  Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?

In this passage we are informed that nothing but nothing can come to pass but by the command of God. Did Adam eat fruit? It was the command of God! Did Cain kill Able?... Did Nero fiddle?... did Hitler slaughter?... did history happen?!!! The whole thing is the result of the command, not the permission or negative decree, of the living God.
Verse 38 does not mean that God speaks bad things and foul language. That's stupid. But it is there and it does mean something. It means that God speaks and it is so, whether good or bad. And if He does not speak it it will never be so in a million eternities! It is an allusion to the decree of the Creator without which nothing comes to pass. And not one Hebrew word in this passage even hints at permission!

2Ki 15:12 This [was] the word of the LORD which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth [generation]. And so it came to pass.

And if God had not spoken it it never would have come to pass. And so...

Ps 33:9 For he spake, and it was [done]; he commanded, and it stood fast.

Now where and when did this happen?

Ge 1:9, 11, 24 Ge 1:9 And God said, .....and it was so.

Here, digest this one...

Am 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done [it]?

Does this mean that God "does evil" in the sense that He commits sin? It is nothing more than an expression of the sovereignty of God in everything. When did God "do" the evil? In one sense He "did" it in eternity in His decree when He determined that that evil, whatever it be, shall most surely come to pass. This is His decree. In another sense He "did" or does it by the execution of His providential control and ordering of all things in the universe. And it is within the confines of God's controlling providence that the creature is the doer of the evil, ...  the creature is the doer of the evil...  not God! This is the doctrine of Providence which we shall soon come to. It does not mean that God is either a sinner or the author of sin! Next passage...

Isa 46: 9  Remember the former things of old: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else; [I am] God, and [there is] none like me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times [the things] that are not [yet] done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
11  Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken [it], I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed [it], I will also do it.

Notice in verse 10 that it does not say that God declares the beginning from the end as if to say that God can tell the difference between the beginning and the end of something. This would take no special ability for most anybody can usually tell the difference between the beginning and end of a thing. What the verse is saying is that God can declare the ending of things even before they begin. That is, before anything comes to pass, including what excuse you will give to your boss for being late, God already knows it. This is so because God already knows the outcome of everything since He decreed it all. You mean He decreed what I would say to my boss? Yes! Just as He decreed that I should write this article and you should become upset with it! The very next phrase bears this meaning for it tells us that God declares things that are not yet done right from the ancient times. In other words, you can go as far back in time as you want to and there God will declare unto you what the end will be. How can this be? Simply because the "things that are not yet done" are His counsel, or eternal decree, and God certainly knows what He has counseled within Himself to happen way back in eternity. The rest of the verse is plain; God Himself is the very one who has "spoken" what shall be and He did so for a purpose and therefore He will bring it to pass and will "do it"! When did He 'speak' it? In His eternal decree and counsel. As a result, the truth is established that God has foreordained all things whatsoever shall come to pass. Even birds and men are called upon, not to carry out their own plans devised from the stuff of their brain, but rather to execute the counsel of God; verse 11..  And as if our thick heads fail to get the message God repeats Himself in verse 11 to the effect that it is He Himself that has not only determined all things but brings them to pass too! Is this the God you worship, love and adore? If not go get another god and join him in the Lake of Fire! A few more verses....

Isa 44:6  Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I [am] the first, and I [am] the last; and beside me [there is] no God.
7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in  order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that  are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.

Isa 45:21 Tell ye, and bring [them] near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? [who] hath told it from that time? [have] not I the LORD? and [there is] no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; [there is] none beside me.

Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Guess what Prophecy in the Bible is dependent on folks? The fact that God knows all things, because He decreed them all. Prophecy is simply God telling us the things He has already predestined to happen and they most surely and infallibly shall happen because He is God and none can resist Him. Therefore, no predestination... no prophecy. Where there is prophecy there is of necessity predestination! You can't have one without the other. And you can't have either without a sovereign God.

Ac 15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

Heb 6:17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed [it] by an oath:

As His decree is immutable or unchangeable it follows that all history in time and eternity has been fixed by God.  That means that history is really nothing more than the outworking of the Divine Decree.
His counsel is sovereign...  It is an expression of His decree.

Ps 33:11 The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Ps 135:6 Whatsoever the LORD pleased, [that] did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
Including burying Pompeii in the hot lava of Vesuvius and granting Nero his fiddle!

Pr 19:21 [There are] many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
Pr 21:30 [There is] no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.

God's Decree is absolute in that it includes every last detail of creation. Nothing is excluded or left out! Not a flea; Not a positron! Evidence;

Lu 12:6  Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
7  But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

God, who decreed sparrows to be part of His universe has them all in His mind always. Does verse 7 mean that God has nothing else to do but sit around and count all the hairs on people's heads? (For some this would not be too much effort). Not at all. God knows all our "hairs" simply because He determined how many we should have way back in eternity in His decree. He does not have to go around counting hairs on every bodies heads!

Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his  good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
A direct reference to the eternal counsel of God if ever there was one.

10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; [even] in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Everything up to the word 'inheritance' refers to what happens in history by the Divine Providence of God whereas the rest of this marvelous passage is a reference to His eternal decree whereby He has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.

These verses will most likely be mentioned again when we examine God's Providence but for now notice that God's will and purpose was, from all eternity, determined or purposed in Himself. The context is the revelation of the purpose of God in the salvation of His Church and it is firmly rooted in God's activity of predestination! It's just unavoidable. As I said above, predestination is a major doctrine which permeates the Bible from cover to cover. Onward..

THE DIVINE DECREE IS ETERNAL:
This has already been alluded to in our study but we need to look at this a bit closer. That the Decree is eternal simply means that God did not wait until after He made the universe to decide how history should turn out. He did not wait around to see what Adam would do before He decided what to "decree". And dear people...! Neither did the Deity fetch out His 'telescope' & 'look ahead down thru the channels of time' to see what would happen so as to know what to 'decree'! No; God's decreeing of all things took place before time and history began; before the creation was brought into existence... with reference to no one nor nothing else but Himself! God decreed everything in eternity.  This might not seem like much at first but when we think about it it has profound implications, not to mention mind boggling consequences. We need to remember that there is no "time" with the Deity; so that when God decreed from eternity... there was no "chronology" or sequence of decrees; i.e. first God decrees this and then He decrees that etc... so that views such as Supra and Infra lapsarianism are simply terms of convenience for our finite minds that are bound by time. In reality, everything always existed in the mind of God and whatsoever was decreed was done so all together in His mind without any sequential progression. So what? Well... this means that there was really only ONE decree and it was from all eternity and everything that was set to come to pass was contained in His One Eternal Decree. Singular... That's why both the Westminster and 1689 confessions entitle their chapters on the Decree in the Singular and not the Plural! God's Decree. The framers well understood this and I think many of us miss this! Neither the Infras nor the Supras really have a leg to stand on in discussing which came first; the decree that man should fall or that he should be saved? It all happened together, at the same "time"; it was all part of the same Eternal Decree. This also presents a problem to those who would "protect" God's holiness by offering to us such devices as positive and negative... active and passive... permissive and decretive... decrees! There's no such thing! These are the inventions of the human brain and only end in more problems than answers. We shall look at some of these in time. God's decree was One decree in which He ordained whatsoever shall come to pass in history. This means that every element in that decree partakes of the same quality. Were the elect actively decreed to glory? Then so were the reprobate actively decreed to damnation..!! So when we say that God is the ultimate cause of all things this is what we mean... everything in His decree is "equally ultimate"! No element of His decree is any different from any other. Some verses;

Eph 1:4 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:

When I first ever read this verse it took me about three days to recover! I was doing fine until I found...

Rom 9:11 (For [the children] being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
12  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

I mean folks... it tells us that God loved one guy and hated the other in eternity... before either one made his debut! And all based on nothing but the election of God! So the Arminian arises and offers... "Yeah, but God looked ahead and saw that Jacob would believe. Therefore election is based on foreseen faith." Spoken like a died in the wool Arminian. Except he forgets one thing. Aside from the fact that the passage plainly states that it was "not of works" and they had "neither done any good or evil" which includes the exercise of faith, faith itself was not foreseen; it was eternally Decreed! So Paul tells us that faith itself is something given by God;

Php 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

Even the thoughts and decisions of men have been determined and decreed by God! Every last one of them;

Pr 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, [is] from the LORD.
Pr 21:1 The king's heart [is] in the hand of the LORD, [as] the rivers of
 water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

God's Eternal Decree is a great problem to Arminian theology! The decisions men make have been determined by God and so the destinies of men have been fixed by God, in eternity, before they ever were born and based on nothing else but the Divine Decree! God does not need to "look ahead in time" in order to discover what He has decreed in eternity! The ninth chapter of Romans is a striking testimony to the enmity and hatred that the natural man has against a God of such sovereignty that He DARES to determine the destiny of every man before he is ever born. The natural response is... This makes God an unfair tyrant! How can He call all men to give account of their lives when it is HE who has already decreed where they shall end up! Well... Paul answers such a complaint in verse 19 by informing the complainer that his argument is nothing more than a shaking of the fist at God...

 20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed [it], Why hast thou made me thus?
 21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

In other words... if God decides to do whatever He wants to with His creatures who are you to question Him. We can see then that the eternality of the Divine Decree has far reaching implications. No doubt, with all this fuel the reader may now discover many more passages that teach this but I need to place all this within the scope of our main subject; Theodicy. If we ask the question; "what is the origin of evil in the universe" the unavoidable answer in the light of the teaching of the Bible is.... since God decreed all things, God decreed evil! He decreed it all by Himself without asking anybody else's advice. He decreed it all without consideration as to either the actions or nature of His creatures for He decreed those as well. It was His plan and purpose that evil be very much a part of His universe. If this rocks your boat then just hold tight until we get to the doctrine of creation. There we shall see that the universe does not in any way share in the Divine essence. For God to decree evil in no way causes Him to be or become evil. He is in full objective relationship to His creation and it in no way changes or affects His Holy nature. Otherwise the Bible makes no sense and there is no answer to the problem of evil. God decreed evil, brought it into existence and providentially controls it... or else He is not sovereign.

Whereas; All men are lost, and all of what they do is sin;
and whereas; Some men are saved, and  some of what they do is sin;
and whereas; The devil and all wicked spirits from hell do nothing but sin continuously;
and whereas; Every lost soul beyond the grave does  nothing but sin continuously;
and whereas; As a result it may be concluded that, the vast majority of what all men, devils and lost souls do is sin; therefore if God is not seen as absolutely sovereign in actively decreeing and controlling sin, then He isn't sovereign over much! In the final analysis birds and hairs do not really matter. The destiny of the souls of men do! God decreed and determined evil.....

Mt 26:24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
Lu 22:22 And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!

It "was written" of Judas that he should betray the Son of man. Why was it written? Because it was part of prophecy. And upon what is prophecy founded? Upon the Determinate Counsel, or Decree of God. That's why Luke uses the word "determined" in his verse. The sin of betrayal finds its roots in the Decree of God. More....

Ac 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

Ac 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

The greatest evil in the universe... the crucifixion of the Son of God... was determined by God! It came to pass according to His determinate counsel and foreknowledge. He did not "allow" or "permit" it to happen. His very "hand" was involved. He had complete control over the actions and decisions of those who hung Christ on the cross. His counsel determined it all.
There was no other way it could have been. Jesus had to be put to death because it was decreed to be so from all eternity and it could not have been any other way.

Re 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

"Ah this makes man a puppet and God a tyrant!" Not according to Luke for he tells us that those who crucified Christ did so "by wicked hands" and they shall give account! We are right back in Romans nine and its the same objection all over. We are still confronted with the question... How can a Good God decree all things including evil... and still be Good? The only answer is the Doctrine of Creation...

                                                      THEODICY

                                                      Prove all things

r-jnd