All Things For the Church

In light of the last 3 posts, I wish to submit the following observations on Ephesians 1:22.

To get the full force of verse 22, we need to back up at least to verse 11, and continue to verse 23. In context, here's how it reads:

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:11-23 – ESV)

Notice, first of all, that verse 11 informs us of God's sovereign control, indeed, His decree, concerning all things. Nothing happens, but it falls within God's decree for His purposes. But verse 22 tells something about this purpose: it is all for Christ as the head of the Church. And it is that idea that I wish to focus on after the last three posts. 

Here is what I wish to bring to our attention. Everything that transpires in this world has reference to the Church. Notice that the passage specifically states all things. Temporal blessing and punishments of nations, good and bad weather, high and low prices, war and peace, all things are worked actively by God for the Church under the headship of Christ. At the risk of being overly technical in such a practical observation, it can be stated this way: Reprobation serves Election.

Before bringing our observations to the present, I wish to use the Old Testament as an illustration. Granted, many things happened in world history that are not recorded in Scripture, but it is quite noticeable that whatever world events that are mentioned in Scripture all have this one feature: they serve the advancement and betterment of God's people. Every empire that rose and fell are all viewed through the lens of their effect on the people of God. And God unhesitatingly claims to use these kingdoms as His tools for blessing or chastising His people. Indeed, the ultimate disaster of the ancient world, the Flood, was for the sake of God's people. The world was made a safer place for righteous Noah and his family. Scripture informs us that the Deluge is a precursor, a type, if you will, of the great Day of Judgment, which will again, make the world a safer place for God's people

Now to the present. The recent US Supreme Court ruling in favor of Sodomy, like its previous ruling endorsing the covenant-breaking evil of divorce and the child-murdering horror of abortion, the rise of ISIS and its evil equivalents, the natural disasters, wars and numerous other perils – all these things are ordained and are being overruled by God for His people.

This should serve two purposes.

First, it should calm the fretting hearts of God's people. The world is not out of control. It is under His control. We can sleep soundly knowing that God is sovereign.

Secondly, this should serve to lead us to repentance. Many of the societal evils we lament have gone on virtually unchallenged in what we call “Evangelicalism.” The statistics regarding premarital sex, adultery, homosexuality, divorce, and abortion among professing Christians are staggering. God will not be mocked. And the previous three posts addressed this very point. If God pours out wrath upon a rebellious nation, it will be primarily because those who are called by His name have caused it to be blasphemed.

For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Romans 2:24

But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ Ezekiel 36:20

As the previous posts asserted, God may let an individual go unpunished in this lifetime, because He is storing up eternal wrath against him. But the same cannot be said of nations. The nation of America will not go to heaven or hell. Only individuals have a distinct existence in the afterlife. Nations, since their existence is limited to this world, will not go unpunished until the Day of Judgment. And when God pours out the deserved wrath, it will be to vindicate His name which we, by our rebellion, have cause to be blasphemed. “I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the LORD am the Holy One in Israel.” - Ezekiel 39:7

Rather than point the finger at the President, the Supreme Court, Hollywood, or whatever other corrosive influence we can think to blame, we should point the finger squarely at the Church and her apostate behavior. Is it any wonder that the PCUSA and others of her ilk are endorsing sodomy, when the core doctrines of the Christian faith, such as the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Virgin Birth, the Deity of Christ, and the Resurrection have been openly scorned in the seminaries and pulpits of the mainline denominations for over a century?

It is in the light of these consideration that Christians should view the world.

 

David Dickson On God's Decrees

Question 1: "DID God from all eternity, by the most holy and wise counsel of his will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass?"

Yes; Eph. 1.11. Rom. 11.33. Heb. 4.17. Rom. 9.15,18.

Well then, do not the Socinians, Arminians, and Jesuits err, who maintain, The things which come to pass, in time, to fall out, and come to pass, without the decree of God? Yes.

By what reasons are they confuted?

1st, From the knowledge of God, whereby, from all eternity, he hath known all things infallibly, which come to pass, or shall be in time, Acts 15.18. John 21.17. Heb. 4.13. But all things which come to pass in time, could not have been infallibly known from eternity, but in the decree of his divine will.

2d, From God's natural way of working in time, 1 Cor. 12.6 Rom. 11.36. Whence it is evident, that God worketh effectually, and immediately, in time all things which are done: But he worketh by his will those things which he will have to be in time, (after that manner, and in that time, how, and when they come to pass) Psalm 115.2. But that act of willing cannot happen to God in time, but hath been in him from all eternity, because God is unchangeable, James 1.17.

3d, By enumerating several instances, concerning which the Scripture affirms particularly, that they have been decreed by God, as the sufferings and death of Christ, Acts 2.23. The glory of those that are to be saved, Eph. 1.4,5. 1 Thes. 5.9. And the fore-ordaining the rest to damnation to be punished for their sin, Jude ver. 4,5. The like may be said of other things which come to pass in time; See Psalm 33.11. and 115.3. Isa. 46.10. Prov. 19.21. That the liberty and freedom of the will, and contingency of events, is consistent with the decree, is clear from Acts 2.23. and 3.17,18. and 4.27.28. Gen. 45.5.

Quest. II. "Is the decree of predestination (namely, the decree of election and reprobation) absolute from the mere good will, and pleasure of God?"

Yes.

And is it particular concerning a certain number of persons?

Yes; 2 Tim. 2.19. John 13.18.

Well then, do not the Lutherans and Arminians err, who maintain, The decree of predestination to be general and conditional, depending upon persevering faith, (which they affirm depend upon the will of man) and foreseen infidelity, and want of faith?

Yes.

Do not likewise the Papists and Socinians err, who maintain, The decree of predestination to be general, and to depend upon good and evil works, with perseverance in them?

Yes.

By what reasons are they confuted?

1st, From the apostle Paul, who maketh the good-will and pleasure of God the only cause why this man is chosen, and another, as worthy, rejected, and casten off, Rom. 9.11-15. Where he moves an objection against the justice of God, and answers it.

2d, Because our blessed Saviour assigns it to the good will and pleasure of God, that to some, the mysteries of faith, for their conversion, are revealed, and that they are hid from many others, who are nothing worse, but in some respects better, Mat. 11.25,26.

3d, Because a man of himself hath no good thing in him, whereby he may be differenced from another, but what he hath freely gotten from God, 1 Cor. 4.7.

4th, Because the grace of regeneration, justifying faith, effectual calling, and perseverance to the end, are given to all the elect, and to them only, according to the eternal decree of God: and therefore are effects, not causes, or pre-required conditions of election, Rom. 8.39. Acts 13.48. Mat. 24.24. 2 Tim. 1.9. John 15.16. Eph. 1.3-5, Mat. 13.11. Rom. 9.6,7.


Quest. III. "Hath it pleased God, according to the unsearchable counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or withholdeth mercy, as he pleaseth, for the glory of his sovereign power over his creatures, to pass by, and to ordain the rest of mankind to dishonour and wrath for their sin, to the praise of his glorious justice?"

Yes; Rom. 9.17,18,21,22. Jude ver. 4,5. Matt. 11.25,26, 2 Tim. 2. 19,20.

Well then, do not many of the Quakers, and others err, who maintain, That God never ordained any man to perish eternally?

Yes.

By what reasons are they confuted?

1st, Because Christ thanked his Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because he had hid those things from the wise and prudent, and had revealed them unto babes, Mat. 11.25,26.

2d, Because the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What, if God willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering, the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, Rom. 9.17,18,21,22.

3d, Because in a great house, there are some vessels to honour, some to dishonour, 2 Tim. 2.19,20.

4th, Because the apostle Jude says, there are some who of old were ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men. Note, That the cause of this reprobation is not man's sin, but the absolute will and good pleasure of God. Man's sin indeed is the cause why God will punish, but no occasion why he did ordain to pass by, or to punish man. This decree is just, because God has power over man, as the potter hath power over the clay. Neither is the end of this decree the condemnation of the creature, but the manifestation of God's justice. 

Lastly, Sin is the effect of man's free-will, and condemnation is the effect of justice, but the decree of God is the cause of neither.

Quest. IV. "Are any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only?"

No, John 17.9. Rom. 8.28. John 6. 64,65. John 10.26. John 8.47. 1 John 2.19.

Well then, do not the Papists, Quakers, Socinians, and Arminians err, who maintain, That all men, even reprobates, are redeemed by Christ, and that many reprobates are effectually called, justified, and adopted?

Yes.

By what reasons are they confuted?

1st, From the golden chain which cannot be loosed, mentioned by the apostle Paul, Rom. 8.30. Whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

2d, Because those, and those only believe, whom God hath ordained to life eternal, Acts 13.48. Titus 1.1.

3d, Because Christ himself says so to the Jews, but ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, John 10.26-28. Ye are not of my sheep, that is, of the elect, which the Father hath given me.

4th, Because Christ would not pray for the world, but for the elect only, John 17.9.

5th, Because the election or elect, have obtained it, and the rest were blinded, namely, who are not elected and effectually called, Rom. 11.7.

6th, Because Christ says, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friends. Such a love he never had to reprobates, whom he professes he never knew, John 15.13. with Mat. 7.23.

7th, Because, according to the Scripture, Christ died only for his own sheep, viz. intentionally, and efficaciously, John 10.15.

8th, Because the Scripture often says that Christ died for many, Mat. 24.28. Mat. 20.28.

9th, Because there are many who lived under the gospel, as well as those who lived under the law, who have not been so much as outwardly called, being nothing worse than others who are called.

10th, Because to all, and every one, the grace of regeneration, which is simply necessary to salvation, is not offered; neither do all, and every one, get remission and pardon of their sins, Eph. 1.7. Col. 1.14. Deut. 29.3. Mat. 11.25,28. with Mat. 11.13.

11th, Because the grace of regeneration is invincible, and of its own nature, always efficacious and powerful, Ezek. 11.19,20. Eph. 2.1,5. Eph. 1.19

12th, Because the grace of regeneration can never be lost, or fall totally or finally, 1 Pet. 1.5. 1 John 3.9. Whosoever are called and justified are also glorified, Rom. 8.30.

From: Truth's Victory Over Error, Chapter 3, Edinburgh, 1684

Notable Quotes 6

Whatever God accomplishes in time has been decreed by Him from eternity. He selects some from the depraved mass of the human race to be the recipients of salvation, bringing them to Christ their Surety and saving them by Him. This presupposes that He decreed to do so from eternity. Yet, it is but a means to His objective, which is the magnification of His mercy and justice. It was for that purpose that God decreed the felicity of men; and for that purpose God decreed to create men, to conclude them in sin, and to deliver them through Christ. Therefore if we view predestination comprehensively—including both the end and the means whereby the end is accomplished—both sin and Christ are involved. Although we make a separate and sequential distinction between these various matters, we recognize that God has decreed everything with one singular, all-inclusive decreeing act. For the purpose of orderly presentation, however, we distinguish between the end and the means.

God has also decreed that He will be magnified in His justice. To accomplish that objective He decreed to create men, to permit them to sin volitionally, and to justly damn them for their sins. God did not create one human being to happiness and another to condemnation. Rather, He created the entire human race perfectly holy, and thus unto felicity—His objective in doing so. I repeat that we must here consider God’s objective in creating man, for the felicity of man was the objective of the state of innocency. If man had remained in this state, it would have resulted in the felicity of all mankind. We should not confuse the objective of creation and the objective of the Creator. In creation it was not God’s objective that all men would attain unto salvation; for as God’s counsel will stand and His purpose will always be accomplished, all would then indeed attain unto salvation. God prevents no one from obtaining salvation, but man excludes himself since he sins willfully. The election of some unto salvation is not to the detriment of others. Reprobation is neither the cause that someone sins, nor why someone is damned, but the sinner himself and his sin are the cause. It is true that those who have not been elected will not be saved; it is equally true that none but sinners will be damned. It is also true that whoever repents, believes in Christ, and lives holily will not be damned but saved. Man is therefore to be blamed for not doing so. Likewise when God converts someone, brings him to Christ, and sanctifies him, it is to be attributed to His sovereign grace. It is thus evident that it is nothing but vicious slander to insist that the church teaches that one man is created unto felicity and the other unto damnation—and therefore someone who would be virtuous to the utmost degree would nevertheless be damned, whereas someone else who would engage in wickedness to the utmost degree would nevertheless be saved. Far be it from the Almighty to do unjustly! That He has determined to manifest His grace and justice to man proceeds purely from His goodness and holiness. It is a pure manifestation of holiness to deliver men through Christ and to lead them unto salvation in the way of holiness. It is also a pure manifestation of holiness to leave men who sin voluntarily in their sin, and to damn them for their sins. When a person becomes godly and a believer, this is not to be attributed to any efforts by man who, being evil, wishes only to do evil. It must rather be attributed to the work of God’s grace which He only performs in the elect.

Wilhelmus à Brakel, The Christian's Reasonable Service, Volume 1, Chapter 6

Predeterminate Plan and Foreknowledge

"But now how upside-down it is that it should be said that the cause of eternal foreknowledge is the occurrence of temporal things! But what else is it, to think that God foresees future things because they are going to happen, than to think that those things, once they have happened, are the cause of His highest providence?"

Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, Book V

This destroys the Arminian concept of Divine foreknowledge, especially their notion of foreseen faith being the cause of election. Arminianism is wrong, among other reasons, because it puts the cart before the horse. It would have human actions be the cause of God's foreknowledge. Scripture NEVER teaches that God's foreknowledge is causative. The decree of God is causative. Acts 2:23 lists it as "determinate plan and foreknowledge," in that order. God's "determinate plan" is the cause of all things. His "foreknowledge" is simply His cognition of His own plan.

If I write a novel in which one of the characters steps on a banana peel, slides down the hall and falls down the stairs, I will know (indeed foreknow) that this is going to happen even before I read the book. But my knowledge of the incident is not the cause of it. The cause of it is my active will to write the story that way. To my mind, this goes a long way toward answering the question of evil in relation to God's sovereignty over all. If my hypothetical character goes on to shoot the person who discarded the banana peel, I, as the author, am not personally guilty of murder: the character is. Yet that character could not not kill the banana peel culprit. In this, perhaps weak analogy, there is, I think, a hint of the relation between God's decree of all events and personal human responsibility. Human responsibility is not at odds in any way with Divine sovereignty because it is in God's sovereignty that He made men responsible to Him.

Looking back on the quotation from Boethius, the thought that occurs to me is this: God does not decree because He foreknows; rather, He foreknows because He has decreed. Herein lies the reason why so many people reject the doctrine of the Divine decree: it belittles man. God gets all the credit for man's faith, salvation and eternal share in glory. We should be immediately suspicious on any theological system which makes the will and power of finite man the hinge upon which God's plan turns.