Free and Unchangeable Ordaining
Chapter 3: Of God's Eternal Decrees
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.
2. Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions, yet hath he not decreed anything because he foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.
2. Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions, yet hath he not decreed anything because he foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.
I remember a time when someone said something to me that took me by surprise: "I don't think God meant for that to happen..." This was in the context of some relational hardship she had gone through in the past. She had truly suffered, and I felt for her, yet she was not looking at her suffering through the lens of scripture. From her perspective, if God could have done something about that--then He should have, so in the end she had to come to the conclusion she expressed to me, that the matter was out of God's control. Her view of God had to shrink in order to accommodate a presupposition that “a good god would not let this happen.” But is this a presupposition we can rightly hold to?
This is a question many people have brought up throughout history: “If God is both perfectly good and completely sovereign, then why do bad things happen?” This question is somewhat understandable; people recognize that bad things are bad, and wonder why...but when they come to the conclusion that God cannot be both sovereign and good, they are making a mistake. It assumes that God’s goodness means He never allows certain things to happen. This may be an understandable expectation, since God’s original creation did not have the stain of sin’s effects on it, and we may be inclined to think that God “did not intend things to be this way”…. However, the scriptures paint us a picture of the God who is completely in control over ALL of history. Consider Isaiah 46:9,10: “...I am God and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient of times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose…’”
Do you get that? His counsel shall stand and He will accomplish ALL His purpose. This means that God doesn't roll up his sleeves and say "Gee, I hope this turns out..." Instead the Christian can trust that everything which God has determined to do will happen, and that nothing will happen apart from His purposes. How do you feel about that?
In light of this, when the Westminster Confession of Faith says "free and unchangeable," it is recognizing this truth about God; God's plans aren't dependent on anything outside of His control, not does He need to "look down the corridors of time” to see what future actions people might make in order to make His plans. In fact, to say that God looks down the corridors of time is to make the grave error. This places the eternal God in time, and claims that He is dependent on future events that He has no knowledge of until He does this. Does this sound like what God says about Himself in the Bible?
The truth is that God does not need to “look ahead” to know what happens—the scriptures tell us that history occur because He chose to do things this way—according to His character and goals. By unchangeable, the confession means that God does not change His mind (Num.23:19). Yes, the scriptures speak of Him as “regretting” (see Gen. 6:6, for example), however, this is a way in which scripture describes God’s grief over sin rather than Him being surprised by it. There has not been, nor will there ever be a point in which God says “whoops!” or "I sure didn't see that coming!" No, God’s wisdom is unfailing, He does not need to “figure out” the best course of actions.
So this leaves us with an important question: What is God’s relationship with sin? Since God is in control of history, and part of that history involved satan tempting Adam and Eve, then is God the creator of sin? The answer which the Word of God gives us is a most definite no. Consider James 1:13: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”
The Westminster Assembly recognized that there are aspects to God’s sovereignty which are mysterious to us. While God has told us a lot about Himself, it is also true that He has not revealed everything about Himself to us. He even declares this at one point: "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." (Deuteronomy 29:29). In light of this, the Westminster Assembly wisely refused to make any attempt at vain guesswork. Instead they simply stated that God’s sovereign ordaining of all evens was done in such a way that “...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.”
Consider what Joseph says to his brothers who had previously sold him into slavery: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Gen. 50:20). Yes, it was God’s will that through the brother’s jealousy Joseph would end up in Egypt, yet the brothers still made the choice to sell their brother into slavery, and therefore were guilty of sinning against God and their brother.
Are you not satisfied with this answer? I would encourage you to ask yourself why. There are plenty of things that we are content in not knowing: I for one don't really know all of the physics of how a star functions, but I am sure glad that they do--I benefit from the sun every day. I have no clue concerning the theory of electrical engineering, yet I am content to flip on my light switch and leave that to the professionals. I wonder if we aren't satisfied with that answer because it doesn't allow us our autonomy, or because it makes God's sovereignty an inescapable reality. But be careful of that mindset; the desire for complete autonomy didn't work out so well for Adam in the beginning, as we all are still experiencing to this day.
The truth is that this is a mystery here that we may not understand fully at this point in time. Will we know more in eternity? I think we can say yes. For now, what we can do is respond with wonder and praise as God’s glory is revealed throughout the events of history. And we can rest in the fact that God is in complete control--nothing will ever get out of hand for Him, and none of His elect will ever slip through His grasp.
But the question still remains: what is God’s purpose for allowing pain, sorrow, loss, and other such trials in our lives? This is what Peter has to say in the scriptures:
“In this [salvation] you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6,7)
The various trials in our lives, though they grieve us, cause us to trust God more, to lean more on His grace, to see our need for His Salvation more, and to see just how beautiful and majestic and Holy He is so that our hearts long to be in His presence more and more and we begin to love this sin-ravaged world less and less. How do you think all of this life’s difficulties will look in the face of the glorious paradise of eternity? Do you think you will regret the pains and difficulties we endured? Do you think that, when we stand before our God and Savior we will be disappointed? No, all who wait on Him will declare at the end of time “The Lord our God did all things well.” May the Christian find comfort in this as they experience the trials of this life.
This is a question many people have brought up throughout history: “If God is both perfectly good and completely sovereign, then why do bad things happen?” This question is somewhat understandable; people recognize that bad things are bad, and wonder why...but when they come to the conclusion that God cannot be both sovereign and good, they are making a mistake. It assumes that God’s goodness means He never allows certain things to happen. This may be an understandable expectation, since God’s original creation did not have the stain of sin’s effects on it, and we may be inclined to think that God “did not intend things to be this way”…. However, the scriptures paint us a picture of the God who is completely in control over ALL of history. Consider Isaiah 46:9,10: “...I am God and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient of times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose…’”
Do you get that? His counsel shall stand and He will accomplish ALL His purpose. This means that God doesn't roll up his sleeves and say "Gee, I hope this turns out..." Instead the Christian can trust that everything which God has determined to do will happen, and that nothing will happen apart from His purposes. How do you feel about that?
In light of this, when the Westminster Confession of Faith says "free and unchangeable," it is recognizing this truth about God; God's plans aren't dependent on anything outside of His control, not does He need to "look down the corridors of time” to see what future actions people might make in order to make His plans. In fact, to say that God looks down the corridors of time is to make the grave error. This places the eternal God in time, and claims that He is dependent on future events that He has no knowledge of until He does this. Does this sound like what God says about Himself in the Bible?
The truth is that God does not need to “look ahead” to know what happens—the scriptures tell us that history occur because He chose to do things this way—according to His character and goals. By unchangeable, the confession means that God does not change His mind (Num.23:19). Yes, the scriptures speak of Him as “regretting” (see Gen. 6:6, for example), however, this is a way in which scripture describes God’s grief over sin rather than Him being surprised by it. There has not been, nor will there ever be a point in which God says “whoops!” or "I sure didn't see that coming!" No, God’s wisdom is unfailing, He does not need to “figure out” the best course of actions.
So this leaves us with an important question: What is God’s relationship with sin? Since God is in control of history, and part of that history involved satan tempting Adam and Eve, then is God the creator of sin? The answer which the Word of God gives us is a most definite no. Consider James 1:13: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”
The Westminster Assembly recognized that there are aspects to God’s sovereignty which are mysterious to us. While God has told us a lot about Himself, it is also true that He has not revealed everything about Himself to us. He even declares this at one point: "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." (Deuteronomy 29:29). In light of this, the Westminster Assembly wisely refused to make any attempt at vain guesswork. Instead they simply stated that God’s sovereign ordaining of all evens was done in such a way that “...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.”
Consider what Joseph says to his brothers who had previously sold him into slavery: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Gen. 50:20). Yes, it was God’s will that through the brother’s jealousy Joseph would end up in Egypt, yet the brothers still made the choice to sell their brother into slavery, and therefore were guilty of sinning against God and their brother.
Are you not satisfied with this answer? I would encourage you to ask yourself why. There are plenty of things that we are content in not knowing: I for one don't really know all of the physics of how a star functions, but I am sure glad that they do--I benefit from the sun every day. I have no clue concerning the theory of electrical engineering, yet I am content to flip on my light switch and leave that to the professionals. I wonder if we aren't satisfied with that answer because it doesn't allow us our autonomy, or because it makes God's sovereignty an inescapable reality. But be careful of that mindset; the desire for complete autonomy didn't work out so well for Adam in the beginning, as we all are still experiencing to this day.
The truth is that this is a mystery here that we may not understand fully at this point in time. Will we know more in eternity? I think we can say yes. For now, what we can do is respond with wonder and praise as God’s glory is revealed throughout the events of history. And we can rest in the fact that God is in complete control--nothing will ever get out of hand for Him, and none of His elect will ever slip through His grasp.
But the question still remains: what is God’s purpose for allowing pain, sorrow, loss, and other such trials in our lives? This is what Peter has to say in the scriptures:
“In this [salvation] you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6,7)
The various trials in our lives, though they grieve us, cause us to trust God more, to lean more on His grace, to see our need for His Salvation more, and to see just how beautiful and majestic and Holy He is so that our hearts long to be in His presence more and more and we begin to love this sin-ravaged world less and less. How do you think all of this life’s difficulties will look in the face of the glorious paradise of eternity? Do you think you will regret the pains and difficulties we endured? Do you think that, when we stand before our God and Savior we will be disappointed? No, all who wait on Him will declare at the end of time “The Lord our God did all things well.” May the Christian find comfort in this as they experience the trials of this life.