Well,
Introduction and Conference Context
good afternoon and greetings in Christ's name. It's great to be back with you again today. I have been assigned the topic, the doctrine of the decree in the Puritan confessions. A couple of things I'd like to say before we begin.
First off, We have a conference in Southern California every year in November, and usually my task is to take the opening session and show how the relevant doctrine fits into the entirety of the Confession of Faith. We've been going chapter by chapter. And so this is modeled on what I do there, which means it's sort of a survey study of the doctrine of the decree throughout the Confession. it will be very helpful for you if you do one of two things. We have some printed copies of the Confession of Faith, and it could be the Westminster Confession or the London Baptist Confession.
We have some printed copies. If you'd like to hold one and look at it, we can get those to you. But I noticed also there's a nice handy-dandy little QR code there that will take you apparently to a website where you can find the Confession. So either way, it will be helpful for you to get hold of a confession of faith and look at it directly for yourself.
Second thing that I want to do by way of introduction is to read to you a portion of scripture. If you want to turn there, you may or you can just listen from Isaiah chapter 46. The prophet Isaiah chapter 46 verses 8 through 11. The Word of God says this.
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 46:8–11
Remember this and show yourselves men. Recall to mind, O you transgressors. Remember the former things of old, for 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 times things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes my counsel from a far country.
Indeed, I have spoken it. I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I will also do it.
And that's God's word spoken to us today. Here, the Lord reminds us that he alone is God, that there is no other, and asserts that all things that happen are from him and by him. and there is no one who is able to act against him. That's a great theme for the way that the doctrine of the decree is handled in our Puritan confessions. Now,
Introduction: Defining the Puritan Confessions
what I want to do is begin with some definitions. I want to define some of the things that are in my title, the ideas. And the first is Puritan confessions. You'll notice that this is plural.
Well, there are three major Puritan era confessions, which all belong to the same family. This may be very familiar material to you, but I think it's important to say.
The Westminster Confession of Faith
The first is the Westminster Confession of Faith, published in 1646 and 1647, which was the work of an assembly of theologians who were called to this task by the English Parliament in 1643. Now this group of theologians was initially charged with revising the 39 articles of the Church of England, and they proceeded to do so through Article 15. But at that time, Parliament was at war with King Charles I and was not making progress in the conflict. So Parliament appealed to Scotland for assistance, and among the demands that the Scots made was that the Assembly put aside its work on the 39 Articles and compose a new Confession of Faith.
And the result is the publication of what we know as the Westminster Confession of Faith. Its original title was this. The humble advice of the Assembly of Divines, now by authority of Parliament sitting at Westminster, concerning a confession of faith. Now we know it well.
It reflects historic Catholic Christianity as understood by the churches of the Reformation. It incorporates the language of the great creeds of the church, the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, as well as incorporating the careful statement of the Chalcedonian definition, and it often cites an earlier document, the Irish Articles of 1615. That's the basics, that's the parent document. It's important to remember that the Westminster Confession is a Presbyterian document, but we may call this the parent of each of the ones that follow.
The second confession to mention comes from 1658. In that year,
The Savoy Declaration
a group of Congregationalist ministers met in London at a place called the Savoy Palace. And the purpose of their gathering was to revise the Westminster Confession of Faith, primarily, though not exclusively, its Presbyterianism. They were Congregationalists. On October the 12th, 1658, they agreed upon a document that they called a Declaration of the Faith and Order Owned and Practices in the Congregational Churches in England.
Now we know this document as the Savoy Declaration of Faith and Platform of Polity. It takes that name from the place where they met. Some of the men who were part of this committee had been members of the Westminster Assembly. Others, such as the famous John Owen, was really the chairman of the Synod, but he had not been part of the Westminster Assembly.
The Savoy Declaration agrees with the Westminster Confession in most doctrines. It uses the same words and language. It teaches the same historic Catholic truths. It only departs from Westminster primarily in its congregational rather than in its Presbyterian doctrine.
And we may call this declaration the child of the parent. Westminster is the parent. Savoy is the child.
The Second London Baptist Confession
The third great Puritan era confession was first published in 1677. though it is often incorrectly called the 1689 Confession, it was the result of a crisis facing churches who are called particular Baptist or Calvinistic Baptist. One of their most prominent ministers had publicly adopted and advocated heretical doctrines so that the ministers of churches in London believed it was necessary to express their faith clearly. And just as the Congregationalists did, they used the two earlier confessions as their foundation, amending these two confessions primarily, where in the light of doctrinal defections in the previous two decades, further clarity was necessary. Of course, their confession also differed from Westminster and Savoy by advocating believers' baptism. but they wholeheartedly agreed with all the common historic Catholic doctrines, purposely using the same terms as had been employed in the earlier confessions.
And the original title of this document was, A Confession of Faith Put Forth by the Elders and Brethren of Many Congregations of Christians Baptized Upon Profession of Their Faith in London and the Country. And we may call this confession the grandchild of the Westminster and the child of the Savoy. So there's a definite family relationship between these. They belong together.
These are the three great Puritan-era confessions. There were others, certainly, but these define the faith of the Presbyterians, the Congregationalists, and the particular Baptists, and they will be the focus of this study today. That's the first thing I need to bring up. The second fact to note by way of introduction is that
Defining the Decree and Its Synonyms
we are speaking of the doctrine of God's decree. That's the language we're using. But we must be careful not to limit ourselves to places in the confessions where the specific word decree is used. In fact, there are several important terms that overlap with each other, and each of them needs to be noted.
Words such as counsel, or purpose, or please, pleasure, or will, or order. These are all directly related to our study. Richard Muller comments, he says this, the eternal decree can be distinguished from the counsel of God only formally, not essentially, since the essential acts of God belong to the divine nature in its simplicity. The counsel is the divine decision.
The decree is the actual willing or expression of that decision. Now what I'd like you to imagine as we work our way through is these various terms. Think of them as a Venn diagram. And they overlap quite a bit with each other.
A helpful example of this may be found in the first paragraph of chapter 3 of Westminster and Savoy. Though the chapter is titled, Of God's Eternal Decree, Those confessions don't use the term decree in the first paragraph of their chapter. The first paragraph of a chapter usually provides the basic doctrine, which is then elaborated in the following paragraphs. In Second London, the 1677 London, we find inserted the words, God hath decreed in himself.
That's a little difference from the earlier confessions. It's a chapter on God's decree, but they don't even use the word in their first paragraph. The third fact to notice is that in these confessions,
The Decree's Place in the Confessional Structure
the chapter on the decree is carefully situated in a very specific place. It's chapter three. It follows the pattern of Isaiah 46, 8 through 11, which we read just a few moments ago. It is preceded by a chapter on scripture, which provides the principle of knowing, and immediately is preceded by the chapter of God and of the Holy Trinity.
A discussion of the doctrine of the decree ought to follow a chapter on the doctrine of God, since the decree is part of the doctrine of God. The New England Puritan John Norton put it this way, the decree of God is simply God decreeing. A great statement. Now you might notice if you look either in your printed form or on your phone, you might notice that the first word of chapter 3 is God. which immediately causes us to think about the previous chapter.
We've read about God and of the Holy Trinity and all of that information is brought with us as we think about the decree. Listen to what chapter 2 says. The Lord our God is but one only living and true God. whose subsistence is in and of himself, infinite in being and perfection, whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but himself, a most pure spirit, invisible without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute, working all things according to the counsel of his own will, and most righteous 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 with all most just and terrible in his judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty. Now, as we shall see throughout these confessions as we move forward, this statement, chapter three, draws together and anticipates the doctrine that is scattered throughout the rest of the confessions.
Only God can know what it means to be God. Only He is perfect in all things. He's a pure spirit without body parts or passions, a simple being. Let me return to John Norton, that New England Puritan.
He draws out the relationship between the doctrine of divine simplicity and the decree. He says this. From the simplicity of God it follows that whatsoever is in God is God. Secondly, whatsoever God wills, he willed from eternity and always wills.
And thirdly, whatsoever God wills, he wills simply, absolutely, and independently. Well, Norton is right. This is the God who decrees. And so for this reason, We must come to a study of the doctrine humbly and reverently.
This is no place to speculate, but rather modestly to bow before our Lord, receive what he says, and worship. We may not be able to understand everything about the doctrine, but we must confess everything that we find in the word of God. So
First Point: The Decree Through the Confession
what I want to do now is to proceed in the order of the chapters of the confessions. And the first place that we encounter the doctrine is in chapter 1. Listen to these words from the chapter on Holy Scripture. Chapter 1, paragraph 6.
Chapter 1: Scripture and the Whole Counsel of God
The whole counsel of God. There it is. the whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man's salvation, faith, and life is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture. That's a great place to begin. The gracious God in his sovereignty has chosen to provide us with a complete record of everything that we need to know about him in his glorious nature.
It's not an exhaustive revelation of who God is, but everything we need to know. everything we need to be saved from the death of our sins, everything we need to know what we must believe and how we must live in this world. And that record is found in the 66 books of Holy Scripture. They have come to us in His good pleasure. They are the result of the decree of God.
And this is one reason why the Word of God is so important for us. It is the inspired record of everything that the Lord wants us to know. In fact, everything in chapter 1 teaches us about the scripture depends on the divine decree. Its authority, the authority of scripture, depends on His authority.
It is complete, it interprets itself, and it's the supreme and final standard for our lives. So we begin here. The whole counsel of God for everything that we need to know is revealed in the Word of God. Now, we've already mentioned chapter two.
Listen again to some of the words. I won't read the entire paragraph to you again, but I want you to notice how towards the middle of this paragraph, it reminds us that this Lord, this God, who
Chapter 2: The Doctrine of God and His Will
works all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will for his own glory. That is, God as God does everything that he pleases. Proverbs 16.4 says this, the Lord has made all things for himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of evil. And we will be getting into that later on today.
Whatever happens in the universe, and that is intended to be a fully comprehensive statement. Whatever happens in the universe that God created happens by his determined purpose. It happens because he has decreed it to be the case. The second paragraph provides more information.
I didn't read this to you before. This is from chapter two again. God having all life, glory, and goodness, blessedness in and of himself, is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which he hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them. And notice what's next.
He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things. and he hath most sovereign dominion over all creatures, to do by them, for them, and upon them whatsoever himself pleaseth. 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 whatsoever worship, service, or obedience as creatures they owe unto the Creator, and whatever He is further pleased to require of them. You see, we're taught in the doctrine of God that all things find their source in Him, that He claims sovereignty over them, and He does as He pleases. As Paul says, of Him and through Him and to Him are all things. Benjamin Keech says this.
The heavenly builder, having all wisdom and knowledge, sees by one act all things that are necessary and commodious, and needs not to suspend actions after study and consideration, nor stay for anyone to be his help and counselor, because there is none able or fit to teach him. God does not acquire information. God knows all things. And because he knows all things, that which he wills, he does.
He accomplishes it. Keech is correct in what he says. Now, there'll be a lot said in the other messages this weekend, in these two days, about Chapter 3. But I want to read a couple of statements from it.
I don't want to open it up in detail right now, but I want to read some statements. Chapter 3. Now, remember I said earlier that the word decree is not in the first paragraph of Westminster and Savoy, but the Baptists add it. I happen to be quoting from the Baptist Confession here.
Chapter 3: God's Eternal Decree
God hath decreed in himself from all eternity by the most wise and holy counsel of his will, exactly what John Norton said to us earlier, he's done this freely and unchangeably, all things whatsoever comes to pass, yet so is that thereby God is neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein, pardon me, nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established, in which appears his wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing his decree. Then it continues into paragraph two. Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions, Yet he hath not decreed anything because he foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions. A little bit later on in chapter three, we read these words. those of mankind that are predestinated to life, God before the foundation of the world was laid, according to his eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of his will.
Notice that language. Remember the Venn diagram illustration? Well, this is the language of the decree using synonyms. He hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting glory out of his mere free grace and love without any other thing in the creature as a condition or cause moving him thereunto.
And then spilling over to the next paragraph, as God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so he hath by the eternal and most free purpose of his will foreordained all the means thereunto. Wherefore, they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ, are effectually called unto faith in Christ by his spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified, kept by his power through faith unto salvation. Neither are any other redeemed by Christ or effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved but the elect only. What God decreed in eternity accomplished in the history recorded in the Bible, focusing upon the Lord Jesus, is then applied to us when we hear the word and when the Spirit blesses that word and gives us new life.
You know, the shorter catechism asks the question, how does God execute his decrees? And the answer is given, God executes his decree in the works of creation and providence. So it's no surprise that after a chapter on God's decree, we encounter chapters on creation and providence. Chapter three of God's decree presents us with the internal works of God.
Chapter four moves into the external works of God, and we read this. Remember, this is how God executes his decree. In the beginning, it's the language of creation.
Chapter 4: Creation as Execution of the Decree
In the beginning, it pleased God. Not that it made him happy, but this is the language of the decree. It pleased God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. for the manifestation of the glory of his eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, to create or make the world and all things therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good." You see, we see here that creation itself, that is everything that is not God, comes into being by God's good pleasure. His decree is accomplished as He makes all things.
And so creation is the first means by which God brings His eternal plan to realization in time and space, which themselves are created things. He creates time, and He creates space, and then He populates it. And I don't mean simply with living creatures. He populates it with all things.
Creation is mentioned in every section of Holy Scripture. According to Hebrews 11.3, it's an article of our faith. The Apostles Creed summarizes it for us. I believe in God the Father Almighty, you know what's next, maker of heaven and earth.
Why were all things created? Not out of any necessity in God, He lacked nothing. All things were created simply for the manifestation of the glory of God's eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, to demonstrate His decree. Not that created things add to God's glory, that can never be.
Rather, creation is intended to demonstrate what God is, that He is glorious. And this is why the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork, and why the defilement of creation, as explained, for example, in Romans 1, is so evil. God made all things to manifest his own greatness and his own glory. Again, I remind you what the catechism says.
God executes his decrees in the works of creation, we just saw that ever so briefly, in the works of creation and providence. And so it shouldn't surprise us that the next chapter in our confessions, chapter five, of divine providence, carries along this theme. Listen to these expressions.
Chapter 5: Divine Providence and the Decree
God, the good creator of all things, in his infinite power and wisdom, doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures and things from the greatest even to the least. by his most wise and holy providence to the end for which they were created according unto his infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable counsel of his own will to the praise of the glory of his wisdom. The basis of providence is twofold. God's infallible foreknowledge and the immutable counsel of his will A phrase that goes right back to chapter 3, paragraph 1, and ties this statement about providence directly to the divine decree. The two adjectives, infallible and immutable, provide a strong doctrine.
God's providence is like him because it is his. Likewise, in light of the use of the word free, We find a further assertion that these things come to pass in the way that they do because God himself determined that they would do so in the exact way that they happened. Back in chapter three, paragraph one, we spoke about the extent of the decree. God has foreordained whatever comes to pass.
We learned that he executes his decrees in the works of creation and providence. But this may be thought-provoking. What we see around us, And I mean right now, as an example. What we see around us is simply the historical expression of the eternal decree of God.
That which he planned is accomplished everywhere by his good pleasure. He upholds, he directs, he disposes, and he governs as he sees fit. And this has tremendous implications. We can think of it on the grand scale.
Why do natural disasters occur? Or why do tragedies take place? The answer from the word of God is because God has determined to bring these things to pass. Now that opens up all kinds of other subjects that perhaps will be dealt with later on.
But all of this teaches us that the purpose is the worship of God. As we watch the eternal decree unfold in the work of providence, we are called to offer praise. See, as we understand the world through the lens of scripture, the power, wisdom, justice, infinite goodness and mercy of God are revealed. Providence testifies to all these virtues of the Godhead.
Another member of the Westminster Assembly, the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs, wrote this. There is infinite variety of the works of God in an ordinary providence. and yet all work in an orderly way. We put these two together, for God in the way of his providence causes a thousand thousand things, one to depend upon another. There are infinite several wheels, as I may say, in the works of providence." When I read that, I like to think of a big machine. and how all of the wheels work together.
That's a sense what he's saying here. God does this in Providence, and they all work together for his purpose. Back to Burroughs. All the works that God ever did from all eternity or ever will do, put them all together, all make up but one work.
That's why we speak of the decree singular. And they have been as several wheels that have had their orderly motion to attain the end that God from all eternity appointed. We indeed look at things by pieces, We look at one particular and do not consider the reference that one thing hath to another. But God, he looks at all things at once and sees the reference that one thing hath to another.
That's God's decree in the works of Providence. You see, we can say that the ways of God are marvelous. And when we think in these terms, how can we fail to worship such a God? Well, the next paragraph ties providence with the decree.
Chapter five, paragraph two. Although in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first cause, all things come to pass immutably and infallibly, so that there is not anything befalls any by chance or outside his providence. Yet by the same providence, he orders them to fall out according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily freely or contingently. The first cause in providence is the foreknowledge and decree of God.
Since all that is in God is God, foreknowledge must be understood as an eternal act of the divine will in name different from the decree, but essentially equivalent with it. His knowledge is infallible. and thus cannot err or fail, and his decree is eternal, an expression of the external acts of the sovereign Lord. And since the decree encompasses all things whatsoever come to pass, providence must be rooted here. God's decree immutably and infallibly accomplishes all his holy will.
Nothing in the created realm befalls by chance or outside his providence. Everything that happens comes to pass providentially in fulfillment of the eternal decree. Now this does not rule out the importance of second causes, which themselves are essential to the doctrine of providence and are the means that God uses to accomplish his purpose. And the two must be understood together.
All things happen because of the decree, and the decree ensures that all things happen according to the order established by God through his decree. And so even the second cause, the temporal means that he uses to accomplish his decree, is ultimately the decree of God, though these are to be identified with the natural processes of the created order. We see natural events and correctly ascribe natural reasons for them while not denying that they happen because of the decree. Here we are in springtime. and the trees are beginning to bud.
In the home where I'm staying, there's a plum tree with beautiful flowers that have come out this week. Well, we can look at that and we can explain all of that humanistically, and it's true. The time of year, the exposure to the sun, the water that comes to the tree, the cycle through which it goes, all of those things are true. The botanist can tell us those things and we can affirm them.
But then we say, but it's the decree of God that brought these things to pass. You see, that's what we have to say. We always have to go back to our God. Paragraph four.
Chapter 5
Providence, Sin, and Determinate Counsel
the almighty power unsearchable wisdom and infinite goodness of God So far manifest themselves in his providence that his determinate counsel Extends itself even to the first fall in all of their sinful actions both of angels and men and and that not by a bare permission, which also he most wisely and powerfully bounds and otherwise orders and governs in a manifold dispensation to his most holy ends. Yet so as the sinfulness of their acts proceeds only from the creatures and not from God, who being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin. And I know our brother will be dealing with that later on. You see, paragraph four addresses the place of sin in relation to divine providence.
How do we account for the presence of sin and evil in God's creation? Well, God is always powerful, wise, and good, even in relation to the marring of creation. The Savoy Declaration made an addition to the Westminster Confession, and the Baptists followed them along, noting that God's determinate counsel is at the root of Adam's fall, sin, and all other sinful actions of angels and men. And since providence extends to all things, the fall and its consequences may not be considered outside the sphere of divine direction.
It's not a blip, a moment when the Lord looked away. For this reason, these sinful acts should not be viewed as a result of bare permission that is allowing an event to happen generally, apart from a direct decree. Long before the Puritan confessions were written, Henry Ainsworth, perhaps the supreme Hebraist of the age, said this. They that for his judgments would make God the author of sin, err on the one hand, and they that ascribe unto him herein but a bare permission, err on the other hand.
There's a middle way that must be trod. Within the decree, the sinful acts of angels and men are their own. They belong to us. God most wisely and powerfully bounds them, ordering and governing them so that they bring about his most holy ends.
These actions cannot exceed the divine purposes, but will always bring the divine purposes to act, to pass. The supporting texts in our confessions. Genesis 50-20. Remember Joseph?
Near the end of his life, do you remember what he said? As for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good to bring to pass as it is this day to save many people alive. Joseph parses out the human motivations and the divine intention in the difficulties of his life. Another text that's very helpful here is Isaiah chapter 10. where we read the Lord saying that he will send the Assyrians against a hypocritical nation.
He will bring his wrath upon them. But the one who comes against Israel doesn't think in that way. In his own heart, he intends to destroy and cut off the nations. Whatever comes to pass, it is because God brings it to pass in His own glory.
The Lord employs Assyria as His instrument of judgment against Israel, even though the Assyrians conquer for their own wicked benefit. That's an excellent example of the point. Every providence, and this encompasses literally everything that comes to pass, occurs because of the divine decree and leads to the most holy ends, the most holy result that the most holy God intends. Remember the doctrine of God expressed in Chapter 2, which we've already read.
This doctrine is expressed similarly in Chapter 6, Paragraph 1, of the fall of man and the punishment thereof. Although God created man upright and perfect and gave him a righteous law which had been unto life had he kept it, and threatened death upon the breach thereof, yet he did not long abide in this honor. Satan, using the subtlety of the serpent to seduce Eve, then by her seducing Adam, who without any compulsion did willfully transgress the law of their creation and the command given unto them in eating forbidden fruit, notice, which God was pleased according to his wise and holy counsel to permit, having purposed to order it to his own glory. This last clause carefully expresses God's relationship to this act.
In light of what we've already read in chapter three, we read that God has decreed all things that come to pass, that God is not the author of sin, and he does no violence to the will of the creature. These doctrines are brought together to teach that in his wise and holy counsel, God was pleased to permit this act, ordering it to accomplish his own glory. Quickly, we move on to chapter seven of God's covenant.
Chapters 6–8: Fall, Covenant, and the Mediator
The distance between God and the creature is so great that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto him as their creator, yet they could never have attained the reward of life but by some voluntary condescension on God's part, which, notice, he hath been pleased to express by way of covenant. Paragraph two. Moreover, man, having brought himself under the curse of the law by his fall, it pleased the Lord to make a covenant of grace, wherein he freely offers unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in him that they may be saved, and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life his Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe. In these statements we again encounter the pleasure of the Lord.
Here we're taught that God is pleased to communicate with us by means of covenant. Covenant is his chosen means of speaking to us. And then this is followed by an assertion that God's decreed means of bringing salvation to sinners is his covenant of grace. His eternal pleasure chooses covenant to speak with us and he grants salvation by means of his covenant.
Immediately following this, we read the wonderful words beginning the chapter of Christ the mediator. It's not the same in Westminster. The Savoyans changed it and the Baptists followed them. Listen to what they say.
It pleased God in his eternal purpose to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, his only begotten son, according to the covenant made between them both. to be the mediator between God and man, the prophet, priest, and king, head and savior of his church, the heir of all things and judge of the world, unto whom he did from all eternity give a people to be his seed and to be by him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified. The divine pleasure of God's eternal purpose is accomplished in the choice and ordination of the Lord Jesus. This is the basis upon which the whole doctrine of the person and work of Christ is built in this chapter, which itself serves as the foundation for everything else that we read about our Lord Jesus. Notice, for example, in paragraph three, the Lord Jesus in his human nature, thus united to the divine in the person of the Son, was sanctified and anointed with the Holy Spirit above measure. having in him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, in whom it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell, to the end that, being holy, harmless, undefiled, and full of grace and truth, he might be thoroughly furnished to execute the office of a mediator and surety, which office he took not upon himself, but was thereunto called by his Father, who also put all power and judgment in his hand and gave him commandment to execute the same.
Now just prior to this, the technical language of the Chalcedonian definition was used, and we read about the one person with two natures, truly divine, truly human, but here we see that as the God-man, he possessed all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. so that hereby the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in the person of the Son bodily, substantially, and eternally." That's a quotation from John Owen. What we see, what we know about our Savior is the result of the eternal decree of God. After introducing us to the purpose of God fulfilled in the Son, the confessions move into specific discussions of our salvation. I realize I'm moving very quickly, but in order to survey all of this, that's what we have to do.
In chapter 10, we read this,
Chapters 10–17: Ordo Salutis and Perseverance
those whom God hath predestinated unto life He is pleased in his appointed and accepted time effectually to call by his word and spirit out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. And then it goes on and it tells us the method by which this happens. We enjoy the blessings of salvation because of God's pleasure, because of God's decree, a doctrine that's presented again in the third paragraph. Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who works when and where and how He pleases, not in response to events on earth, but rather according to His eternal decree.
So also are all other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word. The next chapter, 11, is about justification. God did from all eternity decree to justify all the elect, and Christ did in the fullness of time die for their sins and rise again for their justification, et cetera. Justification depends on the eternal decree.
Now, there's a lot to consider here, a lot that we could say, but the text is simple to comprehend. In the eternal covenant of salvation, justification is eternally decreed. In the historical accomplishment of that decree, it is done by means of the work of Christ. But until the Holy Spirit in due time applies Christ's work to us, sinners remain under the wrath of God, even though we are the beneficiaries of this eternal decree of justification.
Consider the doctrine of good works, chapter 16. We read in the third paragraph, speaking of believers, Their ability to do good works is not at all of themselves, but wholly from the Spirit of Christ. And that they may be enabled thereunto, besides the graces they have already received, there is necessary an actual influence of the same Holy Spirit to work in them to will and to do of His good pleasure. Yet are they not hereupon to grow negligent, as if they were not bound to perform any duty, unless upon a special motion of the Spirit? but they ought to be diligent in stirring up the grace of God that is in them.
You know, this is simply a citation of Philippians 2.13. You probably all know what it says. It is God who works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Work out your own salvation for.
This is the work of the Holy Spirit. who brings the predestined sinner through this life and into the world to come as a result of the decree of God. Chapter 17, Of the Perseverance of the Saints. We read this, this perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father, upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ and union with him, the oath of God, the abiding of his spirit, and the seed of God within them, and the nature of the covenant of grace, from all which ariseth, also the certainty and infallibility thereof. Perseverance depends on the immutability of the decree of election, and the unchanging love of God the Father.
And this has two intimately related parts. The decree of election itself is immutable, for God has fixed and determined this decree, and all its component acts will be accomplished. All of those that have been elected will be brought to eternal life. But also the love of God the Father is like him, unchangeable and given freely. flowing from the immutable character of God, which itself undergirds the decree of election.
So that when God sets his love on any person, that love will accomplish its purpose, thus perseverance is certain. He has determined that he will love a people, a sinning, fallen people, and nothing in them after the inception of grace can change that love. He loved them when they were sinners. He loves them when they are his people.
That which it was when they were his enemies continues now that they are his children. Well, faced with the errors of the Sosinians, a naturalistic anti-Trinitarian band in mid-century England, as well as criticism from some Church of England authors, the Savoy theologians added a chapter to the Confession and the Baptists followed them. It's not in Westminster, but it's chapter 20 in the other two. It's titled, Of the Gospel and of the Extent of the Grace Thereof. and it provides a theological rationale for the historical spread of the gospel, and of course roots this in the divine decree.
We read, for example,
Chapter 20: The Gospel and the Decree
the covenant of works being broken by sin and made unprofitable unto life, God was pleased to give forth the promise of Christ, the seed of the woman, as the means of calling the elect and beginning in them faith and repentance. In this promise, The gospel as to the substance of it was revealed and there in effectual for the conversion and salvation of sinners. God was pleased to do this. They begin their description of the spread of the gospel by pointing our attention to God and saying that whatever happens with the gospel and wherever it happened to go, it went because of God's decree.
Paragraph three. The revelation of the gospel unto sinners, made in diverse times and by sundry parts, with the addition of promises and precepts for the obedience required therein, as to the nations and persons to whom it is granted, is merely of the sovereign will and good pleasure of God. not being annexed by virtue of any promise to the due improvement of men's natural abilities by virtue of common light received without it, which none ever did make nor can do. And therefore in all ages, the preaching of the gospel hath been granted unto persons and nations as to the extent or straightening of it in great variety according to the counsel of the will of God. Why did the gospel go in the direction that it did from Jerusalem?
Because that was God's purpose. That's why it went where it was. And though people don't like to hear this, that's why there are places that are dark, because God has not yet opened the door for the gospel to go to them. Now this echoes but not duplicates the language of Hebrews 1.1.
The chapter contemplates the relation between the spread of the gospel and the sovereignty of God. The spread of the gospel must be traced to the sovereignty of God. The final section of the paragraph is simply a summary and conclusion drawn from the previous material. God has determined the boundaries of the spread of the gospel both extensively and narrowly.
And with great variety, according to his own counsel, it has reached some people and been hidden from others. Do you remember what the Lord Jesus says in Matthew 11? God and Father, that you've hidden these things from some and reveal them to babes. Jesus rejoices that there are those from whom the gospel has been hidden.
Twice in Acts chapter 16, we're told that Paul, as he's traveling, wants to go to a certain place. There are people down that road who have never heard the gospel. He wants to go and preach to them. And the Holy Spirit says, no.
And at that moment, they're left in darkness. Twice that happens, leading ultimately to the Macedonian call and the spread of the gospel to what we know as Europe. That's the sovereignty of God. That's His decree.
Maybe it's not our favorite doctrine, but it's true. That's what we find in the Word of God. The final explicit text to mention comes in the very last chapter of our confessions. It says this,
Final Chapter: The Last Judgment Decreed
God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ, to whom all power and judgment is given of the Father, in which day not only the apostate angel shall be judged, but likewise all persons that have lived upon the earth shall appear before the tribunal of Christ to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds, and to receive according to what they have done in the body whether good or evil. God has appointed this day. The day has been decreed. You see, throughout the confessions, these Puritan confessions, the reader is pointed explicitly or implicitly to the acts and purposes of God.
He is the author of Christian theology. He's the rightful sovereign over ethics and morals. In many cases, He is accounted to be the first and immediate subject of the doctrine that is presented in a chapter. Here in chapter 32, this is the 15th time in the confessions that the word God appears at the beginning.
We are to think of these things in light of who he is. As we contemplate the last judgment, we are reminded to do so in light of the doctrine of God, expounded in chapter two, fleshed out in the rest of the body of the confession. All that has been said about him provides a foundation for this final chapter. We must say this, the great Lord and King, the creator of heaven and earth, has a purpose for his creation and his creatures, and an end to which all is inexorably moving.
This is the final day, not a period bound by the rising and setting of the sun, but rather a moment when his righteousness will be displayed to the entire moral universe in the judgment of the world through the mediator, Jesus Christ. Now let's summarize this. What do we see here? Well,
Summary: The Decree as the Integrating Doctrine
we must see the integrated nature of Christian theology. As part of the doctrine of God, it reflects who he is. As John Norton said, I quoted this earlier, the decree of God is simply God decreeing. The confessions address this matter quite clearly.
To profess the doctrine of the divine decree is to profess the classical Christian doctrine of God in both its basis and its implications. We see that in the confessions of the Puritan era, the doctrine of the decree is at the root of many of our beliefs, from scripture to creation to providence, to the fall of man, to God's covenant, to Christ the mediator, to various aspects of the ordo salutis, and even the final judgment. Everything in the created order relies on the divine decree. Amen.
Let's pray.
Closing Prayer
O Lord, we bow down before you, confessing that we are weak and ignorant, We have no strength in ourselves, and yet you've placed us in a world in which you are the ruler. You keep this world. You cause everything to be as you have planned. We ask that this would bring us to worship, and that in all that we see and all that we do, good or bad, as we perceive it, we would give ourselves up to bring glory to the God of heaven and earth.
Thank you for Christian theology. Thank you for the way that it is knit together beautifully. We pray that you would help us to appreciate it, and in appreciating it, deepen our love for you. We ask in Jesus' name.