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We're in chapter three now of 
the Second London Confession of Faith, so you can turn to 
that chapter and we'll read all seven paragraphs and have a look 
at the doctrine of God's decree. Chapter 3, beginning with paragraph 
1, God hath decreed in himself from all eternity, by the most 
wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably 
all things whatsoever comes to pass. Yet so as thereby is God 
neither the author of sin, nor hath any fellowship with any 
therein. 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. Although God knoweth 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. By 
the decree of God, for the manifestation of his own glory, of his glory, 
some men and angels are predestinated or foreordained to eternal life 
through Jesus Christ, to the praise of his glorious grace. 
others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation, 
to the praise of His glorious justice. These angels and men, 
thus predestinated and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably 
designed, and their number so certain and definite that it 
cannot be either increased or diminished. 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, 
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. 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, and 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. The doctrine of this high mystery 
of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care, 
that men attending the will of God revealed in his word, and 
yielding obedience thereunto, may, from the certainty of their 
effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal election. So 
shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration 
of God, and of humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all 
that sincerely obey the gospel. Amen. Well, that's a very meaty 
chapter. And historically, the stuff of 
this chapter, of course, has endured much debate, much discussion, 
much deliberation amongst theologians. And to cover every clause, and 
every word, and every phrase in this confession would take 
a very long time. So we're only going to look at 
a few particular points that this chapter brings out. And 
the first thing that we want to note is something with respect 
to the connection between chapter 2 of God and of the Holy Trinity 
and this chapter of God's decree. Because when we read in chapter 
3, paragraph 1, the first sentence, God hath decreed in himself, 
we need to remind ourselves that it's the God of Chapter 2. Of 
course, the confession isn't now just somehow moving to some, 
you know, ambiguous, abstract definition of God, but rather 
it's the God of Chapter 2, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who is the one decreeing in himself 
from all eternity whatsoever comes to pass. And so, with regards 
to God and divine sovereignty, just turn back to chapter 2 for 
a moment, because when we consider the decree of God, we're of course 
considering that God is sovereign in His majesty and in His glory. He's not conditioned by or constrained 
by or contained within any laws or anything outside of Himself 
that somehow dictates how He is supposed to act. and that 
sort of thing, but much rather has unrivaled sovereignty and 
unmitigated sovereignty over all things. And we can see in 
paragraph 2 at chapter 1, excuse me, chapter 2 at paragraph 1, 
we can see some of the language here. And if you notice, sort 
of near the middle of the paragraph, we read that God is most wise, 
most free, most absolute, and then notice, working all things 
according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous 
will for his own glory. So The confession here, of course, 
founded upon biblical revelation, divine revelation, is stating, 
with regards to God, that He is most wise, most free, and 
most absolute. So He isn't conditioned by anything 
outside of Himself. He's most absolute and most free. And of course, the decree of 
God is founded upon His most perfect wisdom. And then we have 
this good definition, a good working definition of sovereignty, 
working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable 
and most righteous will for His own glory. Then if you turn to 
paragraph 2 for a moment of chapter 2, We see that God, that divine 
sovereignty, and of course then the decree, is grounded in the 
fact that God is alone and unto himself all-sufficient. Notice 
the paragraph, God having all life, glory, goodness, blessedness 
in and of himself is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, 
not standing in any need of any creature which he hath made, 
nor deriving any glory from them. And then just moving down a little 
bit, and he hath most sovereign dominion over all creatures, 
to do by them, for them, and upon them whatsoever himself 
pleaseth." So the doctrine of God and the consideration in 
that of the doctrine of divine sovereignty is very important 
foundationally as we consider the decree of God. Just a few 
places in the Bible that we can turn to that speak to this reality, 
the fact that God As we read here, has most sovereign dominion 
all creatures to do by them, for them, and upon them whatsoever 
himself pleaseth. You can turn to a couple of Psalms 
here. The first one is 115. Psalm 115. A passage here, a verse in this 
psalm that you're very familiar with from the pulpit here, as 
Pastor Butler alludes to it a lot, with regards to divine sovereignty. 
Notice in Psalm 115, we'll begin reading at verse 1. Not unto 
us, O Lord, not unto us, but to your name give glory, because 
of your mercy, because of your truth. Why should the Gentiles 
say, so where is their God? But our God is in heaven. He 
does whatever he pleases. You know, it's one of those things 
where, you know, in the pagan view of divine favor, or the 
favor of the gods, that those who rest under divine favor should 
always endure or obtain blessings. That there should be perhaps 
no cursings upon those who have a god who is about their favor. So the Gentiles might look upon 
afflicted and persecuted and opposed Israel and think, that 
think, where is their God? Because there is no blessings 
being poured out upon them, but rather perhaps cursings and affliction. But the retort comes, or the 
response comes, in verse 3, but our God is in heaven. He does 
whatever He pleases. So whether Israel against the 
Philistines are victorious or whether they're found to be in 
defeat, nevertheless it is the case that the God of the armies 
of Israel is in heaven and he does whatever he pleases. Psalm 
135, turn to Psalm 135 and when you get there, verse 5, Similar text, for I know that 
the Lord is great and our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the 
Lord pleases, He does in heaven and in earth, in the seas and 
in all deep places. He causes the vapors to ascend 
from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain. 
He brings the wind out of His treasuries. It's a wonderful 
statement with regards to divine sovereignty. This language of 
the Lord our God is above all small g gods, that isn't an affirmation 
of polytheism, as if God is just chief among the gods, but rather 
it's a reference to, most likely, the pagan gods. The term gods 
is also used of earthly judges that have divine sanction. but it's probably used here with 
regards to pagan deities. Our Lord is above all gods. Of 
course, there are no gods at all, but the difference between 
the God of heaven and earth and pagan gods is His unrivaled sovereignty 
and His mastery over everything. And we see this wonderful language 
here. Our Lord is in heaven, or excuse 
me, whatever the Lord pleases He does in heaven and in earth, 
in seas and in all deep places. And this further language of 
verse 7 just speaks to the unrivaled comprehensive nature of divine 
sovereignty. It speaks to God's supreme power 
and His unqualified authority by the simple virtue that He 
is God. So God is most sovereign over 
all things. One more text, and then we'll 
move on to the decree proper. And you can turn to the book 
of Daniel for a moment. When we looked at Daniel chapter 
4, when we looked at Jeremiah 9 a number of weeks ago, Jeremiah 
9, 23 and 24, we noted this case with Nebuchadnezzar as a case 
study in one who gloried in his wisdom, gloried in his riches, 
and gloried in his might. The end of the story, though, 
is great because it's also a case study in one who cast that aside 
after a season and understood and knew God with regards to 
his unrivaled sovereignty. Notice Daniel 4 at verse 28. All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the 12 months, 
he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, 
saying, is not this great Babylon that I have built for a royal 
dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty? 
While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from 
heaven. King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken, the kingdom 
has departed from you, and they shall drive you from men, and 
your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall 
make you eat grass like oxen, and seven times shall pass over 
you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom 
of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses. That very hour the 
word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven 
from men, and ate grass like oxen. His body was wet with the 
dew of heaven, till his hair had grown like eagles' feathers, 
and his nails like birds' claws." Now notice this next section 
here. And at the end of the time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my 
eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me. And I blessed 
the Most High, and praised and honored Him who lives forever. 
For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is 
from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth 
are reputed as nothing. He does according to his will 
in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. 
No one can restrain his hand or say to him, what have you 
done? At this same time, my reason returned to me, and for the glory 
of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors 
and nobles resorted to me. I was restored to my kingdom, 
and excellent majesty was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, 
praise and extol the honor of the King of Heaven, all of whose 
works are truth and His ways justice, and those who walk in 
pride He is able to put down." It's a wonderful transition in 
this text from one who is all about I, I, and my, and who now 
becomes all about his, his, and his. It's a blessed acknowledgement 
of the sovereignty of God over all things from one who previously 
thought that he was the master of his own destiny, that he was 
the one that brought to himself and his kingdom splendor. It 
was God who gave, it was God who took away, and it was God 
who restored. So God is sovereign. He has unrivaled 
and comprehensive sovereignty over all things. Moving then 
now to the decree, if we move back to chapter three, there's 
a great definition, of course, of what God's decree is, right 
at the beginning of the paragraph. We have a definition of the decree 
of God. God hath decreed in himself from 
all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, 
freely and unchangeably all things whatsoever comes to pass. So 
that is God's decree. a foreordaining of all things 
that come to pass freely and unchangeably. There are some 
key words and key phrases that we want to note here as we seek 
to understand the decree of God. And the first observation is 
the statement, God hath decreed in himself. So we've already 
noted, of course, that this is God, the triune God, Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit. God hath decreed in himself, 
as Mahler says, God actively, immediately, and eternally wills 
all things. That's something important to 
acknowledge as we move along. The decree doesn't take place 
in time. God didn't move from having not 
decreed to having decreed. That's something that we need 
to understand. God is eternal. He has eternality. He is atemporal. He is not constrained 
by time, nor a slave to time in any degree. He wasn't once 
eternal and then became partially temporal or temporal. He wasn't 
once eternal and became eternally now temporal because that doesn't 
make any sense He is of course eternal a temporal not a slave 
nor constrained by time But wholly outside of it being God and not 
creation So we need to understand that God's decree is or God actively 
immediately and eternally Wills all things and it is the act 
as we consider just the word God here again for a moment It 
is the act of all three persons It isn't only the Father that 
decrees, but because their works are inseparable, and because 
they in and of themselves are of one substance, power, and 
eternity, it is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that actively, 
immediately, and eternally will all things. The decree isn't 
the decree of the Father. And then, you know, I think sometimes 
we can simplify and erroneously sort of define or look at the 
works of the three Persons of the Trinity kind of like the 
Father decreed, you know, the Son executes and the Spirit applies. There's, you know, there's There 
are places where we can talk like that. The scriptures themselves 
use terms, we call it appropriations, where certain works are ascribed 
to different persons of the Trinity. But we must understand that Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit are of one essence, of one substance, power, 
and eternity, and the decree being, as we'll note in a minute, 
the decree being identical to the very essence and nature of 
God, It is the case that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all 
involved in, if we can use that language, or all decree actively, 
immediately, and eternally. So it is, the decree is, the 
act of all three persons. We want to note as well that 
with regards to the language of hath decreed in himself, That's 
a very important phrase that God hath decreed in himself. 
It marks the fact that the decree is one with the divine essence. It is not a thing divided or 
separate from the divine essence. If that was the case, then the 
decree would not be eternal. because it is only the case that 
God is eternal, so we can't have an eternal decree if the decree 
is somehow essentially separate from God. The decree is one with 
the divine essence, not a thing divided or separate from it. 
Thomas Boston wrote, God's decrees are nothing else but God himself, 
who is one simple act. And so, I mean, you know, probably 
three books could probably be written about what that means 
and what is all entailed in that particular phrase. But it's important 
to understand that the splendor of the decree is because of the 
God who decrees. And that splendor of the decree 
is wrapped up in the fact that it is one with the divine essence. 
It is eternal, it is unchangeable, just as God in his essence is 
infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in all of his perfections, so 
too the decree of God is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable. There's also language here as 
we move on with regards to just this first phrase, from all eternity. We've already noted that if the 
decrees of God are not one with the divine essence, then the 
decrees are not eternal, because there is nothing eternal but 
God. And we need to sort of understand the language, what that means, 
because the language from all eternity, and some of the language 
that we have in the scriptures that we'll look at in a few moments, 
It almost seems to be, even though eternity is used, it almost seems 
to carry with it the weight of time-bound language, because 
the language from is used. In fact, in the scriptures, we 
have the language from the foundation of the world, or before the foundation 
of the world. which is a very interesting phrase 
that we also need to understand, because when the Bible talks 
about before the foundation of the world, it's not saying that 
the decrees were made by God in a time before the foundation 
of the world, but rather the term before is essentially a 
negative word removing time from the entirety of the equation. 
We can only use time-bound language because we're humans, we're temporal, 
we are bound by time, we are finite, and so we can only use 
time-bound language very often to speak of the God who is eternal. So His decree was not made at 
a point in time. Remember, there wasn't a time 
where God was without His decree, because He is identical with 
His decree. There wasn't a time where God 
somehow moved from having not decreed to decreed, but rather 
it is from all eternity. It is in Himself, and it is from 
all eternity. And we'll look at some language 
here as we get to some passages at the end of some of these observations. 
Now notice some of the next phraseology used here. God hath decreed in 
himself from all eternity by the most wise and holy counsel 
of his own will. This is something that is blessed 
when we consider the decree and the fact that God has decreed 
all things. And that's what we're looking 
at here, God and His decree concerning all things, because the language 
here has not yet moved to the decree that concerns the salvation 
of the elect. So this is the decree concerning 
all things, and As we look around the world, as we comprehend, 
well, as we apprehend, as we apprehend the doctrine of the 
decree and we understand that God, according to the perfection 
of His nature and His unrivaled sovereignty, has purposed and 
decreed all things that come to pass, when we see some of 
the things that come to pass, we can be grieved. we can be 
afflicted, we can be wearied, because it isn't the case that 
it is all just roses and bluebirds and rainbows in this lower world. 
There's a lot of affliction, disease, sin, transgression. There is a lot of sadness. Of 
course, there are good things, but as we look at the scope of 
history and the look that as we look at the scope of what's 
going on in our own modern times, it is a blessed comfort above 
comforts to realize that the decree of God concerning all 
things flows from His most wise and holy counsel of His own will. our God is most holy, most wise, 
and so his decrees are most holy and most wise. And so when we 
reflect upon that fact, we ought to, as we get to the end of the, 
when we get to paragraph seven here, the consideration of the 
fact that this doctrine affords matter of praise, reverence, 
and admiration of God. Because not confined only to 
this, it flows from his wisdom and his holy counsel. One of 
the things, of course, we need to understand here is that God 
is, of course, not depending upon others' wisdom and upon 
the will of others. He's not somehow constrained 
by human wisdom and human will. The Arminian theology, Sassanian 
theology, any sort of theology against the reformed and historical 
reformed understanding of the decree of God To one degree or 
another, wrestles in man's will and man's power in the matter 
of the decree of God and, of course, the decree concerning 
salvation. Historically, the Armenians and 
the Sassanians, and by virtue of that, the inheritors of those 
erroneous theologies in our own day, some of them believe that 
God hasn't decreed all things. that God has only decreed some 
things, particularly those things pertaining to salvation, and 
only then, based upon his foreknowledge of man's so-called free will 
decision to choose for Jesus. And so when we come to this reality, 
the most holy and most wise counsel of the divine will, we're understanding 
that God is, of course, in no way constrained by anything outside 
of himself to decree this or to decree that or to not decree 
this and not decree that. So the decree, again, completely 
unmitigated by anything, unrestricted by anything, flows from divine 
wisdom and divine holiness and the exclusive matter of the divine 
will. I just want to read something 
from Turreton here. It's a good quote regarding this topic, the 
decree of God and what is ascribed to God concerning the decree 
relative to this Most Holy and Most Wise Council. The decree 
is ascribed to God not in as much as it is the effect of previous 
deliberation and consultation with reasoning, passing from 
one thing to another, but by reason of the certain determination 
concerning the futurition of things. That just simply means 
the the matter of things future, the state of future things. The 
reason of the certain determination concerning the futurition of 
things, according to which he does nothing rashly, but designedly, 
that is, knowingly and willingly. So, when we think of this language 
of the counsel of His own will, and when we consider the fact 
that it's Father, Son, and Holy Spirit involved in the decree 
of God, we're not to vainly imagine some heavenly counsel where the 
Father Father, Son, and Spirit are actually sort of beginning 
this process of deliberation and speaking to one another. 
I think poetically speaking, and reflecting upon it, some 
theologians have, and it's okay to do this, sort of poetically 
represented this divine counsel in the language of men with the 
Father, Son, and Spirit, deliberating one with the other. when we want 
precision of theology, we must understand that that's not actually 
what obtains in eternity. You know, the Father, Son, and 
Spirit, you know, sitting down in the divine courts and sort 
of debating and deciding things and choosing what's going to 
happen. That's not what we look at when we consider the counsel 
of His own will. Again, our human language is 
constrained by just that, human and finite language. So when 
we talk about a covenant, when we talk about deliberation, when 
we talk about the counsel of his own will, we're not to import 
human understandings of what it means to sit around and talk 
about things and then therefore issue a decree. From the counsel 
of his own will, as Turreton says here, it's not by virtue 
of reasoning passing from one thing to another, but by reason 
of certain determination. He does nothing rashly but designedly, 
that is, knowingly and willingly. So God decrees by the most wise 
and holy counsel of his own will. And then the next statement here 
we must see here is is freely and unchangeably. See, the framers 
of the Confession here are not just throwing in adverbs and 
adjectives and phrases just for the sake of doing so. They're 
very deliberate in the words and the phrases and the clauses 
that they're using, not only positively to reflect biblical 
truth, but also negatively to oppose historical and contemporaneous 
error, and inoculate the people of God against such error. And so this statement, freely 
and unchangeably, no doubt positively asserts the blessed sovereignty 
of God, and also negatively that he is not bound by anything outside 
of himself to decree according to anything except the perfection 
of his own nature. So again, when God, as we get 
to next, God and His decree concerning the salvation of the elect, we 
would want to note, we will note, that God doesn't look down the 
tunnel of time, as it's said, to see who would, upon certain 
conditions, choose for Jesus, and then issue a decree of election 
based upon the free will choice of men. Remember, He freely and 
unchangeably decrees all things. So He is not bound by the will 
of man and the power of man. He is, in fact, not bound by 
anything, because He is. He is God, the perfection of 
the divine being. So, just some texts here. Actually, 
one other phrase that we see here is the phrase, and this 
is, there's a lot wrapped up in this, historically and biblically, 
he decrees whatsoever comes to pass. So, God decrees all things, 
not limited things, not just some things, but he decrees all 
things. And there's some theologians 
that wax very poetic on this particular point with regards 
to just the extensive and comprehensive nature of the decree of God decreeing 
all things. For example, I think it's James 
Renahan, in his book on the Confession, talks about leaves falling. And 
he says that God just doesn't decree the simple fact that some 
leaves will fall from a tree. leaving the smaller things to 
something outside of his comprehensive decree. But the very motion of 
a leaf as it falls from the tree and it's captured in the wind 
and its form responds to gravity as it falls. the very atoms that 
make up that leaf, and how their interaction and their interplay, 
and the dynamic of the atomic structure of the leaf, where 
they land, how they decay, all of these things, God ordains 
whatsoever comes to pass. He knows the hairs on our head. He has decreed what the sparrow 
will do, where it will fly, how it will fly, what it will eat. 
God decrees everything, not just the big things, but the little 
things that comprise and make up those big things. So God decrees 
whatsoever comes to pass. And some of the texts that we 
can read here, we'll start at Isaiah 46. You can turn to Isaiah. 46 and we notice there at verse 
10 a statement concerning, well actually we're going to back 
up a little bit there. We'll start reading at verse 8. So 
Isaiah 46 and verse 8. 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. You see there the 
blessed clarity that we have from Holy Scripture, and this 
is God speaking, God Himself declaring the perfection of His 
sovereignty and the fact that He is the one who decrees all 
things that come to pass. Notice there's this There's this 
statement first off with regards to divine exclusivity. God is 
declaring that he is the one and only living and true God, 
for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is 
none like me. And then this statement concerning 
the fact that God decrees whatsoever comes to pass, declaring the 
end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are 
not yet done. And then the the fact that God's 
decrees are fixed, they are unchangeable, just like the divine essence 
is unchangeable, so too the decrees are, saying, my counsel shall 
stand, and I will do all my pleasure. John Gill on this passage, the 
purposes and decrees of God, which are within himself, wisely 
formed by him, eternal and not frustrable, that just means can't 
be frustrated or stopped, and which shall stand or be accomplished, 
being the counsels of him who is all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful, 
unchangeable, true, and faithful, whether they respect the providence 
of God in relation to the world in general, and the government 
of it, or to particular persons in their affairs, from the time 
of their birth to their death. or whether they respect His grace 
and goodness in the salvation of men, such as His purpose according 
to election, the covenant of His grace, redemption by Christ, 
the effectual calling, and eternal glorification, all which, as 
they are according to the will and counsel of God, stand firm 
and sure and shall have their full accomplishment. One other 
text before we move on to the decree of God concerning the 
salvation of sinners. Let's just move to Ephesians, 
and we'll spend a little bit of time there as we move to the 
next particular head. But in Ephesians chapter 1, there is a lot there concerning 
the special decree concerning salvation, but there's also a 
statement in there regarding the decree of all things. Notice 
in Ephesians chapter 1 at verse 10, that in the dispensation 
of the fullness of the times, he might gather together in one 
all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on 
earth in him. In him also we have obtained 
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him 
who works all things according to the counsel of His will." 
So only touching here upon two verses regarding this fact, we 
should observe that the Bible speaks a lot more to this. But 
as we don't have 25 hours, we only have 55 minutes. we appreciate the fact of the 
Bible's clarity regarding God's decreeing of all things. So God 
and his decree concerning all things, now moving to God and 
his decree concerning the salvation of the elect. And you can grab 
your confession of faith again. And we'll notice here, beginning 
with paragraph three, we'll read I'm going to read 3, 4, 5, and 
6 again, just to get our minds back to the special decree concerning 
the salvation of the elect. So, beginning in paragraph 3 
here, by the decree of God for the manifestation of His glory, 
some men and angels are predestinated or foreordained to eternal life 
through Jesus Christ. Now that phrase, through Jesus 
Christ, will be sort of important in a moment. to the praise of 
His glorious grace, others being left to act in their sin, to 
their just condemnation, to the praise of His glorious justice. 
These angels and men, thus predestinated and foreordained, are particularly 
and unchangeably designed, and their number so certain and definite, 
that it cannot be either increased or diminished. 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, 
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." Hopefully, that particular phrase 
you recognize as we've been discussing the fact that God is not constrained 
by men when he decrees, he's not constrained by somehow viewing 
the decisions of men in the future based upon certain conditions, 
but rather we have this truth without any other thing in the 
creature as a condition or cause moving him thereunto. So, the 
works of man, the future works of man, the deeds of man, the 
future faith of man, the future act of believing, these things 
aren't conditions by which God decrees the salvation of sinners. 
Paragraph six, 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. We'll stop there for a moment. 
And under God and his decree concerning the salvation of the 
elect, We want to note, first off, that God has decreed the 
salvation of sinners through Jesus Christ. Now, if you go 
to paragraph three for a moment, there's an interesting statement 
here. By the decree of God for the manifestation of his glory, 
some men and angels are predestinated or foreordained to eternal life. 
So there's this statement regarding men and angels and eternal life. And then this clause that was 
added by the Baptists, it's not in the Westminster and it's not 
in the Savoy, through Jesus Christ. So obviously we appreciate and 
we know and we glory in the truth that some men are predestinated 
and foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ. But there's 
this statement concerning angels. And it's curious because in the 
scriptures, in the book of Hebrews, for example, we have this statement, 
this declaration regarding the incarnation of Jesus Christ for 
the purpose of being the mediator of God's elect. And it says that 
he did not take on the nature of angels, but he took on the 
nature of the sons of Abraham. Jesus Christ did not come into 
the world to live and to die and to rise again for the sins 
of angels, because the reprobate angels are unsavable, and the 
elect angels haven't, nor will they sin. So it's an interesting 
statement, and it's included there You can read James Renahan 
on it, or you can listen to a lecture given by Dr. Richard Barcelos 
a number of years ago on this very phrase and paragraph. But 
there is a fellow contemporaneous to this particular time, before 
this was penned, named Thomas Collier, who I believe was preaching 
and teaching that Jesus Christ died for, shed his blood for 
angels. And this statement is included 
in here against Collier, but also to promote the biblical 
truth that in some way angels, the elect angels, those who never 
sin, are the blessed beneficiaries of the work of Christ, but in 
a separate way. And that particular way is simply 
that they are confirmed in their holiness, or confirmed in their 
security, as the elect angels. So getting back then to, with 
that sort of aside, if you're more curious about that, I can 
give you some resources. But we have the blessed truth 
that God has decreed the salvation of sinners, His elect, through 
Jesus Christ. Ephesians, if you're still in 
Ephesians, you can go back to paragraph, to chapter 1. And we note this blessed truth, 
God decreeing the salvation of sinners through Jesus Christ. 
Notice, connected to the decree of God, and specifically as it 
relates to the salvation of the elect, notice beginning in verse 
3 of chapter 1, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the 
heavenly places in Christ, And then this language, just as He 
chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. Verse 9, having 
made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His 
good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself. And then verse 11, 
in Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated 
according to the purpose of him who works all things according 
to the counsel of his will." So we have this wonderful blessing, 
spiritual blessing, in the heavenly places in Christ, and the blessing 
that is being brought out here is this decree this predestination, 
this election, just as He chose us in Him. And there's that language 
again, before the foundation of the world. Again, when we 
see that phrase, we're not to think time, we're not to think 
temporality, we're not to think God moving from having not decreed 
to having now decreed, but that language of before simply removes 
time away and puts us in the place of the foundation of the 
world, or before the foundation of the world that is in all eternity. but this blessed truth that God, 
according to His most holy and wise counsel, according to the 
free and unchangeable love that is simply the divine essence 
itself, we have the fact that we are chosen in Christ before 
the foundation of the world. What a blessed thing. You can 
turn with me to the book of Romans as Paul in Romans brings forth 
this truth as well. The same truth that he wrote 
to the church in Ephesus we have in Romans 8. Romans 8 is so rich with the 
blessings that we have in Christ according to the will of God. And we have this paragraph beginning 
at verse 28 that speaks to foreordination, the decree, predestination, the 
will of God in the salvation of sinners. So Romans 8 beginning 
at verse 28. And we know that all things work 
together for good to those who love God, to those who are the 
called according to His purpose. For whom he foreknew, he also 
predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he 
might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom 
he predestined, these he also called. Whom he called, these 
he also justified. And whom he justified, these 
he also glorified." We have this language, and it brings together 
a lot of the things that we've been speaking about this morning. 
We have the purpose of God, who are called according to His purpose. So God, in His decree, of course, 
is marked by divine purpose. He is infinite, eternal, and 
unchangeable in all of His perfections, so therefore, He is perfect in 
purpose, and according to His purpose, He has foreknown and 
He has predestinated a certain and a large and an innumerable 
group of people to be conformed to the image of His Son. And 
those whom He predestined are also the blessed beneficiaries 
of all of those spiritual blessings wrapped up with the decree as 
the foundation. And what I mean is justification, 
sanctification, and glorification. the calling, effectual calling, 
justification and glorification. Of course, that includes all 
other blessings that we have in Jesus Christ, adoption, sanctification, 
faith and repentance. So God has decreed the salvation 
of sinners through Jesus Christ. And that is the ground of our 
praise as we reflect upon salvation. Not that we first love God, but 
that God loved us first in Christ. He chose us in Christ before 
the foundation of the world. In time and in history, Jesus 
Christ came to effect that salvation for the elect, and in time and 
in history, the Holy Spirit applied the blessings of Christ's redemption 
to His people, calling them forth from darkness, justifying, adopting, 
giving them faith and repentance, not particularly in that order, 
but giving them all of the blessings all the blessings wrapped up 
in Christ's perfect redeeming work. We also note, before we 
move on a little bit more to the glory of God in the decree 
concerning the elect, we also know that the confession speaks 
to only very briefly that God has decreed the damnation of 
the reprobate. The clause here, others being 
left to act in their sin to their just condemnation to the praise 
of his glorious justice. If you're still in Romans, you 
can turn to Romans 9 for a moment. When we read in this paragraph 
the manifestation of His glory, the praise of His glorious grace, 
and the praise of His glorious justice, that isn't the confessionalists 
just using terms not used in Scripture, though using terms 
not used in Scripture is wholesome when properly exercised. but 
they're pulling phraseology from the scriptures to speak about 
these two truths. Ephesians is one of them, and 
here in Romans 9, 22 and 23, we have some of the same things. Now, notice the language here 
in Romans 9, beginning at verse 22. What if God, wanting to show 
His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering 
the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that he 
might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, 
which he had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom he called, 
not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles." So the decree 
of God concerns two things, according to Paul and Romans here. It is 
making from the clay one pot, or pots beforehand determined 
for destruction, and then from that same clay, pots beforehand 
determined for mercy and glory. And so, the confession here, 
though very concisely, is speaking concerning the decreeing of salvation 
and also the decreeing of damnation. Now thirdly, God has decreed 
all the means whereby the elect come to glory. So not only has 
God decreed the fact that the elect, decreed the salvation 
of sinners through Jesus Christ, but he has also decreed, of course, 
the means whereby they come to faith in Christ. And that's what 
the confession is saying here in paragraph six. 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, and kept by his power through 
faith unto salvation. God decrees the salvation of 
the elect, and of course, because God's decree is exhaustive and 
comprehensive, He also decrees those means whereby they come 
to glory. So, the first thing we want to 
note there, we only have nine and a half minutes remaining, 
so we'll try to get through this. The first thing we want to note 
here is the work of Christ in history. God has decreed all 
the means whereby the elect come to glory, and so the first thing 
is the work of Christ in history. and you can turn to Acts 2.23 
with me. Because there we have the fact 
that the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ is according 
to the decree of God. So in Acts chapter 2, notice 
that verse 22, men of Israel hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, 
a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs 
which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves 
also know. Now note, him being delivered 
by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have 
taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death. That 
particular passage speaks to what we're talking about here, 
the work of Christ in history being the means by which God 
decreed the salvation of the elect, or that means whereby 
the decree of election comes to pass in time and in history. God decreed by his determined 
purpose and foreknowledge that Christ would die upon Calvary's 
cross for the redemption of his elect, fallen in Adam, redeemed 
in Christ by virtue of His cross work. It also speaks to the reality, 
and we didn't touch upon it, but some of the stuff of paragraph 
1 that talks about God as first cause, and then the second causes, 
the contingency of second causes, Acts 2.23 speaks to that, because 
God determines and purposes, according to His eternal decree, 
Christ to die upon the cross, the temporal means whereby that 
is brought out is partially wrapped up in these ungodly men using 
their lawless hands to crucify the Lord of Glory. But getting 
back to this point, the work of Christ in history, you can 
turn with me as well to 1 Peter as we go to certain passages 
that speak to this blessed truth of the work of Christ being foreordained 
before the foundation of the world. 1 Peter chapter 1. Notice in 1 Peter chapter 1, 
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, who is a lamb without blemish 
and without spot, He indeed was foreordained before the foundation 
of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. 
Notice the connection there between the decree of God, decreed before 
the foundation of the world, and then the coming of Christ 
in time and in history, but was manifest in these last times 
for you. So the decree of God, finding 
its termination in time and in history, with the work of Jesus 
Christ in redemptive perfection. Also, you can make a note, Revelation 
13.8 speaks of the Book of Life and the Lamb that was slain before 
the foundation of the world. the means whereby Christ brings 
about the salvation of the elect to come to glory, first off, 
it's seen in the historical work of Jesus Christ, the mediator. 
Secondly, it's seen in the whole scheme of salvation in time. So, Christ comes, He effects 
redemption upon the cross in His life, death, and resurrection. 
And then, in time and in history, sinners are saved by virtue of 
that foundational decree of God where in time and in history 
they would be brought forth from deadness to life. Some things 
to consider there with regards to this language of the means 
thereunto. First off, we would want to talk 
about the word of God coming to sinners. It's the proclamation 
of the Word of God. The preaching of the Word of 
God is that providential means whereby God's decree terminates 
in time and in history to bring forth sinners from deadness to 
life. You can think of Romans chapter 
10, for example. How will they hear without a 
preacher, and how will they be preached to without that preacher 
being sent, and that sort of language. Whoever calls upon 
the name of the Lord will be saved, and then there's this 
language that Paul gives regarding the necessity of the word of 
Christ in the salvation of sinners. How will they call upon Him whom 
they have not heard? And how will they hear of that 
One unless they are preached to concerning that One from the 
very Word of Christ, or with respect to divine revelation? And so the preaching of the Word 
of God simply is a means whereby sinners are brought from deadness 
to life. But it's not only the preaching 
of the Word of God that is a means whereby they are brought to glory, 
but also the Holy Spirit attending, working with that preaching of 
the Word. In that effectual calling, as 
sinners, as the elect hear the Gospel preached, the Spirit works 
with that Word, and by that sovereign power, brings forth dead sinners 
to life. So the means are the preaching 
of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. And with 
that effectual calling comes all of those spiritual blessings 
in the heavenly places. Faith and repentance, justification, 
adoption, sanctification, glorification, all of those blessed benefits 
that Christ won for us upon Calvary's cross in His life, death, and 
resurrection based upon the blessed eternal decree of God that flows 
from His free and unchangeable love. And we'll close very briefly 
with this, the purpose of the decree of salvation. Notice the 
purpose of the decree of salvation is seen in paragraph three. I 
want to say there's two purposes, but the first one we see is in 
paragraph three, by the decree of God for, so that's a word 
here respecting purpose, for the manifestation of His glory. 
So the decree of God, the end or goal of the decree of God, 
is for the manifestation of the glory of God. It is also unto, 
this later clause, to the praise of His glorious grace. And then 
lastly, to the praise of His glorious justice. So the decree 
of God, we can say, according to the confession here, has a 
threefold purpose. The manifestation of His glory 
to the praise of His glorious grace and to the praise of His 
infinite and glorious justice. And then lastly, we want to have 
the proper posture as Christians when we consider the doctrine 
of the divine decree. As Calvinists, as the Reformed, 
we're not to to lift up our chins and noses and puff out our chests 
and somehow boast in an inordinate way with respect to the high 
mystery of predestination and the decree of God. But it is 
to humble us before the unrivaled majesty and glory of God, understanding 
that it's not our will and power in the matter of the decree and 
salvation, but rather it's God's unrivaled majesty, sovereignty, 
and glory in that matter. The doctrine of this high mystery 
of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care. And there's a reason for this, 
that man attending the will of God revealed in his word, and 
yielding obedience thereunto, may from the certainty of their 
effectual vocation be assured of their eternal election." Brethren, 
we can have assurance in Jesus Christ. We have assurance in 
the Lord Jesus Christ. In the perfection of election, 
in the perfection of divine calling, in the perfection of the redeeming 
work of Jesus Christ, we can have that assurance of eternal 
election. And this closing clause is so 
important, so shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, 
and admiration of God, and of humility, diligence, and abundant 
consolation to all that sincerely obey the gospel. That's the stuff 
of blessed worship. As we go into worship here in 
a half an hour, we should reflect on these things, and we should 
have this Christian posture, entering in to the house of God 
with reverence and admiration. We're not there for ourselves. 
We're there, but we're there for God, that we might worship 
Him. He's serving us in His house, 
and we are to return with adoration, with reverence, and we are to 
have this posture of humility. And to see that in our diligent 
Christian walk, we have this blessed consolation in the God 
of the eternal decree, who is not constrained by His creation, 
who is not constrained by creatures, who does not owe creatures anything, 
and He is not dependent upon them, but rather that infinite, 
eternal, and glorious One who has decreed all things that come 
to pass, and that has blessedly decreed the salvation of sinners 
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Let's have that posture of humility 
as we go into worship and worship Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you 
for this time studying your word, studying doctrine. We pray that 
you would humble us, that you would give us that Christian 
posture, that spirit of humility, As we go into worship, help us, 
Lord, to revere you, to admire you, to worship you aright, reflecting 
upon your unrivaled majesty, your sovereignty, your dominion 
and power over all things, and the perfection of your most holy 
and most wise decree. Do help us to worship you, Lord 
God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in spirit and in truth. And we 
pray in the name of Jesus Christ.