“THE DECREES OF GOD” (Isa 46:11)

“THE DECREES OF GOD” (Isa 46:11)

Nov. 28, 97

July 14^th, 2002 (S. S.)

Int. The decrees of God is a doctrine from which a believing child of God may derive great comfort, delight, peace and joy.

I. THE DEFINITION OF THE DECREES OF GOD.

A. THE DECREE OF GOD DEFINED.

1. “We understand the decree of God to be the eternal, volitional, all-wise, sovereign, and immutable purpose of God concerning all and every matter, comprehending both the time and the manner in which these matters will occur.”

2. The term “decree” is liable to some misunderstanding because it conveys the idea of an edict, or of some compulsory determination.

3. “Purpose” has been suggested as a better word for “decree”

4. The word “Plan” may even be a better word.

B. THE DECREES OF GOD DEMONSTRATED..

1. J. P. Boyce said: “The decrees of God demonstrate that, in the creation, preservation, and government of the world, God must have had a plan, and that the plan must have been just, wise and holy, tending obth to his own glory and the happiness of his creatures.”

2. This “Plan” or “Decree” must have been formed eternally, and within Himself.

Lord of glory-eternal King!

Let us to Him our worship bring.

Righteous and pure are His decrees,

Standing sure for eternity.

For naught can ever stay His hand,

He will complete His purposed plan!

His decrees are all sure and true,

By grace imparted unto you

That you may know the Upward Way

That leads to God's eternal day.

Obey His word and His decrees,

Then surely He will prosper thee,

And fill your heart with joy and peace,

And wondrous love that ne'er shall cease!

All things were made by His decree,

One spoken word they came to be,

Revealed His mercy and His grace,

Which He bestowed on Adam's race.

So come thou now and Him obey,

Let His decrees guide all the way!

Mona A. Fetter, GGTG

3. The London Confession of 1689 says: “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 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.”

a. (Isaiah 46:10) "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:"

b. (Ephesians 1:11) "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:"

c. (Romans 9:15) "For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

d. (Romans 9:18) "Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth."

C. GOD’S DECREES ARE NOT DETERMINED BY SOMETHING THAT GOD SAW IN MAN OR TIME.

1. The London Confession: “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.”

a. (Acts 15:18) "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world."

b. (Romans 9:11) "(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)"

II. THE DETERMINATION OF GOD IN HIS DECREES

A. GOD EITHER MADE ALL THINGS FOR A PURPOSE OR HE MADE THEM WITHOUT A PURPOSE.

Note: Timothy Dwight, President of Yale College (1795-1817), and preacher of the Second Great Awakening said the following:

1. If God made all things for a purpose, He either provided for the certain accomplishment of His purpose or, He did not.

2. If God did not provide for the accomplishment of His purpose it was either because He was unwilling to do it, or He was unable to do it.

3. If God was unwilling to provide for the accomplishment of His purpose, it was either because His purpose was not important to Him, or because it required more trouble than His purpose would justify.

4. If God was unable to provide for the accomplilshment of His purpose, or will, it was either because he did not know how to do it, or because He did not have the ability to accomplish it.

Note: “The former denies His omniscience; the latter denies His omnipotence.”

5. If the actions of men are not such as God purposed, it must be because He did not know what men would do; or knowing this, He did not choose to prevent their existence.

6. If God knew what the actions of men would be, and did not choose to prevent their existence, then their actions are either agreeable to His purposes, or He chose them to exist although they are contrary to His purpose.

7. God could prevent the actions of wicked men by preventing their existence. To assume wicked men are upon the whole contrary to God’s purpose, and yet He chose that they should be born is to assume a contradiction.

8. Therefore, to deny the doctrines of Predestination and of Reprobation is to believe that God is limited, changeable, and dependent upon what men do. To believe this about God is to believe that the purposes of God are not certain in their accomplishments.

B. THE SCRIPTURES RECOGNIZE BOTH THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD AND THE FREE AGENCY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF MAN.

1. The Bible makes no attempt to reconcile the two.

2. Paul even refuses to discuss the subject, saying:

a. (Romans 9:20) "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?"

3. J. P. Boyce says: “The fact that we cannot point out the harmony between them is a proof, only of our ignorance, and limited capacity, and not that both are not true.”

4. The Socinians denied that God could know what man would do before hand and therefore denied His ability to decree what would come to pass.

a. . “They say that God “Foreknew” but in no way “foreordained” what man would do.”

5. Free willers object to the fact that God predicted beforehand the bad actions of certain men.

a. (Exodus 7:3-4) "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. {4} But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments."

b. (Exodus 9:16) "And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth."

c. (Matthew 26:34) "Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice."

III. THE DECLARATION OF GOD’S DECREES IN THE BIBLE.

A. THE SCRIPTURAL AUTHORITY FOR THE DOCTRINES OF DECREES ARE FOUND IN THE BIBLE.

1. God’s Decrees are eternal.

a. (Acts 15:18) "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world."

b. (Ephesians 1:4) "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:"

c. (Ephesians 3:11) "According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:"

d. (1 Peter 1:20) "Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,"

e. (2 Thessalonians 2:13) "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:"

f. (2 Timothy 1:9) "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,"

g. (1 Corinthians 2:7) "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:"

2. God’s Decrees are immutable (unchangeable)

a. (Psalms 33:11) "The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations."

b. (Isaiah 46:9) "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,"

3. God’s Decrees comprehend all events.

a. (Daniel 4:34-35) "And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: {35} And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?"

b. (Acts 17:26) "And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;"

c. (Proverbs 16:33) "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD."

d. (Matthew 10:29-30) "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. {30} But the very hairs of your head are all numbered."

3. God’s Decrees control even the free actions of men.

a. (Ephesians 2:10-11) "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. {11} Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;"

b. (Philippians 2:13) "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

4. God’s Decrees control even the wicked actions of men.

a. (Acts 2:23) "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:"

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

c. (Acts 13:29) "And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre."

d. (1 Peter 2:8) "And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."

e. (Jude 1:4) "For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."

f. (Revelation 17:17) "For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled."

g. For Example: (Genesis 37:28) "Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt."

God decreed: “(Genesis 45:7-8) "And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. {8} So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt."

(Genesis 50:20) "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."

5. The Decrees of God are not conditional.

a. (Psalms 33:11) "The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations."

b. (Proverbs 19:21) "There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand."

c. (Isaiah 14:24) "The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:"

d. (Isaiah 14:27) "For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?"

e. (Isaiah 46:10) "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:"

f. (Romans 9:11) "(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)"

6. The Decrees of God are sovereign.

a. (Isaiah 40:13-14) "Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? {14} With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?"

b. (Daniel 4:35) "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?"

c. (Ephesians 1:11) "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:"

7. God’s Decrees also include the means.

a. (Ephesians 1:4) "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:"

b. (1 Peter 1:2) "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."

8. God’s Decrees determine the free actions of men.

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

b. (Ephesians 2:10) "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

9. God himself works in his people that faith and obedience which are called the conditions of salvation.

a. (Ephesians 2:8) "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"

b. (Philippians 2:13) "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

c. (2 Timothy 2:25) "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;"

10. The Decrees of God render the events that happen certain.

a. (Matthew 16:21) "From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day."

b. (Luke 18:31-33) "Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. {32} For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: {33} And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again."

c. (Luke 24:46) "And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:"

d. (Acts 2:23) "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:"

f. (Acts 13:29) "And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre."

g. (1 Corinthians 11:19) "For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you

Lord of glory-eternal King!

Let us to Him our worship bring.

Righteous and pure are His decrees,

Standing sure for eternity.

For naught can ever stay His hand,

He will complete His purposed plan!

His decrees are all sure and true,

By grace imparted unto you

that you may know the Upward Way

That leads to God's eternal day.

Obey His word and His decrees,

Then surely He will prosper thee,

And fill your heart with joy and peace,

And wondrous love that ne'er shall cease!

All things were made by His decree,

One spoken word they came to be,

Revealed His mercy and His grace,

Which He bestowed on Adam's race.

So come thou now and Him obey,

Let His decrees guide all the way!

Mona A. Fetter, GGTG

THE DECREES OF GOD

Sovereign Ruler of the Skies.

Ever gracious, ever wise;

All my times are in thy hand,

All events at thy command.

His decree who formed the earth

Fixed my first and second birth;

Parents, native place, and time,

All appointed were by him.

He that formed me in the womb,

He shall guide me to the tomb;

All my times shall ever be

Ordered by his wise decree.

Times of sickness; times of health;

Times of penury and wealth

Times of trial and of grief;

Times of triumph and relief

Times the tempter's power to prove;

Times to taste the Saviour's love;

All must come, and last, and end,

As shall please my heavenly F'riend.