Some Thoughts

Today we took up The Doctrine of God III. Having covered The Being of God over the past three weeks, most of the remaining topics (3-4 more weeks) could be subsumed under the heading of The Works of God. Included in this are 1) The Divine Decree, 2) Creation, 3) Providence, and 4) Redemption. Today we covered The Divine Decree, Creation, Providence, and (briefly) the Fall of Man. Most helpful in my preparation for these topics was Louis Berkhof’s Systematic Theology. Grudem’s was also helpful, as he keeps definitions accessible, and application is always near the forefront of his presentation; nevertheless, Berkhof is much more concise.

I started by asking the class the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (“WSC”): What is the chief end of man? (“To glorify God and enjoy him forever.”) Then (borrowing from Piper, of course) I asked What, as far as we can learn from Scripture, is the chief end of God? Of course, the answer is basically the same: “To Glorify God and enjoy himself forever” (Ephesians 1:11, 2 [show] [11]In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, (ESV) [2]Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)
:4-8; Romans 11:36 [show][36]For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (ESV)
, for example). This is the ultimate (though not the only) goal of everything God does in the works of creation, providence, and redemption. This is “why” he does all things, says all things, creates all things, commands all things, and promises all things: for his own glory.

The Divine Decree. Question 7 of the WSC reads “What are the decrees of God?” The answer is “The decrees of God are, his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.” Basically, this means that before God started building this world, he considered all possible worlds, counted the cost, and committed to building the best one to bring about his glory. He “measures twice, and cuts once.” Having committed to this one plan–this best-of-all-possible-plans, (Question 8 of the WSC reads,) “How does God execute his decrees?”

Answer: “God executes his decrees in the works of 1) creation and 2) providence.”

Creation. WSC Question 9 reads, “What is God’s work of creation?” Answer: “The work of creation is, God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.” We spent a few minutes breaking down this statement, noting a few things in particular:

1. that it necessarily rules out materialism, pantheism, dualism, and deism.
2. that there is no room for progressive creation, “theistic evolution,” etc.
3. that the original created order was “very good”

Providence. The doctrine of providence states that God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he 1) keeps them existing and maintaining the same properties with which he created them (preservation); 2) cooperates with all created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do (concurrence); and 3) directs them to fulfill his purposes (government). (Grudem) Some scriptural examples (which are not necessarily ‘proof-texts,’ but are summaries of what Scripture as a whole teaches) of preservation would be Job 34:14-15 [show] [14]If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, [15]all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.
, Hebrews 1:3 [show] [3]He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (ESV)
, and Colossians 1:16-17 [show] [16]For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. [17]And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (ESV)
. Examples for concurrence would be Psalm 135:6, 148 [show] [6]Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.
:8, Prov. 16:33 [show] [33]The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
, Job 12:23 [show] [23]He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away.
, Psalm 22:28 [show] [28]For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
, Acts 17:26 [show] [26]And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, (ESV)
, Phil. 2:13, 4 [show] [13]for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (ESV) [4]Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (ESV)
:19, etc. There are, for example, secondary causes in God’s working of all things. Scripture tells us, for example, that a storm is caused in one sense by natural meteorological activity–and in another sense, a storm is caused by God. It’s another one of those “both/and” things, and not an “either/or.” Similarly, it is true that Paul fully wrote the book of Romans and and that God fully wrote the book of Romans. (We had no time to discuss the so-called ‘problem of evil,’ and postponed the discussion of [libertarian] freewill for a later session.) Examples for government would be Romans 9:31 [show] [31]but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. (ESV)
, Psalm 103:19 [show] [19]The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
, and Daniel 4:35 [show] [35]all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, "What have you done?"
, etc.

I did my best to emphasize that, though it is true that God is behind all things and working them all toward his ultimate purpose, we still have real responsibility, we still make real choices that have real outcomes; and so we must pray, we must work, and we must preach. I emphasized WCF III.vi as a necessary balance for WCF III.v – that though God has indeed (and irrevocably) foreordained the ends, it is equally true that he has also foreordained the means by which those ends are accomplished.

Time limitations didn’t permit us to cover The Fall of Man. For that, I assigned WSC Questions 12-19. The depth of our fall, and our necessity of a Saviour, should come through very clearly as we focus the remaining sessions on the next work of God: Redemption (Accomplished and Applied). We’ll be focusing heavily on the high priesthood of Christ, as sole mediator and redeemer of God’s people (…and I can hardly wait!)

Thoughts, comments, questions welcome.