I am not a car guy. Sure, I can do some simple things. I can put gas in the car. I can check the oil level and the tire pressure. I can replace a bad battery. I can usually tell when something is wrong even if I don’t know what exactly is wrong. But that’s about it. I don’t know what most of the parts do. I certainly can’t do basic maintenance or any kind of significant repair. I’m not even sure I could accurately explain how a car runs.
Yet even with all I don’t understand, most days, at some point, I get into my car, turn the key, and proceed to drive around town. And I do so without worrying about all that I lack in knowledge of how the car works. In much the same way, this is how we as Christians live when it comes to understanding the sovereignty of God and His decrees. When it comes to predestination and foreordination, we must affirm what the Scriptures teach even as we acknowledge our many questions and our finite understanding of these matters.
Questions 7 and 8 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC) take on this issue of God’s decrees.
Q. 7. What are the decrees of God?
A. 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.
Q. 8. How doth God execute his decrees?
A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.
Question 7 immediately raises all kinds of questions. What about sin? What about pain and suffering? And yet the catechism and the Scriptures don’t give us answers to all the questions surrounding God’s decrees. So we focus on what we are told and when we do, it becomes clear that God is to be central in our hearts and minds when we think on these matters.
Briefly, the answer tells us the following:
The decrees are God’s purpose from eternity past throughout eternity to come. Notice it is one purpose, so these decrees all cohere into one integrated whole.
The decrees are determined based on God’s will. They are what God wanted to do. The members of the Trinity didn’t consult any others in the formation of these decrees.
The extent of these decrees runs to “whatsoever comes to pass”, which is probably the statement we wrestle with the most. This is why the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) in dealing with this topic states that it is “to be handled with special prudence and care.”
The end or goal of these decrees is the glory of God. Just as man’s chief end is to glorify God, so it is also God’s main goal.
These affirmations concerning God’s decrees are not only for intellectual stimulation or “what about this” types of debate. We are called to rest in these beautiful truths. And as the WCF points out, attending to these matters leads to assurance of our salvation as well as “abundant consolation”. Or as another catechism frames it, part of our comfort in life and in death is “that He protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit His purpose for my salvation” (Heidelberg Catechism Q. 1). Knowing that God has ordained whatsoever comes to pass sustains us and upholds us in the trials and tribulations of this life, even though we don’t comprehend how it all works.
And let us also be reminded that we see the reality of these decrees on display at the cross of our Savior. His death was no accident or some unfortunate twist of fate. Nor was it simply the work of lawless men, though it is clear they were responsible for their deeds. But we are also told that at the cross, Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). And so part of “whatsoever comes to pass” is the death and resurrection of Jesus, which secured our salvation. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable are his ways! . . . For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33, 36)
