Westminster Confession of Faith Adult Sunday School class Chapter 3

1. Theology of the
Westminster Confession
Adult Sunday School
2017

2. God’s Eternal Decree
The Decrees of God
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3. An eternal, wise and holy plan
• God ordained, or ordered, “whatever comes to
pass”
• Settled from all eternity – before time and the
rest of creation began
• He did this by the most wise and holy counsel
of His own will
• Most wise and holy – reflecting God’s character (see
Chapter 2!)
• “Counsel” – He did this out a deep consideration of
all things, knowing how to set things up so that all
will achieve the end He designed
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The Decrees of God

4. An eternal, wise and holy plan
• This should put to rest any idea that God, who
orders all things, would act in a capricious or
unjust manner.
• Two conditions that God “imposes on Himself”
• He is not the author of sin – He does not cause
anyone to sin; He does not tempt anyone to sin.
• He does not do violence to the will of the creature –
He does not make anyone (man or angel) do
something against their will
• Instead, He changes the heart, so that the will in now
informed and drawn to Christ
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5. An eternal, wise and holy plan
• God is the “first cause” of all events – that is,
He initiates. He knows the beginning of the
thing, and He knows the end
• The chain of dominoes example
• But the middle is still important! This means
that God ordains the ends, and He ordains the
means to those ends
• Here we introduce “second causes”—those
events of consequence from the “first cause”
• God ordains that second causes will exist to carry out
His plan
• The example of prayer
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6. An eternal, wise and holy plan
• God ordains out of His freedom, and His
sovereignty
• He did NOT decree anything BECAUSE He saw in
the future that someone or something would
happen, and He “rubber stamped” the event
with his “decree”
• Rather, He freely, sovereignly chose to ordain
something, because it fits HIS plan
• This establishes His plan so that it is
unchangeable, and that all things WILL work
out the way He has planned them
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7. Destinies of life and death
• By the decree of God
• For the manifestation of His glory
• Some men and angels are predestined to eternal life
• Other men and angels are foreordained (means the same
thing) to eternal death
• They are particularly and unchangeably designed
• God knows our names
• The number of each are certain and fixed
• Because why would God need to change His mind, His
plan, if it is perfect?
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The Decrees of God

8. Destinies of life and death
• God chose those predestined to eternal life
• Before the foundations of the world was laid (that is,
before creation began)
• According to His eternal and immutable purpose
• And the secret council and good pleasure of His will
• He did this out of His free grace and love
• NOT because He saw any possibility of faith, or of
good works, or perseverance, or of any other
condition within the creature, as conditions that
would cause Him to chose us
• Example of Jacob and Esau
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9. Key verses
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ… 8
in all wisdom and insight, 9 making known to us the mystery of
his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10
as a plan for the fullness of time... 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,
so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the
praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:3–5, 8-12
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10. Three things to keep in mind as we ponder why God
would chose some and not others:
1. We know we’re all sinners against a holy and
righteous God; we know there is no health in us. We
know we deserve judgment and not accolades.
2. The amazing thing is that God deigns to give grace
to any, and it seems that this is actually a large
number.
3. Remember, He is sovereign – He is God. He is the
potter, and we but clay.
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The Decrees of God

11. Appointed for glory
• Just as God has appointed an elect for glory, He has
also decided the means to that end
• That means is Christ!
• It is through Christ that the elect are:
• Effectually called to faith in Christ
• By His Spirit working in us, at just the right time
• Become justified
• Become adopted as sons
• Are being sanctified
• Kept by His power through faith for all of salvation
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12. A high mystery
• As a great mystery, even those whom God has
ordained to be destined to eternal judgment, is
done according to the unsearchable counsel of His
will
• This, too, glorifies God, for it shows His justice
• This doctrine of predestination is to be handled
with special care.
• It is not easy to understand, or even to teach.
• It can and does help the elect to understand their
eternal calling. It is for reverence and admiration
of God; and calls for humility, diligence and
consolation to all who sincerely believe the Gospel.
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13. Summary of key points
• God ordains all that comes to pass
• He has done this according to the secret
counsel of His will
• Some men and angels God ordained for eternal
life with Him in heaven
• Others are destined for eternal judgment
• All on the basis of God’s plan and selection,
without any regard to any ability on the part of
the creatures
• The doctrine of predestination is a high
mystery, and not to be taken lightly
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14. Going deeper
Books
• Sproul, R.C. Chosen By God. (Beginner)
• Calvin, John. Concerning the Eternal
Predestination of God. (Intermediate)
• Boettner, Loraine. The Reformed Doctrine of
Predestination. (Advanced)
Articles
• Lloyd-Jones, Martyn. The Eternal Decrees of God.
• Articles on the Decree of God at Monergism.com.
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