1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 3.1 The Sovereignty of God

Table of Contents

The Text

Ephesians 1:3–6 (CSB) Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.

The Chapter

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.

The Confession

God hath decreed in himself from all eternity

Isaiah 46:10 (CSB) I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will.

It is one thing to read and observe the attributes of God which are just found in the previous chapter of the 1689 confession. And not to make little of who God is, the question begs, "So what?" In other words, God is a being of all power, all knowing and wisdom, and ever present everywhere.

What does a being like that do?

Throughout the history of mankind, we have told stories: legends, folklore, mythos, tall tales, comics, video games and literature. Some are historical. Some are dramatized. Some are exaggerated in order to tell the tale.

You could, with unopened eyes and unrenewed mind, read the Bible and read about God and chalk it up as though it as another grand work of fiction, not unlike The Illiad, The Lord of the Rings or the X-Men. God of the Bible seems so fantastic that then how could the Bible be real. How could God of the Bible be so real?

When you know of the Bible, the descriptions of who God is written and communicated by himself, then you know not only who God is but what he does.

From the jump, we know that God hath decreed in himself from all eternity.

In himself is to simply state that God has not sought the counsel of another being, another time, another space, and another existence. From eternity to eternity, he has always been God and whatever he decrees to do, he has made the decision from within himself.

Romans 5:8 (CSB) But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

When I have preached and taught this text, I have often said, "God has looked down the corridors and time and space, saw that you were not obeying him, you were sinning against him, that you were trespassing against him and you were running away from him. He saw that and sent his Son Jesus Christ to save you."

That is absolutely and wonderfully true. But I want to be a tad more careful. I don't want to give the impression that something that mankind does makes God do something. That is borders on paganism. But the fact is that we are created by God and we have fallen away from God. God is not a reactionary god as though he is the ambulance that comes and rescues us. But before we could sin, God had already determined he was going to create you, love you, and rescue you through his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will

Ephesians 1:11 (CSB) In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will,

From within God, there is not nothing. Where as we are made up of parts of our personality, will, intelligence, wisdom, knowledge, and emotions, God is simply all things that he is include all holy and all wisdom. For:

Job 9:4 (CSB) God is wise and all-powerful. Who has opposed him and come out unharmed?

And:

Isaiah 6:3 (CSB) And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth.

One thing that is remarkable through out the Bible is the will of God.

The hardest choices require the strongest wills.

Thanos

It is one thing for any being--mythological or otherwise--having the power and the ability to do what they want to do but do they possess the will to do so.

From his most holy and most wise counsel, God is not just powerful enough to do and able to do, he wants to do. God is the only being in the world that has the freedom to do as he will.

Ephesians 1:5 (CSB) He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

all things

Romans 8:28–30 (CSB) We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

For all of mankind's accomplishments, what makes us so unremarkable in this way--even if we wanted to save ourselves, we cannot. The argument for the freedom of will in mankind is invalid and lost because mankind is tinctured, fractured, broken and marred with sin. Even in trying to understand our sinful selves is broken--we can never see just how sinful we really are because we are sinful. Sin has broken not only minds, hearts, souls, and bodies but also our wills.

freely and unchangeably

Hebrews 6:17 (CSB) Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath,

We might want to save ourselves but for what reason? In of ourselves, if we could save ourselves, we would not want to save ourselves to God but rather to our own selves. And because we are fractured by sin, we would un-save ourselves just as quickly.

But God, in everything he has and will do, he has the will to do it because he is sinless and perfect and holy.

whatsoever comes to pass

Romans 9:15–18 (CSB) For he tells Moses, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy. For the Scripture tells Pharaoh, I raised you up for this reason so that I may display my power in you and that my name may be proclaimed in the whole earth. So then, he has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

And herein lies the rub: we are not free to do as we please. And when the Almighty God, who possesses all power and strength, does something that we don't want to do or one step further, does something that interferes with our little lives, we become upset. We become upset that we can't do as we please and we are limited by sin at all times.

God, in his compassion and mercy, willfully saved us from our sins. The book of Exodus summed up in the 9th chapter of Romans demonstrates one thing clear: God is not above building up an empire and a king and bringing it low unto death so that his people are saved to the glory of his name.

What did these particular set of people of do?

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

James 1:13 (CSB) No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone.

1 John 1:5 (CSB) This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him.

Only the sin to crucify the Son of Man.

God, in his perfection and holiness and might, did what he wanted to do and did so without sinning, helping sin, or disrupting our own wills.

Even when we lose a love one, you might be tempted to feel that God has done you wrong. But he has not because he is the source of all good. Our own sin and the sins of others is what took the life of your loved one. We were never met to die--when mankind was created, we were made in the image of God and we were to enjoy his presence forever and never to die.

We were never met to die. God knows that. That is why he sent his Son to live and to die in our place for our sin so that we can enjoy him forever. For:

Psalm 16:11 (CSB) You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.

nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away

Acts 4:27–28 (CSB) “For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your will had predestined to take place.

John 19:11 (CSB) “You would have no authority over me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn’t been given you from above. This is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”

And whatever freedoms and rights we possessed as humans were never violated.

Romans 1:21–25 (CSB) For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.

God does not violate our sinful selfs nor our sinful wills that longs to suppress the truth that is a God. He simply gives some over to what exactly what we want.

That is what he did with Pharaoh. That is what he did with Esau. That is what he did with Judas Iscariot. That is what he does for every child of destruction.

but rather established; in which appears his wisdom in disposing all things

Numbers 23:19 (CSB) God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?

With no violation of mankind's will, he sets the foundations and boundaries and the motion of all things by his most wisdom, intelligence and knowledge.

And if you think He is not considerate of the most mundane details of your life, consider:

Acts 17:24-28 (CSB) The God who made the world and everything in it — he is Lord of heaven and earth — does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’

The year and place of where you were born? That lease or mortgage you signed? That is not only the provision of God but the decree of God. Why? So that we seek him, might reach out and find him because the earth is filled with his glory.

It is in him that we live, move and have our being.

and power and faithfulness in accomplishing his decree.

Ephesians 1:3–6 (CSB) Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.

We have spoken about the power and ability of God in his decree. We have spoken about the will of God in his decree. But what about his faithfulness?

2 Corinthians 1:20 (CSB) For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in him. Therefore, through him we also say “Amen” to the glory of God.

God does not reveal all of what he will do to us. That is the right of the Creator over his creation. But if God has told us, his creation, that he will do something, then because of who he is, it is as good as done.

God cannot lie. He lacks the ability to lie because he is the source of all truth.

And it started when we broke our promise to God that we would obey him so we could enjoy him forever.

Genesis 3:15 (CSB) I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

God's response was not death or un-create and start over. But rather a promise that he alone will make all things right.

And the Bible through the Old Testament was a unveiling of this great good promise that he will redeem what we broke.

And the fulfillment of that promise was Jesus Christ our Lord.

Consider that God is the only being ever in existence that will state what he intends to do and has the power, ability, will, and faithfulness to see it to completion.

Romans 8:30 (CSB) And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

Paul's use of the past tense, "glorified", was not a grammatical mistake. Because Christ has died, we ere saved unto him. Our salvation happened on Golgotha over 2,000 years ago.

Let us muse upon the fact that Jesus was conducted without the gates of the city. It was the common place of death. That little rising ground, which perhaps was called Golgotha, the place of a skull, from its somewhat resembling the crown of a man's skull, was the common place of execution. It was one of Death's castles; here he stored his gloomiest trophies; he was the grim lord of that stronghold. Our great hero, the destroyer of Death, bearded the lion in his den, slew the monster in his own castle, and dragged the dragon captive from his own den. Methinks Death thought it a splendid triumph when he saw the Master impaled and bleeding in the dominions of destruction; little did he know that the grave was to be rifled, and himself destroyed, by that crucified Son of man.

Charles Spurgeon. The Procession of Sorrow. Sermon 497. March 1, 1863.

My beloved, we were saved on Good Friday.

Therefore, we will be glorified because of all that Christ has done.