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.
“In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will,” (Eph. 1:11, NRSV)
“We seldom realize fully that we are sent to fulfill God-given tasks. We act as if we were simply dropped down in creation and have to decide to entertain ourselves until we die. But we were sent into the world by God, just as Jesus was. Once we start living our lives with that conviction, we will soon know what we were sent to do.” - Henri J. M. Nouwen
You belong to God, and he takes it seriously. He gave his Son so you could be his. Don't make the mistake of thinking that God's commitment to you is only as strong as your commitment to him! You may fail from time to time, you may have a hard time keeping your promises, some days your heart may be cold and your faith may be weak. The good news is that God doesn't change his mind about us as often as we change our minds about him. As far as he is concerned, you belong to him, and nothing will change that.
Paul in his writings to the early church piles up words to address God’s eternal purpose addressed in our question today: “predestined,” “purpose,” “counsel,” and “will.” Paul believed and emphasized God’s plan for His creation and that God is capable of fulfilling His plan. One such statement Paul made in Ephesians, “He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,” (1:5) Paul means that God chose us to obtain an inheritance in Christ. But, Paul’s point is that everything we have in Christ is due to God’s eternal purpose to save us.
Paul says that the reason we have been chosen to receive an inheritance in Christ is that God predestined us according to His purpose; and, He is the God who accomplishes all things after the counsel of His will. In eternity, before He created the world of space and time, God freely determined His purpose and plan, which is all for His glory. As stated in the first answer of the Westminster Shorter Catechism our chief end is “to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever” and how to accomplish this purpose is further defined in each subsequent question and answer.
Paul states that God “accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will.” (Eph. 1:11) The main reason Paul emphasizes this here is to give us assurance that our salvation rests on God’s eternal, unshakable purpose, and not on anything in us. If you deny that God accomplishes all things after the counsel of His will, you rob believer’s of the comfort that “we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28).
Any major disappointments lately? Maybe the job you wanted went to someone else? As mentioned in the Romans verse above this Scripture suggests that for those 'who love the Lord,' all things work together for good, even when our limited perspective fails to see the good in losing something we wanted. Taylor Branch's examination of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., in Parting the Waters, contains a small but revealing incident on this theme. King, who had just received his doctorate from Boston University School of Theology, was asked by the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, to preach a trial sermon to see if the congregation wanted to call him, and he was also invited to preach at the First Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Chattanooga congregation heard him and turned him down by a vote of 110-11. Branch does not record how King responded to the Chattanooga rejection. In any case, Dexter Avenue wanted him and he accepted the invitation. Within a few months, Rosa Parks refused to go to the back of the bus, and the black leadership of Montgomery turned to their newest orator to lead a crusade that eventually tore down the final walls of legal segregation." - Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988)
“For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” (Ephesians 2:10, NRSV)
The following prayer from the pen of Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk, writer, and contemplative, expresses the uncertainty of the tunnel and the quest for light: "My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing." - Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude (New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1983), 83.
Today’s Lectionary Readings
Morning Psalm: 89:1-18
Evening Psalm: 89:19-52
Deuteronomy 9:1-12
Hebrews 3:1-11
John 2:13-22
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